What the world eats

[Morningstar]

My friend Eric's roommate went "vegitarian", which meant that he ate nothing but french fries and grilled cheese and bought a couple of scene T-Shirts about saving the animals.

Scene?

Hehehe. Scene. Even this old mom knows that word. Heard my kid say it ever so disgustingly when referring to certain MTV awards shows. Hehehe.

Just wanted to comment on something. Somebody said they listen to their body about what they need. Well, I wasn't too great of an eater when I was a teen. I think I consisted on Snickers Bars and Big Macs. But ever since I was about 30, I have eaten relatively healthy. No milk, but I compensate with cheese. Rarely any junk food or candy (hehehe, the candy that Santa gives at Christmas sits in the cabinet and finally gets tossed when Halloween comes around). I hate pop. No artificial sweeteners (I am horribly allergic to Splenda). I am not overweight in the least, though not so thin my ribs show. And I am quite muscular. I was always the type to listen to my body. So, when the doctor told me that I had osteopenia, I was floored. Because at the time, I took such good care of my body. So, beware that sometimes your body might not tell you about every little thing you need. I'd just hate for anyone to end up like me, with this type of medical forecast, if they didn't have to do so. Those Viactiv chewables are God's gift to women. If you don't think you get enough calcium, buy them. Or another product like them. Even Tums is a great product for calcium. And, no I don't get a commission.

And certain meds can leech calcium from your bones, as well. All the more reason to make sure you are getting enough calcium. I take Advair, which is a popular preventative med for asthma. My allergist said that I really need it for my asthma, yet is very concerned about what it could do to my bones. So, he makes sure I get bone density tests every year and asks me every time he sees me if I am taking my calcium supplements.

Just felt I had to add my two cents to the mix.

[Kitten Medli]

My friend Eric's roommate went "vegitarian", which meant that he ate nothing but french fries and grilled cheese and bought a couple of scene T-Shirts about saving the animals. I suggested that he seek some medical help when he had extraordinary difficulty walking up a single flight of steps.

Oh, Cody. I don't know why I expected much different from somebody whose major past time was playing Guitar Hero in his underwear.

Scene?

Every once in a while our school's resident communist/vegan convinces one of my friends to stop eating meat. So she will, then if she lasts a week she'll wind up skinny and unhealthy. It's pretty bad.

For anyone interested in solving the vegetarian problem, here's some required reading:

Link removed

(that link has a little bit of strong language, so don't read it if you are under 6)

Communist? That's hardly a fair comparison. And to me it sounds like your friends aren't doing it right.

[Bangel]

My friend Eric's roommate went "vegitarian", which meant that he ate nothing but french fries and grilled cheese and bought a couple of scene T-Shirts about saving the animals. I suggested that he seek some medical help when he had extraordinary difficulty walking up a single flight of steps.

Oh, Cody. I don't know why I expected much different from somebody whose major past time was playing Guitar Hero in his underwear.

Scene?

Every once in a while our school's resident communist/vegan convinces one of my friends to stop eating meat. So she will, then if she lasts a week she'll wind up skinny and unhealthy. It's pretty bad.

For anyone interested in solving the vegetarian problem, here's some required reading:

Link removed

(that link has a little bit of strong language, so don't read it if you are under 6)

First of all, veganism is an incredibly healthy diet choice if done correctly. If you spend your entire vegan journey eating bread and salad, then... yeah. You're going to be unhealthy and skinny. You'll also be a moron.

http://www.vegan.org/about_veganism/health.html
http://www.vegansociety.com/html/food/nutrition/
http://www.all-creatures.org/health/vegandiets.html

As a vegan and as a moderator, I strongly suggest you think twice before you even hint at someone following a vegan diet as a "communist". I do not call you a heartless beast for eating animals, and so I will not condone you implying I am other things for not eating them. Whether you are implying it just to the vegan at your school or all vegans, it is not an okay comment to make.

If you are going to go on about how not eating meat or animal products makes a person "skinny and unhealthy", I strongly advise you do your research beforehand, which you obviously have not.

[Asthaloth]

When did communism become evil.
Oh. Right, probably the same time as Fascism aye.

[Fiddelysquat]

If you are going to go on about how not eating meat or animal products makes a person "skinny and unhealthy", I strongly advise you do your research beforehand, which you obviously have not.

I think theonlysaneone was implying that his friend wasn't following the diet properly. There are plenty of ways to go vegetarian or vegan, and Cody's way, as well as many other people who simply give up parts of their diet without finding alternative sources of those proteins and vitamins, is another.

While I'm not going to say I think all vegetarians are communists, it is a bit of a phenomenon that at my high school at least, those two ideas coincided. A whole lot of the more militant vegans were always wearing Che Guevara t-shirts and protesting everything the school administration did. Then again, a lot of the vegans at my school were completely ridiculous. They spraypainted "MEAT IS MURDER" in the bathrooms and constantly harassed kids in the cafeteria who were eating meat, and would hand out pictures of mangled pig/chicken corpses to anyone who'd walk by.

I'm not ignorant enough to think that all (or even most) vegans/vegetarians are like this. On the contrary, many people I know who have made that choice are very easygoing. You don't harass them, they don't harass you.

Basically, if you don't like somebody calling you a murderer when you eat a hamburger, you shouldn't call someone a hippie or whatever because they don't. The door swings both ways.

[Keakealani]

Definitely, there is a connection between different kinds of activism and alternative living, and there are fundamental progressives the same way there are fundamental Christians.

The implication I got from that statement was that TOSO was noting that his school has one person who is known as the extreme activist type who is militantly vegan, against communism, probably anti-establishment and kind of wacko hippie. That's true of a surprising number of vegans, who are a lot like Fidds is describing, and those people tend to be linked together.

That being said, I also really don't think being called communist is a bad thing either - I certainly have my own communist/socialist leanings and I don't get offended if people tell me I'm commie....that being said, I would be offended if I were linked in any way to dictators like Mao Zidong or Stalin.

Overall, any choice regarding diet (well, except for starvation and things like that) can be made in an educated, healthy, and correct way, or it can be made in an ignorant, unhealthy, and incorrect way. That's true whether people want to eat meat or not, or any other lifestyle choice. It's just different.

[Asthaloth]

Hypothetical.

Would you find it disgusting / Morally wrong / Whatever if a person consumed human flesh?
What if it was only people that had died of natural causes?
Donated to the... "Fund" if you will?

Could you get over that prejudice?

[Uncle Xyzzy]

Hypothetical.

Would you find it disgusting / Morally wrong / Whatever if a person consumed human flesh?
What if it was only people that had died of natural causes?
Donated to the... "Fund" if you will?

Could you get over that prejudice?

I wouldn't give my own body to it, but if societies wish to do so in a self-sufficient manenr that doesn't condone murder, and they weren't militant about it, I wouldn't mind.

[BeDeviled]

I would have to go on the poor side of things....

Sometimes junk food & processed food is cheaper.

Yell at me all you want but when I only have 175 a month to buy groceries with... you gotta due with what you can. It's mostly me that ends up eating the bad stuff or nothing and just waiting till I work to grab a sandwich. anyways I try to keep my daughter as healthy as possible but never happens that way as planned. Plus most of the Food bill goes to her school lunches and snacks they have a strick healthy eating policy there, which I do love about the school.

Think about it a pack of 10-12 hotdogs is like 2.50? or a 1.99 for 20 in bulk. That can last for 4 or a whole lot more with the bulk meals for both of us if we use instant noodles at 30 cents a pack or kraft dinner for 59 cents for the cheap no name brand.

Healthy sure salad and salad stuff way over 2.99 unless you want plain salad, a can of vegetables 1.50 then of course meat, I love steak but hey 5 bucks a steak? for just one person. yeah I could have bought cheap food for 3 or 4 meals for less then the one.

I do make sure she gets in her daily food groups, but sometimes I have to be creative with what's on sell, and yes most of it is processed. But when you're way below the poverty level what can I do? It's hard living in a very expensive town as a single parent.... and no I'm not moving, I did that 3 times since September.

[theonlysaneone]

While I'm not going to say I think all vegetarians are communists, it is a bit of a phenomenon that at my high school at least, those two ideas coincided. A whole lot of the more militant vegans were always wearing Che Guevara t-shirts and protesting everything the school administration did. Then again, a lot of the vegans at my school were completely ridiculous. They spraypainted "MEAT IS MURDER" in the bathrooms and constantly harassed kids in the cafeteria who were eating meat, and would hand out pictures of mangled pig/chicken corpses to anyone who'd walk by.

That pretty much describes this person exactly. One time I walked out of class and saw a bunch of "Stop KFC" fliers all over the floor, and guess who was responsible? He wears those "Not My President" and Che Guevara t-shirts and stuff, listens to weird bands, and seems to have a different hairstyle every day. Like everyone else, he'll probably grow up when he has to start paying his own taxes and buying food, but for right now he's really annoying.

Overall, any choice regarding diet (well, except for starvation and things like that) can be made in an educated, healthy, and correct way, or it can be made in an ignorant, unhealthy, and incorrect way. That's true whether people want to eat meat or not, or any other lifestyle choice. It's just different.

Exactly.

[Paul]

That pretty much describes this person exactly. One time I walked out of class and saw a bunch of "Stop KFC" fliers all over the floor, and guess who was responsible? He wears those "Not My President" and Che Guevara t-shirts and stuff, listens to weird bands, and seems to have a different hairstyle every day. Like everyone else, he'll probably grow up when he has to start paying his own taxes and buying food, but for right now he's really annoying.

Woah, woah.. Weird bands, huh? Different hairstyles everyday, huh? Is there something wrong with this, toso? If there isn't, why are you mentioning it? It's completely irrelevant: plenty of non-vegetarians listen to weird bands and style their hair differently every day. It is actually normal to desire to be different!

[Keakealani]

BeDeviled: That's an interesting and all-too-true insight for people who are a little less fortunate...it's very difficult to survive on a minimal budget without resorting to the cheaply made processed food, and frankly it's much healthier to eat that than to starve to death.

Yesterday I was watching on the Colbert Report (yes, I know...) that a few congressmen/women took a "food stamp challenge" to try to live on the budget that most poverty-stricken people live on, in terms of food stamps, and quite frankly, it was totally inadequate...it came down to about $3 a day, which can hardly buy one meal, much less three, much less healthful. I was appalled by the absolute lack of support for people who need...I mean, I don't believe in spoonfeeding lazy bums but that's not what's happening, really...these are people who despite working at or above minimum wage really can't support themselves and their children (many of them are single parents) and need the government to help a bit.

Anyway, I know that's a bit off-topic, but I just felt that there is such a discrepancy between the kinds of foods that are available based on financial abilities - if we go back to that original photo journal, it's easy to see which countries are more affluent than others, as sad as that is.

As for the issue about non-conformists and whatever...
I think that to a healthy degree it's fine to want to be different - I know I tend to be labelled as the "hippie" or "weird" because I like lots of alternative things and I'm pretty anti-establishment etc. But I also really feel that a lot of kids my age take it too far, and/or just do it to be "cool" or "different". It's fine to have your own tastes in music and not follow the crowd in terms of fashion, but it's a little excessive to shave half your head to make a statement. I also tend to not appreciate those people who are very vocal about their beliefs and try to "convert" people to their veganism or communism or whatever it is. If you truly want to be different or march to your own drum, then why do other people need to follow you? It's a bit counterintuitive. I think the person that theonlysaneone is talking about is one of those people who really is just being different for the sake of sticking out and drawing attention, rather than because he genuinely feels that passionate about these issues.

I'm sure there are people who will be offended by loud and vocal activists, just as there are people who will be offended by meat-eaters or any other belief or lifestyle choice. Doesn't mean that everyone doesn't deserve a voice and the freedom to believe whatever you want to believe without having someone tell you it's wrong.

[Kitten Medli]

Hypothetical.

Would you find it disgusting / Morally wrong / Whatever if a person consumed human flesh?
What if it was only people that had died of natural causes?
Donated to the... "Fund" if you will?

Could you get over that prejudice?

Thats gross period imo o_O

As for this communist vegan fellow, I'm sure he's only trying to spread what he believes the best way he knows.

[Shoyru_Lover]

That's really... gross... Are you aware... according to John Titor, time traveler extraordinarre, we should never eat animals that are fed its own kind.

[Bangel]

But I also really feel that a lot of kids my age take it too far, and/or just do it to be "cool" or "different". It's fine to have your own tastes in music and not follow the crowd in terms of fashion, but it's a little excessive to shave half your head to make a statement.

It's not your hair, so why does it matter?