How did you do it? Did you slowly transition or cut out all meat immediately?
Ask HN: Have you gone vegan or vegetarian?
1–10 of 67 posts
Re: Ask HN: Have you gone vegan or vegetarian?
#2No.
Re: Ask HN: Have you gone vegan or vegetarian?
#3Today, going vegetarian is quite easy. Especially in a big city. Plenty of options all round.
Re: Ask HN: Have you gone vegan or vegetarian?
#4Vegetarian - just stopped eating meat one day to see if I could keep it up.
(The reason being that I had already been thinking for a while how gross it actually was to eat animal corpses, and that I'd also rather be alive than dead, so others shouldn't suffer that fate just because I had to satisfy my taste buds)
That was the easiest part - the social aspect of it is a lot more complicated than that, mostly because I had to explain to people why I made the decision, over and over again. And obviously the braindead comments about not getting enough protein etc.
Some things I did not even know initially, like how many products contain gelatine (which is made out of animal bones and skin), but nowadays it's rather easy to avoid such products.
Going Vegan is the next goal, probably when I move into my own place, and I already tried going Vegan, but always ran into a wall because I am not the person doing groceries in this household.
Re: Ask HN: Have you gone vegan or vegetarian?
#5The first and fundamental question you want to ask yourself is not how, but why: when your reasons are clear, the path naturally follows.
I can see three strands:
1. For health reasons. This is IMO the weakest reason. I'm not interested (nor qualified) in starting an endless debate about the health risk/benefits of meat; but if you only want to eat healthier is best to start with the obvious: cut sugar, snacks, sodas, sweets, junk food and deep fried; eat more low-GI and greens, etc.
2. For Ahimsa [0]. Ahimsa is a beautiful and subtle topic, but broadly speaking it means that you try to minimize the amount of suffering caused by your actions. Buddhists (as well as Socrates) believe we constantly fail to understand that our actions have consequences. Ahimsa is about getting in touch as best as we can with these consequences, and act accordingly to our insights.
3. For environmental reasons, i.e. reducing your ecological footprint. This has some overlap with Ahimsa, but the reasons are practical rather than ethical and there are exceptions: in terms of sheer sustainability, battery farmed chicken might be OK (maybe, I don't know).
Whatever your reasons are, it's something I believe is worth thinking about.
Re: Ask HN: Have you gone vegan or vegetarian?
#6The first and fundamental question you want to ask yourself is not how, but why: when your reasons are clear, the path naturally follows. I can see three strands: 1. For health reasons. This is IMO the weakest reason. I'm not interested (nor qualified) in starting an endless debate about the health risk/benefits of meat; but if you only want to eat healthier is best to start with the obvious: cut sugar, snacks, sodas…
How did u stumble on ahimsa ?
edit: rephrased
Re: Ask HN: Have you gone vegan or vegetarian?
#7Im mostly vegan when eating out since Im unsure of meat used. And I like to cook hence it turns out when you cook meat dishes at home its a real bargain.
Re: Ask HN: Have you gone vegan or vegetarian?
#8I have been a vegetarian since 28th october 2012.
I was 16 then. I cut out the meat intake immediately. I happened to one day take a stroll in a part of the town where butcher shops were in plenty and I stood and observed the butchering process out of curiosity. Whatever I saw left me pale and horrified. I came back home and cried a lot. The shrieks and cries of the hen didn't leave my mind. And I decided from that day onwards that I wouldn't kill for my taste buds.
Re: Ask HN: Have you gone vegan or vegetarian?
#9The first and fundamental question you want to ask yourself is not how, but why: when your reasons are clear, the path naturally follows. I can see three strands: 1. For health reasons. This is IMO the weakest reason. I'm not interested (nor qualified) in starting an endless debate about the health risk/benefits of meat; but if you only want to eat healthier is best to start with the obvious: cut sugar, snacks, sodas…
You start by saying Reason 1 is the weakest then go on to admit you aren't qualified to be making that statement?
Good breakdown regardless. I'd recommend checking out The China Study [1]
[1] https://www.amazon.com/China-Study-Comprehensive-Nutrition-I...
Re: Ask HN: Have you gone vegan or vegetarian?
#10Went Vegan about 8 months ago. Cut of meat and dairy products immediately. Feeling great. Been loosing weight - some people might want that, not me, skinny as it is. I was always a bad eater, so I guess removing meat and dairy came natural to me. What I can suggest is stop thinking of food as tasty. I'll eat dirt if it gives me the right vitamins and proteins, don't care how food tastes as long as it gives my body what it needs.