Conference vaxcat::friends

    
    >>	am asked I will always give my views(i.e. If I were going to be a
    >>	father I would bring my child up as a vegetarian) this view causes
    >>	fireworks among the people I work with??,
    
    	Well there is nothing wrong in being a vegeterian, but why should
    your child be a vegeterian. He/She is entitled to a choice of their
    own. Looks like you don't jsu air your views you try and enforce them
    on others too... Thus the fireworks !! If you feel so strongly about
    certain things then you should accept that others may have their own
    beliefs too. You do what you think is best for you but try and see if
    what the others are doing have merits too. In simpler words be tolerant
    and you will have a wider acceptance with people but be prepared to
    defend your opinions and values.
    
    Ravi.
    
    

    
    
    Hi Steven.  You won't be condemned around here for having
    a point of view that is different from some others here.
    We will give you our view also, and hope that you can accept
    it as just our view, and not as condemnation of yours.
    
    I think that as a very young child, you have every right to 
    bring your child up as a vegetarian, as long as when he/she
    is old enough to make a calculated decision, you allow your 
    child to judge for his/herself what is best for them.
    
    Good luck, welcome to ::FRIENDS, and enjoy your time here.
    
    
    Terrie
    

>    Hello, my name is steven,I am 30 years of age and a very lonely person,
>    I am lonely because I am a stonch Vegetarian.....

	How does being a vegetarian make you lonely?

> and most other people abuse me because of this.

	I know quite a few Vegetarians, Vegans too, they don't suffer abuse
	because of their chosen lifestyle.	

>My own father slanders me also -he said that I look like a butcher's pencil 
>and was needing a good plateful of haggis to build myself up.

	Sadly Parents are like this. My dear old mum continually tells me
	I'm too thin (which I'm not, I'm actually overwieght)...it's just
	something that us children have to put up with.

>I don't force my views on anyone but when I am asked I will always give 
>my views....

	I have never been afraid to share my wisdom with anyone who asked,
	but like Ravi said, you have to listen too.

	Maybe you need to talk about this a little more.

Richard. 

    I was a veggieguy for five years. Though my wife was never nasty about
    it, she let me know that it was difficult for her to plan meals for a
    family of four, when only I refused to eat meat. Well, about a year ago
    I gave in and started back to old carnivorous ways. The house is much
    more peaceful. The difficulty for my wife was the only problem though.
    Everyone else I encountered generally showed an intered in my eating
    lifestyle. Some of my meat eating friends showed genuine disappointment
    when I went back. If I was alone and responsible for myself only, I
    would probably be a veggietarian again.
    
    ...Tom

I went veggie for a while about 10 years ago and lost a bunch of weight and felt
better. I've gone back to eating meat and put the weight back on. It's too easy
to get a packet of grease at McDonald's on a rushed night. My daughter went
ovo-lacto vegaterian about a year and a half ago and cooks her own meals. It
makes double the pans but she's pretty good about doing them and I love her
curries.

Welcome!

    
    
    
    
    hey how did we get to 283?   Anyway, who cares what people eat
    or who they sleep with it's no ones concern. Why would you be judged
    if you ask for a carrott stick instead if a hot dog or vice/versa.
    Be yourself and do what your comfortable with...I do.!!!!
    Stay tuned there are some decent people on this conference too.
    
    
    
    

	Hi Steven,

	I can't understand why being a vegetarian would make you lonely,
but I can understand why it would make meal planning more difficult for
your wife.  However, there's no reason why you couldn't help with the meal
planning/preparation/cleanup!  I went out with a vegetarian for 4 years,
and as a result I tried all new kinds of foods, and find I enjoy vegetarian
meals.  I still do like meat though, even though I gave it up for two years.
As far as children are concerned, I also see nothing wrong with it except
you have to be especially careful that they get complete protein so they
don't become anemic.  I  agree that they should be able to make their
own decisions when they're older, not only concerning what they eat, but
concerning religion and other matters as well.

	Don't give up what you believe in, just help to make it easier!

	Lola

    Hi Stevie,
              I too have known a few vegheads/vegans in my time. My stepson
    was one for 2 years but he too gave it up as he found it made him more
    prone to bugs & illnesses. It gave him a rather swarthy complexion akin
    to an old trout. The only other thing I remember that detracts from
    becoming a veghead is that it seems to make your breath really honk - 
    i suppose you could always chew some chuddy to eliminate the odour.
    
    hope you stik tew it,
    			 Davie.
    			      

    Hi,
    
    I'm totally new to this after discovering the conference today!!!  I'm
    a veggie and by pure fluke, my boyfriend is as well.  Talk about
    matched!!!
    
    There's hope for us all.
    
    Liz

    
    
    	Welcome aboard there Liz! Enjoy yerself...
    
    
    chico

    Um, I'm afraid I'm a sort of vegetarian, I eat fish and eggs still.
    
    
    Does this count?
    
    

    
    
    	sure Graeme....we'll accept that....;*)
    
    

    
    What!
    
    Graeme...no haggis? :)
    
    Pass the neeps and tatties! 
    
    /jen
    

    
    Vegetarian haggis is brilliant Jen...
    
    A little spicier tooo..
    
    :)
    
    How are you anyway...
    
    Hugs
    
    Graeme

    
    Ok...I'll put veggie haggis on the list for my next visit!
    
    **How are you anyway...
    
    Good...but I'll be ever better tomorrow when I leave for sunny Florida!
    
    /jen
    

    Graeme....


    you fibber.... Wasn't that an Osprey Supper I saw you eating the other 
    night...???  or was it Badger in bread crumbs ....??
    
    
    
    
    Steve

  Re .0: I think I understand why being a vegetarian would make you lonely,
especially in the U.K.  I have some food intolerances and I have found that
this makes it difficult to attend some social gatherings. Here in the U.S.
(and in the U.K. too, I assume), most social gatherings involve some kind of
food. At a short gathering you can forgo the food, but at long gatherings you
get VERY hungry if you don't eat eventually.
  You haven't told us if you are single and live by yourself. If you are and
do, it makes it easier to cook (don't need to accommodate meat-eaters in the
household) but would also make you more dependent on social gatherings to
avoid loneliness, which means some difficulty with food.
  Here in the U.S., there are a lot of vegetarians (especially in the last
10 years) and we work hard to accommodate their needs. For example, the caf here
serves a meatless entree almost every day. I imagine there are fewer vegetar-
ian entrees in the caf at SQF, which means you would need to bring your own
food some days.
  I will reiterate what some of the previous replies said; if you just quietly
bring and eat your own food, you will probably make friends more easily.
  Welcome to the notesfile.

    I think there are more and more Vegetarians at SQF now as the 
    meat that we get served is full of Trotters , Rubbery bits etc. 
    I myself have been put of meat on many occasion in the canteen as 
    it run's on the same quality level as Pedigree Chum, Chappie, Pal etc..
    
    
    1% Meat  99% Trotters...
    
    *:@(
    

> I imagine there are fewer vegetarian entrees in the caf at SQF, which 
> means you would need to bring your own food some days.

	The staff restaurants in the UK are contractually obliged to provide a 
	veggy meal every day.

	In the UK, near five percent of the population are vegetarian, and about
	ten percent avoid red meat and fowl. I don't know how that compares 
	with the US, but if it's behind, I'll bet it's not far......:^)

	It depends where you are in Britain, but the variety of ready meals,
	to take home or eat in restaurants, for Vegetarians, is largely very
	good. 

Richard.

    
    I think there are more and more Vegetarians at SQF now as the......... 
                                    ^^^^^^^^^^^
    
    Stav,
    Aren't you confusing your `ians' with your `ables' ?
    
    

>	In the UK, near five percent of the population are vegetarian, and about
>	ten percent avoid red meat and fowl. I don't know how that compares 
>	with the US, but if it's behind, I'll bet it's not far......:^)

  The percentages in the U.S. are a little higher, but not much.