I just wanted to comment to say that I picked "flexitarian" because I usually eat meat like once a week...BUT I really don't like that word at all. :-)
Yeah, I think the word is lame, too. Also, I think unlike terms like "vegan," it's not really about imposing any kind of lifestyle, since it basically means you can eat meat if you feel like it. Tho I guess if you're used to eating meat daily, becoming flex would be a big lifestyle change. But for me, it just describes how I happen to eat -- mostly veg, but obv (as you've seen) I will eat (and even sometimes crave) meat in certain situations.
it's also already defined as being an "omnivore." the flexitarian thing is a total marketing racket, and a lot of veg-types are frustrated because it means venues that used to reliably have vegetarian-safe premade food items, trader joe's being an excellent example, are scaling back on them to be more "flexi" friendly.
however, my shopping troubles do not equate the whole of my feelings on the matter!!! i've only been full vegetarian for about a year and a half. i think it's awesome that you've significantly scaled back on meat consumption (it's how both myself and my boyfriend started.) if more people cut down to one or two times a week, we'd have a lot less environmental impact, and maybe even see less factory farming. :-)
in which I write a novel-length commentdyskodykeDecember 11 2008, 04:40:34 UTC
Yeah, I know flexi really is the same thing as omni, but I kind of wanted to distinguish (just for curiosity's sake) between ppl who eat meat rarely vs regularly. I guess b/c I grew up in a house where we basically had meat for dinner every night, and now I can go weeks without eating it, and to me that's a big diet change
( ... )
As a guest, I will regularly eat food that I would not voluntarily eat, because whatever stomach crap I feel afterwards and whatever moral issues I may have with eating mammals, I feel like treating my hosts with respect is more important.
The downside of this is how my clean plate morality tends to show up even when I'm not being polite. Like: the restaurant? When they serve me "cheese" and it turns out to be "stuffed with bacon" what I need to do is Not Eat It. I do not need to care about hurting the restaurant's feelings.
I can't even imagine what it must be like to be strict veg*n trying to eat in restaurants. Even when I order veg items in restaurants, I don't worry about whether or not there's chicken stock in it or whatever. I hate sending things back or not eating them. Maybe my own politeness kicking in? Or else I'm just a wimp.
I'm interested, if you feel like explaining, in the moral issues you have with eating mammals. Why do they not extend to fish/fowl? (This is not, in case you can't tell, an attack or a judgmental question -- I'm just curious.)
I'm with Anne, I don't eat mammals but I will eat fish/fowl. The whole thing started with no babie animals, then morphed into no beef/pork after I read some studies on hormones used in livestock production and saw a video of a slaughterhouse. But if my mother serves beef, I eat it. Also, I don't quiz servers about the possbility that some gram of mammal got into my meal.
My body requires a lot of protein and I eat 5-6 times a day, I haven't figured out how to get enough protein without fish. I have tried to cut out both chicken and turkey, but then I wind up eating eggs 2x a day and that doesn't really balance out right. But I'm down to maybe 1 chicken/turkey meal a weak.
So do you eat fish often? I'm curious about being more adventurous with fish, but I hate hate hate cooking with meat (I just feel like there's bacteria everywhere and my kitchen feels tainted) and when I eat out I'm hesitant to spend money on something I might not like. I do know I dislike salmon and love fish and chips, but it's kind of hard to NOT like something when it's deep fried, y'know? Tho even when fried I absolutely hate shrimp.
My own answer: In the past I've tried to impose labels, and usually ended up cheating just b/c of how much I hate feeling restricted by labels. Now I'd describe myself as flexitarian (tho, yeah, also hate that term), but it's not something I impose upon myself, it's just what I am -- I don't crave meat that often (tho I do more sometimes when I'm PMSing) and I hate touching raw meat, so I only cook it myself a few times a year. I'd love to go veg but I'm always so stressed and, like I mentioned above, dietary restrictions only make me more so.
to clarifysealwhiskersDecember 10 2008, 20:43:53 UTC
The only thing I want to completely stay away from is sugar, and I find it incredibly hard. It's an on off thing and I have so far been made of FAIL when it comes to staying away.
I don't eat veal or lamb because no one in my family has ever cooked it and the idea creeps me out and veal is just fuckin' cruel. Other than that I don't consider the fact that I can't eat a lot of random crap anymore much of a restriction.
My parents both love it but I refused to eat it growing up b/c of the baby animal factor. I did eventually try a bite of it but, as with lobster, I didn't see what the big deal was, taste-wise.
Lamb, on the other hand, is delicious. It does take willpower for me to not eat that. Not that I often have the opportunity (it's expensive and only fancy restaurants serve it).
I'm anti-veal because we've been eating grown cows for a lot longer than we got the idea to keep baby cows from moving so blood doesn't actually fill their muscles. We're omnivores, not herbivores, so I got no problem eating meat as long as it's not purposefully cruel.
The lamb thing is just creepy. Ew. Ew! I'd rather eat rattlesnake, deer, boar, gator. The redneck animals I suppose.
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however, my shopping troubles do not equate the whole of my feelings on the matter!!! i've only been full vegetarian for about a year and a half. i think it's awesome that you've significantly scaled back on meat consumption (it's how both myself and my boyfriend started.) if more people cut down to one or two times a week, we'd have a lot less environmental impact, and maybe even see less factory farming. :-)
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The downside of this is how my clean plate morality tends to show up even when I'm not being polite. Like: the restaurant? When they serve me "cheese" and it turns out to be "stuffed with bacon" what I need to do is Not Eat It. I do not need to care about hurting the restaurant's feelings.
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I'm interested, if you feel like explaining, in the moral issues you have with eating mammals. Why do they not extend to fish/fowl? (This is not, in case you can't tell, an attack or a judgmental question -- I'm just curious.)
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My body requires a lot of protein and I eat 5-6 times a day, I haven't figured out how to get enough protein without fish. I have tried to cut out both chicken and turkey, but then I wind up eating eggs 2x a day and that doesn't really balance out right. But I'm down to maybe 1 chicken/turkey meal a weak.
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My parents both love it but I refused to eat it growing up b/c of the baby animal factor. I did eventually try a bite of it but, as with lobster, I didn't see what the big deal was, taste-wise.
Lamb, on the other hand, is delicious. It does take willpower for me to not eat that. Not that I often have the opportunity (it's expensive and only fancy restaurants serve it).
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The lamb thing is just creepy. Ew. Ew! I'd rather eat rattlesnake, deer, boar, gator. The redneck animals I suppose.
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