my transition to veg was so gradual it's hard for me to answer that second question. i'm also pretty sure i've had a couple accidents--we were blacking out with hunger when we were in NYC and went into this little neighborhood deli type place and ordered an asparagus risotto dish that i realized in retrospect might have been made with a meat-based broth, that one haunts me. ;-)
ben and i also have a moratorium on asking if cannoli shells have been fried in lard. because, uh, cannolis. yeah.
i had a talk with a friend last year who'd been a life long vegetarian for spiritual reasons and she didn't see eating meat that was offered to you by a host as "cheating," as tuckova mentioned.
Certain sneaky meat situations never even occurred to me before talking with hardcore veg*n friends. Like refried beans being cooked in lard -- I didn't think of it b/c I never cook MINE with lard. When eating out I generally just avoid anything that is obvs animal flesh. Unless I'm having a weird craving and actually order meat.
I guess "cheating" implies judgment, which I'm totally not trying to do, but it was just quicker than saying "intentionally eaten something that goes against yr self-imposed dietary restrictions." I remember a whiiiiiiile back reading PostSecret and seeing a few cards along the lines of "I call myself a vegetarian but I sneak and eat meat all the time" and I wondered how common that was.
*nods* oreos, gummi bears, and marshmallows all contain gelatin. part of the sugar refining process (if you want to know the details, ask--it's a little traumatizing) makes refined sugar not vegan. lard is often used for deep frying. ten years ago, i don't think i knew any of that. i might have known about the lard. ten years ago, though, i would still occasionally order chicken off restaurant menus and didn't particularly care at all about chicken broth
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oreos, gummi bears, and marshmallows all contain gelatin.
Just as a side note, not all Oreos contain gelatin; in fact, most don't. Just read the label. There's a lot of junk in 'em, but they're generally vegan.
The idea of eating something that either IS or COMES FROM a dead animal is so revolting to me that I cannot imagine ever "cheating" on my vegan diet. I have zero desire. None. There is not one animal-based thing I can think of that I crave. Vegan food is fucking delicious, what can I say, and I've gotten really good at preparing it over the years.
Speaking of disconnectedness from food, have you seen Meet Your Meat? It goes into a lot of that.
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ben and i also have a moratorium on asking if cannoli shells have been fried in lard. because, uh, cannolis. yeah.
i had a talk with a friend last year who'd been a life long vegetarian for spiritual reasons and she didn't see eating meat that was offered to you by a host as "cheating," as tuckova mentioned.
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I guess "cheating" implies judgment, which I'm totally not trying to do, but it was just quicker than saying "intentionally eaten something that goes against yr self-imposed dietary restrictions." I remember a whiiiiiiile back reading PostSecret and seeing a few cards along the lines of "I call myself a vegetarian but I sneak and eat meat all the time" and I wondered how common that was.
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Just as a side note, not all Oreos contain gelatin; in fact, most don't. Just read the label. There's a lot of junk in 'em, but they're generally vegan.
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Speaking of disconnectedness from food, have you seen Meet Your Meat? It goes into a lot of that.
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