Story about a vegetarian on MSNBC
Posted by TinTexas on Jul 10, 2007 · Member since Aug 2006 · 1216 posts
"Ambivalent vegetarian faces meat of the matter" is the title of the story.
This part of it particularly hit home with me:
"Increasingly, when I looked at a piece of beef on my plate, I no longer saw the calories I’d have to jog off the next day. I saw something that looked unnervingly like flesh — flesh not all that different from my own. This tugged my mind to uncomfortable comparisons. Skinned and butchered, how different would I look on a plate? How different was this piece of meat from me?"
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19441474/
The carnivores don't much care for the story, apparently. It's got a 2.5 rating averaged from 151 readers.
Well, this statement bothered me: "But I have sat across from too many vegetarians tucking resignedly into a plate of steamed vegetables in lieu of the evening’s meaty main course to believe that commitment comes without a price."
She makes it sound like most vegetarians have to "resign" themselves to a plate of steamed vegetables and that they would really rather have the "meaty main course."
I must say, the article didn't really impress me much, either. She talked about really wanting resolution but all she really seemed to do was whine and remain on the fence.
Furthermore, it seemed to me as though she herself did not want to be part of the veg*n community.
Perhaps she simply hasn't educated herself well enough on the lifestyle, but to believe that vegetarians are denied tasty food? Clearly she's never had good veg cooking. ;)
I hope omnis reading this don't think all veg*ns eat only steamed vegetables or that we really would like some meat :( I've never liked the stuff.
She sounds pretty confused. Someone should make her some vegan cookies...
I get confronted all the time about meat being "good eats" and what I am missing. Ummm I don't look at what I have lost I look at what I have GAINED here.
I have gained a greater appreciation for the world and its creatures. I have become much more soft hearted and gentle. I don't miss, not for a minute, dead animals on my plate. I DO NOT miss the taste, I don't miss the feeling of being "dirty" in the kitchen or myself. The smell of my house is so much nicer since I don't buy, cook or serve flesh. My own personal smell has changed too and I don't find myself as offensive because no remnant of animal (other than me) comes through my pores! I feel happier and lighter. Who needs an expensive and irrelevant piece of dead animal on their plate when instead, you could use that same money to buy more blueberries, melons, zucchini, broccoli, RED BELL PEPPERS, cauliflower, kiwis...and the list is almost endless in my mind.
You know, we keep hearing a "well planned vegan diet" and I ask you, what meat eater plans beyond what flesh to toss in the microwave to thaw for dinner? Not every needed nutrient can be obtained from flesh, but that is not what a meater will tell you. They THINK they have their bases covered. I know plenty of folks who eat meat and ignore dark leafy greens, yellow veggies, fresh whole fruit, whole grains and legumes. Just how healthy is that?
Give me a plate of gently steamed veggies, pass the Earth Balance and the gomashio please. There is nothing bland, nothing missing, no sacrafice, no doing without...for me it is COMPLETE and I want for NOTHING.
People (some people) are just plain STOOPID and IGNORANT, ULTRA MAROONS and IMBESSLES and they just refuse to get it. If you are what you eat, I'd rather be a vegetable than dead, rotting flesh.
So there.
Vegetarians only eat steamed vegetables? LOL LOL ;D ;D :D That's way to funny.
This was the comment I wrote on MSNBC's website about the article,
I'm an 18 year vegetarian and 2 year vegan and I am NEVER tempted to eat meat. The smell, wether walking by a meat counter in a grocery store or in a restaurant, makes me ill. I found the author's statement, "But I have sat across from too many vegetarians tucking resignedly into a plate of steamed vegetables in lieu of the evening’s meaty main course to believe that commitment comes without a price.", to be ridiculious. I've never resignedly ate a plate of steamed vegetables. It's more like I've tastily enjoyed a delicious plate of steamed vegetable knowing that my dinner is not going to clog my arteries or result in the slaughter of defenseless animals. If you ask me the author of this article knows not what vegetarianism or veganism is all about. If she did there would be no sitting on the fence about being a vegetarian. She is weak willed, weak minded and too obsessed about her own self-image.
She just needs to get a backbone. Hey Lady Dragonfly, what is gomashio?
It's Japanese sesame salt, a condiment. Good stuff.
You know, we keep hearing a "well planned vegan diet" and I ask you, what meat eater plans beyond what flesh to toss in the microwave to thaw for dinner?
*scratchs head* you mean to tell me that hamburger helper isn't complete nutrition? ::) i thought that was why they started fortifying all the processed foods...so SAD people would live "okay" without eating produce. aren't they putting more fiber in foods now? this is F**KING SCARY!!
Now you can get the "sprinkle on" fiber from a can! Fiber One, I think it is. Seriously, people (not vegweb people--we're fiber freaks!), is it so hard to eat some fruit or beans once in a while? I would guess they would be a hell of a lot cheaper (not to mention healthier) than "canned" fiber. ::)
I haven't gone back and looked for comments to the article yet. I wrote one telling how much easier it's getting and so many restaurants are putting vegetarian options on their menu. I also commented on how Burger King's Veggie Burger has saved me from hunger on road trips. I also mentioned that support from other vegetarians is important and told them about vegweb and the Yahoo Group, Transitioning to Vegetarianism. I didn't tell them that I founded the latter group. They don't need to know that. I hope they sent the author of the article, my comments and any other useful, non-veg*n bashing comments! ;)
PS I just went and checked on comments:
http://www.self.com/livingwell/blogs/comments/2007/06/an_ambivalent_v.html#comments
That link is where the comments are. My comment isn't there. I don't know if it's because I commented from the MSNBC site instead of going to the Self site or it's not there because I gave Burger King, Yahoo and vegweb a plug!
I didn't read the article. But when I'm at a restaurant eating a plate of steamed vegetables while everyone else has a nicely prepared meal, I am resigned. I am resigned that it is a restaurant with an unimaginative chef that can't be bothered with beans or grains and can't think of a single way to prepare an appetizing dish that doesn't contain meat. And mostly I am RESIGNED to the fact that despite the growing popularity of veg diets, I am still going to encounter terrible meals like this in the future because this country's diet is still very meat-based and most of the population can't imagine having a single meal that doesn't contain an animal. Even people who believe they don't eat a lot of meat don't realize the sizable quantity they are actually consuming or how it will appear in almost everything they eat unless they are making a concerted effort to avoid it.
Frankly, I get really PO'd when I get served a dish of boringly or terribly prepared vegetables with the attitude that somehow the staff is doing me a big favor. It always reminds me of that line in Kitchen Confidential where Anthony Bourdain rants against the vegetarians and lactose intolerant and anyone else with special dietary needs and gloats about how he'll throw a couple of vegetables on a plate and charge them $25. The worst offender in my dining history was The View at the top of the Mariott Marquis where we went for my mom's 65th birthday (my sister's choice). My side dish of soggy soggy soggy asparagus and a side plate of rice was $50. Everyone else enjoyed their meals immsensely. Boy was I "resigned".
yeah I have a strong disdain for the article. Can we write letters to the editor?
I don't think food is her issue. It seems to me that she needs approval from whomever she happens to be with at a given time. Ex: she became veg to cut calories (which all of you know is common and not bad, in itself) but instead of educating herself on the best veggie recipes, it seems that she spent all her time worrying what people would think. I think we all have had the experience of going to someone's house and feeling uncomfortable because they cooked something "special" for us. Honestly, though, I rarely tell people I'm vegetarian when I go to their house for dinner, and you know what? No one hasever just put a big slab of meat in front me. There are usually other options. I tell people, "I eat the same things you do, except for the meat" (and eggs..I'm lacto-veg). The same goes for restaurants. It does suck when restaurants don't have many veg options, but I have never been resigned to eat a meal of steamed vegetables while everyone else enjoys their meaty dishes. And if I'm limited to a salad and some steamed veggies..who cares? It's only in a restaurant. You all know the great veggie food out there!
I didn't read the article. But when I'm at a restaurant eating a plate of steamed vegetables while everyone else has a nicely prepared meal, I am resigned. I am resigned that it is a restaurant with an unimaginative chef that can't be bothered with beans or grains and can't think of a single way to prepare an appetizing dish that doesn't contain meat. And mostly I am RESIGNED to the fact that despite the growing popularity of veg diets, I am still going to encounter terrible meals like this in the future because this country's diet is still very meat-based and most of the population can't imagine having a single meal that doesn't contain an animal. Even people who believe they don't eat a lot of meat don't realize the sizable quantity they are actually consuming or how it will appear in almost everything they eat unless they are making a concerted effort to avoid it.
Frankly, I get really PO'd when I get served a dish of boringly or terribly prepared vegetables with the attitude that somehow the staff is doing me a big favor. It always reminds me of that line in Kitchen Confidential where Anthony Bourdain rants against the vegetarians and lactose intolerant and anyone else with special dietary needs and gloats about how he'll throw a couple of vegetables on a plate and charge them $25. The worst offender in my dining history was The View at the top of the Mariott Marquis where we went for my mom's 65th birthday (my sister's choice). My side dish of soggy soggy soggy asparagus and a side plate of rice was $50. Everyone else enjoyed their meals immsensely. Boy was I "resigned".
I'd have sent it back with the comment that I thought this was a 5-star restaurant and that wouldn't be acceptable even at a 1/2 star restaurant. I'd have also given my mom a kiss on the cheek and excused myself, saying I didn't feel well (it would have made me so mad I really would feel sick) and left. I'd have let my sister take the flak for my leaving. But then my mom hates go to out to eat and is hyper-frugal and I've always had problems getting her to go to any restaurant. She thinks McD's is too expensive!
I hope omnis reading this don't think all veg*ns eat only steamed vegetables or that we really would like some meat :( I've never liked the stuff.
She sounds pretty confused. Someone should make her some vegan cookies...
i often times feel like im doing the veg*n community a disservice for looking like the "starving vegan" when i go out to a steak house or seafood restaurant with family and can only get steamed veggies. i feel like i am showing the world that being a vegan is limiting. i probably hate that more than the plate of steamed veggies in front of me. luckily im not in these situations very often because my staunch meat eating relatives live far away.
I hope omnis reading this don't think all veg*ns eat only steamed vegetables or that we really would like some meat :( I've never liked the stuff.
She sounds pretty confused. Someone should make her some vegan cookies...
i often times feel like im doing the veg*n community a disservice for looking like the "starving vegan" when i go out to a steak house or seafood restaurant with family and can only get steamed veggies. i feel like i am showing the world that being a vegan is limiting. i probably hate that more than the plate of steamed veggies in front of me. luckily im not in these situations very often because my staunch meat eating relatives live far away.
Ya know, I think that's pretty d*mn selfish of people who are supposed to love you and don't see you very often not to be willing to find a place where there would be something for you to eat besides steamed veggies! If you had a brother or sister who absolutely refused to eat seafood, wouldn't they go somewhere else or would they make him or her do without anything to eat either! Maybe if you tell them there won't be anything there you can eat and you'd just prefer to stay at the house and watch tv, but to go ahead without you, maybe they'll figure something out (if they really are going out as a "treat" in honor of your visit)! If you can't stand up for yourself to people who "love" you, you're going to find this old world is a "tough row to hoe" to use the old country expression!
This doesn't really have anything to do with the article (although I did read it, and it seems to me the author really has no clue about vegetarianism, but anyways..) but I have to say that after reading these forums and stories from other people, I feel overwhelmingly lucky that I live and know people who clearly understand and respect my choice of being vegan. My mother supports me greatly (she's recently gone vegetarian, but can't seem to kick her yogurt habit yet), my bf is AWESOME and totally supportive to my food choices (he joins me for dinner Sunday nights, and even helps me with some of my raw food), and the rest of my friends totally respect me for being vegan. I have yet to come across someone who challenges me on what I eat (although I know what I would say if they did), and I just have to say that I feel very lucky that the people I have around me understand it completely. I feel terribly lucky. It's unfortunately that there are people out there who won't educate themselves about something like this, as the author clearly indicates through her words. That's a huge pet peeve of mine. If you don't understand something, ASK!! DO RESEARCH ABOUT IT!! It's one thing to not know and understand, but to CHOSE to not understand is completely different.