Fifty Plus (50+) - 50+ Vegans or Vegetarians?

The topic of whether to meat or not seems to get mighty passionate in some forums. Hopefully, we'll keep a discussion of it civil here, like we usually do.

With all the down time I've had lately, I've done a lot more reading than usual. One of the books I picked up and just finished is The China Study (http://www.thechinastudy.com/about.html). This book makes the most compelling case for veganism that I've seen. Needless to say, the chapter on cancer definitely got my attention.

For quite some time, I have been making my diet more healthy, cutting down on meat and eating more fruits, vegetables, and whole grain foods. However, I still regularly consume enough dairy products to feed a small country.

So how about it? Are we all carnivores in the 50+ forum, or are there vegans and vegetarians among us?

Kill 'em and grill 'em. Although, I am eating more veggies these days.

Most vegans have to take supplements because stringent vegan diets lack many of the minerals etc to maintain your health. I for one can see cutting down on red meat, eating more fish, poultry, veggies, grains and so forth, but the vegan thing would be too extreme for most i think.

[QUOTE=ad6mj;6566693]Kill 'em and grill 'em.

You guys are comical for a bunch of old folks!!!! Yeah same here ----- not eating much meat. Fruits,
veggies, whole grains, nuts and seeds comprise most of my diet.

Although when I do crave a char broiled piece of heavy western beef I'll go for a med rare filet every time. Lp

Check out the Omnivore's Dilemma (http://www.amazon.com/Omnivores-Dilemma-Natural-History-Meals/dp/0143038583/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208912618&sr=1-1) and Good Calories, Bad Calories (http://www.amazon.com/Good-Calories-Bad-Gary-Taubes/dp/1400040787/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208912722&sr=1-1). These books are, to me, the ones with the most sensible dietary advice. Remember, we evolved eating meat (though not nearly as much as the current American diet).

It's good to have you back. I hope you're feeling OK.

I eat some dairy, mostly yogurt (and cheese on an occasional pizza indulgence), plus an occasional piece of fish, generally salmon. In all other respects, my diet has been pure vegan for about 25 years, and I essentially gave up red meat almost 15 years before that.

... Remember, we evolved eating meat ...

That is not a universally held theory.

If it doesn't move fast enough, I eat it. This means veggies are seriously at risk, eggs as well. But, I surely am not against munching on a chicken that was too slow - or a cow for that matter.

In other words - when you are my size, you just aren't that picky...

pretty much now. My wife prepares a vegitarian style dinner every night which in all honesty is very good.
i asked for a change in our food pattern and yep it happen.
Actally quite surprised very good receipts and flaovorable dinners.

That is not a universally held theory.

Chimps, who are about as close to us as anything, will eat meat if they can get it. Though they don't get a lot in their diets.

I love just about all food, except for goat cheese. We're eating less meat now that prices have gotten so high. Lots more chicken and eggs for protein. I do prefer to buy meat from ranches that treated the animals better in life than others. (Niman pork, for example.) And there's a lot of evidence that too much meat is not healthy. Good thing we love our vegetables and grains, too. But no vegetarians in our household.

I'm what some call a "flexitarian," a vegetarian most of the time, but....

Vegitables are what food eats!

Really - I am a believer in a balanced diet. I eat everything in moderation.

That is not a universally held theory.

I don't suppose that any theory is universally held. An examination of the teeth on a human would lead most to believe our design includes equipment for eating meat.

"Vegetarian"-
Native American for bad hunter

I lived a lot of my early years on what used to be called a "subsistence" farm. We raised our own milk, eggs, chicken and pork, and had a vegetable garden that covered half an acre.

I didn't realize you could eat beef until I went to college. I thought you sold beef and ate chicken or venison.

"Vegetarian"-
Native American for bad hunter

:roflmao::roflmao::roflmao:

Vegan for about a year and a half

I eat very little meat; somehow I never had a craving for eating animals. Fact is, I would not miss meat if it suddenly disappeared; but trying to adhere to the rules of vegetarianism was such a hassle I simply lightened up and went with the flow.

I'm careful about what I consume, but some dishes do include meat. My wife is a well renowned cook who knows what is healthy and what isn't.

My wife is a well renowned cook

So, um, what time is dinner tomorrow?

I eat meat, and sometimes obtain it myself.

Vegitables are what food eats!

:roflmao::roflmao:


I'm an omnivorous kinda fella, and whilst I'm not a particularly heavy meat eater (I prefer stir-fry to slabs of steak) I have to admit that the smell of a barbeque is almost enough to make me jump off the bike and go gatecrash some stranger's yard!

Vegetarian here. Thank goodness this discussion is light-hearted and friendly!!!

So, um, what time is dinner tomorrow?
6 PM, Chicken Cacciatore from the kitchen of Maddalena (Maddy) and red wine purchased by yours truly for $5.99. I go all out, I'm the last of the big spenders. :rolleyes:

I lived a lot of my early years on what used to be called a "subsistence" farm. We raised our own milk, eggs, chicken and pork, and had a vegetable garden that covered half an acre.

I didn't realize you could eat beef until I went to college. I thought you sold beef and ate chicken or venison.

I had a friend in high school like that. Venison 6 nights a week and fish on Friday.
A few extra salt licks in the woods kept the deer around.

I think the amount of meat in the diet I was raised on was excessive and unhealthy. I eat much less meat now, especially red meat. I often have meals without meat and occasionally have days without meat.

To each his own, but taking meat completely out of the diet seems excessive and unhealthy to me.

We are at the top of the food chain, deal with it. ;)

Just be open to other views even critical ones. That is how science is tested. Read http://www.anthonycolpo.com/the_china_study.html and http://westonaprice.org/mythstruths/mtvegetarianism.html

I've been a vegan for 17 years. I take iron, a multivitamin, calcium, and a B12 supplement. That's all you really need to worry about. (And at our age, I think a multivitamin and calcium are recommended for everyone, aren't they?)

In an urban area, it's very easy to eat well as a vegan, although in recent years stores in my small Midwestern home town (4000 people) have started selling fake meat, soy milk, etc. It really isn't necessary to eat meat to live, but I grew up on it and certainly understand why some people think they can't live without it. For me, the suffering of the animals on factory farms is what sent me over the vegan edge.

I still like cheeseburgers....................but more of them are made from chickens lately. There are a lot of vegitables and grains in my diet as well.


My only problem is that there are probably too many good things in my diet.

Vegetarian for 29 years. A book titled "Diet for a Small Planet" was a big influence.

I was a vegetarian for seven years, and then one day I got this urge for a Philly cheese steak that was not be be denied. My oldest son has been a vegetarian for the last 12 years. One more thought.... I used to work with a guy who said he wouldn't eat anything he wasn't willing to kill. So, no beef, pork, fish, game, etc. He did, however, eat chicken. He hated chickens!

Vegetarian for 29 years. A book titled "Diet for a Small Planet" was a big influence.

Just looked it up on Amazon. looks like a good read. thanks for the info.
there's a website too smallplanet.org (http://www.smallplanet.org/)

I am a vegetarian and my wife is vegan. I try to get organic dairy products and free-run eggs, but even though the animals are better treated, I recognize there is still a lot of suffering. Although my wife did it, I just can't take the step to vegan.

I eat cows. What can I say? I eat cheesburgers, Potatoes (any way you wanna
cook them), Cheeseburgers, chicken, Cheeseburgers, Eggs, Chee...well, you get the
picture. I love vegetables, though they seem scarce around my house for some
reason. (Does relish count as a vegetable, and ketchup?) In addition to the
aforementioned favorites, I'll eat just about anything you put in front of me, though
I'm not overly fond of Pasta or Sea food.

I'll probably stay the same food course for now as my cholestoral is and always
has been well below 125.

The topic of whether to meat or not seems to get mighty passionate in some forums. Hopefully, we'll keep a discussion of it civil here, like we usually do.

With all the down time I've had lately, I've done a lot more reading than usual. One of the books I picked up and just finished is The China Study (http://www.thechinastudy.com/about.html). This book makes the most compelling case for veganism that I've seen. Needless to say, the chapter on cancer definitely got my attention.

For quite some time, I have been making my diet more healthy, cutting down on meat and eating more fruits, vegetables, and whole grain foods. However, I still regularly consume enough dairy products to feed a small country.

So how about it? Are we all carnivores in the 50+ forum, or are there vegans and vegetarians among us?

Humans are omnivores. The Veg types usualy have to take supplements to keep from dying of malnutrition. Eat food, not too much, mostly plants says Michael Pollan and I couldn't agree more.

In the middle of a 20 mile jaunt on Sunday, I stopped at my favorite Portugese bakery in Provincetown, Massachusetts. There I consumed a hot fried dough coated in granular sugar, and it was delicious. NO MEAT though.

... The Veg types usualy have to take supplements to keep from dying of malnutrition. ...

The only potential deficiencies in an intelligently planned vegan diet are zinc and B-12, and even these are not difficult to obtain.

My biggest objections to eating meat are the adverse impact on the environment, the way the animals are raised, and the extensive use of hormones and additives. Some of you mentioned eating venison, which has to be far better for the health than hamburger, whose quantum mechanical description is "beef in its ground state."

I love just about all food, except for goat cheese.

And we were getting on so well!

Next time you're passing through Bahrain, I'll give you some tagliatelli with melted goats cheese, asparagus, green capiscum and finely chopped radishes (crispy smoked bacon shreds if non-veggie) and a dash of tarrogon vinegar. Mmmmh Hmmm

Kill 'em and grill 'em. Although, I am eating more veggies these days.

Yep. And many veggies are tasty coming off the grill in slightly charred form.

We have most of our meals at home, home-cooked with fresh ingredients, and probably 50% of them are meatless. I do drink a lot of milk and use other dairy products. We rarely eat big portions of any meat, so I think my diet is pretty well-balanced and healthy.

By the way, a true vegan would also not purchase a Brooks saddle. Anyone here take veganism to that level?

Next time you're passing through Bahrain, I'll give you some tagliatelli with melted goats cheese, asparagus, green capiscum and finely chopped radishes (crispy smoked bacon shreds if non-veggie) and a dash of tarrogon vinegar. Mmmmh Hmmm

Now THAT sounds awesome!

Anyways, the notion that goat's cheese tastes worse than parsnip is just plain silly!

Anyways, the notion that goat's cheese tastes worse than parsnip is just plain silly!

Parsnips - now you're talking. Slow roasted, in butter and maple honey, and sprinkle of cumin....

Yep. And many veggies are tasty coming off the grill in slightly charred form.

Grilled asparagus lightly basted in butter..............grill till they just change color............ymmmm.

Grilled asparagus lightly basted in butter..............grill till they just change color............ymmmm.

Oh yea - maybe this needs a new thread, it's all too arousing..Bikey foodie thread, someone?

Don't forget the freshly ground sea salt on your 'sparageys

I'm just doing mutton burgers (more tasty than lamb, but apart from India it has a bad press), finely ground with garlic, snow peas out of the garden a half hour ago, new potatoes similar - rosemary from the window box, and roasted tomatoes off the vine similar


Food, eh!

By the way, a true vegan would also not purchase a Brooks saddle. Anyone here take veganism to that level?

Sorry to take y'all out of your food reverie for a minute, but I thought I'd answer this.

Yeah, I'm a hypocrite when it comes to leather shoes (sometimes) and leather saddles. I have a very hard time finding shoes that fit, and plastic shoes just don't work. Likewise, I couldn't find a wide enough saddle that wasn't padded like a couch cushion, so I compromised my values to get my comfortable Brooks which I ride on every day to work. I do wish I could find alternatives.

We all do the best we can, and if buying leather shoes and Brooks saddles are the most hypocritical things I do in my life, then I'll die satisfied.

Sorry to take y'all out of your food reverie for a minute, but I thought I'd answer this.

Yeah, I'm a hypocrite when it comes to leather shoes (sometimes) and leather saddles. I have a very hard time finding shoes that fit, and plastic shoes just don't work. Likewise, I couldn't find a wide enough saddle that wasn't padded like a couch cushion, so I compromised my values to get my comfortable Brooks which I ride on every day to work. I do wish I could find alternatives.

We all do the best we can, and if buying leather shoes and Brooks saddles are the most hypocritical things I do in my life, then I'll die satisfied.

I suspect there is much truth in this.

That is not a universally held theory.

Omnivore here. True enough, in the sense that the theory of evolution (as currently constituted) is not universally accepted. Our incisors and canines are designed to cut meat, though; and I'm taking that as permission to keep eating it as part of a balanced diet.

By the way, a true vegan would also not purchase a Brooks saddle. Anyone here take veganism to that level?

My wife is vegan and won't wear or use leather.

Our incisors and canines are designed to cut meat, though;

That should be "designed" in quotations -- or would that start another type of argument? :D