why I am vegetarian but do not recommend it for everyone / why I won't ever go vegan

[belenen]

icon: "analytical (a close-up photo of my eye in bright sunlight, showing the green and grey and roots-looking patterns)"
Some facts:
1) Eating farmed meat is bad for the environment because it is usually done in a way that is an unsustainable overuse of resources.
2) Being vegan can actually be worse for the environment than not, due to the way a

Comments

[cactus_rs]

This was really interesting and useful and good to know, thank you! As someone who only occasionally eats white meat (no principles about it; just don't like the taste/texture of red meat), I feel a lot better about my weakness for cheese, now. ;)

[daphnep]

Great post-this a nice summary overview of the issue, hitting on such a wide range of issues.
It’s nice to see the topic treated so well-rounded.

[ragnarok_08]

This was a very enlightening post - thanks!!

[choco_chippie]

This was informative! I've been a vegetarian all my life and while I do eat dairy and eggs, I don't eat them often. I'm definitely going to check out the choline supplements.

[feladrone]

This is a really great resource for me, since I just went vegetarian-ish about a month ago. (Before that I was living with family, and I didn't want to make any impositions on them.) I'm hoping to eat meat only when I'm a guest somewhere, but never at home.

I know I comment so rarely on your journal, but every time I read a post like this from you I learn a ton. You have a really similar life-philosophy to me, and you have a lot of the same goals as me, but you have a ton more experience than I do. So I really appreciate these kinds of posts! For example, I knew to watch out for B-12 and to watch out for iron (the iron from plants is a bit different than iron from meat), but I didn't know anything about B-11 before. Thank you!