A work colleague and I were having a discussion about eating and what it means to be vegan, vegetarian, etc.

I went on to say that I don't consume any animal products.

He very seriously asked.... "But you can eat fish can't you? That's not an animal right?"

:-)

Patty

Well duh, everybody knows they grow on fish trees.

-DaveK

God:
I've heard this so many times myself.
Plant a fish, save the forests ~

Yeah. This wasn't for eating, but for experimenting. One of my bosses said, it's ok, it's only fish, fish don' t have brains.

i always get the " but u can still eat chicken, right?"

and yeah, i get the fish thing too


just tell them " nothing with a face on it"

then they'll get it

there are not that many "Kingdoms" in biology ( if u ascribe to the 3 kingdom thing which suits me fine)

let's see... the PLANTTTT kingdom

the ANNNNIMALLLL kingdom

and the little invisible critters ( bacteria- or archaebactera or eubacteria or whatever the heck they want to split hairs with)

i don't think that fish or chicken will fit under the microscope ( it might ruin the million dollar equipment)

and i doubt they photosynthesize or produce oxygen

so that just leaves ONEEEEE more kingdom ( geez... i wonder which)

I always thought explaining raw was easier than explaining vegan: I tell people, "If you pull it from the earth or from a tree, I will eat it."

Strangely enough, I still get the same questions. "So you can eat seafood, right? What about milk?"

LaV,

Currently 6 kingdoms, based on ribosome RNA:
plantae, fungi, eubacteria, archaea, protista, animalia
under 3 domains:
bacteria, archaea, eukarya

But this 6 kingdom schema is probably going to be flushed soon, like all the other ones before it.

Proposed 4 kingdom plan (as of 2007):
Plantae
Opisthokonts (amoeba, fungi, and animalia)
Excavata (protista)
SAR (Stramenopiles, Alveolates, and Rhizaria)

Evolutionary biologists have to make a living, so they have to keep changing the sorting rules.

Maybe you can say "I eat plants."

It gets me that they say "CAN'.

I can eat what I want and I choose to eat plants.

i just tell them that
i eat lies
i eat laughter
i eat tears

but i swore off polar bears, monkey brains or kangaroos

i eat purple clouds
emerald dreams
and soaring smiles

but no more racoon paws, turtle heads or silvery rhino eyes

i eat trans fat free broccoli
gluten free raddichio
and dye free free endives

but had to wave an ultimate goodbye to the

char broiled orangutan burgers, panda kebabs with pineapple chunks and
peregrine falcon sauteed lightly in champagne vinaigrette

the snake tails and escargot had to go too

along with the cayenne flavoured tarantulas , wickedly exotic gourmet black widow spider ( in which the chefs expertly suctioned out the poison)

too bad i can't cover ALL the animals that i don't eat
and that still ain't recognized as

MEAT

arugula,

<<Evolutionary biologists have to make a living, so they have to keep changing the sorting rules.>>

yeah, i feel for them... i see the 4 categories as "evolving" into :


1) those that make yummy stuff to eat
2) those that eat the yummy stuff
3) those that sporadically live off of, destroy , or just like to plain chill out with members 1) and 2) and jump into their KOMBUCHA tea
4) those undergoing continual identity crisis who don't really know how to define who or what they really are (protista)



Categories 2) and 4) need therapy.

Categories 1) and 3) have the potential to BE the therapy ( nutritional or otherwise)




SO SIMPAHHHHHH!!

SUPAHHHH DUPAHHHH!!

used to say "I don't eat anything with a face." My friend put a smiley on a veggie burger (pre-raw) for me.

I seriously couldn't use that argument after someone offered me an oyster.

People are funny....

My mom went on a rant one day about how it is so important never to eat corn, because it is a starch, and it will make you so incredibly FAT!!! Bad bad stuff !!!

I smiled, and said it is a plant, and as a plant, if I can eat it without cooking it, it must be okay (although, to tell the truth, I don't really like corn all that much).

She thought I am nuts, and yet, I am not so sure if I would take any dietary advice from her, considering that she is nearly a hundred pounds overweight.

I am learning to make my own opinions not just on what I read, but also on what I experience. It's amazing to me how prevalent it is to think about things in exactly the opposite way.

Isn't it also interesting how many of the people in the worst health seem to be the ones most willing to give advice. Have to think about that a little.

Sapphire

"One of my bosses said, it's ok, it's only fish, fish don' t have brains."

I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

Work related luncheon today for a retiring employee... Everyone else was having animal fat appetizers (onion soup with a layer of waxy cheese OR cucumber soup ruined with cream) and I had a big salad. People at my table were jealous of my salad.

We all said nice, happy things about the retiree, gave her a gift, then I escaped before the animal slab main course arrived.

I love this food!

yeah, what is it with the "you can eat cream cheese, and sour cream, and BROILED asparagus, can't you?" And, "when are you going to start eating again?" or, "you gotta eat some real food at some point"...what is it that they don't understand about dairy, fish, heat applied to food ????

I guess they can hardly believe it. Finally, after 3 months, people at work are finally accepting/realizing/understanding what I am doing! It took 3 months!

My poor mother in law. She is keeping the kids next week. She said "We could handle vegetarian but we are really confused now. I said it really is simple, like mostly they just eat fruit. She said simple for you maybe. I think it is great she doesn't give me a hard time about it though and is willing to take on what confuses her. I am sending all their food and my oldest will help her. Won't she be surprised when they eat about ten times the size of salad most kids eat. I do expect some questions about protein though. Even my most highly educated and intelligent friends think my kids need animal products, beans or nuts for protein. Is no one educated on nutrition?

Pakd4fun (and others),

I am finding that most people are generally ill-educated and ignorant about basic nutrition. I believe a large portion of it is due to the vast majority of poor information in the media that is driven by companies wanting to make money. I mean, where do most people get their general information anyway?

Reading all the above posts, it is obvious that most people don't even know which members are in the Kingdom Animalia - a 9th grade biology lesson and a Kingdom to which we are also members along with sharks, elephants, beetles, and ants in case you didn't know.

My background is in science/technology and although I am no longer teaching, I am also a science teacher. While speaking with another science/technical colleague a while back about nutrition I told her how I eat. She asked "But where do you get your carbohydrates?" I replied, "I eat only fruits and vegetables." She asked the question a couple of times until I realized how confused she was. I politely explained to her something that amounted to a middle school level lesson on carbs, proteins and fats. A diabetic friend once commented "Oh, I can't have those grapes - too much sugar" but then turned around and ate a cookie.

I too have become more educated in the last year, in part because I was looking for that knowledge.

I don't personally blame people for their ignorance because of all the misinformation out there. "They" say we shouldn't eat carbs, fats, etc. Nobody is really sure who "they" is yet we follow "them." Even if you follow the posts here and other places, there are many comments about eat this, get rid of that, try this "crazy" addition. (For example, when I started on this raw journey, I thought I had to do all this supplementing with liquid amino acids since I kept reading it.)

This is why I simply educate people if they ask without trying to push anything down their throats. Although I would sneak a green smoothie in there if I could. :-) A close friend told me that he appreciates that I don't try to push or persuade him to give up meat (or whatever) but that I encourage how he can make small additions to improve his diet. Following David Mason - I encourage the 1%/week change in others who ask me for suggestions.

Anyway - just my thoughts on the subject since I guess I raised it.

Patty

This reminds me of when I was explaining to a co-worker that I had Celiac Disease and couldn't eat wheat etc.....he replied, "well, you can still eat WHITE bread can't you?"

I have a lot of people commment continually about what I eat. There is always the "what can you eat?" To which I usually reply that I CAN eat anything I choose. The normal reply is "Without meat and dairy, there isn't much left." Then I feel bad for them and start talking about all the different kinds of fruit and vegetables. Then they usually say something about all the carbohydrates that I eat in fruit while they eat a full plate of french fries and fried chicken sandwich. I feel even worse for them after that.

I usually say "I don't eat anything that has a nervous system"