Is becoming a vegetarian/vegan worth it?

[b00moscone]

scrapking said:

b00moscone said:
I think it can be good for some people for sure, and can definitely improve your health, but you really need to not be picky for it and know what to eat to replace the nutrients in meat that you will be lacking. You'll also not be able to experience the taste of it too, which for a lot would be very difficult.

Another thing is how some people view eating meat, and it's interesting to think if a mindset like that is or should be enough to deprive you of something that is crucial in your diet.

I have a reputation of being a picky eater.  I was an omnivore until I was about 40.  At that point I became a vegetarian.  It was a revelation!  It forced me out of my habits of always eating the same things, especially at restaurants.  I tried many things that I wouldn't have even considered before.  I was blown away how many of them I enjoyed, and I discovered flavours and textures that were unknown to me.  Plant-based foods that I would have eaten the crap out of as an omnivore if only I'd known about them!

After being a vegetarian for about three years, I finally went vegan.  Guess what, it happened again.  I again discovered amazing textures and flavours that were previously unknown to me.  Things I would have happily eaten as a vegetarian, or an omnivore, if only I'd known how awesome they are.

So what you say may be true, but if you have a spirit of exploration and a desire for discovery then you might have a very different experience.  Even if you're a so-called "picky" eater like me!  :)

Replacing the nutrients from meat is largely overblown, especially when it comes to protein (a nutrient that most people get too much of).  If you simply remove meat from your diet you might find yourself deficient in something, sure, but generally when you become vegetarian, or especially when you become vegan, you'll probably be adding new things to your diet.  And plants typically have a broader array of nutrients than meat.  Ultimately, whatever your diet, you need a broad array of nutrients, and there are a great many nutrient-deficient omnivores.  Ironically, a higher percentage of omnivores are now vitamin B12 deficient than are vegans.  And, statistically, very few non-vegans get enough fibre in their diets.

I'm curious about your final sentence, the one about how some people view eating meat.  I'm not sure I followed it, exactly.  What is crucial in your diet?  Certainly not meat, and you don't appear to suggest so in the rest of your message.  Could you elaborate?

That's definitely a very interesting story, and one i'm glad you shared with me! I would say i'm likely more picky than others, though I do still eat some foods that others may not want to, likely due to my parents being from different countries and therefore introducting me to different dishes etc. From that, it's definitely clear that focusing your diet more on certain foods does introduce you to other new flavours and such, and is something I never really realized until now.

As for meat, it is definitely proven to be fairly important. It allows for amino acids to be made which are very important for your body to be developed, and a lack of that could lead to fairly serious conditions. However, obviously it is up to the person to simply eat things to make up for it, so it can be due to the stupidity of someone. That being said, I do still think that meat is probably the easiest way to attain them, and does have other benefits such as muscle-building and a good source of energy.

As for my last comment, I was sort of refering to people's reaction to things like animal cruelty and such, or even other things. For example, my mum grew up on a farm, and can't eat lamb because she always pictures the lambs she had on that farm. Things like that are evidently a lot of the reason why people go vegetarian, however because of that it's not to experience new tastes and flavours, but only to get away from meat, and as a result forget the nutrients that come with it and possibly not make up for it. From that I question if going vegetarian in that aspect is worth it, as in that case it can be more of a detriment to your health than anything.