Veggie/Vegans in Belfast

alisara

I have just turned veggie after having my eyes opened to what really happens in our meat processors/farms etc, have not touched meat in almost 3 weeks just the thought of it now is to much.

I have not had dairy either as I can not believe how we also get our milk and I am finding soya/rice/almond etc much much nicer.

My problem now is eggs, I know what happens to the male chicks so even though I had bought free range at the market I am unable to stop thinking about what happens to the little creatures... but I want an egg and finding this difficult.

I love meat always did, have always been a major carnivore now I feel "dirty" for eating it and can't believe I was unaware of how it is obtained. I do not know what planet I was on. However I am enjoying Tesco and Sainsburys meat free ranges the fake meat.

So to cut a long story short, if there are any other like minded people in Belfast, where do you buy fake meat etc nice food chocolates, or if you are veggie eggs? Oh and anywhere nice to eat out?

I also feel awful because as I learn more about how animals are tested and used for leather etc for our own ends, and will be careful now to ensure that I do not buy such products.

Thanks and sorry for the long post.

saverbuyer

Not all farms are the same. Not all meat processing plants are the same. Not all animals are treated the same.

I love meat, eggs, milk, cheese, fur, leather, foie gras and of course use many many products that I have no doubt were tested on animals.

You need to take a walk around a good farm and talk to your butcher. Yes the animals lives have been cut short, but they've had a good one.
Choose where you shop wisely and pay a bit more, there's no need to live on carrots and wheat grass.

warmhands.coldheart

Couple Of Points to add. Food for thought !!! Being a Vegan will be tough in Northern Ireland. especially easting out from what I can see..... after all.... this is the place where a Veg Role is made from meat !! :rotfl:

alisara wrote: »

I have just turned veggie after having my eyes opened to what really happens in our meat processors/farms etc, have not touched meat in almost 3 weeks just the thought of it now is to much.

I'm sorry to say but the food market as it is today is very much "consumer driven" ... Farmers are price takers, not price makers....... Do you really think farmers want to kill perfectly good animals that could be used to provide food and them an income... of course not... they have to because that's what their contract says they must do by the processors because they have been told so by the supermarkets because that's what the consumer wants...

Certain breeds of animal are good for certain things.
i.e. A Dairy cow is good at milk production.. Unfortunately their male offspring are not up to much from a beef perspective so why would a farmer keep it, feed it, look after it, spend a shed load of money on it only to be told, no-one wants it.... Economic suicide..... it's the way of the developed world unfortunately now-a-days

I have not had dairy either as I can not believe how we also get our milk and I am finding soya/rice/almond etc much much nicer.

93% of Soya produced in the US is Genetically Modified.... On top of that there are very few sources of soya that are no contaminated in some way with genetically modified material..

My problem now is eggs, I know what happens to the male chicks so even though I had bought free range at the market I am unable to stop thinking about what happens to the little creatures... but I want an egg and finding this difficult.

I love meat always did, have always been a major carnivore now I feel "dirty" for eating it and can't believe I was unaware of how it is obtained.

I'm sorry to sound rude but where did you think it came from?

I do not know what planet I was on. However I am enjoying Tesco and Sainsburys meat free ranges the fake meat.

Again I'm sorry if this sounds rude but Mr Tesco & Mr Sainsbury are some of the main reasons the food market is in the state it is in, so if you have that big of a conscience I would suggest you stop shopping there.. Use local greengrocers etc....

So to cut a long story short, if there are any other like minded people in Belfast, where do you buy fake meat etc nice food chocolates, or if you are veggie eggs? Oh and anywhere nice to eat out?

I also feel awful because as I learn more about how animals are tested and used for leather etc for our own ends, and will be careful now to ensure that I do not buy such products.

I can't believe you did not know where leather comes from? Really???

As far as products not tested on animals... they are easy enough to get....


Thanks and sorry for the long post.

alisara

I knew like most people where everything came from (including leather). Unfortunately I like most people did not give it any thought, and like most people didn't go and find out which I did and believe if you went to a slaughterhouse etc and find out where your food comes from you would be "turned".

I just came onto this forum to find other veggies/vegans in Belfast.

saverbuyer

I've been in well run farms and abattoirs. They don't turn me. If anything they've shown me how animals can have healthy, happy lives with a humane end and how it’s reflected in the end product.

If you’re completely opposed to ending animal’s lives for food, then granted meat isn’t for you but there are ways to do and run things and the picture you paint is IMO dramatic.

warmhands.coldheart

alisara wrote: »

I knew like most people where everything came from (including leather). Unfortunately I like most people did not give it any thought, and like most people didn't go and find out which I did and believe if you went to a slaughterhouse etc and find out where your food comes from you would be "turned".

I just came onto this forum to find other veggies/vegans in Belfast.

It's good you went looking into it. I applaud that... Personally I think there is a huge gaping void in the knowledge people have when it comes to knowing where their food etc comes from....... partly it's down to ignorance, partly down to lack of caring and partly down to industries not wanting them to know.

You'd be just as shocked to know the amount of perfectly good food in the form of fruit & vegetables that is dumped or fed to animals each year because it "isn't round enough" or "it's a bit small", or "it's a bit big" or other such daft reasons set by processors and supermarkets.... It's shocking......

The whole industry needs a shakeup but unfortunately it's us, the consumer who has the power and frankly we don't know it and don't care !

alisara

Saverbuyer, I came on this thread looking for veggies and vegans in Belfast. I am not being dramatic if I do not think it humane to raise an animal, give it a good life and the end product ends up as meat, as we like the taste. However I look at it ending life of a sentient being is not humane.

Anyway glad you have been in well run farms and abbatoirs and you have no problem.

I do not want an argument with you, I love this forum been here a few years, and again I just wanted to speak to others who feel likewise. That is all.

alisara

Warmhands, I agree.

warmhands.coldheart

alisara wrote: »

.....I do not want an argument with you, I love this forum been here a few years, and again I just wanted to speak to others who feel likewise. That is all.

It's just a bit of a debate...... please don't take things the wrong way or personally. Sorry if they sounded like that from me!!

alisara

I genuinely didn't and don't want a debate. I just wanted advice etc from other veggies/vegans!

saverbuyer

alisara wrote: »

I genuinely didn't and don't want a debate. I just wanted advice etc from other veggies/vegans!

In that case, maybe it's better just to ask, "where do you buy veggie eggs?".

No need to add the emotive stuff. It's your opinion; I respect you having it, but please don't think that you can voice yours without a response from others who maybe disagree. Especially when you put it across so emotively.