| Q:What is Veganism? |
| A:Veganism is a way of life for some people, you can call it strict vegetarianism. The definition of vegan is simple. They will not eat or wear any animal product or use any product that is derived from or tested on animals. |
| Q:Why do people become vegan? |
| A:There are many reasons people go vegan. Most likely they are moraly opposed to the exploitation of animals. To be honest the living conditions of most animals bred for food are pretty crappy. Vegans have decided that it is not right for us to do this to animals so they quit exploiting animals in their own life. |
| Q:How can they live like that? |
| A:I used to ask the same question, untill I started dating a Vegan. You would be supprised at the variety of foods that they can and will eat. Of course veggies are a staple of the diet, but there is so many different choices out there. Just take a look at the grocery store and you can see that there are more different kinds of veggies than there are meat. And just because someone is vegan doesn't mean all they eat is celery. There is still just a ton junk food out that that is vegan friendly. The only thing that is really really missed, by Denise at least, is cheese. There is stuff out there that tastes like cheese, but nothing that can sting off your pizza like real cheese. Other than that it's wide open, as long as you know where to shop and what to look for Vegans have no trouble finding a wide variety of really good food. |
| Q:Are Vegans weird or something> |
| A:Yes. Any good vegan that is comfortable with themselves will tell you that in the eyes of the world they are weird and they accept that. Just as long as you can accept the fact that they aren't going to join you in eating a big juicy steak, they can accept the fact that they are weird. |
| Q:I'm afraid to get involved with a vegan because I like to eat meat and I don't want them yelling at me. |
| A:This is the whole point of this website. There is always going to be the militant faction of any group and yes, there are vegans that will yell and call you names and refuse to even watch anyone eating meat. This, Denise says, is one problem with the Vegan movement itself, vegans are too busy bitching and whinning about other vegans to actively make any changes for the better. These scary vegans are not the kind of person you want to be with anyway. Most rational people will understand that even tho they may not agree with what you're eating, yelling and screaming at you will not change you mind. Denise and I go out all the time to dinner and I have whatever meat-laden dish I like and she scans the menu trying to find something to eat. I don't try and force her to eat it and she doesn't give me crap about eating meat. These are the vegans that you want to be with, these are the vegans that are going to make a difference. Tolerance and kindness will change things faster than militant action. Just respect each other's lifestyles, life's too short for someone to give me crap about eating a pork chop. |
| Q:Are you going to become vegan? |
| A: Hell no! I'm sorry, but I loooove the taste of meat and cheese and dairy so I'm not going to give that up. I will however cook and eat vegan dinners. Believe it or not, it IS okay for a meat eater to eat a vegan meal. You will not be scarred for life. Veganism isn't a virus that you can catch. |
| Q:You sound like a wonderful, caring 90's man, why aren't there any pictures of you and will you marry me? |
| A:Sorry, for the moment I am happily with Denise, so I don't want anyone else. As for pictures go here here is a picture of me and my beautiful Denise. |
| Q:I read thru yr site & was glad to see that some
meat-eaters are so vegan-tolerant. I do have one question tho - I'm sure your
girlfreind has explained to you *why* she has such a problem with how animals
raised for food have treated; how can you, hearing this, still say "yeah,
but it tastes good?" I'm not trying to be offensive; I actually admire
Denise myself, since I'm vegetarian trying to go vegan & having a hard time
with it. But I always wonder why some people, like me, swear off meat the
second PETA passes them a flier and others, like you, can be in love with a
vegan, respect them, and keep chompin' steaks. Any insights? Contributed by: Elizabeth |
| A:I've been thinking about your question for a couple days now and I still haven't been able to come up with a really good answer. I guess you could say that it's an "out of sight, out of mind thing". I understand that most of these animals have a very poor quality of life, and I am not a cruel man (odd, strange and maybe perverted, but not cruel. :) ). I once had to kill a rat that kept getting in my parent's bird cage and I really felt horrible. The only things I can kill with out remorse are insects, spiders and snakes(my one irrational fear). Other than that I hate to see an animal suffer for no reason. I am opposed to animal testing, I feel it is totally unnecessary and pointless at this point. I respect vegetarians/vegans for the comitments they have made in their lives, and a bit envious because I know that I could not make that kind of commitment. My only defense is that this is the way I was raised, as a meat eater, as are most people. We view animals more like a crop and not as living beings. We see a cow being mistreated and we say that's bad but we see a steak on our plate and say ummmm, steak. We can't/won't make the connection between the two. I understand, I just choose to eat meat, yes, beacuse it tastes good. Also because it's what's considered "normal" it's the easy way to go. I see what Denise has to go through when we go out to dinner or even walking through the grocery store. I guess you can say that I care, just not enough to change my lifestyle. I don't eat meat because I hate animals I eat meat to live. Yes, I can live on other things besides animal products, but most of them are not as good. I hope that some of this makes sense. |
| Q:I am a vegetarian married to someone that doesnt eat vegetables or beans, do you know of any sites, books ect. that could be helpful. I desperately need recipies that we can both live with. TTFN, Caryn |
| A:Wow, that's a tough one. I really don't know of anything like that. Have you posted on Vegsource? They may be able to point you towards some refrence. In the meantime have you tried slowly intergrating veggies and beans into meals or are they totally against it? Either way sounds like you're going to have a tough time. Good Luck! |
| Q:this sight is great !!!!! you and denise are an inspiration. i am a vegetarian and attempting vegan.... i dont have a question ... just wanted to wish you and denise all the best because you both seem like great people.......... |
| A:Thanks, it's always nice to have our work appreciated! |
| Q:i just went to your page and i love it! the guy that i am interested in is a vegan and i'm not. i try not to eat much meat but i do slip every once in a while. everyone has told me that he and i are not compatible but your page gave me hope. thank you so much! you have opened my eyes! Casey |
| A:This is why I created this site. Thank YOU, Casey. |
| Q:It occurred to me a few days ago and I have been
looking for a vegetarian or vegan (which I had never heard of until today) to
pose the question to. I realize you are not a vegan but you just happen to be
the first site I came to. I figure you might have fun with this question
anyway. If vegans were able to somehow manage to convince the rest of us to their way of thinking, what would we do with all the cows, sheep, chickens, horses, etc? |
| A:This is one of thoese questions that makes a vegetarian/vegan roll their eyes. First you have to realize that not everyone will (can) go vegan at once. There would be a tapering off. And as fewer animals are needed, fewer would be forced to breed, untill there were only a few around as pets and such. If the world went vegan all at once, there could be some problems. At first there would be far too many cows and chickens and pigs and so on, but eventually since the demand was gone, they over breeding would not happen and they would naturally thin themselves out. It would be a burden at first, but a burden that many would gladly accept. |
| Q: what types of foods do vegan's get the regular
vitamins and nourishments that they would be getting from meat. i know my girl
friend has just started being vegan. she has been a vegetarian for about 5
years now, but after reading some pamplet, has decided to go all the way. i
have no problem with this other than the fact that she is obviously not in a
good state of health now. what kind of foods are good to replace these
nourishments that would be recieved from meats and dairy? kyle combs |
| A:The sad truth is that you can be just as unhealthy with a vegetarian diet as you can with a meat diet. You need well rounded nutrition no matter who you are. Vegetarians tend to eat more vegetables and grains so their intake of nutrients tend to be a little higher than us meat eaters. In fact, meats and dairy are not the best sources of nutrients, there is also evidence that meat and dairy do more harm than good. I would recomend your girlfriend checking out the McDougal Program. It stresses the importance of healthy eating. |
| Q: I am looking for animal friendly make-up. Can you point me in the right direction? Thank You. |
| A:"Beauty Without Cruelty" is a good brand name, check out www.Pangeaveg.com on the web, they sell that. Garden Botanika is a mall cosmetic store, if you have one check it out. Take a look at vegsource.com, you should be able to get more information there. Good luck! |
| Q:i am a vegetarian & am thinking about going vegan. the only two real drawbacks for me are cheese pizza & chocolate. do you have any ideas where to find non-dairy cheese or chocolate???????? thanks!!!!!!! m3 |
| A:Well, as for the chocolate there is a lot of chocolate out that that is Vegan, you just have to take a closer look at what's available. Hershey's dark chocolate used to be vegan, but they added milk to make it creamier. Unfortunately Milk chocolate is right out. As for the Cheese, there really isn't any good vegan cheese, that we've tried on the market. What I would suggest is that you get a copy of the "Un-Cheese Cookbook", it has a lot of really good recipes in it. Good Luck. |
