Would not be much of a secret if you could stumble in on it. Anyway why can't people eat what they want? I am a vegetarian but I on occasion eat some animal food or dairy food - once or twice a year perhaps when I prepare holiday turkey for guests. No different than a self-proclaimed "meat eater" eating a vegetable. You must be thinking of that old saw that we can't be one-tenth pregnant. If you see an area which is 98% forested well you call it a forest don't you? You don't insist OK it is not a forest because 2% of it does not have trees!
(Sigh.) The person would be doing it in secret, or secretly, or with the expectation of secrecy UNTIL he or she were stumbled upon. (Double sigh.) No one has said anything about people eating what they want to eat nor about people not eating what they want to eat. Self-proclaimed is the key phrase here; it means that the person has determined for himself or herself what to eat. I'm not thinking of any saws, whether new ones or old ones, I'm just doing what I do every single day on here; posting silly, stupid questions that need to be picked apart, analyzed, studied, mulled over, examined, and evaluated for their revelance in world affairs (not).
30 or so years ago women who proclaimed themselves "lesbians" felt that if they wanted to be with men they had to sneak around or lose their standing or authority. Now they don't hesitate. Which is much healthier. And which is their birthright. Humans are omnivores so are capable of eating whatever. What they choose to eat or not eat is their business, their choice. Now you know very well that there are popular perceptions that anyone who would choose to be a "vegetarian" is somehow cheating or being exclusive or not playing by the "rules" or simply being pretentious. Somehow getting away with something. Please note in one of the other answers derision and moral superiority are expressed which indicate such prejudices.
Though you are a self-proclaimed "sammich" eater we would not find any reason to deride or shame you if we caught you with a bowl of ramen or an apple or a steak.
That whole "vegan" terminology means specific things to certain people just as now "vegetarian" does as well. But during my formative years it simply meant you ate vegetable food or mostly vegetable food. As opposed to animal food or fish or seafood or dairy food or honey. And I recall vegetarians who ate some of all those as well so what's in a name? To me it simply refers to anyone who eats mostly vegetable food. Like myself and my husband.
This post was edited by officegirl at December 19, 2018 6:59 AM MST
Back in the 50s, mother served something called 'mock chicken legs'. I never knew what that stuff was made of, but it came from the local Kroger's supermarket.
Vegetarians can consume products that come from animals, but not the meat. Some will eat fish. They can eat cheese and eggs. Vegans choose not to eat any meat or other animal products. They never tasted my beef jerky. To answer your question...I would probably say "Wow...that looks and smells good."
This post was edited by Element 99 at December 19, 2018 7:05 AM MST
I wouldn't do or say anything because meat is actually form of processed vegetable eg. cows, pigs, chicken, etc. Unless they are eating cat or dog meat. I dunno what I would do.
As long as someone isn't trying to trick me into eating meat, I'm all good with anything anyone else wants to do.
I hope this helps. A vegetarian strictly is a person who has forsaken animal products. He eats fruits, nuts, vegetables and a whole slew of other unhealthy eating habits. White flour is okay, any dairy is okay. As long as the animal is not killed. There is a broad spectrum for the vegetarian. This diet is better than meat, but it will NOT promote much health and vitality.
Then there are the vegan groups. These people are aware that there is a lot more to health than merely forsaking animals. There are poisons in the soil. They are highly carcinogenic. Vegans want organic. Food that has not been touched by chemicals of any sort. No irradiation and no food that even comes from an animal. No dairy, no processed foods of any sort. No preservatives. None of it.
Now a raw vegan only eats raw foods. This is a major life style change, but it is quite simple once you buy a dehydrator to cook (nothing gets cooked past the point of destroying enzymes which are crucial to enhancing health and is the key to supplying the precious life force that the body thrives on.) And of course, no sugar. (in moderation if you are not sick, you can eat fruits that have a lot of fructose). (these are very short definitions)
And lastly, there are raw, livingfood vegans.
We only eat foods that are not dead. No cooking anything. Everything that vegans do, but much more serious. Nothing can be eaten that has not been cooked over 105 degrees. No foods are allowed that are not at least bio-organic and are alive by just being recently pulled from healthy, vital soil that earth worms can live in. If you put a living worm in any soil that has been used by produce in the grocery story, that worm would die in a matter of minutes. That soil is filled with chemicals that nothing can live in. The plant absorbs these poisons and you get cancers.
Thus, the dehydrator. Many foods can be dried and warmed and made to be so delicious, you won't feel like you are missing anything.
We are focused on eating to live not the other way around.
We get many of our nutrients from pressed wheat grass. Fermented seeds. Sprouting seeds and microgreens. The reason is because these are the highest sources of nutrients on the planet and many many diseases have been totally diminished or cured completely by following a strict regimen of watching what to eat and following simple and ancient rules of survival. Seeds. Sprouting. FRESH PRESSED OIL. NO COOKED OR RANCID OIL EVER. NO SUGAR of course.
Hope that helps.
You will not miss your indigestion, flu, constipation, stomach disorders, heart attacks, arthritis and cancer.
Trust me. It is worth it. Unless you are so dead inside already, it is not worth it to you to try an exciting lifestyle change that has so many gifts, the meat is a thing of bad memories.
I'd like to ask them for an explanation - and watch to see how they try to wriggle out of their embarrassment - but I'd probably say nothing and just observe. I doubt that vegans ever do eat animal products in secret. They are generally fierce believers in their dietary principles - and it often goes hand in hand with not accepting or using anything made from animals products, and being activists for animal rights.
Vegetarians are sometimes less strict - probably depending on which of the five reasons they accept as the basis for their diet.
Those who are vegetarian for health reasons alone would be more likely to have the occasional bit of seafood, poultry or meat. But by my reckoning, this type doesn't have the right to call themselves vegetarians.
The difference: Vegetarians do not eat the flesh of any kind of animal, but they do eat the products of animals such as honey, propolis, eggs and foods made from milk. Their reasons could include one or more of the following: - green and ecological principles, - broadscale economics or personal budget (much cheaper), - animal welfare - they dislike the way farm animals are treated, and they may dislike the methods of hunters of game (they will eat only free range eggs and source their dairy from cows or other livestock who are allowed to give half their milk to their calves), - or religious or spiritual - they may believe that it is bad karma and that if they eat meat they will reincarnate as an animal and lose the opportunity for a human rebirth that could lead to enlightenment, - or they may believe that the Biblical injunction "thou shalt not kill" is absolute and extends to animals.
Vegans eat nothing that comes from any animal source. They too have a variety of different reasons, but the most common is animal welfare. They believe that stealing honey and propolis from bees is bad for the health of the hive - and factually is it. Feeding syrup to bees in winter, as commercial honey farmers do, deprives the bees of the nutrients and antibacterial agents in honey, which leads to poorer immunity and health. They believe that the farming of eggs has the unwanted by-product of too many male chicks which are killed because they cannot become egg-layers. They believe that the commercial production of milk results in cruelty to the calves. They are taken from their mothers at two weeks old, kept in tight crêches on metal grates or concrete, and are fed re-constituted powdered milk out of machine teats until four weeks old when they are old enough to go out into the fields to graze. Cattle and goats are highly social animals with strong maternal instincts. Both the cows and the calves bleat relentlessly for about two weeks after separation. Where I live, I see what happens and I hear it coming from my neighbour's property. Vegans also assert that humans are not meant to drink milk after two years old and that dairy products cause excess mucus, runny nose, stuffed sinuses and obesity.
Many vegans believe they can get their vit B12 from mushrooms. Research at the University of Sydney found this to be true. B12 is present in both the flesh and the surface of fungi, mostly concentrated in the skin - however, the amount varies and is less than in animal produce - so the vegan needs to eat lots of mushrooms every day to avoid a life-threatening deficiency. Many vegans believe they can get enough calcium from nuts. This turns out to be not true. The calcium in nuts and nutmilks is not readily digestible and does not pass through the intestinal wall into the blood stream. Older vegans are now frequently suffering from early onset osteoporosis.
This post was edited by inky at December 24, 2018 2:42 PM MST
officegirl 