Vegetarianism

[Hecate Moonsong]

Does anyone here incorporate vegetarianism into their path and practice? How does vegetarianism help the growing and learning and loving process? What does it to mean to you personally? I've recently just started out on the path of non-animal products and it's quite enlightening to think about my food choices more and what they mean to me.

[Theres]

i'm a vegetarian (non-vegan), but honestly that has nothing to do with my path. the goddess i worship (Hekate) loves meat, so for me there really isn't any connection that i see.

[Gede]

Khaire Hecate~
I have been a Vegetarian for the past 3 and a half years and a Vegan for the past month or so. Ever since I became a Vegetarian I have become much more attuned to my own psychic senses and my energy/prana/qi flows without hindrance. I find myself more healthy, I lost weight and in general I feel much more in control of my physical self, which henceforth affects the other layers of my being.

It is believed that the Orphics (a northern Greek cult which was popularised in Sicily) were Vegetarians themselves and Pythagaros was also known to be a Vegetarian, as his belief in reincarnation caused him and his followers to sympathise with all life-forms as fellow brothers and sisters (each having a soul, "anima" - life-force). Vegetarianism (Veganism) in my path helps to further my anarchistic view of the world. As a Witch I see myself as an integral part of the countermovement against the conservative and life-draining policies acted upon by the majority of westerners. My path is a non-conformist one. I became Vegetarian because of my freedom to do so within my Pagan worldview. It purifies my body and mind and allows me to function as a succint component of the natural world.

As an anarchistic Witch I strive against the savagery and brutality inflicted upon my Mother Gaia and aim to spread the message that all of Life is interconnected and reliant upon the other. We all serve a purpose in the grand scheme of things. To live a life of vegetarianism is to declare that you acknowledge the pain and torment animals experience within the highly mechanistic and industrialised meat-produce plants and that you reject such methods in favour of a non-meaty diety, which in turn supports the victims of these souless corporations.

Welcome to the life of the tree-hugging hippy my friend ;)

Namaste, Gede...

[sincerebliss]

I'm a vegetarian also. I personally feel that it does, in a sense, help with my spirituality. I feel that no one animal is any more scared than another, therefore, I choose not to eat meat. I've probably been a vegetarian for about 3-4 years, though, I'm not the healthiest one. I need to change my eating habits and live a healthier life. People assume that vegetarians are healthy, not all are; that's far from the truth.

Good luck,
Alicia

[Seshata]

I would say that being vegetarian is a life choice not something that is linked with one's religion (unless Buddhist I suppose). For some people a vegetarian diet (if done healthily) is perfect for their body and yes, it possibly helps them with clarity etc, but I don't see it as being because they're vegetarians, they've got better psychic abilities etc, I just think that this is 'right' for their bodies. I knew someone once who decided to go on a vegetarian diet and turned extremely aggressive as a person (they were already a little 'in your face' when a meat eater but it got worse when veggie) for that person I'd say that possibly a veggie diet wastn't 'right' for them. I work better on a mixed diet (meat and vegetables) and essentially 'mediterranean' but I grew up with that (although not a great fan of fish, I like it once in a while), whereas my husband is healthy on a more meat based and onion family vegetable diet. I know that for some people they go vegetarian because they feel that this is also a 'spiritual' thing, but then that is their choice, thus I personally don't view it as religious per se. It really is an thing for each individual to explore and see whether it works for them, but at the same time to remember that this dietary choice is not one that works for everyone.

BB

Seshata

[SoulHealer]

I am vegan -but it wasn't a spiritual choice

I eat a more healthy diet because of it which helps spiritually -but I guess a healthy meaty diet would still do the same

[Seshata]

I am vegan -but it wasn't a spiritual choice

I eat a more healthy diet because of it which helps spiritually -but I guess a healthy meaty diet would still do the same

Yup, a friend of mine is a vegan and that works perfectly for her body. It does get interesting when you have a selection of friends over for dinner though - food for meaties, food for veggies, and food for vegans!

BB

Seshata

[Mithrea]

This is something that has been on my mind today actually. A woman near where I live recently purchased a cow for grazing purposes and she noticed the cow was watching intently out the back of the trailer as they drove home. The next morning the cow had gotten through the fence in her pasture and made it 25 miles home to where it's calf (now fully grown) still lived. So she decided to buy it too, brought them both home and now they will be grazing in her pasture until they die she says.

I also read an article a little while back about some steer that escaped from a slaughterhouse. My ex-fiance grew up on a farm with one and well . . . actually I'm getting a little sick thinking about it all, so I'll stop there.

The bottom line is that I am going back to it as of right now. It's not something I can pin down philosophically or spiritually, it's just something that never sits right with me.

[yavanna]

I'm a ova-lacto pescavegetarian (what a mouthfull!) meaning I don't eat any meat other than seafood. But I didn't make this choice based on spirituality. Well, not really. I made the decision because I know that it takes many times more land to raise animals (to grow their food) than plants and that they are all to often treated horribly. So for me its a wise land use policy. Also, I try to eat only organic foods (I don't like eating pesticides and hormones thank you!) and I can't afford organic meat. So it does have to do with my spirituality in the sense that I believe the earth is sacred and I try to minimize my impact upon her, but not in the sense that it was a soaly spiritual decision.

[EternalMaiden]

^ What that guy said. :tongueout

Actually, I'm trying to eat as little fish as possible. I've actually weened down to immitation crabmeat, just for the 'oomph' of protein it has.

Other than that, I'm a bran-spanking-new vegetarian myself. I'm also into Buddhism, and let me explain the Awesomeness of eating organic from my perspective anyway:

The colors and sensations of organics, the process of preparing my food supplements daily gratification into my sometimes hectic life.
Eating just enough to cure the aching, leaves my energy vibrant and willing with a natural ease.
When I do eat, it becomes ceremony.
And most importantly, I have become more in tune with my body and I can now deal with emotions on a maturing level.

[Kudzu]

I've been a vegetarian for somewhere around ten years now. It's not directly related to my religion, unless you take some circuitious route of viewing my individual view of food ethics in relation to my fairly witchy value of personal responsibility.

[gurlygurl2004]

I'm a vegetarian also. I personally feel that it does, in a sense, help with my spirituality. I feel that no one animal is any more scared than another, therefore, I choose not to eat meat. I've probably been a vegetarian for about 3-4 years, though, I'm not the healthiest one. I need to change my eating habits and live a healthier life. People assume that vegetarians are healthy, not all are; that's far from the truth.

Good luck,
Alicia

LOL, that's why I gained weight when I was a vegetarian for 13 mos. I started to lose weight at first, but I think I got a little too free with the sweets. But anyway, the only link between my path and the vegetarianism was that I started to believe that all living things had souls(including the grass, plants, and vegetables you eat). However my beliefs also supported eating meat because part of me believes that is what the animals, and plants on this earth is for. I just became a vegetarian to try to lose weight. I even thought of becoming vegan but that was too much. It was pretty hard when I tried to eliminate eggs from my diet.

[gurlygurl2004]

Just out of curiosity for the vegans. This might seem like a really weird question but I've never tried a vegan style meat, or dessert(only vegetarian which usually includes egg, and dairy) is it like really good, does it sort of taste like meat, chocolate, etc? I've tried tofu. I don't like it raw, but I do like it cooked in olive oil.

[SkySilver]

I'm a vegetarian but that's because I was raised this way. It has nothing to do with my beliefs. But I would love to learn more about why people incorporate it into theirs. :)

[yavanna]

Just out of curiosity for the vegans. This might seem like a really weird question but I've never tried a vegan style meat, or dessert(only vegetarian which usually includes egg, and dairy) is it like really good, does it sort of taste like meat, chocolate, etc? I've tried tofu. I don't like it raw, but I do like it cooked in olive oil.


While I'm not vegan, I have a few friends of the vegan persuassion. I've had vegan cheesecake, brownies, cookies, and other baked goods and for me, they're pretty much as good as the real thing. It just costs more to make them because you have to buy egg substitute in most cases.

I use tvp all the time and I like it. It tastes like ground beef if you put liquid smoke (which is surprizingly vegetarian) on it and cook it in a skillet (you have to rehydrate it first of course).

Here's some cool things you can do with it:

Put about 1 cup of TVP in 1 cup boiling water. After 5 minutes or so test the TVP if it is still crunchy add a bit more boiling water, if there's extra water drain it off.

Pour a bit of olive oil in a skillet and heat on med. Chop an onion into smallish pieces and fry in the oil until soft. Add the tvp to the skillet, add liquid smoke, chilli powder garlic salt, and a dash, a very small dash of soy sauce. Open up a can of manwitch sauce (most manwitch sauces have no meat juice in them, but check the ingredients to make sure) and put it in the skillet.

Serve the tvp-joes on buns and eat happily :bouncybob


You can also do the same thing, but don't add the manwitch sauce and then use the seasoned tvp and onions in chili, spaghetti sauce, or anything that requires ground beef.

It tastes fairly similar except tvp has a very slight spongeyness to it that ground beef doesn't really have. Other than that its pretty much the same. Also, you can get a big bag of tvp for 2.50 (rehyrdated thats pounds and pounds of tvp) where as the same amount of beef would easily be ten times that much.

[StarCraftLia]

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[gurlygurl2004]

I'm not a vegan, but I respect those who are for having such self control. I've thought about becoming one; but plants and such are still living beings. I think I've accepted that humans need to kill to survive and I just embrace my instincts.


That's a good point. And there's a group of vegans that are more extreme than the regular ones. They are called raw foodist, or frutation vegans, and they only eat uncooked food, or fruits and veggies that are harvested or pulled from their roots in a certain way. I've heard that basically if it doesn't fall from a tree they won't eat it. I've thought about raw food before, but I definitely couldn't do it. Some raw foods like fruits, veggies, and nuts are good for you, but not all by themselves. Now that's crazy. I've also heard that certain levels of the macrobiotic diet is extreme.

[Mithrea]

That's true. There is alot of food that can be taken and eaten without killing anything, not even plants. Hrm. . . .

[EternalMaiden]

For me it's about what they do to the animals... The meat industries genetically alter these animals so they never live. Take fast food chains, for instance, they alter these animals so they never move, the chickens don't have feathers and their bones become few and small.

They have tiny beaks, and they are hooked to things all their lives. So in the end they are this living, breathing, chunk of meat. That can be killed and served to feed more than one mouth.

It's very sad, and cruel. So yes, killing is a part of our nature. And plants are being killed after they have fully grown and prospered. Serving their purpose. Whereas this example, just one example, of animal intolerance and cruelty is not acknowledged by the consumers.

People think they are eating a cow, who has grazed in a field until it was ready to be harvested. Untrue. These cows spend their lives in factory lines. Being pumped full of hormones so they will get fat, not moving so they produce more meat. The lines are restraining and even milk processors don't allow their cows to move. Often, very often giving their cows burns and wounds from the machinery that they use on them.

I myself cannot feel in any way proud or joyous after eating a meal that I know the animal was brutally raised and served like wheat.

[ravenscape]

I am a vegetarian, and have been for 11 years. Longer than I've been a Pagan.

I didn't become vegetarian for spiritual reasons, but I do feel "cleaner" as a result. There are a lot of components to that cleanness, though. On one level, vegetarian diet (coupled with buying organic) means that I eliminate at least one source of chemical contamination from my life. I've worked to eliminate others, as well, since then.

My desire to leave as light a footprint on this planet's resources as I can manage is part political, part practical and part spiritual. Karmic I guess. I feel there are Karmic effects to these types of choices both at the individual and the societal level. All humanity is Karmically bound to the health of our planet.

[Mera_mera]

I am a vegan and I eat about 90-95% organic foods, I also try to incorporate a good percentage of raw foods. Raw foods can actually get quite complicated and yummy. There are tons of recipes out there. My decision to first become a vegetarian was a spiritual one as well as physical and political. But now that I have settled well into my vegan path it is a way of life and spirituality for me. It is definately a big part of my spirituality. In my pagan/yogic way of life my eating habits had such a huge impact on my spiritual consciousness and has merged or harmonized my body with my mind and my soul, I have experienced more intense degrees of this when starting, to going full-fledged, to going organic, to going full-fledged vegan, to incorporating more raw foods, and doing yoga and meditation have both made me more in tune to how my eating habits are the right choice for me in so many ways. The added benefit of greater health is also a spiritual thing for me, it makes me clearer physically and mentally and creates less blockage and boundaries in my path toward the truth and instead creates inspiration and motivation, again physically and mentally.

So though it was a somewhat spiritual decision it has become so much more a part of my spiritual path as I've progressed.

[Shasta]

i'm vegan for the animals
i love them too much to contribute to their suffering
but i'm not one to force it on anyone as i realize everyone has their own opinions and beliefs

[~NightFire~]

<----Another Vegan!
I became Vegan a few years ago. I was only eating Chicken and seafood before after gradually going off of everything else, and because I love animals I just thought (basically) then why am I eating them? It was difficult because I am the only Vegan in my family, and they weren't that supportive to begin with, despite the fact that I respect the choices they make. I could never go back to eating animal products, and I agree with Mera_mera; being Vegan is a big part of my spirituality too.

[StarSpiral]

I went vegetarian 10 years ago (before I was Pagan) for ethical and political reasons. These same ethics and politics (reduction of suffering, environmentalism,) meld perfectly with my beliefs as a Pagan and helped me choose to be a vegan about five years ago.


This might seem like a really weird question but I've never tried a vegan style meat, or dessert(only vegetarian which usually includes egg, and dairy) is it like really good, does it sort of taste like meat, chocolate, etc?
The processed vegan "meats" are really variable. Soy burgers when done on a grill with BBQ sauce are fantastic, fake deli meats (like the ones by Yves) are pretty gross and plastic tasting. Scheinder's has recently come out with some good fake chicken strips though I generally just used plain tofu as it is much cheaper. The key to good tofu is to marinate it since it has no real flavour (unless bland counts a flavour) on its own.

Chocolate is vegan all on its own - it often has milk added to it though. Look for semi-sweet chocolate. (Quick tastey recipe: melt a bag of chips, add a package of silken tofu, blend, pop in fridge - voila! Almost healthy chocolate mousse!)

Baking etc. doesn't need expensive egg-replacers. I use 1/4 cup apple sauce, half a banana or 1/4 cup oil in place of eggs in baking recipes.