Meat-free travel: vegetarian hits and misses

Ido know that i am generalizing here, but from personal experience i find that most vegans are a pain in the arse, mostly unrealistic, non-senseible, dogmatic people about their diets. Who i find generaly have that gaunt unhealthy look about them, and look if a couple of meals at McDonalds would do them the world of good.

The two I met in Turkey certainly had a gaunt unhealthy look about them, but they may have looked better in their native habitat.

Maybe so, but for me they do have a very restrictive, and taken to the extreme a very unheathy diet.

I don.t think its where your'e born that determines if you become a vegetarian or not. A lot of vegetarians become so for very specific reasons and beliefs.
We certainly eat too much meat today I think. Considering our ancestors ate a lot less and some of the most famous meat dishes we know today were eaten very rarely or as a treat when they originated. For example Coq au Vin was only made from a very old bird when it had served its purpose in life or Irish Stew was only made from Mutton for the same reasons. They wouldn't have dreamed of killing a young animal as they were much too valuable and productive in everyday life.
These days, with supermarkets, the animal has had little time to learn how to walk before they're killed.
I would imagine Argentina and other Latin American countries would be tough going for veggies and the best places would be " alternative" bohemian type cities like San Fran ( mentioned ) and Brighton, England and others similar around the world.

Have seen and met a considerable number of vegetarians(many for religious beliefs) who are routund and overweight.
Think they must be consuming lots of "ghee",milk,butter,cottage cheese and sugar as well as vegetables

Iv'e got nothing at all against vegetarians at all, i find them the most delightful people,most of them have a wide ranging and sensible diets, unlike some of the strict vegans i have known over the years.

Like any minority group under pressure from majority culture, veg(etari)ans occasionally come across as inflexible and/or holier-than-thou. Overall, while I have no problem with their choice of lifestyle, I think there are situations in life where cultural sensitivity and general politeness should take precedence over your personal preferences and principles. (Your new friend doesn't know you're vegan (or simply fails to understand the concept). It's evidently really important to him that you have tea in his house. And it's been made with (unpasteurised) milk. Get over yourself and accept the cuppa with a smile. Don't give him a lecture on the virtues of veganism.) That said, I fully accept that there are valid reasons, ethical and otherwise, for not wanting to eat meat and other animal products on a regular basis.

W.

So some are gaunt and some are overweight, and the ones (vegan and vegetarian) that I know look great.

That sounds about right.

mzungu, I don't know about your vegan friends, but my vegan friend doesn't drink milk. If I had no soy milk in the house, and she wanted a cup of tea, she would have it without milk, and wouldn't lecture me.

@VinnyD My (admittedly hypothetical) example would be in a situation where the tea's been brewed with milk in it (as is common in many areas).

W.

I don't know why it's OK for you to lecture vegans on how to behave (drink the tea that involved the killing of animals rather than upset your host) but not for vegans to lecture you on how to behave (don't eat foods that involve the killing of animals).

Someone will ask about how milk and eggs involve the killing of animals. You can't have a dairy or egg industry and keep all the males alive.