Meatless topic again. Are you eating less meat?

[Mrs. Dinero]

Not sure if there’s scientific evidence to these claims but in the documentary they claimed less fat in plasma and more frequent and harder erections on a plant based diet.

[souldoubt]

I enjoy eating meat and since I've been doing keto my consumption has only gone up while I've cut out breads and 90% of the carbs I used to eat in a day.  I've had some of the plant based meat substitutes and they weren't bad but they're not going to replace all natural grass fed beef, chicken, etc. in my diet.  

[swamp]

Oct 22, 2019 12:39:31 GMT -5 spartyparty said:

Oct 22, 2019 12:24:39 GMT -5 swamp said:

my husband gets annoyed with me when I refuse to eat meat.  

Lol...

I need to figure out how to adhere some candy corn to my bratwurst

ACK!  Candy corn.  

The crayons of the candy world. 

[swamp]

Oct 22, 2019 13:10:35 GMT -5 Mrs. Dinero said:

Not sure if there’s scientific evidence to these claims but in the documentary they claimed less fat in plasma and more frequent and harder erections on a plant based diet.

But you have to suffer broccoli farts.  

[Mrs. Dinero]

Oct 22, 2019 13:23:15 GMT -5 swamp said:

Oct 22, 2019 13:10:35 GMT -5 Mrs. Dinero said:

Not sure if there’s scientific evidence to these claims but in the documentary they claimed less fat in plasma and more frequent and harder erections on a plant based diet.

But you have to suffer broccoli farts.  

Haha! Beano is the answer.
I like candy corn, circus peanuts, and peeps. I’m aware I’m a freak. Total ok with it. You only need a couple is the best part of those sugar bombs.

[bean29]

Oct 22, 2019 11:48:55 GMT -5 hoops902 said:

Oct 22, 2019 9:38:13 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

There are some good reasons we as a population would be better off if we consumed less.  First, it takes far more resources to grow stuff for the cattle, chickens, etc, to eat and then use the animals for food than to just eat the plants. 

Second, the average person in the US eats way too much meat.  This link is an example- in 2018 the consumption of red meat and poultry was projected to be 222 lbs. per year capita- presumably that excludes pork and fish?   

www.seattletimes.com/business/americans-meat-consumption-set-to-hit-a-record-in-2018/

The government recommends 5 to 6.5 ounces of meat and poultry daily (and I bet that's high, influenced by lobbyists from the big meatpackers); actual consumption runs around 10 ounces.  Have you ever weighed the meat in an Iowa-cut pork chop or a single chicken breast?  They're way over the 4-oz. serving size defined in nutritional guidelines.  The health costs of excessive meat consumption affect us all.  Then, yes, it IS everyone's business.

The health costs of working in an office affect us all.  The health costs of looking at a computer screen affect us all.  The societal costs of shitty parents having kids affect us all.  The health costs of older parents having kids affects us all. There are costs to basically every decision someone makes, most of which end up paid by society in one form or another.  People only think "it's everyone's business" when it's something they want to change.  When it's something they personally don't want to change, then everyone should mind their own business.  

I think it's well and good to encourage people to be healthier.  It's disingenuous at best to pretend that this particular issue is "everyone's business" in a way that is different from decisions of who gets to have kids, whether people should quit their office jobs, or any other decision that impacts society.  Saying something "affects us all" pretty much applies to every decision a person can make, if made en masse.

I rarely eat meat for lunch.  I usually eat a banana/orange/and or some oatmeal for lunch.  Today I had honeydew and oatmeal.  I also have an orange on hand if I get hungry.  We eat meat in tacos and we eat chicken a lot, Like I said, I can't eat dairy or corn.  I don't eat very much sweets at all either.  That takes enough out of my diet without adding more limitations.  I don't weigh my meat.  I don't have heart problems or high cholesterol probably b/c I have had a fairly healthy diet most of my adult life.  I just don't have a meddling gene - If you want to eat something - have at it, unless it stinks, then please do it in the privacy of your own home. I have heard about environmental impacts of food waste, and we are trying to have less waste, but I have no plans to become a vegetarian.

[weltschmerz]

Oct 22, 2019 12:01:55 GMT -5 happyhoix said:

Oct 22, 2019 10:58:30 GMT -5 Bob Ross said:

*Looks up from Impossible Double Whopper*

Yup, I'm eating less meat.  For health reasons. 

*Resumes eating Impossible Double Whopper*

I've been reading about the Impossible burgers - what do you think about them?

Supposedly, the guy who invented them claimed that people making veggie burgers were making them for people who did not eat meat - so they were fine with veggie burgers that tasted like veggie burgers. The impossible burgers were an attempt to make a veggie burger that a meat eater would want to eat, so I was wondering how that tasted.

I've tried some of the Morningstar type veggie burgers in the past - better to just eat the veggies, IMHO.

I don't eat much meat, and more fish/chicken than beef, but I do sometimes crave a big juicy burger, so if the Impossible burger fills that craving, I'd go for it. I don't need to eat the red meat, and you can grow exponentially more veggies than cows using the same resources.

They're pretty good.  I've had them, and the Beyond Meat burgers on several occasions. Sushi the Destroyer, my cat, LOVES them! I can't eat them in peace without him clawing at me, pulling the threads out of my sweaters, demanding "More!"
When an obligate carnivore, like a cat, likes them, that tells you something.

[happyhoix]

Oct 22, 2019 12:11:06 GMT -5 Bob Ross said:

Oct 22, 2019 12:01:55 GMT -5 happyhoix said:

I've been reading about the Impossible burgers - what do you think about them?

Supposedly, the guy who invented them claimed that people making veggie burgers were making them for people who did not eat meat - so they were fine with veggie burgers that tasted like veggie burgers. The impossible burgers were an attempt to make a veggie burger that a meat eater would want to eat, so I was wondering how that tasted.

I've tried some of the Morningstar type veggie burgers in the past - better to just eat the veggies, IMHO.

I don't eat much meat, and more fish/chicken than beef, but I do sometimes crave a big juicy burger, so if the Impossible burger fills that craving, I'd go for it. I don't need to eat the red meat, and you can grow exponentially more veggies than cows using the same resources.

I haven't tried one.  My comment was a joke based on the claim (fact?) that Impossible burgers are just as unhealthy, if not more so, than red meat.  My wife, who doesn't eat meat, gets them occasionally and seems to like them.

They are. the Impossible burger is pretty comparable to ground beef, health wise. The guy who invented them has it in for cows because of the environmental damage they do, and wants to eliminate them completely by like 2030. So anyone wanting to stop eating burgers strictly for health reasons needs to stick to those morning star type bean burgers instead.

But if we could switch all the hamburger eaters to impossible burgers - that would reduce a significant environmental liability.

[weltschmerz]

Nearly 80 percent of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon results from cattle ranching, to satiate our never-ending desire for meat. I don't eat the plant-based burgers for my health....I do it for the health of the planet. They never claimed to be healthy, but they're better for the environment and certainly better for our bovine friends.

[hoops902]

Oct 22, 2019 15:13:03 GMT -5 weltschmerz said:

Nearly 80 percent of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon results from cattle ranching, to satiate our never-ending desire for meat. I don't eat the plant-based burgers for my health....I do it for the health of the planet. They never claimed to be healthy, but they're better for the environment and certainly better for our bovine friends.

I'm not sure they're really any "better" for cows.  Any cow being raised for beef is still going to get slaughtered for beef.  If demand for beef decreases over time, there won't be any greater number of cows just hanging out happy, there will simply be fewer cows bred for beef to begin with.  Any cow raised for beef production is still going to get killed for beef, that's the economy of it.

[zibazinski]

Oct 22, 2019 13:23:15 GMT -5 swamp said:

Oct 22, 2019 13:10:35 GMT -5 Mrs. Dinero said:

Not sure if there’s scientific evidence to these claims but in the documentary they claimed less fat in plasma and more frequent and harder erections on a plant based diet.

But you have to suffer broccoli farts.  

Cauliflower farts can clear a room fast

[Tiny]

Oct 22, 2019 15:21:04 GMT -5 zibazinski said:

Oct 22, 2019 13:23:15 GMT -5 swamp said:

But you have to suffer broccoli farts.  

Cauliflower farts can clear a room fast

Signs of an unhealthy gut briome? 

[Deleted]

Oct 22, 2019 12:48:34 GMT -5 Tiny said:

You don't even need to be against eating animals. I went Flexitarian without any "moral" or "ethical" underpinnings about eating meat. I was mostly tired of the expense (and waste and processed-ness) of all the meat products/meala I was typically eating. Everything I ate was smushy and beige before discovering the world of "no meat" meals. I don't eat 'smushy beige food' so much anymore.

I agree. I do have other reasons for the way I eat but I like texture and flavor. Steel-cut oats, barley, beans, brussels sprouts, red and yellow peppers, stir-fried vegetables instead of canned. Food processing seems to consist mostly of stripping out anything good (fiber such as the bran on wheat, for example), over-cooking it and adding chemicals with names I can't pronounce. Somehow corn and soy-based ingredients get into everything, too, along with too much salt and sugar or, worse, high-fructose corn syrup. I try not to get paranoid about all the additives but I'm convinced that eating less of them is better.

[countrygirl2]

I am concerned about meat, all meats, chicken, fish, pork and beef, of the hormones and crap they feed them. vegetables are raised with pesticides and who knows what.  And you have to watch all the fish and stuff that comes from china and places like that.  Most everything anymore is likely contaminated with something.

I am still raising my veggies and also canning peaches and apples, I have our food about as clean as I can get, I think that's what is important.

We will go back to the amish place to get our meat.  Hubs does not like chicken or fish.  they will both eat a steak or ground beef. I do have veggie meals at times.  I have taken most carbs out of our diet, yes we still have potatoes at times, but pastas are all whole wheat.  Also been about a month since I had sodas, I'm trying to change but at this time meat is still included.

Tonight is pork steaks, gravy, and mashed potatoes, Maybe peas with it.

[tskeeter]

I’m on the fence. 

From an anthropological prospective, we most likely eat way more meat than our ancestors.  Maybe more than our bodies process very well.

on the other hand, the ethnic mixing of our society demonstrates the impact of a diet high in meat protein.  I lived in an area with lots of Vietnamese immigrants.  Mom and Dad were usually small framed and less than five feet tall.  The children, born in the US and growing up on a US diet, towered above their parents and had the build of American kids.  The same can be observed in Europe, where people are generally shorter and smaller than those from the US.  And where the diet contains a smaller proportion of meat than folks in the US consume (a six ounce steak as opposed to our 10, 12, or 16 ounce steak, and fewer hamburgers). 

Is the meat protein good or bad?  Not sure ,but it does appear to support some physiological variations.

[souldoubt]

Oct 22, 2019 17:16:05 GMT -5 tskeeter said:

From an anthropological prospective, we most likely eat way more meat than our ancestors.  Maybe more than our bodies process very well.

To be fair we eat more in general than our grandparents did let alone ancestors who were before our time.  I remember seeing an article some years back that showed how much portions have changed over the years.  A quick search brought up this article and the bagel comparison was the one I always remembered:

mentalfloss.com/article/23466/portion-distortion-10-food-servings-now-vs-then

According to worldpopulationreview.com/countries/most-obese-countries/ the US ranks 16th as far as obesity rates and if you look at the populations of countries near the top the US stands out.  I don't disagree with you about our meat consumption but I think some of it is also the processed stuff people eat.  When I worked at a grocery store during high school I felt bad for families who were bigger with big kids who were buying chips, sodas, cookies and basically everything but meat/fruit/veggies.  On keto I've gotten away from the processed stuff while I feel better and my energy level hasn't suffered.  I'm not trying to push keto rather over the years I got accustomed to eating certain things without thinking much of it.  Once you do any kind of diet and cut something out you realize how much filler so to speak is in a lot of the things we become accustomed to eating.

[countrygirl2]

We eat very little processed foods, never have. My folks didn't either, neither had cancer, so far hubs nor my kids have either.  I try to eat as close to the land as possible.  I think processed foods are way worse then even meat. We do have a lot of veggies, I try to strike a balance. Just like my home canned spaghetti sauce, none of that list of chemicals in mine.

[weltschmerz]

Oct 22, 2019 17:16:05 GMT -5 tskeeter said:

I’m on the fence. 

From an anthropological prospective, we most likely eat way more meat than our ancestors.  Maybe more than our bodies process very well.

on the other hand, the ethnic mixing of our society demonstrates the impact of a diet high in meat protein.  I lived in an area with lots of Vietnamese immigrants.  Mom and Dad were usually small framed and less than five feet tall.  The children, born in the US and growing up on a US diet, towered above their parents and had the build of American kids.  The same can be observed in Europe, where people are generally shorter and smaller than those from the US.  And where the diet contains a smaller proportion of meat than folks in the US consume (a six ounce steak as opposed to our 10, 12, or 16 ounce steak, and fewer hamburgers). 

Is the meat protein good or bad?  Not sure ,but it does appear to support some physiological variations.

Correlation does not equal causation. It's entirely possible that these parents' small statures are the the result of THEIR parents not having enough to eat, of anything.  The biggest strongest man I ever knew was a bodybuilder who was a strict vegetarian his entire life.

[NastyWoman]

Oct 22, 2019 15:13:03 GMT -5 weltschmerz said:

Nearly 80 percent of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon results from cattle ranching, to satiate our never-ending desire for meat. I don't eat the plant-based burgers for my health....I do it for the health of the planet. They never claimed to be healthy, but they're better for the environment and certainly better for our bovine friends.

Except for our bovine friends you better keep them away from  the guy who invented the Impossible burger since he has it in for cows because of the environmental damage they do, and wants to eliminate them completely by like 2030

[weltschmerz]

Oct 22, 2019 18:07:02 GMT -5 NastyWoman said:

Oct 22, 2019 15:13:03 GMT -5 weltschmerz said:

Nearly 80 percent of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon results from cattle ranching, to satiate our never-ending desire for meat. I don't eat the plant-based burgers for my health....I do it for the health of the planet. They never claimed to be healthy, but they're better for the environment and certainly better for our bovine friends.

Except for our bovine friends you better keep them away from  the guy who invented the Impossible burger since he has it in for cows because of the environmental damage they do, and wants to eliminate them completely by like 2030

So, no more milk or cheese?

[NastyWoman]

Oct 22, 2019 18:09:16 GMT -5 weltschmerz said:

Oct 22, 2019 18:07:02 GMT -5 NastyWoman said:

Except for our bovine friends you better keep them away from  the guy who invented the Impossible burger since he has it in for cows because of the environmental damage they do, and wants to eliminate them completely by like 2030

So, no more milk or cheese?

I am not the one that wants to get rid of cows. And if that guy gets anywhere near my cheese, he is in deep bovine doo - milk in its original form I can do without

[AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP]

I'm not only eating more meat, but I've upped my intake of fat- especially butter. I do buy the organic, free-range, anti-biotic-free stuff, though. Not only do I detest the abuse of animals, but none of those practices can be particularly good for us, either. I've been eating less vegetables- and I've just about completely zeroed-out grains. I do the occasional bit of rice with Sushi, and once in a long while I'll have some pizza or pasta (though I've begun making my own cauliflower crust pizzas-- and I've just about got it down to a science-- the key is evaporating the moisture out of the stuff).

[thyme4change]

Oct 22, 2019 12:48:34 GMT -5 Tiny said:

Oct 22, 2019 11:01:22 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

I have two main problems with veganism

1) There are a lot of foods that are just chemicals. I don't eat too many purely processed foods in my non-vegan diet, but if I am going to go to the trouble of eating vegan, I would want to rid myself of so much processing. 

Why do you need to go vegan?  Vegan to me means that in addition to not eating anything with a face (meat, fish, most other sea food)  you aren't eating eggs or any diary products.   
Why not just go vegetarian (or be more specific:   ovo-lacto vegetarian...OR ovo lacto pescatarian (so you can still eat fish)) ?     

For example: 
I don't think making stuffed peppers with, say  tempeh, is any more "processed" than making it with ground beef.     
I don't think loading up chili with beans, squash, corn (or maybe tempeh again) is any more processed than chili made with ground beef.   

You don't even need to be against eating animals.    I went Flexitarian without any "moral" or "ethical" underpinnings about eating meat.  I was mostly tired of the expense (and waste and processed-ness)  of all the meat products/meals  I was typically eating.   Everything I ate was smushy and beige before discovering the world of "no meat" meals.    I don't eat  'smushy  beige food'  so much anymore. 
 

I don't have any problem with simple substitutions. You have suggested Chili, with tempeh and beans. I specifically mentioned chili as one of the 3 most common vegan recipes. And then you have me one other recipe. So, now I am 2 meals in, only 19 to go for the week. I bet you got a soup recipe you could give me. I hate soup.

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

AUGUST DINNER PROTEIN TOTALS:  10 beef, 10 chicken, 7 seafood, 2 pork, 2 turkey

SEPTEMBER DINNER PROTEIN TOTALS: 10 beef, 7 seafood, 6 chicken, 6 pork, 1 protein shake

OCTOBER DINNER PROTEIN TOTALS (so far~partial month): 2 beef, 7 seafood, 5 turkey, 4 chicken, 2 pork, 2 non-meat

I was relying on beef as my dinner protein more than I thought I should, so I tracked my dinner proteins starting August 1 with an eye toward making some changes. After two months, it became clear that my "go to" or most common protein choice was beef  (representing 1/3 of my dinners), so I decided to start being more intentional with my protein choices.  I am making a concerted effort to eat less beef and more seafood and will continue to do so.  As for giving up "meat" (mammals) ... I doubt it. I am a Type 2 diabetic on insulin and am currently working to lower my too high blood sugars by eating a low carb diet.... it's not keto low ... but it's still very low. I am focusing now on eating all the colors of the rainbow (veggies) and making a point to try new vegetables when I can.  I've now been doing this for 107 days ... and my next blood test is in 6 days.

But I am very supportive of those who are choosing vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, flexitarian or omnivorous lifestyles. Your body. Your plate. Your food. Your choice.

[zibazinski]

Oct 22, 2019 15:36:50 GMT -5 Tiny said:

Oct 22, 2019 15:21:04 GMT -5 zibazinski said:

Cauliflower farts can clear a room fast

Signs of an unhealthy gut briome? 

No idea. It never affected me that way but I know someone that it did and after everyone was gagging, she said it was from cauliflower.

[raeoflyte]

Ds wanted to go vegetarian for a while and we were supportive. He realized beans weren't terrible afterall, and we all up'd our veggie intake. But for a full on diet we just couldn't find enough that he liked for it to be sustainable.

Imo you have to be a really good cook to make most vegetarian proteins edible, let alone good. A dozen ingredients, all kinds of spices and betweem me being an average cook and the kids not liking a bunch of spices it just didn't work out.

Our vegan friends eat a lot out of the freezer section which is totally fine, but not how I wanted ds to make the switch.

All that to say we don't eat a ton of meat. Seafood Sunday, and meatless Monday, are staples. Breakfast for dinner is usually vegetarian and snack dinner Saturday frequently is too.

I still need to find a steady source of pasture raised chicken and beef. We don't eat nearly enough meat for the subscription services.

[NastyWoman]

Oct 22, 2019 17:16:05 GMT -5 tskeeter said:

I’m on the fence. 

From an anthropological prospective, we most likely eat way more meat than our ancestors.  Maybe more than our bodies process very well.

on the other hand, the ethnic mixing of our society demonstrates the impact of a diet high in meat protein.  I lived in an area with lots of Vietnamese immigrants.  Mom and Dad were usually small framed and less than five feet tall.  The children, born in the US and growing up on a US diet, towered above their parents and had the build of American kids.  The same can be observed in Europe, where people are generally shorter and smaller than those from the US.  And where the diet contains a smaller proportion of meat than folks in the US consume (a six ounce steak as opposed to our 10, 12, or 16 ounce steak, and fewer hamburgers). 

Is the meat protein good or bad?  Not sure ,but it does appear to support some physiological variations.

That would be southern Europe → the Dutch are, on average, the tallest in the world and I am quite certain that I fly to Europe when I go home. The US doesn't even make the top 10.

www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/maps-and-graphics/the-tallest-and-shortest-countries-in-the-world/

ETA: I just realized you described the "standard steak" as 6oz., so I had to go and look it up in grams → 6oz. would be considered a big steak and the recommended amount is more like 4oz. → So there is a lot of room for our shorties to grow  

 

[tskeeter]

Oct 23, 2019 10:08:50 GMT -5 NastyWoman said:

Oct 22, 2019 17:16:05 GMT -5 tskeeter said:

I’m on the fence. 

From an anthropological prospective, we most likely eat way more meat than our ancestors.  Maybe more than our bodies process very well.

on the other hand, the ethnic mixing of our society demonstrates the impact of a diet high in meat protein.  I lived in an area with lots of Vietnamese immigrants.  Mom and Dad were usually small framed and less than five feet tall.  The children, born in the US and growing up on a US diet, towered above their parents and had the build of American kids.  The same can be observed in Europe, where people are generally shorter and smaller than those from the US.  And where the diet contains a smaller proportion of meat than folks in the US consume (a six ounce steak as opposed to our 10, 12, or 16 ounce steak, and fewer hamburgers). 

Is the meat protein good or bad?  Not sure ,but it does appear to support some physiological variations.

That would be southern Europe → the Dutch are, on average, the tallest in the world and I am quite certain that I fly to Europe when I go home. The US doesn't even make the top 10.

www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/maps-and-graphics/the-tallest-and-shortest-countries-in-the-world/

ETA: I just realized you described the "standard steak" as 6oz., so I had to go and look it up in grams → 6oz. would be considered a big steak and the recommended amount is more like 4oz. → So there is a lot of room for our shorties to grow  

 

Good info.  It looks like my observation based anecdotal evidence is not supported by the statistics.

[tskeeter]

Oct 23, 2019 0:27:33 GMT -5 ❤ mollymouser ❤ said:

AUGUST DINNER PROTEIN TOTALS:  10 beef, 10 chicken, 7 seafood, 2 pork, 2 turkey

SEPTEMBER DINNER PROTEIN TOTALS: 10 beef, 7 seafood, 6 chicken, 6 pork, 1 protein shake

OCTOBER DINNER PROTEIN TOTALS (so far~partial month): 2 beef, 7 seafood, 5 turkey, 4 chicken, 2 pork, 2 non-meat

I was relying on beef as my dinner protein more than I thought I should, so I tracked my dinner proteins starting August 1 with an eye toward making some changes. After two months, it became clear that my "go to" or most common protein choice was beef  (representing 1/3 of my dinners), so I decided to start being more intentional with my protein choices.  I am making a concerted effort to eat less beef and more seafood and will continue to do so.  As for giving up "meat" (mammals) ... I doubt it. I am a Type 2 diabetic on insulin and am currently working to lower my too high blood sugars by eating a low carb diet.... it's not keto low ... but it's still very low. I am focusing now on eating all the colors of the rainbow (veggies) and making a point to try new vegetables when I can.  I've now been doing this for 107 days ... and my next blood test is in 6 days.

But I am very supportive of those who are choosing vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, flexitarian or omnivorous lifestyles. Your body. Your plate. Your food. Your choice.

I support your choice.  However, it does create complications for others.

Take my sister’s family, for example.  I wrestle with how much is real dietary restrictions and how much is choice.  All except one nephew is gluten free.  The other nephew is also no turkey, as it makes him tired for several days.  Another is no chicken, no tomato, no peas, in addition to the no gluten.  Yet another is no dairy, no gluten.  A family meal requires a major logistical effort to find recipes and ingredients to accommodate all the special diets.

[raeoflyte]

Oct 23, 2019 11:27:26 GMT -5 tskeeter said:

Oct 23, 2019 0:27:33 GMT -5 ❤ mollymouser ❤ said:

AUGUST DINNER PROTEIN TOTALS:  10 beef, 10 chicken, 7 seafood, 2 pork, 2 turkey

SEPTEMBER DINNER PROTEIN TOTALS: 10 beef, 7 seafood, 6 chicken, 6 pork, 1 protein shake

OCTOBER DINNER PROTEIN TOTALS (so far~partial month): 2 beef, 7 seafood, 5 turkey, 4 chicken, 2 pork, 2 non-meat

I was relying on beef as my dinner protein more than I thought I should, so I tracked my dinner proteins starting August 1 with an eye toward making some changes. After two months, it became clear that my "go to" or most common protein choice was beef  (representing 1/3 of my dinners), so I decided to start being more intentional with my protein choices.  I am making a concerted effort to eat less beef and more seafood and will continue to do so.  As for giving up "meat" (mammals) ... I doubt it. I am a Type 2 diabetic on insulin and am currently working to lower my too high blood sugars by eating a low carb diet.... it's not keto low ... but it's still very low. I am focusing now on eating all the colors of the rainbow (veggies) and making a point to try new vegetables when I can.  I've now been doing this for 107 days ... and my next blood test is in 6 days.

But I am very supportive of those who are choosing vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, flexitarian or omnivorous lifestyles. Your body. Your plate. Your food. Your choice.

I support your choice.  However, it does create complications for others.

Take my sister’s family, for example.  I wrestle with how much is real dietary restrictions and how much is choice.  All except one nephew is gluten free.  The other nephew is also no turkey, as it makes him tired for several days.  Another is no chicken, no tomato, no peas, in addition to the no gluten.  Yet another is no dairy, no gluten.  A family meal requires a major logistical effort to find recipes and ingredients to accommodate all the special diets.

We run into this too, and I try to provide meals that accomodate everyone, but truthfully most people with limitations prefer to bring their own and I'm working on that piece too.  

But the baked potato bar has been a life saver.  All gluten free with a vegan/dairy free table and one for everything else.  Not necessarily great for those cutting carbs, but its been my most successful (and easiest) way to tackle big meals.