I just have to rant. Usually my dad is really cool about the way I eat. He's used to it, and usually extremely accepting of it... but last night I wanted to seriously scream. So, I retardedly drank Red Bull, and didn't realize that it contained Taurine... [which if you don't know, usually comes from cows] and when I realized that, I got upset. I just said, "Shit, ugh, I wish I would have been smarter and read the fucking label like I USUALLY do!" Then I went in the bathroom to pop a zit [haha], and my dad says to my boyfriend "Oh god, she's probably in there trying to throw up now" .... UGH, I became utterly infuriated. Yeah, I was upset that I fucked up, but how stupid does he think I am?! Then when I expressed how much that irritated me that he said that, he goes on to say, "Well, honestly, you take this way too far. So WHAT if you slip up every now and again?! You don't have to be weird about it!" I said...."SO WHAT?! This is what I believe in, just like you believe in the Catholic religion. Being humane to animals, and not consuming products derived from them, is my cause, it's what I believe in, so YES, I'm going to be 'weird' about it. Just leave me alone" But of course he didn't leave me alone. He goes on to say, "Well, you're healthier than you ever were, and slipping up every now and again won't hurt you. BLAH BLAH BLAH" Now, before I go on, I must state something extremely important. I struggled for years with eating disorders, and being vegan has helped me INSANELY with recovery. It helps me focus my attention on something else, lose weight the HEALTHY way, and have *control* without getting OUT of control. But, to me, when I slip up, and accidently eat something that isn't vegan, it makes me feel *out of control* again, so YES, it is a bad thing for me. So... I went on to explain that to him. And he says, "well being crazy about either thing, doesn't make you normal" I just got pissed and said, "Well, being normal wasn't really my goal, my goal was to be healthy, and do something good for the animals as well. It has nothing to do with being normal, so I could care less if I'm not." Then, my boyfriend pops in to say, "yeah you're doing all these nice things for the animals, but in the process you're being cruel to yourself." I asked, "How in the hell am I being cruel to myself?" He replies, "Because you can't enjoy things that say, me and your dad do. Like cheese, and milk chocolate, etc." So, I went on a speech to say, "You're wrong. I'm treating myself BETTER than you two do for sure. I'm healthier, and I feel better, how the hell would that be considered cruel? And by the way, I still enjoy those things in vegan form, and to me they are just as good if not BETTER." Then, for a change, my dad said something NICE, and says, "Well, yeah... she does look a lot better. She looks thin and healthy. She DOES look healthier than I've ever seen her look...." But, I honestly just got enraged. I was so pissed off. I HATE it when someone tries to tell me how it is, or what I should do... I know what I need, what I believe, and I am a big girl now and can handle taking care of myself, I dont NEED someone saying, "It's okay, it's okay to slip up." And then to go on and call me weird. I'm not offended by the fact that he called me weird, I'm offended by the fact that it was MEANT to be offensive. I could care less if I'm weird, but my own family trying to put me down really irks me. After 15 minutes of arguing back and forth, I just said, "You know what, I'm done with this fucking conversation. YOU KNOW that we will never understand each other's views, so just let it go. I won't get you to understand, and in no way will I understand you." I also love how my boyfriend, for one, has health issues and had to go to the fucking hospital, and the doctor told him to start eating better...basically vegan, and he still doesn't seem to grasp the fact that eating pizza and McDonald's everyday, though it may taste good to him, isn't a GOOD thing. It irks me how he sits there and gripes almost daily about how shitty he feels, but he doesn't make an attempt to eat better, and instead he cuts ME down for eating healthy, and SEES that I have way less health issues than he does because of it. Don't gripe about it, if you're going to be ignorant and continue to eat like shit! okay. I'm done ranting now.
aww i hope you feel better hehe it's fun reading other ppl's rants... makes me feel better about my own i'd say it probably is best to just agree to disagree.. i think you're doing the right thing for yourself, and hopefully your boyfriend will get encouraged to start eating healthier too, just by being around you
good rant Apples and Oranges!! often time i have have felt the very same way! frusterating when people refuse to explore the deeper meaning of our chosen lifestyle. often times i hear "oh, just treat yourself!" or "you used to LOVE to eat cheese" and it makes me mad too. i tell them that i didnt give up animal products because i didnt like the taste of it, but because the consumtion of such products is against my ethics. hard for people to see anything which is against the 'norm'. i think it is because they feel that their own choices are now put in question, which makes them uncomfortable. oh well...what can you do? keep on keeping on!!
BTW, you'll probably be glad to know that Red Bull doesn't contain animal ingredients. Snopes.com revealed the drink's formulation after investigating rumors about the safety and ingredients. ---------------------------------------------------- Despite whatever conclusions one might draw from the name, Red Bull contains no substances of animal origin. Even the taurine used in the formulation is synthetically produced. http://www.snopes.com/toxins/redbull.htm ---------------------------------------------------
I'm not sure what you're saying your dad did wrong... His comment sounds like it was good-natured mickey-taking to me. And he's right; it doesn't matter if you 'slip up' once in a while. The animal's already dead, isn't it?
Wow, you have just totally convinced me to improve my diet. I dont know why but you are in imspiration! I love people who are so strong about their beliefs... You are beautiful
duh, bulls are cows...MALE cows. learn your stuff before you correct me. edit to say, I spent most of my childhood on my uncles farm, I think I have a good idea of what I'm talking about
i didnt look at it, but is that legit? I dont want to believe something thats not 100% accurate... if it is legit and true, then keep the Red Bulls coming! haha as IF i need anymore energy
http://www.serve.com/BatonRouge/taurine_chmr.htm neat site on taurine and cats General Taurine was first isolated from ox bile in 1827 where it is found in high concentration. (Tiedemann F., Gmelin L., 1827: Einige neue Bestandteile der Galle des Ochsen, Ann. Physik. Chem., 9, 326-337). The bovine connection (latin name "bos taurus") clearly explains the descriptive name "Taurine" was chosen. Taurine, one of the lesser-known amino acids, plays several important roles in the body and is essential to newborns of many species. Along with methionine, cystine and cysteine, it is a sulfur amino acid. The taurine molecule (H2N-CH2-CH2-SO2H) is small and consists of hydrogen (H), nitrogen (N), carbon (C), sulfur (S) and oxygen (O). Most amino acids have a L- or D-configuration, which means the molecule when put into a solution will rotate light either to the left (Levo=L) or the right (Dextro=D). Taurine, like the amino acid Glycine does not polarize light and consequently does not have an L- or D-configuration. It occurs in the body as a free molecule and is never incorporated into muscle proteins. The taurine molecule is water soluble and thus doesn’t easily cross the mostly fatty membranes of the body’s cell but it is present in all membranes. now hit the link if you want more. Bile would be in males and females. you are all correct in your own ways. the prefered reference would be "made from cattle."
don't even try to understand, ...if you don't. am i the only one who thinks that sentence is a big zero?
If you can't grasp why I said that then go back and read what this thread is about... I was ranting about people who DONT understand my lifestyle and how when they *try* to understand it, they just dont and all it does is irritate those who really follow that sort of lifestyle... If you really must know the point of that sentence... When someone tells me its okay to "just slip up" even if I tell them how firmly I feel about it [which I just did in my rant] they obviously don't understand, and they WON'T. In other words, trying to tell me how to go about living the lifestyle that I do, when they don't understand is completely pointless. So my point is, don't even bother to understand if you're not going to open up your mind and understand where IIIIm coming from. That comment of YOURS was asinine, thank you. [saying 'the animal is already is dead isnt it, so who cares if you slip up' irritates me. to me, it's offending because it's MY decision, and no one should feel the need to tell me what is okay and what isnt. This is what I do, and if anyone disagrees, or doesn't understand it, they should just keep their fucking noses out of it. I don't go around and harass meat eaters and say well "if no one ate meat, then the cattle industry would die, and there would be no cows dying" I dont push beliefs on other non-veggies that way, and they would be irritated if I did... Do I not have the same right to be irritated if someone does that to me? If my boyfriend says "Damn there's no burgers left in the fridge" i dont sit there and get on his ass about "well you can live without a burger"]
A+O, time will pass and you will be able to lovingly forgive those who joke like that. Don't know about the truly ignorant. I was offered a bite of a friend's late night Toxic Hell soft taco with some form of dead critter. I shook my head. He said "well, it's dead." (Purely a joke, he was veg for 10 years, 10 years ago) and I looked at him and said, "that's my problem with it."
"Dont even try to understand, if you dont." Excuse me? I'm not sure i understand *that* either... Are you saying that your thinking is too advanced for me? That I wouldn't understand your position? Try me - I'm pretty stupid, but maybe it's worth a try, eh? And bulls aren't cows. A cow is a female, a bull a male.
