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Thread: Eating already bought non-vegan food in the fridge?

  1. #1
    Cathfiddle
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    Default Eating already bought non-vegan food in the fridge?

    Hello all, I've been lurking on and off here since late last year, and decided to finally bite the bullet and write my first forum post (on the net, ever!) about something I think fellow vegans (or those who aspire to be) will be best able to help me with.

    I've dabbled in veg*nism for a few years, but only started saying I was moving towards a vegan (eating) lifestyle a couple of months ago. In contrast, my mum believed she probably would never be vegan because she likes non-vegan food too much... Until a few weeks ago when she watched Earthlings. Now she can hardly look at someone eating meat, and she only eats eggs from a relative who has a small organic farm in the country, which is a great start considering all these other dietry changes she's going through (limiting wheat, rice, potato, fried food, sugar, yeast etc).

    However, one point I realised today that we don't agree on is what to do with all the meat products in the freezer/fridge. The pantry products are easy to give away, we're slowly thawing out the whole chunks of meat to feed to our cats, but what about the prepared frozen and refrigerated products?

    My point of view is to eat the prepared animal products (albeit begrudgingly) if they can't be given away, since it would even worse to throw in the rubbish.
    I found out today that my mum's view differs; apart from the cat's food, all the frozen/fridged products were thrown out.

    I was horrified when I heard that. I know that the aim is to not consume animal products, but if we still have the consequence of our previous actions lurking in the house...

    I understand why she threw the animal products away, but she doesn't understand mine for eating them, believing that eating it makes me no more ethical than a regular omnivore.

    So the question is, what's the most ethical way to eat omnivorous prepared meals that can't be given away? It's too late for my house now, but I'd love to have a more experienced opinion on this.

    I'm sorry if a similar post was asked before, or if I'm not very coherent, it's awfully late and this dilemma has mentally exhausted me.

    ~Catnfiddle
    (I just realised I made my username Cathfiddle by accident, whoops! xD)

  2. #2
    baffled harpy's Avatar
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    Default Re: Both mum & I are transitioning, but seeing things differently; help please!

    Hello Cath or Cat, welcome We do indeed have threads about it (though more about what to do with old leather shoes etc as that problem potentially goes on longer than the "how to dispose of food" one). I think there have been opinions expressed on both sides of the question.

    A lot of people don't fancy non-vegan food once they've decided to go vegan, but if you do then I personally don't see anything wrong with finishing it off if you can't give it away. I'm not keen on waste either (though there again some people don't see it as waste as they don't see non-vegan food as food any more - perhaps your mum thought something like that?).

    Anyway as you say you can't do anything about it now so it's probably not worth spending too much more mental effort on, IMO. Good luck with going vegan, and it's great that your mum is moving in a similar direction even though by a different route.

  3. #3
    Bad Buddhist Clueless Git's Avatar
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    Default Re: Both mum & I are transitioning, but seeing things differently; help please!

    If the products are 'fit' to be consumed then they are fit to be given to someone else to consume.

    If the person they are given to then doesnt have to buy that quantity of new animal based food as result (a meal for free is a meal that need not be bought) and that is one less animal based meal sold.

    Sorry catnfiddle but I think your mum is right.
    All done in the best possible taste ...

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    Default Re: Both mum & I are transitioning, but seeing things differently; help please!

    Oh my god, sorry, not a direct reply to your question (i have a meat-eating son and vegi daughter who are eating the left-overs) but i googled Earthlings, i only dared watch the trailer and that was really enough, i'm finding it hard to type now, my hands are shaking, did you see that poor animal alive after being skinned? i'd read about this happening but had not really imagined that it could really be true, f****** barbarians! i just want to cry. sorry for changing the subject. : (

  5. #5
    Cathfiddle
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    Default Re: Both mum & I are transitioning, but seeing things differently; help please!

    Thank you replying Harpy! Hm, I've never thought of viewing animal products as not food. It made me think of when I was a kid when I used to sometimes eat grass at school, which humans don't consider food (though many herbivores do) and the teachers kept saying to stop eating it or I'll become sick. Luckily it didn't make me ill and I got over that phase, yet animal products, which the majority of humans consider food, is causing harm in many, many more ways than munching some grass would! Of course I'm not advocating the consumption of grass, I just found that a curious thought. (Though imagining a herd of people grazing in a meadow amongst other animals made me giggle)

    Moving more back on topic, upon further discussion and mulling over, I was not looking foward to eating the non-vegan food but eating it to get it over with and because I knew I wouldn't like it much, so I was doubting it would lead me off the vegan track. However, my mum didn't want to eat it because she was worried she would like it, since she's more accustomed to being an omnivore than I am.

  6. #6

    Default Re: Both mum & I are transitioning, but seeing things differently; help please!

    Hi,
    I can see both sides.. after awhile of me not eating meat, looking at or smelling meat cooking just started to really gross me out, so I can see how after watching the video she may have been really disgusted by it and had no desire to eat it after that so, like Harpy said, whatever wasn't going to be eaten anymore was no longer thought of as "food" and so it was thrown out.. I can also see your side too, because I am also sensitive to food being wasted. I live with omnivores and when I see meat going bad or being thrown out ...rather than just being "wasted food" to me it feels like a waste of a life. Not that meat that gets eaten isn't a waste of a life as well, but it just seems worse to me when it gets thrown away.
    Either way, with both of you making changes in your life there are days and weeks and months worth of meat that is no longer being bought or eaten by either of you, so it's positive either way. Another way to think of it is its a good thing that your mom felt so strongly about it, that rather than watching the video, figuring she'd finish whatever was left, and then forgetting about it and continuing to buy meat out of force of habit.... she was just done with it altogether.. so that's good.
    You are both really fortunate to start this together, you two can share recipes, take turns cooking, shop together, go to vegan restaurants together.... so whatever happened with the food it's all positive from here on.

  7. #7
    baffled harpy's Avatar
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    Default Re: Both mum & I are transitioning, but seeing things differently; help please!

    Quote Cathfiddle View Post
    It made me think of when I was a kid when I used to sometimes eat grass at school, which humans don't consider food (though many herbivores do) and the teachers kept saying to stop eating it or I'll become sick. Luckily it didn't make me ill and I got over that phase, yet animal products, which the majority of humans consider food, is causing harm in many, many more ways than munching some grass would! Of course I'm not advocating the consumption of grass, I just found that a curious thought.
    Yes, that is curious. We were discussing in another thread that some of us find the idea of eating dairy produce repugnant but to probably 90% of the population, and to most of us earlier in our lives, it was a "natural" and "wholesome" food. Makes me wonder what other dodgy things I'm taking for granted!

    I can see why your mother would want to get the omnivorous stuff out of the house if eating it is like a habit she wanted to break. Anyway to look on the bright side you probably have a lot of room in your fridge and freezer now, what are you going to put in it?

    ETA Hils, I can't watch that sort of thing - sounds as if you have probably watched as much as you need to Obviously it has a useful purpose though as quite a lot of people have mentioned going vegan as a result of watching it.

  8. #8
    Cathfiddle
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    Default Re: Both mum & I are transitioning, but seeing things differently; help please!

    Quote Cupid Stunt View Post
    If the products are 'fit' to be consumed then they are fit to be given to someone else to consume.

    If the person they are given to then doesnt have to buy that quantity of new animal based food as result (a meal for free is a meal that need not be bought) and that is one less animal based meal sold.

    Sorry catnfiddle but I think your mum is right.
    Hi Cupid Stunt, I think you might've mis-read something; we're giving away all the stuff we can give, but as giving away leftover frozen chunks of take-away pizza isn't... I'm not sure how to put it (impolite? discourteous?), but it's not something you'd do? So that meant that we had two choices for the frozen leftovers: into mum and my mouths or into the bin. Mum chose the bin, which is why I was miffed, but as previously said, can't do much about it now.

    And Hils, I know... It comepletely shattered mumkins. If I hadn't have seen stuff like that before (like a friend introduced me about Glass Walls mid last year) and didn't knew what was coming, I wouldn't have been able to face it at all, it's truly heartbreaking.

    As for the current status of my freezer, it's almost full again already! xD There's lentil soup, tomato & capsicum stew, green curry, pad thai with mushroom... *drools* We can fit in the ice-cream maker now too... Mmmm, thinking of making some peach ice-cream soon

  9. #9
    baffled harpy's Avatar
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    Default Re: Both mum & I are transitioning, but seeing things differently; help please!

    Mmm, sounds as if you've got the what-to-eat aspect sorted already! I should cook more stuff for the freezer.

  10. #10
    deer's Avatar
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    Default Re: Both mum & I are transitioning, but seeing things differently; help please!

    What if you gave it to animal shelter or stray animals? I can't really come up with anything else unfortunately.

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    Default Re: Both mum & I are transitioning, but seeing things differently; help please!

    Hi Catnfiddle,

    that is such wonderful news that you and your mother can make this journey together. I'm a vegan mum of teenagers and it saddens me that they have opted to eat dairy. As far as eating/not eating the leftovers, if your choice with regards to what could not be given away was to throw it of put it in the bin or eat it I think it shows more respect to yourself not to eat it. If you no longer regard omni products as something good to eat you are in fact treating yourself like a rubbish bin to eat it.

    Anyway, its done now and you have a freezer full of new goodies. Very best wishes for your new life

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    Default Re: Both mum & I are transitioning, but seeing things differently; help please!

    Heya Cat/Cath, welcome to the forum.

    I don't know if it helps, but this is the way I feel.. Whatever foods I don't want to put in my body I just chuck away (if I can't give it away first). I see no point of letting something travel through my body first before becoming waste or straight into the bin becoming waste immediately. I consider non-vegan foods really unhealthy and actually harmful. Sometimes I accidentally buy something non-vegan, I don't make a big deal out of it and just give/throw it away. Solves the issue immediately, clears up space in my fridge/cabinets and I can move on with my life and will try to avoid making those mistakes next time.

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    Default Re: Both mum & I are transitioning, but seeing things differently; help please!

    I can sympathise with both you and your mum's viewpoints, but I think your mum probably made the right decision.

    You're right in that there's no further harm in consuming the food that would otherwise just get thrown away. But I think it speaks of exactly how much watching Earthlings affected her - she just couldn't bring herself to eat it.

    And it's often easier to draw the line in one fell swoop. By throwing the food away, the final transition is not a prolonged process. One minute omni, the next veggie/vegan.

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