How a vegan Appalachian Trail record-breaker fueled up - Press Herald

[WhiteBlaze]

Press Herald

How a vegan Appalachian Trail record-breaker fueled up Press Herald When ultramarathoner Scott Jurek reached Mount Katahdin in July and completed the Appalachian Trail in 46 days, eight hours and seven minutes, he not only beat the previous speed record by three hours, but he did so while eating all vegan food. Here in ...

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[lemon b]

Whats the difference between a Vegan and a vegetarian ?

[pauly_j]

Whats the difference between a Vegan and a vegetarian ?

Not sure if that's a serious question? Do you guys not have Vegan in America?

Vegetarians still eat animal products like cheese, milk, honey, etc. Basically products from animals that don't result in their death, although some are cool with leather because it's a by-product of the meat industry. Vegans eat nothing from animals at all.

Often Vegetarians will eat eggs, which I find a bit weird, as the egg industry results in the death of any male chicks born in hatcheries.

[Sarcasm the elf]

Whats the difference between a Vegan and a vegetarian ?

Vegetarians don't eat meat.

Vegans don't eat meat and won't stop talking about it.

(If you wanted a real answer Pauly_J's reply above is correct.)

[Traveler]

[QUOTE=pauly_j;2010155]Not sure if that's a serious question? Do you guys not have Vegan in America?/QUOTE]

If one does not know the answer, the question is serious. How else is someone to learn something if they don't ask the question. The difference between vegans and vegetarians is nuanced to those who are not into that lifestyle.

As an aside, eating eggs does not result in the death of the chicken that lays the egg, which is why some vegetarians consume them.

[Kookork]

Not sure if that's a serious question? Do you guys not have Vegan in America?

Vegetarians still eat animal products like cheese, milk, honey, etc. Basically products from animals that don't result in their death, although some are cool with leather because it's a by-product of the meat industry. Vegans eat nothing from animals at all.

Often Vegetarians will eat eggs, which I find a bit weird, as the egg industry results in the death of any male chicks born in hatcheries.

While lemon b's question was an honest question ,your question was sarcastic and made me feel in your mind you think inferior about America.

[Casey & Gina]

I consider myself to usually be vegan, though I like not being dogmatic. Everything I purchase at a store or restaurant is vegan. I will not turn down something with dairy if freely given, though I am loathe to purchase such things in the store when I have the choice not to as the dairy industry is pretty awful. I likewise don't overly stress about eggs, though I do strongly avoid them. If I am offered some free cookies and they may have some egg in them, I as often as not won't turn them down. I am a strict vegetarian, and will not knowingly eat anything with a meat product in it. That said, I am sure there are times that I have consumed something which unknowingly contained an animal broth or other minor ingredient, even times when - whether intentionally or accidentally - a waitress has incorrectly told me something on the menu has only vegan ingredients. However if I suspect there might be such an ingredient, and can't find a clear answer by asking or looking, I will turn it away. That all said, if I had the resources and ability to raise my own milk cow and/or chickens and knew intimately how well they were cared for and what would be their fate at the end of their producing life, then I would not be adverse to consuming dairy or eggs...

Some people extend vegan to mean not participating in any actions that involve violence to another living animal, and thus abstain from things like honey, leather, wool, down, etc. I am pretty opposite to that. My concern for the well-treatment of animals does not extend to insects, which I will readily swat if provoked, and I find good honey to be a valuable and wonderful substance. Yes, the bee industry has it's problems, but so does every fruit and vegetable industry, and personally I accept the downsides of these industries which I choose to be a consumer of. I am not a fan of many synthetic alternatives that simply do not endure or perform as well - I strongly prefer products made of leather, wool, and down whenever I have the choice between them and something lesser. These are products which could in theory be harvested without violence as well, though realistically I know that is not the case. While I readily identify the problem of modern industry across the board, by abstinence of animal products is limited to what I choose not to consume into my body.

Everyone is different and every vegan has their own personal interpretation of what that means for them. Some folks I work with from eastern European countries consider themselves "vegetarian" though they eat fish or chicken. Many who consider themselves vegans would say I'm not one. So it's a bit muddy.

[illabelle]

I'm a lifelong vegetarian of the ovo-lacto variety, meaning I grew up eating eggs and dairy. Until a few years ago, I had no intention of changing that. Now I lean pretty strongly vegan. Except for a very few instances, it's been years since I've bought cow milk, and possibly decades since I've drunk it. We have four "retired" hens. On average, we probably get two eggs a week, and I use them in baked goods. I sometimes buy eggs if I have a hankering. If we don't have any eggs on hand, we can go months without any. The hardest thing is cheese. There is no satisfactory vegan substitute for real cheese, so we mostly do without. Except when we're hiking. I love cheese on the trail.

[colorado_rob]

While lemon b's question was an honest question ,your question was sarcastic and made me feel in your mind you think inferior about America.

I didn't get that feeling from pauly's post at all, eating habits and nomenclature are sometimes vastly different across the pond. I detected zero sarcasm. Just MHO.

In any case, I find it amazing that Veggies/Vegans can actually manage to get all the nutrients they want during ultra exercises... I can barely do so myself eating all the animal products I can stuff into my mouth. I tip my hat to those that can manage this w/o animal-based foods!

[The Kisco Kid]

If one does not know the answer, the question is serious. How else is someone to learn something if they don't ask the question.

Google it.

[cycle003]

It seems weird that this is news. It also doesn't seem like much of a feat if you are being supplied all the time.

[pauly_j]

Sorry, my question wasn't sarcastic. As someone who has never been to America I have no idea. I know you guys are really into your meat though. There are massive cultural divides and I was in no way making out that one was inferior. Veganism has gone from being somewhat obscure in the UK to there being several vegan restaurants in each city in the space of a decade or so. 10 years ago you had to ask at an eatery if food was vegetarian, now they are labelled thus on the menu.

Having been to places like South Africa, I've experienced cultures where people just don't get the idea of people not eating meat with every meal, never mind not at all.

[cycle003]

Having been to places like South Africa, I've experienced cultures where people just don't get the idea of people not eating meat with every meal, never mind not at all.

That's still the case in a lot of places in the US, especially in rural areas.

[Kookork]

Sorry, my question wasn't sarcastic. As someone who has never been to America I have no idea. I know you guys are really into your meat though. There are massive cultural divides and I was in no way making out that one was inferior. Veganism has gone from being somewhat obscure in the UK to there being several vegan restaurants in each city in the space of a decade or so. 10 years ago you had to ask at an eatery if food was vegetarian, now they are labelled thus on the menu.

Having been to places like South Africa, I've experienced cultures where people just don't get the idea of people not eating meat with every meal, never mind not at all.

Thank you for clarification.I am susceptible to jumping the gun.
For a " meatiterian "like me the closest I could get to be a vegetarian is when I am on trails and consuming trail mix exclusively which after couple of days it ends up for me dreaming about meat eating all night long while I am asleep.

[pauly_j]

As a side, I stopped eating meat a couple of years back. I still have fish once a week or so but don't really pay attention to where I'm getting my protein, etc. It's really a lot easier than people think. I cycle 16 miles a day for work, run long distance races, and train Brazilian Jiu Jitsu 2 or 3 times a week, so my body goes through the ringer. I'll admit I felt pretty drained when I first gave up flesh but then I also felt drained when I gave up English tea. I feel fine now.

As someone who works in the construction industry in a primarily food-based company, I see every stage from farm to plate, and that's what put me off to be honest. I have no real issue with animals being hunted etc. (hence still being pretty cool with eating caught fish); my issue is more with animals being born into a miserable life of captivity and inevitable traumatic death.

People are sometimes very ignorant as to where their food comes from. They're happy not to know. In most cases, they don't want to know. I believe it was Paul McCartney who said "If Slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be a vegetarian."

I truly believe that in the not to distant future, people will look at the treatment and consumption of animals in a similar way that people look at prejudice and discrimination against people of different sexuality, race, gender, etc. We've come a huge way in a very short space of time in that respect.

[burger]

Vegetarians don't eat meat.

Vegans don't eat meat and won't stop talking about it.

(If you wanted a real answer Pauly_J's reply above is correct.)

Don't be a jerk, dude. I've been vegetarian most of my life and have never told anyone how to eat.

[Traveler]

I didn't get that feeling from pauly's post at all, eating habits and nomenclature are sometimes vastly different across the pond. I detected zero sarcasm. Just MHO.

In any case, I find it amazing that Veggies/Vegans can actually manage to get all the nutrients they want during ultra exercises... I can barely do so myself eating all the animal products I can stuff into my mouth. I tip my hat to those that can manage this w/o animal-based foods!

I know several people at various places in the vegetarianism spectrum and I too did not think they could get all the nutrients from a non-meat diet. Surprisingly they get most all the nutrients they need from food and supplements, much like those who have meats in their diets.

[Traveler]

If one does not know the answer, the question is serious. How else is someone to learn something if they don't ask the question.

Google it.

Even google requires the question be posed to find an answer.

[Casey & Gina]

As a side, I stopped eating meat a couple of years back. I still have fish once a week or so but don't really pay attention to where I'm getting my protein, etc. It's really a lot easier than people think.

It still humors me whenever I hear someone (such as my aforementioned European coworkers) think of fish as not being meat. Just a cultural difference in the meaning of the word I suppose. In America "meat" generally refers to any and all types of animal flesh. It is pretty funny that there is so much concern about protein and nutrition in general - most vegetarians eat more protein than their omnivorous peers without thinking about it, and generally get a lot more nutrients in their daily meals. There are exceptions of course, as it's possible to be unhealthy on any diet. A lot of people just don't realize this, which is why vegans tend to turn heads when they pull something off (despite it being not at all uncommon these days). Awareness is increasing dramatically these days thanks in large part to the Internet.

As someone who works in the construction industry in a primarily food-based company, I see every stage from farm to plate, and that's what put me off to be honest. I have no real issue with animals being hunted etc. (hence still being pretty cool with eating caught fish); my issue is more with animals being born into a miserable life of captivity and inevitable traumatic death.

I have the same perspective, though not the work experience. I respect hunting and fishing, though I would personally only choose to do it if enough alternative food were not available - I believe this is more of a concern the colder the climate where you live. In my ideal world, everyone would be pretty close to self-sufficient for their food needs with limited, localized trade. Easier dreamt about than done, though. That said hunting and fishing need to be kept in check - we have exhausted so much of the natural fish and game resources that were once available. Many, including my mother, have the mindset that "it's not a meal unless there's a big portion of meat", and that puts a heavy load on the ecosystem.

[rafe]

You don't have to be from PETA to know that the food industry, and especially the meat/livestock industry is doing our bodies and our planet no good. I still enjoy meat now and then but by no means daily. I think on average, one meal per week (though there might be leftovers...)

Plenty of other tasty ways to get your protein. Starting with peanut butter. Yum.

If I had to kill my own meat, I'd be a vegetarian for sure.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food,_Inc.