James R said:
With regard to this particular debate, ask yourself: if the meat-eaters here really think eating meat is necessary and/or good, why do they feel they must defend their practices? Why so defensive and irrational in their arguments?
This line grated with me.
A little over a year ago I'd stopped eating meat because I'd started to feel disgusted with myself for eating animals. Having suffered from anaemia for a long time (having had many blood transfusions in the past), I increased my iron and vitamin supplements and was happy with my decision and my bloodcount was within a normal range for me. Then I found out that I was pregnant and was advised again to increase the iron tablets to the point where I was not only on iron tablets, but also on iron water as well, since my red blood count had again dropped dangerously low (due to complications that arose early on in my pregnancy). I was told to again increase my iron supplement intake, along with vitamin C and calcium because of the fear that my health and that of my child's would be at risk. By this point, I found myself consuming green vegetables and vitamin C rich foods and iron to such an extent that I had started to feel ill.
The risk of another blood transfusion was too great and I was told that I had to go back to eating red meat in particular. Iron injections were rejected as they'd failed in the past and the chance of permanent scarring was too great. I had been suffering from other complications during my pregnancy at this time and tests revealed that my low blood count was a contributing factor. So I re-started to introduce meat products back in my diet during my pregnancy. However I found that I could not even tolerate beef in any way, shape or form. Lamb was barely tolerable, but at least it did not make me throw up like beef did. My red blood count did not increase but at least stabilised and I was told to keep taking the iron supplements and keep eating iron rich foods everyday, especially red meat. I was given two blood transfusions in the week after the birth, but they did not take.
After I gave birth, I thought that all would be fine and I could go back to not eating meat again and just stick to the supplements and slowly build my red blood count back up. However that did not take and I then discovered that breastfeeding took so much out of me as well that a balanced diet including meat and iron supplements was the only way that would not result in another hospital stay. I was then told by my specialist (herself a vegetarian) that if I wanted to remain a vegetarian, I'd have to stop breastfeeding as I barely had enough for myself, let alone my son and within 3 weeks after his birth, he'd re-lost the weight he'd managed to put on after we left the hospital.
So as of today, I'm still a meat eater and I am still taking iron supplements and having blood tests twice a week, and my child is now thriving better on my milk than he did before. So now at the present time, I'm finally not falling asleep at all hours of the day because of anaemia and I'm able to breath freely as the anaemia had gotten so bad at one point that breathing had become painful. For me it was not an irrational decision but the only rational decision I had left to make and the result has been that I am now getting better. Many vegetarians will say that I took the easy way out and maybe I did. But I'm feeling better at the moment and my son is thriving and that is all that matters and that tells me that I made the right decision in re-introducing meat into my diet. I found that after the birth, I was able to tolerate beef and I now eat a balanced diet that includes meat and fish. Vegetarianism is not for everyone and I discovered that the choice I made to become a vegetarian was the wrong one for my health at that time. You may think me defensive, but I'm just letting you know that my choice to not eat meat was not the right one for me and I suffered for it as the supplements just did not work.
