Hey, I'm new!

[Thewhovianathogwarts]

My name's Marie and I'm an atheist and vegetarian! YAY! I'm in high school and I live near San Francisco. My two favorite doctors are the fourth and tenth! (plz tell me yours ) I'm using way too many smiley faces, aren't I? My family is very supportive of my choice to be atheist. They are Hindu, but they're pretty much atheist. The only person who really practices the religion is my grandma. Fun fact: When I was little I thought no one actually believed their religion. My friends were like "Hey I'm Christian!" and I was like, "Cool!" and I had no idea what that meant, so I asked my mom and she said that means they read certain stories, and we're Hindu so we read other certain storied. I thought they were just that: stories. None of my school friends were super religious, and they didn't really believe the stories either. Some of them went to the one church in town. (I live in a super small town) But, they didn't really believe the religion or talk about it all that much. Then in third grade a Christian family moved to town, and they actually believed the stories. It was so weird to me when we were learning about how the solar system was formed, and the girl raised her hand and said, "But... what about Genesis??" The teacher had to pull her aside and talk to her. Anyway, that story was long, so tell me what you thought!

[EquALLity]

Welcome to the forum, Marie!

How did you become an atheist?
How did you become a vegetarian?
What do you think of veganism?

[Thewhovianathogwarts]

Sorry! I forgot to include the story that was in there now about my atheism! I became a vegetarian because I just didn't like the thought of animals being killed. Same way as everyone. As for veganism I am personally not vegan because I just couldn't go without ice cream! I don't have anything against vegans, but I just am not one. Although, I only eat animal products that I make from products from my friend's farm. (Like I said in the story: small town) I don't trust any of the animal products in the store, but I know that the animals my friend raises are well-treated.

[EquALLity]

My two favorite doctors are the fourth and tenth! (plz tell me yours )

I haven't seen before the ninth, but my favorite out of who I've seen is the tenth.

I can't wait for the next season to start.
By the way, we just had someone called Rita_Skeeter join... Strange.

I'm using way too many smiley faces, aren't I?

You only used two!

I've used like five consecutive ones, multiple times.

Ah, so you weren't really religious ever.

Although, I only eat animal products that I make from products from my friend's farm. (Like I said in the story: small town) I don't trust any of the animal products in the store, but I know that the animals my friend raises are well-treated.

There's a farm near you where the animals are humanely cared for and get to live out their entire lives? That's pretty cool.

I don't think there's anything unethical about that. I'd still be concerned about the health impacts, but that's your business.
Do you avoid other animal products because of the cruelty involved in factory farming?

[Thewhovianathogwarts]

I definitely avoid factory products! You can never know what cruelty goes on when you can't see the animals yourself! Some of my friends say that free-range eggs couldn't be all that bad, but I always say to them that you can never know unless you've been to the farm.

[brimstoneSalad]

Hi, and welcome!

Good intro.

Your friend has a no-kill farm? That's cool. So he or she is a vegetarian too?
How do they get milk, though? It seems like the calves would be a problem, since they drink a lot of milk.
And how do they deal with broody hens?

I'd be really interested to hear more about it.

As for veganism I am personally not vegan because I just couldn't go without ice cream!

If it's literally impossible to not eat ice cream for you (for health reasons?), why don't you at least go vegan except for ice cream then?
There are lots of people who are vegan, but have to take medicine that comes from animals for health.
We don't have to have all or nothing attitudes toward life. You could be 99% vegan.

Are you sure you've never tried vegan ice cream though? It's much healthier for you, and a lot of them area really good.

[Thewhovianathogwarts]

Hi! Regarding my friend's farm: Yeah, the calves drink a lot of milk, but there's still some left. I really don't know how or why, but there is. I used to help out at the farm, but now I don't so much, but when I did, the calves got first dibs and we got the rest. It's a weird system but it works.

My friend doesn't raise hens.

I never actually thought about going vegan except for ice cream! I might try that! And I've tried vegan ice cream. I'm sure there are some good ones, but I've never been able to find any of them.

[brimstoneSalad]

Hi! Regarding my friend's farm: Yeah, the calves drink a lot of milk, but there's still some left. I really don't know how or why, but there is. I used to help out at the farm, but now I don't so much, but when I did, the calves got first dibs and we got the rest. It's a weird system but it works.

What do they do with the male calves, and what do they do with the bulls when they grow up? And what do they do with the cows when they get older and don't make milk anymore?

I never actually thought about going vegan except for ice cream! I might try that!

That's great!

And I've tried vegan ice cream. I'm sure there are some good ones, but I've never been able to find any of them.

Which brands did you try? Maybe somebody more qualified than I can recommend some. I make my vegan own ice cream. Have you tried making it yourself?

[Lightningman_42]

Welcome to the forum Marie! If you're a big fan of ice cream then I highly recommend Trader Joe's Soy Creamy ice cream. It's $3.29 for a quart of vanilla ice cream and slightly more expensive (I don't remember the exact price at the moment) for a quart of cherry chocolate-chip. I've always been able to find those two flavors at Trader Joe's. There's also chocolate and mango vanilla, but I've never found them at a Trader Joe's shop (I've seen Google images of them).
If you go to Safeway's or Whole Foods you can get other brands of vegan ice cream, although I've not had most of them (because most are expensive). I've tried So Delicious ice cream, but it's more expensive (usually about $5 or $6 per gallon), and so I only rarely buy their phenomenally delicious mocha ice cream. I've tried So Delicious Neapolitan ice cream but it was mediocre.
Long story short: TJ's Soy Creamy has the best flavor-to-price ratio of any commercial vegan ice cream that I've found.

I think EquALLity posted something about this in another discussion thread, but I don't know which one, so I'll post this again. Something to keep an eye out for:

http://www.benjerry.com/whats-new/non-dairy

[EquALLity]

^Yeah, I mentioned it in the tavern.

Maybe I'll try TJ's ice-cream.