Vegetarian Cruising

[MacG]

Originally Posted by zeehag

funny how folks find the best source of iron in the body as an "inefficient" source of energy.. everything we eat, as carnivores, is used to its best advantage.
there are vegan cruisers, i have met some, and they can find their foods easily enough--i watched the folks bring back to their boats large bags of veggies and what they considered edibles. it is possible to cruise while remaining vegan, yes.
moderation is the key to being an omnivore. is true, 16 ounce steaks go to fat. but red meat eaten in moderation is not harmful to the body and is used efficiently.
of course if you listen to extreme nutritionists, you will hear weird things. you must be able to weed the bs from the truth.

So true. One needs only 60-80 grams of meat per day. But do keep in mind tha the USA consumes 40% of worldproduction of food. Obesitas/overweight is a serious healthproblem on the other side of the ditch.

[avb3]

[Mark Johnson]

My minor comment about red meat being an "inefficient" food is a fact. Anyone who studies the world food situation knows this. It was mindlessly miss quoted as saying it was an inefficient "source of energy". What makes it inefficient, is the fact that that one burger feeds one person, OR it could feed perhaps 100, with bread from the grain required to make that one burger. In our starving world, this matters!

Red meat is the luxury of the very rich, if one looks at the world view. It was only the irrational few out there who chose to nit pick these facts, rather than help the OP with their question.

Of coarse red meat is bad for you. So is much if not most of the food grown in the US. For obesity, we in the US are "champs"! Growth hormones, antibiotics, pesticides, etc., are bad for you... Factory farming, and factory raising of meat, as well as factory fishing, are attempts to deal with a desperately overpopulated world. All of these attempts are unsustainable. Burying ones head in the sand is how we got here, but will not get us out. I eat food that is bad for me too, when I load my popcorn with salt & butter. This is because, I like it! I don't irrationally say it isn't important, I eat it knowing I shouldn't, and moderate. In the end, none of us gets out alive anyway...

For all of us, remaining rational and being honest is paramount to any conversation, about anything. Some AOEs (= Authoritys on Everything) are adding little by being constantly adversarial, rather than chiming in on what they agree about.

To the OP... You need a few good books. IF you can get an old copy, try: "Sailing The Farm" by Ken Neumire or Neu something. It is full of good ideas, inc. solar dehydrators & such, to put away quantities of fruit.

You will need to keep staples on board, for when produce is hard to find, and there are several ways to keep the weevils from hatching in them... Freezing, microwaving, or adding Bay Leaves, for example.

The Bahamas has a LOT of produce on Eleuthra, because it is grown there. Other islands less so. Most of the third world, however, eats simply on staples, produce, and local fish. The more remote the island, the more this is so. Red meat becomes totally unavailable there for the most part.

If you read up, all of the information you need is out there. For cruising... a daily diet of red meat is many times over more expensive and FAR less available, in MOST tropical cruising destinations, than the veggie & seafood alternatives.

You will have no problem. My Red meat eating friends do just fine out cruising too. The richer ones on big monohulls have big freezers and such to put away quantities, and the small, self built multihull, meat eaters, tend to go without, just like us. In their case, it is due to local unavailability... Then when it becomes available, they treat themselves.

Your veggie diet is cheaper, easier, MORE available and IF you still get all of your nutrients and protean, much healthier too.

M.

[Piglet]

Did this just become a mono vs. multi argument?

[SailFastTri]

Originally Posted by Piglet

Did this just become a mono vs. multi argument?

No it's a new gen anchor thread.

Either way, there are some who are threatened by new information about old beliefs.

[Astrid]

This chap, an Austrian painter (among other things) of the last century was a vegetarian. He wasn't a cruiser by any definition though.

[tager]

Vegetarians all have Rocnas and multihulls, because they make more money, but they can't haul the anchor in without a powered windlass. Also, ladies don't like them and they can't drink as much.

All of them have hard dinghies with rope around the gunwales.

They are really good at ukulele and they are known to smoke the reefer.

Source: I am a vegetarian.

[avb3]

Originally Posted by Astrid

This chap, an Austrian painter (among other things) of the last century was a vegetarian. He wasn't a cruiser by any definition though.

False rumor spread again and again.

Snopes

Toronto Vegetarian Association

Daily Kos

Natural News

His cook said his favorite dishes included sausages and stuffed squab (pigeon).

That doesn't make him better or worse, it just changes the rumor.

[SailFastTri]

Astrid, why the anger?

[Ex-Calif]

Good one.

My doctor told me if I gave up red meat it would add 5 years to my life. I said, "Hey doc. Those are the 5 years at the end when I am old, slow, wear diapers and can't chase chicks. Who wants more of those years?"

What's really cool is that we all pretty much know how to eat healthy. Lots of veggies, some carbs and fewer meats. Avoid taking in excess satfats., salts and bad cholesteral. Sugar is insidious and comes to us in just about everything. Basically empty calories. If you are serious, everything you put in your mouth must have meaning.

But honestly if that were true I wouldn't drink rum and beer. Hey I really don't wanna live that long, I will take a few risks and have a bit of fun. And BTW a well grilled ribeye every couple of months is freakin awesome...

Don't smoke and get off the couch.

We live longer than any other generation before us thanks to medicine, diet and nutrition. However the availability of cheap high calorie foods has created an obesity epidemic and some researchers are saying this (US) generation will be the first to have a lower life expectancy than the previous one.

My sister bounces back and forth as a vegetarian. Her data point is that it takes more work to not eat meat and to get the proteins. Lets all live our own lives and duce the stress of convincing the other we are right.

BTW - those photos above. Does eating vegan always make your hair and beard grow that fast. One never sees a clean cut vegan - LOL

[conachair]

Originally Posted by zeehag

funny--the vegans who docked next to me were incredibly skinny DESPITE daily workouts. go figger.also hair and skin looked and felt malnourished. to each his or her own.

That´s cos eating meat makes you fatter than eating fish or veggies

International Journal of Obesity - Abstract of article: Diet and body mass index in 38[thinsp]000 EPIC-Oxford meat-eaters, fish-eaters, vegetarians and vegans

If you want to eat healthy the the Med is a good place to look..
And delicious!

Mediterranean diet pyramid: a cultural model for healthy eating.

The diet is characterized by abundant plant foods (fruit, vegetables, breads, other forms of cereals, potatoes, beans, nuts, and seeds), fresh fruit as the typical daily dessert, olive oil as the principal source of fat, dairy products (principally cheese and yogurt), and fish and poultry consumed in low to moderate amounts, zero to four eggs consumed weekly, red meat consumed in low amounts, and wine consumed in low to moderate amounts, normally with meals.

[markpierce]

Meat is "brain" food. Scientists tell us the human brain developed because of meat eating. Don't want to be stunted mentally due to a lack of meat. Don't have anything against vegetarians except for those who preach flesh eating is immoral.

Not eating meet for several days makes me disoriented and energy-less. Meat is necessary for my psychological and physical well-being. So, please don't criticize my weekly hamburger sandwich and ribeye steak.

[Hud3]

Originally Posted by seancrowne

i looked through the threads here and didnt knotice much on this. my wife and i are both quakers and raised under "difrent(far left)" conditions, she was raised with a no meat diet, and to a degree little to no dairy. I am pescatarian and eat fish , often ,as it is one of gods greatest gifts. I am wondering how many people out there cruise without eating meat or dairy and how it is in other countries.what are some provision ideas and suggestions. i've read in a few books about Tvp(textured vegetable protien), as a great source of protien while sailing any other ideas? as of now i cook with alot of mushrooms ,tofu, rice, and tempe. (of cource tons of fresh fruits and vegetables.)


secondly is a refrigerator needed in these conditions, or would an ice box suffice? no meats dairy or eggs...if i keep the veggies wet and the other things sealed?

Geez! Reading through this thread, I don't understand why some people feel the need to get into bitter ideological battles over what someone else chooses to eat. My daughter's a vegetarian. My wife and I are omnivores. We all manage to co-exist peacefully when we visit her in Hawaii. I even cook some vegetarian meals for her, and enjoy them myself (tofu fajitas, for example). She doesn't reciprocate, but that's OK with me.

Back to the OP's original questions...

Yes, you can find the foods you mention, here in the eastern Caribbean at least. On the big islands, like Martinique, Guadeloupe, Dominica and St Vincent, most are locally grown, organic crops. Many of the grocery stores also stock tofu, and the mushrooms from Kennett Square, PA are fresher here on Nevis than they were when I lived in Delaware, not 15 miles from the mushroom farms. I've never seen TVP or tempe for sale, however.

You can get by with an ice box, although finding ice will be more difficult in some of the more remote areas. The good news is that the locals grew up with no refrigeration, and it was no big deal. You can find veggies most any time, but fish markets tend to be on certain days. Listen for a single blast on a conch shell--it means the fish monger is open for business.

Photos of local markets on Martinique and Dominica...
.

[osirissail]

If you like fresh veggies one thing I recommend you get before heading "down-island" is a supply of "Evert Fresh Green Bags" or "Debbie Meyer Fresh Bags." These plastic bags are green colored and have a chemical in the plastic that significantly, IMHO, retards spoiling of the veggies. I get double and even triple or more useful lifespan out of stored veggies that are kept in these "green bags."

Of course, no matter how you store your veggies, wash them with a little Bleach in the water, then rinse and dry. Put them into the "Green bags" and seal with a "twist-a-seal" tie-wrap. They really do work.

[osirissail]

Oh, I forgot to mention the "Green bags" are available in most co-op food stores/markets and whole foods, etc. Also you can order them on-line. Here is a link to a website that gives more information about the "Green Bags." Evert Fresh Green Bags shipped the next day. Green Bags extend produce freshness. Green Bags Work! says Valerie Rogers Bright Star Promotions