There are alternatives to gelatin

I have now been a vegetarain for 3 years and I am 13, it hasn't effected my life at all apart from eating meals, but this dosen't effect me as it have cooked my own meals since I was 10. I am glad there are sites like this around it helps me to find alternatives.

How can you say vegetarian food is unappealing? It's exactly the same as what everybody else eats, just without the meat. Yes you have to look out for gelatine, E numbers and so on, but people have this idea that vegetarians eat weird food. We still eat cakes, pasta, chips, biscuits (normal food). We don't live on "rabbit food". Why don't your read up about it before making ridiculous comments. Most people who slate vegetarians, don't actually understand what it means to be one. Vegetarian diets if properly researched, can actually be very healthy.

I agree with you I myself am not a veggy, but my sister is and it is dificult

Moleman, they actually taste nice if you are a meat eater (yes I am one). Personally I have found most vegetarian food to be unappealing, but to you it probably tastes like a gourmet delight. Each to their own I guess.

I dont get why cruel horrible people can kill animals then eat them!
VEGETARIANS RULE

People tend to criticise vegetarians because they do not understand what it means to be one. Before I became vegetarian, I thought only "unusual, extreme" people went veggie. I now know after being a vegetarian for 7 years, that this is not the case.
Companies do need to start thinking more about animal welfare, especially now, when people like Jamie Oliver are bringing it to people's attention. Nestle have recently taken a backwards step by using whey in their chocolate. If big companies start taking animal welfare more seriously, perhaps all of you narrow-minded people out there, will start to respect and care about where your food comes from.

@Finnaz What did you just say. Do you like meat or are you a veggie hippy? To be honest your post was so scatter-brained I suspect you're lacking some protein and therefore must be a veggie who's missed the tuna boat. Get a grip will you!

There's some ridiculous points being made here "We now live in an age where animal slaughter is now very safe and humane with little or no distress to the animals. " haha, no, in short. In the most humane abattoirs yes, the animals experience little distress. But in the vast majority of them (upwards of 95%) the animals experience considerable distress and pain. Not to mention the entire industry of intensive farming. That isn't humane in the slightest.

"I bet many of you so called veggies still wear leather shoes and belts which is so hypocritical!" What? Is that even a point? That's using vague speculation to attack peoples beliefs... I could walk up to someone in the street protesting about torture in Guantanamo and say "yeah but I bet you use a stun baton on your children which is so hypocritical!" it's not a valid point though is it?

I'm not a pushy vegetarian because I'm not an invasive person, I defend my beliefs however (which I have to do far too much) the "vegetarians are unhealthy" line is a bit annoying,

(from wikipedia: Vegetarian diets can aid in keeping body weight under control[28] and substantially reduce risks of heart disease.[29][30] In large-scale studies, the consumption of meat has been found to raise the risk of cancer in humans by 20 to 60 percent while causing adverse mutations in DNA. Non-lean red meat, in particular, has been found to be a direct cause of cancers of the lung, esophagus, liver, and colon, among others)

So yeah, I accept that there are some dickish veggies out there and that there are some dickish vegans, and some dickish omnivores. There are also nice people in each group, so lay off them and stop pretending to know everything.

Hello,

I am not a vegetarian however because of my faith I too am unable to consume any products with gelatine in it. it is actually really very frustrating for me because I really like to make desserts and a lot of the dessert recipies I want to try all require gelatine in them. I am glad to know that there is however an alternative ingredient (agar agar) BUT my problem now is where can I look for this, I havent checked sainsbury's yet but I have a feeling if I ask them about it they will say 'huh?!'

any ideas?

I am vegeterian and proud. People can say what they want to say, I don't care. If you have a problem with veggies, I got 3 words for you "GO TO HELL". I respect carnivore's carnivourous habits, so you should do the same for us.

"What's up with all you wacko veggies.

It doesn't matter if you don't eat meat because most of us are sane enough to realise it's health benefits. We now live in an age where animal slaughter is now very safe and humane with little or no distress to the animals.

Surely you would rather that every part of the animal was used and not thrown away simply to satisfy the demands of a few nut jobs who think using gelatine is wrong.

The ancient Indians used every part of the animals they killed because they respected them."

This comment made by is 98% wrong. Meat does have its ups and downs, but the ups are replaceable, and the downs are 100% avoidable.

I bet many of you so called veggies still wear leather shoes and belts which is so hypocritical!

Vegans use no animal products what so ever. Vegeterians dont eat meat. And you have no rights calling veggies nutjobs for having to read a label, when you dont know what we are. So Choke on your lard, die of a heart attack, and live your short, fat ass life being slow and obecse for all I care.

What an excellent idea.

We could hunt them down in big game reserves accross the country. Imagine the fun that could be had hunting and killing your very own veggie and then skinning and cooking them over a nice camp fire.

I think there's money to be had in this sport.

I think we should start a veggie cull... We could make gelatine out of the stuff we dont use. That way we would eliminate the need for none gelatine products and get rid of all the moaning veggies in one swoop. Thats how things work in the natural world, the carnivores (lions, wolves etc.) eat the herbivores (Zebra, sheep etc.).