Vegan, Animal Friendly in Maine (Portland: home, buy, quality of life) - (ME) - City-Data Forum

doghead · 10-31-2023, 05:04 AM

For people who are vegan or vegetarian in coastal Maine, do you find it difficult to find good, vegetarian food? Regarding hunting, is it "in your face" or does hunting take place in more remote areas of Maine?

Maine Writer · 10-31-2023, 05:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by doghead

For people who are vegan or vegetarian in coastal Maine, do you find it difficult to find good, vegetarian food? Regarding hunting, is it "in your face" or does hunting take place in more remote areas of Maine?

I'm not vegetarian but limit the amount of meat I eat for a few reasons. I never have a problem finding vegetarian food in good restaurants.

I guess "in your face" depends on how little or much you can tolerate and want to know and see. Maine is a big, remote state with a few big towns/small cities. Hunting traditions and wildlife conservation are deeply rooted here. Everyone kills or causes animals to be killed for our diet, including vegans, and as long as neither side way is in your face, we all get along easily. You might see deer, moose or bear in the back of a vehicle as it's being taken from hunting site to registration station to home. Nobody saw my bear in August until I opened the tailgate at the registration station and again at the butcher. There was no missing my daughter's and husband's moose on the trailer a few weeks ago.

The hunting seasons that might cause you to see an animal that's been harvested start in late August or early September with bear (the ones you're less likely to know of) and end in mid-December with deer. If you leave the city limits, you run the risk of seeing a harvested animal. Stopping at a local store during hunting seasons might have you walking in on hunters drinking coffee and talking about their experiences.

There's probably no escaping it, but it wouldn't be an everyday event.

doghead · 10-31-2023, 05:37 AM

Thanks for your thoughts. I'm not sure what you mean about vegans killing animals. The biggest horror in using animals for food is factory farming. I'm not part of that. Are you are talking about a truck carrying tofu along the interstate running over a deer? Or car tires that are not vegan? That there is no difference between someone who hunts and eats meat and me who does not eat meat? Not trying to start an argument with you but including vegans in the massive slaughter of animals including factory farming is not fair and not legit. And no, I don't wear leather shoes or buy leather bags. Also, I didn't post this to judge people. I really just want to know because I like Maine so much but don't think it would be practical for me.

svband76 · 10-31-2023, 06:44 AM

Are you looking to move to Maine? Or just visiting? Or wanting to live near like-minded folks. Obviously Portland would probably be your choice.

Maine Writer · 10-31-2023, 06:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by doghead

Thanks for your thoughts. I'm not sure what you mean about vegans killing animals. The biggest horror in using animals for food is factory farming. I'm not part of that. Are you are talking about a truck carrying tofu along the interstate running over a deer? Or car tires that are not vegan? That there is no difference between someone who hunts and eats meat and me who does not eat meat? Not trying to start an argument with you but including vegans in the massive slaughter of animals including factory farming is not fair and not legit. And no, I don't wear leather shoes or buy leather bags. Also, I didn't post this to judge people. I really just want to know because I like Maine so much but don't think it would be practical for me.

NO judgement from me at all. I seldom eat meat when I'm in a restaurant because of the way it's raised, the mushy texture, and lack of flavor. If I've been invited to a friend's home to eat, I will gratefully eat what they share.

Animals are killed by the machinery used in plant production, and they're hunted to lower crop damage. In Maine, bear, moose and deer are hunted at agricultural fields for commodity crops like broccoli and blueberries. Birds of prey follow equipment to get to the dead and wounded. It's not all small animals. Bigger animals like bobcat and deer are killed, especially in the tall crops like corn. It's gruesome. Even tofu comes at the cost of animal lives. Plants are a different kind of factory farming than animals, but a lot of animals die in both. I hope that makes sense.

All we can do is the best we can do for what's important to us personally. I have several friends who are vegetarian and one who's vegan. We have no problems sitting down to a meal together. I think unless you stay inside a city, no matter where you live, you run the risk of being exposed to hunting/hunters.

mainebrokerman · 10-31-2023, 03:19 PM

Mainers are to each their own
What’s your business is your business

Portland and southern maine is much more liberal than rural Maine
But that doesn’t mean you’ll ever be harassed or shunned

I’m on the the opposite extreme of being a vegan .. a 40 year butcher that cuts up
Wild game … and eat mostly carnivore diet .. I can’t think of
Any time vegans got harassed ..

doghead · 11-01-2023, 05:58 AM

I'm not talking about harassment. I wouldn't expect that at all. I really wanted to hear from people who are vegetarian. I was in Maine recently and really wondered with so many lobster restaurants how difficult it would be to live in Maine. Plus, with the shooter, it was mentioned in news accounts how popular hunting is in Maine. I was wondering how people who are sensitive to animal slaughter find living in Maine. It's a beautiful state and people are nice.

svband76 · 11-01-2023, 07:25 AM

I've been veggie for decades. Love Maine. No problem at all. You must cook a lot for yourself. Hannafords are pretty great in my opinion. I really don't care about finding like-minded vegetarians. Live and let live is Maine for the most part. Mills and southerners are trying to change that somewhat. It's becoming a little nanny-ish since 2020.

doghead · 11-01-2023, 07:46 AM

I don't care about meeting like minded vegetarians. I know--since Covid everyone from Boston is moving up there so they can be remote. It's the same story everywhere. Thanks.

Submariner · 11-01-2023, 08:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by doghead

... The biggest horror in using animals for food is factory farming. I'm not part of that.

I grew up in California, where we raised cattle and sent them to feedlots to be fattened and butchered.

I have lived in Maine now for 17 years, I know a lot of farms here that raise livestock, but I have not found any feedlots in Maine.

Most common among livestock people in Maine is where they are raising 2 to 4 animals on pasture. Petting them daily and tending to any illness. The quality of life among livestock in Maine is an entirely different scenario than it would be for areas that operate feedlots.