I have a question for vegans.

[s0p0g]

i have a question for vegans and vegetarians too:
why do you eat the food of my food? letting them pigs and cows and chickens starve ain't cruel, or what? hypocrites, all of you! (the moral-veggies, that is; taste/texture are completely different stories)


but seriously, as i see it: eating meat is natural. but nature is not an ethical thing, it just IS. it's also doesn't make that much sense to call big industrial "farms" inHUMANe
so you go eat your salad, and i'll have some expensive [something] that grew up as natural and free and "happy" as an animal designated to be primarily food possibly could

captcha agrees, i am a: good samaritan

 

[Storm Dragon]

Here's my problem with vegans and the whole "it's not right to kill and eat another living thing" deal: Plants are living things. Several plants have to be killed to make a salad. The flour that bread's made of is essentially a bunch of ground up wheat fetuses. Humans are omnivores, evolution shaped us to be able to eat both meat and vegetable matter. In fact, eating meat is what allowed our species to evolve beyond a mere bunch of land-dwelling apes.

 

[Professor Lupin Madblood]

Are you a "pescetarian" because you think it's cruel to the animals?

In that case I can't see why you would be eating fish.

I'm a pescetarian for a number of reasons: sustainability, personal health, moral obligations, to name a few. Cruelty is one of those, but given that, well, they're fish, I find it an acceptable compromise, since I'd likely be very unhealthy if I didn't eat fish.

 

[John the Gamer]

(...)A simpler way to state this is, "if something died, not eating it."(...)

So you only eat rocks? Since "if something died, not eating it" kind of means you can't eat anything that was once part of a living being, including everything we can use as nutrients.

Did you know that about a billion of the atoms forming your very own body once belonged to someone like Mozart or Buddha?

Just saying.

Spoiler: Right around 4:00

Steak is awesome btw.

What you're implying is something different from what I'm trying to say. Don't take that literally, I know about the Conservation of Mass. I'm saying that if something lost it's life to be food, I'm not eating it. I don't mind if any people eat meat. The reason I say that is because most people are confused about what I mean when I tell them I'm a vegetarian.

Yeah I know. Taking it literally was more fun, that's all.

 

[Daveman]

I can understand not using animal products for religious, environmental and cruelty reasons. However the one thing I don't get is this: What if you kept chickens and treated them right, fed them and made them free range etc. Could you then collect, and use the eggs knowing that you had not abused the chickens into laying them?

If you had animals, and treated them without abuse or hormones could you then harvest their products? Milk for example comes naturally to cows.

I am not looking to flame or troll, so please don't any of you.

Well for one that would contravene the environmental reasons, any sort of sustaining animal life for the purpose of food is inherently wasteful. At least compared to vegetables. So in principle they would be opposed to it regardless I would think.

Then there might be that fact that they don't like the taste.

I for one approve very much of Vegans, they're like Vegetarians but hardcore and morally absolute. Fuck Vegetarians though, you wishy washy bastards. Grow a set of developed opinions you ponce!

 

[Zen Toombs]

There's also that after you stop eating meat and other animal products for a while, it can sometimes stop tasting good.

I had no idea you lose the taste for meat!

It doesn't happen to everyone, but it can.

 

[Comocat]

Meat is an incredibly inefficent way to feed a population. If I remember from ecology you generally transfer approximately 10% of energy between tropic levels. So if you go from Plant --> Cow --> Person, you are losing 99% of the energy the plant had made from the sun. If you consider the economic and environmental consequences of 9 billion people moving to a meat centered diet, suddenly the carrying capacity of the world is a lot smaller. So you can be vegetarian or vegan morally by justifying yourself with physics!

 

[CrystalShadow]

(...)A simpler way to state this is, "if something died, not eating it."(...)

So you only eat rocks? Since "if something died, not eating it" kind of means you can't eat anything that was once part of a living being, including everything we can use as nutrients.

Did you know that about a billion of the atoms forming your very own body once belonged to someone like Mozart or Buddha?

Yes... Saying you won't eat anything that required something to die is a pretty poor choice of words. (Or you have a very selective definition of death.)

I can't believe however, that the first thing anyone jumped to as a counter-example was bacteria...

I mean, what about plants?

Did you know a lot of the plant material humans eat could technically still be considered to be alive when we eat it?

Just as well plants don't have feelings right? I mean, how many would eat an animal while it's still alive? Sounds a lot more cruel than killing it, then eating it...

 

[CrystalShadow]

I for one approve very much of Vegans, they're like Vegetarians but hardcore and morally absolute. Fuck Vegetarians though, you wishy washy bastards. Grow a set of developed opinions you ponce!

I despise people that deal in absolutes! ;p

Arrogant, out of touch with reality know-it-alls...

Ye... I am aware of the contradiction in what I've just said... XD

 

[Varrdy]

I heartily encourage people to become vegetarians / vegans...

...it means more meat for me!

Seriously though, eating meat and animal products is natural for humans so I do it...that and the whole loving meat thing. That said, I cannot and will not tolerate things like battery-farming and inhumane treatment of animals and if the eggs aint free-range then I'm not touching them. We used to keep our own chooks so we could be 100% sure...

 

[The White Hunter]

Exactly what can't vegans eat again?

Animal products like meat, jelly, ice cream, leather, glue, chocolate. The good stuff.

]

Who eats leather? O-o

OT: I am a bit of a carnivore but in my pursuit of health I've found myself eating meat for protein and not much else.

 

[The White Hunter]

Are you a "pescetarian" because you think it's cruel to the animals?

In that case I can't see why you would be eating fish.

I'm a pescetarian for a number of reasons: sustainability, personal health, moral obligations, to name a few. Cruelty is one of those, but given that, well, they're fish, I find it an acceptable compromise, since I'd likely be very unhealthy if I didn't eat fish.

See I don't eat fish on the principle that I find mass fishing to be utterly digusting and horribly wasteful.

I'm one of those organic whole food hippies though .___.

 

[DoPo]

"if something died, not eating it."

So, you only eat live animals. You monster!

Eggs are a bit of a gray area in this regard...

Yeah, so is Schrodinger's cat.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

This informative chart may help!

Ha! You just made my day!

Thank you for this wonderful info-graphic. I shall save it to my hard drive to present to anyone who tells me I should be vegan.

OT: Sorry, no insight here. I considered adding a comment, but honestly I think others have said it better, and anyway I don't like being impolite to groups of people unless they have insulted me first.

 

[waj9876]

I tried to become a vegetarian once. That was quickly done away with when I realized I would have to give up bacon and turkey. I'm sorry vegans and vegetarians. They're too delicious for me to give up.

I'm being completely serious.

 

[Professor Lupin Madblood]

Are you a "pescetarian" because you think it's cruel to the animals?

In that case I can't see why you would be eating fish.

I'm a pescetarian for a number of reasons: sustainability, personal health, moral obligations, to name a few. Cruelty is one of those, but given that, well, they're fish, I find it an acceptable compromise, since I'd likely be very unhealthy if I didn't eat fish.

See I don't eat fish on the principle that I find mass fishing to be utterly digusting and horribly wasteful.

I'm one of those organic whole food hippies though .___.

. . .

Fuck.

[small]i forgot about mass fishing

i only thought about it in terms of fish farming[/small]

 

[The White Hunter]

Are you a "pescetarian" because you think it's cruel to the animals?

In that case I can't see why you would be eating fish.

I'm a pescetarian for a number of reasons: sustainability, personal health, moral obligations, to name a few. Cruelty is one of those, but given that, well, they're fish, I find it an acceptable compromise, since I'd likely be very unhealthy if I didn't eat fish.

See I don't eat fish on the principle that I find mass fishing to be utterly digusting and horribly wasteful.

I'm one of those organic whole food hippies though .___.

. . .

Fuck.

[small]i forgot about mass fishing

i only thought about it in terms of fish farming[/small]

Sorry

Fish farming and stuff is fine since it's sustainable but giant ocean trawlers are horrific things, especially since so much of it gets thrown back because of the quotas.

Shellfish fishing is far worse though since it tends to only be very specific species you can harvest....

 

[Daveman]

Are you a "pescetarian" because you think it's cruel to the animals?

In that case I can't see why you would be eating fish.

I'm a pescetarian for a number of reasons: sustainability, personal health, moral obligations, to name a few. Cruelty is one of those, but given that, well, they're fish, I find it an acceptable compromise, since I'd likely be very unhealthy if I didn't eat fish.

See I don't eat fish on the principle that I find mass fishing to be utterly digusting and horribly wasteful.

I'm one of those organic whole food hippies though .___.

. . .

Fuck.

[small]i forgot about mass fishing

i only thought about it in terms of fish farming[/small]

I can refrain from my rant on overfishing at least. I'd say people underestimate fish. I mean if we're going by intelligence here it's not like chickens are Einstein. not to mention dolphins caught in tuna nets... and fish farming isn't all that great either... it's a complex issue, which is why I tend to somewhat judge anyone who isn't a full blown vegan, and that includes myself.

 

[DrunkOnEstus]

I became a vegan when I was 15 (now 25) because I was essentially scared into it by PETA and I found them infallible, before I learned just what kind of organization they really are. In the last 4 years I've been a vegetarian, when I realized that I might as well live in the forest on berries to be truly vegan, and even then I'm sure I would disturb animal life. I just simply cannot fathom eating meat. It's no longer about animal liberation (which is insane, as rights come with responsibility that animals lack the intellectual prowess to handle and understand), and I know that I'm doing dick to help animals or to end animal suffering at this point.

I don't place animals as equal with humans, and I find PETA's equating the holocaust with factory farming to be grossly offensive and devalues human life more than anything else. I do believe that humans have a responsibility towards those "below" us, and to consciously avoid needlessly harming them or causing them undue suffering. I accept that, for many people, eating meat is as natural as taking a piss and I would never tell them not to or that their belief system is wrong. I would simply ask those in charge of providing the meat to not make the short life a complete living hell for the creature in question as it isn't necessary to create the food.

As to the "gastro intolerance" to eating meat, I have some anecdotes. My wife (who has been a vegetarian for 5 years) ate a piece of pizza that was pepperoni with the pepperoni removed, and the person who removed it didn't tell her. Within 10 minutes she had flu-like nausea and vomited about 3 times. She is a vegetarian simply because she never liked the taste of any meat her entire life, and after becoming an adult she had a more of a choice as to what was on the dinner table. It is not an ethical or moral issue.

My brother was a vegetarian for 4 years. His wife called him a "pussy" and "not a real man" and was tired of having to deal with 2 separate meals to accommodate his lifestyle. In response he ate a baconator from Wendy's, got incredibly ill (his face turned white and he looked like a zombie) and he couldn't keep any meat down for about the two weeks he transferred into an omnivore again.

I hate that simply saying "I'm a vegetarian" causes so much hate to be thrown at me, and at least one person deciding to be completely sarcastic and talk about loving animals (next to the mashed potatoes HAHAHA). I've never told an omnivore that I despised their lifestyle or to be so presumptuous as to attempt to program something so culturally significant as food for someone else. Please don't attack someone because you've had bad experiences with someone who identified similarly, as we are not a hive mind. Thank you for your time.