a vegetarian eats dairy, it's called a vegan when you don't even eat dairy. so if you are willing to give the steak up it won't be a big problem... just so you know....
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a vegetarian eats dairy, it's called a vegan when you don't even eat dairy. so if you are willing to give the steak up it won't be a big problem... just so you know....
So the classifications are made to accomodate people preference? I mean, if you want to eat vegetables plus dairy you'd be classified as this..but if you eat 100% vegetables you'd be classified as this..?
Yes, ugly death happens in a multitude of ways on this planet. But I defy anyone to claim a pretty picture of death.
P.E.T.A., as an example, is a political force which must raise money to muster attention to its cause, in order to raise money to muster attention to its cause...etc,etc, and so it hunts out he cruelest most despicable forms of death it can find to raise money.....(but claims only to raise an issue of vast importance)..the emotional impact of these animal death videos is huge...and donations pour in...
Cruelty is wrong. Anything taken to an extreme is probably wrong.
But hunting, culling, trapping, husbandry, and slaughter, etc, have been human activities since the dawn of man. Yes there are alternatives to the products produced by these activities, but the whole world does not move in an organized phalanx of change to modernity. Some of these despised activities are culturally motivated. Left-wing extremism and knee-jerk reaction to these issues may generate the emotion needed to bring in the 'believers', and their wallets, but change is brought about by rational interaction, not finger pointing and callaous accusations not solely altruisticly generated. IMHO *hmmm...humble?*
P.S. Here in Canada we have a rock star named, 'Bif Naked'. She is a raw food vegan. Now, that might limit your caloric intake.........
Where do fungi fit into the veggie diet? I assume since they aren't generally cute or fluffy and can't look you in the eye at any point in their pre-consumed life, they also count as edible. Just curious... :)
I once read somewhere in a book by Lyall Watson (probably one of the Supernature books), that a test had been performed which suggested that plants may feel something like pain. Lyall Watson was so disturbed by these tests, that he gave up mowing his lawn!! Apparently, some businessman in New York City was playing around with an EEG machine strapped to a potted plant, and when he accidentally poured some of his hot coffee onto the plant, the EEG went berserk. He did some further tests that convinced him that plants do in fact have some form of suffering.
Interestingly, Gandhi refused to eat vegetables, restricting himself to a diet of fruits and nuts. He reasoned that fruits and nuts were made to be consumed, indeed the act of consumption propagates the plants from which they come. Its rather a sad life when the most ethical diet is a peach and a peanut!
:nod:
scr10
Quote:
Originally Posted by atiguhya padma
Carrots are just as alive as any of the veggies contributing here. Potatoes even more so. By the way once you had skinned them alive (thus demonstrating your anti-cruel nature) what would you do with the skins? A nice tapestry perhaps? A tablecloth? George B Shaw was a simpleton of course who believed in lots of dross.
Already on a one-vegetarian-meal a day diet, have been since an animal-activist friend of mine showed me a video. Perhaps not as cruel as helga's, but significant nonetheless. My ostensible rationale, since it's not for religious reasons, is that a) people eat too much in certain parts of the Western World anyways, b) it's a poor use of biomass to cultivate meat en masse, and c) it's healthier to limit meat intake, to a certain degree, anyway.
Sorry if I seem like a wishy-washy part-time vegetarian...but at least my animal activist friend was proud of me.
That video made me sick. I respect vegetarians for their views and their ability to adhere to their beliefs, but I eat meat. As a meat eater and an animal-lover, I may seem somewhat hypocritical. I agree with the view expressed about animals killed for consumption being killed humanely. I enjoy hearing about other member's views on this subject.
I'm a vegetarian out of habit, not because I feel strongly on animal rights (both parents are vegetarian, and they've brought me up the same). Although I must say, the thought of eating meat doesn't appeal to me at all.
I can see it from both points of view. It's frustrating for meat-eaters when militant vegetarians start chanting "Meat is murder!" at them, but on the other hand, it's irritating when meat-eaters accuse vegetarians over being wishy-washy and unecessarily sentimental.
I also hate the stereotype that all vegetarians are unhealthy, pale, weedy type things. It's possible to be a vegetarian and still have a healthy, balanced diet!
I don't mind vegetarians or vegans unless they ask me to cook an extra dish because of their personal restrictions. Of course we in the western countries eat far too much meat and treat our animals badly which has also an impact on the quality of the meat we get. However, I hate those posters spread all over town every now and then showing cute piggies and lambs who scream out to me "Don't eat us". This is just really sad. I am, as nature intended, an omnivore and I appreciate my food and where it came from. I also took part in slaughtering the so called "private pig" when I was a kid. I will take my children to such kind of farm work as well so that they can learn how it's done and how you make sausages and mince and bacon. I do believe that you have to be able to watch the process if you want to eat meat, it seems to be part of the deal. The main problem seems to be that for most people the food chain starts in a supermarket and everything is good enough as long as it is cheap and cheerful. The same with eggs or milk or creams. The real thing tastes so much better and has more nutritional value (albeit more calories as well), i.e. you need less to get your daily intake of essentials. There are similar problems with veges, perhaps they come from monocultures that destroy the soil in the long term or are heavily sprayed with pesticides or are, my favourite, genetically engineered. That sounds really wholesome and responsible, doesn't it? :(
I agree, we should condemn the cruelty against animal, but we must strongly condemn the cruelty against people which we see increasing . Good point missy.Quote:
Originally Posted by miss Darcy
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[QUOTE=Subterranean]I love animals and never acted cruel towards any, but I eat meat, fish and chicken. Apologize, but I don't feel guilty by doing that. I think they are breed in purpose to fill human basic needs (animal protein).[/QIOTE]
Same here..
Koa, I've been a veggie for something like 10 years and it wasn't really a sacrifice for me. I do like meat and I will occassionally have some regional meat specialites (barbeque sausages), like once or twice a year.Quote:
Originally Posted by Koa
I became a veggie gradually to make it easier. First I stopped eating meals with lots of meat like roast beef, roast pork etc. But I still ate some chicken and cold meat and sausages.
Then I stopped eating these too and finally stopped eating fish, as well. It took me about half a year or maybe three quarters. It's mainly a matter of getting used to it. Once you've reached a certain point it becomes habitual. You don't even think about eating meat (at least I don't). It's just like non-smokers would never think of touching a cigarette and never think about smoking or do any of the things smokers do (carry lighters with them or go to a tobacconist, eg.). At least it's like that for me.
After a couple of years even my senses unlearned things to do with meat!
E.g. when my dad cooked pork once it smelled like fish to my nose! Sometimes I lost a bet against my friends and had to eat a steak as a punishment and it was completely tasteless, even though it was a quality steak.
I'm not sure about the Geography of vegetarianism, Koa. Hum, do you have many meat-heavy dishes in Italy? I thought you'd have like lots of pasta with a bit of meat? In Germany we have many traditional dishes with tons of meat and a tiny bit of veg in them. So maybe people are disgusted by these? Whereas in Italy it's only little bits of meat, so it's not that disgusting for people who don't like meat?
mono it's funny carnivores get offended by you being a veggie. I've had the same experience lots of times. And it's not like I preach or try to impose my lifestyle on others. Most of the time I don't even mention I'm a veggie but people find out somehow. Some of them can get really nasty, although I try to avoid rows and try to talk about something different!
I think some people must have very low self-esteem, so they get offended by whatever is slightly different from their own views.
I like this idea. I've noticed that many devout carnivores (especially girls) will be the first to scream when they see how it's done or will refuse to cut up fresh meat etc. But as soon as they're not seeing it anymore they'll gobble down tons of meat again.Quote:
Originally Posted by Thorwench
When I was in Mongolia, we had to cut up freshmutton (there wasn't anything without mutton to eat so i ate it too because i didn't wont to make a fuss; it was delicious by the way :) ) Some of the biggest carnivores (girls) refused to help with the cutting but as soon as the mutton was cooked and didn't look like "dead animal" they ate it... I'll not pass any judgement, I'm sure you can imagine what I think of these girls.
Indeed -- it's hard to know where people started to go wrong with meat cultivation, eh? You can't say they shouldn't have hunted animals, you can't say they shouldn't have domesticated animals, you can't say they shouldn't aim for a surplus to avoid starvation. But it reaches a point where it simply becomes irresponsible.