Vegetarianism has strong supporters

[Muxel]

No matter what the motives of the herald of knowledge, I think it depends a lot on the recipient of the information - whether he is one to "blink."

But sarcasm itself is a significant element of satire. I have learned a thing or two from troll sites like Encyclopedia Dramatica (please don't go there on my account). Mr. Fish's cartoons are frequently (if not always) sarcastic. I don't know anything about the Cynics but it sounds like they might have imparted knowledge, uh, cynically(?). And I wouldn't mind if Douglas Adams were an editor for SOTT.

So I think trolling the false construct - veganism - and not the wretched vegans themselves, however entertaining that may be - has its proper time and place.

 

[truth seeker]

I've eaten meat, rarely but I have over the years. For example once a lamb dish was bought for me during a work lunch, if I didn't eat it, it would have been thrown out. I didn't have an issue with eating it. So, what I mean't by it not being an ideological stance for me kind of relates to that example, so if I became convinced I have to eat meat to be healthy, I would. At the moment I'm not entirely convinced, so...

Thanks for the reply. :) I've heard similar statements from some people recently and find it interesting so I'm just wondering what is it about meat in itself that you feel is unhealthy? By meat, I'm referring to pastured/grassfed/grassfinished.

... I'll spend some more time looking into those links and reading suggestions (thanks for those and the other feedback). I reckon on the commercial side of raising and killing animals, it can be definitely improved for the better and yeah I agree with the idiocy of grain feed animals which I understand the Vegetarian Myth talks a bit about. There's a style of grass feed animal farming called Holistic Management (Allan Savory pioneered this), that's actually designed to help lift degraded land / soil - that sort of thing makes a lot more sense to me. I realise too, that the paleo diet is about preferencing grass-feed cattle and sheep, so I can see the idea of using animals to improve the environment can be very positive all around. I suppose it would be difficult for myself to kill an animal in a way that causes them a lot unnecessary suffering, and that's often how animals are managed commercially, which is not ideal. I know a number of people here have seen Earthlings, which from hearing about it goes into some of this (haven't yet seen myself). There's for certain a lot of better methods for farming / killing animals for our food source that doesn't include unneeded suffering and doesn't have to destroy the environment, I'm certainly for moving in that sort of direction. I guess I don't feel that all vegetarians fit the mould suggested, plenty I'm sure do and plenty I'm sure don't.

Thanks for being open to reading the links/books. No pressure at all but if you want to, after you're done reading, if you'd return to give your thoughts at that time, I'd definitely be interested in 'hearing' them. :)

 

[Sol Logos]

Hey Truthseeker, I didn't mean that I feel meat is unheathy per se, more that I'm not certain right now that its a necessity to being healthy, but I'm sure you understand, I'll have to process through the info on my own first and then get back to you. I don't discount the fact that you guys thoroughly research things before forming an opinion, so that itself gives me a reason to question. Thanks for your own openness too!

 

[Ripred]

I've introduced a little bit of meat back into my diet based on what I've read here and other places but to say people should focus their compassion on people is something I would like to argue strongly against. Billions of animals suffer horribly at our hands and the farm system/lab testing/trapping/ you name it methods of torturing we have come up with are beyond anything humans should be turning their backs on. Only humans could come up with such a variety of ways to torture innocent creatures and only humans could be indifferent to it.
Meanwhile, people are meat guzzlers because of the factory farm cheap meat system and almost all meat eaters eat way too much meat.

 

[Horseofadifferentcolor]

I've introduced a little bit of meat back into my diet based on what I've read here and other places but to say people should focus their compassion on people is something I would like to argue strongly against. Billions of animals suffer horribly at our hands and the farm system/lab testing/trapping/ you name it methods of torturing we have come up with are beyond anything humans should be turning their backs on. Only humans could come up with such a variety of ways to torture innocent creatures and only humans could be indifferent to it.
Meanwhile, people are meat guzzlers because of the factory farm cheap meat system and almost all meat eaters eat way too much meat.

Your comment is very emotional. I do not believe that anyone here was saying anything about not having compassion for animals. It is for health and not moral issue for eating meat. Most forum members here are very well read and buy only grass fed organic animals that have been raised in a natural enviroment not a factory.
When you say only humans could be indifferent it reminded me of a very carnivorus cat I have who enjoys being very "indifferent" as he tortures small lizards or whatever else he can catch. :P

 

[Ripred]

yes, maybe that is why cats and humans get along so well. :P I'm glad that most forum members feel that way about compassion for animals and choose to eat better raised meat.

 

[Iron]

When I used to be a vegan I consumed far more living beings that I do now, and Im not even quite right on the paleo diet.
Its a matter of energetics. You need X amount of energy to exist, and vegetables are very low in potential energy when compared to animal fat. This is not conjecture or opinion, its a biochemical fact.

 

[Ripred]

that is a useful and succinct summary Iron. Thanks.