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vegetarian diets
Brown Eyes:
Well, yes, it's very clear to me that choosing to stop eating meat (for now anyway) is not a perfect solution in terms of an interest in animal rights (especially because I'm not going to stop eating dairy/eggs and I'll still wear leather). As with many environmental-type interests and intitiatives there are often pro- and con- consequences to numerous decisions (even when best-intentions are involved).
To me, at the moment, it's more about my emotional response to the food I'm eating. After watching the news last night I actually threw away some food I had in my freezer that contained meat (none of which was actually recalled as far as I know). And, clearly that didn't help the cows that had been slaughtered to make that particular food since it was already a done-deal. But, I just couldn't face eating it.
serious crayons:
--- Quote from: atz75 on February 27, 2008, 01:59:12 pm --- As with many environmental-type interests and intitiatives there are often pro- and con- consequences to numerous decisions (even when best-intentions are involved).
--- End quote ---
Yeah, it gets so complicated. For instance, I just read an article about how difficult it is to analyze the carbon impact of food. You'd think eating locally would be the best choice, but it isn't always -- sometimes food raised more efficiently can be less environmentally harmful, even if it has to be shipped halfway around the world.
So I think you're right that the best thing to do is go with your emotional response in a way that makes sense to you and hope for the best! I'm sure at least making an effort is going to have some positive impact.
serious crayons:
--- Quote from: susiebk on February 27, 2008, 05:58:34 pm ---Surely they are here for their own benefit and not for ours. I know, I know, survival of the fittest, but still. It is hard for me to accept that our superior intelligence is reason enough for us to be able to dominate animals and use them solely for our benefit or nourishment.
--- End quote ---
Well, animals at every level of intelligence use other animals for nourishment. What makes us different is not that we do eat meat but that our biology and intelligence allows us to choose not to.
--- Quote ---Of course, I am such a softy that I will not even kill a bug in my house.
--- End quote ---
Me neither. But then, I'd rather eat a hamburger than kill a bug.
Brown Eyes:
One of the hardest things for me in maintaining a veggie lifestyle is that I consider myself something of a foodie... and it's very hard to limit my options by cutting out meat. I love the taste of meat, so it's not about food preferences for me or even really nutrition/ weight-control. I think it's important to have food/eating be very pleasurable and enriching (both in terms of experience and nutrition). I know that there are good vegetarian cookbooks, recipes and restaurants. But, in my past experience I know those things are never quite the same. So, I'm going into this new decision knowing that it probably will really be a phase for me. I dated a vegan once and it was just so hard dealing with food and things like going out to dinner and even finding coffeehouses that had pastries that she could eat. She was a vegan entirely out of an animal-rights stance... she's a serious animal rights activist and is active in a couple pretty serious groups about that. But, it made food entirely a chore for her and it was sort of unpleasant to be around sometimes. I remember feeling like the food-as-chore aspect of maintaining her vegan diet was somewhat demoralizing.
But, I'm still going to give the vegetarian idea a try for now and see how it goes.
brokeplex:
--- Quote from: ineedcrayons on February 27, 2008, 06:05:57 pm ---
Well, animals at every level of intelligence use other animals for nourishment.
What makes us different is not that we do eat meat but that our biology and intelligence allows us to choose not to.
--- End quote ---
Because humans evolved as omnivores they can choose a mix of diets, but the most complete protein is animal protein. Humans are the most succesful predators on this planet and therefore within reason can modify the environment to suit their needs. But, does that mean that this choice is preordainded?
If we wish to convert to vegetarianism wholesale, then much of the crop land now used to raise grains to feed livestock or increasingly turned into biofuels will have to be turned over to other grains and legumes. Maybe a change in diet is a more efficient manner of solving our energy and resource problems? We could also try more effectively limiting the Earth's population.
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