Your thoughts on Vegitarianism

Jim Garten wrote: Dean wrote: I do not believe that vegetarianism is a noble cause. I believe it is a cop-out - the art of doing nothing while thinking you're doing good. A cop out or an excuse for smugness - speaking as an ex "Well-I-know-I-can't-change-anything-but-doesn't-mean-I-have-to-be-part-of-it" vegetarian, I know

Atavachron wrote: mmmm.. Popeyes

Dean wrote: Snow Dog wrote: Dean wrote: I do not believe that vegetarianism is a noble cause. I believe it is a cop-out - the art of doing nothing while thinking you're doing good. If anything only a Vegan can be considerd noble in these terms. Any vegetarian that thinks he is doing it for anything other than personal taste should stop eating dairy products too. I do not consider vegan diet to be in any way noble either. A vegan diet does not change animal husbandry, it does nothing for animal welfare, it does not save a calf from slaughter, it does not mean that an egg laid will hatch into a chicken, it does not prevent deforestation, it does not reduce greenhouse gasses or prevent global warming, it does not reduce food-miles and all the waste of fuel and increased pollution that entails, it does not save the world from hunger, it does not reduce or manage world overpopulation, it does not reduce the use of pesticides and insecticides, it does not save water or reduce our reliance on inorganic fertilisers, it does not halt extinction and it does not result in a healthier human being.   It is a lifestyle choice and nothing more.

I agree.

It's also something I neither applaud or have a problem with. When someone tells me they don't eat meat it has the same impact on me as them telling me they don't drink peppermint tea.

I'm also inclined to think that government advice on diet should be taken with a pinch of salt (so to speak) What's good for you on Monday will be bad for you on Tuesday - according to some study in Japan, or something. In the early 80's peanut butter was linked to cancer. Orange juice - drunk in the mornings only - was linked to a potentially increased risk of stomach cancer last year. When it comes to meat we should probably bear in mind that nature 'designed' us to eat meat, hence we have canine teeth for tearing it. Red meat is rich in vitamin B, zinc, selenium, protein and numerous other essential minerals and elements which we need for good health. Despite the fat content the consumption of red meat is a healthy thing, IMO so long as part of a diet which balances meat with vegetable matter. We are omnivores, after all. Combined with exercise, not smoking and only moderate drinking, I don't believe there is any negative impact to eating red meat.

Processed meat may be a different matter altogether.

Dean wrote: I do not believe that vegetarianism is a noble cause. I believe it is a cop-out - the art of doing nothing while thinking you're doing good.

A cop out or an excuse for smugness - speaking as an ex "Well-I-know-I-can't-change-anything-but-doesn't-mean-I-have-to-be-part-of-it" vegetarian, I know

Dean wrote: I do not believe that vegetarianism is a noble cause. I believe it is a cop-out - the art of doing nothing while thinking you're doing good.

Like any religion, it has its good points and its bad ones.

I agree that vegetarianism is a noble cause, but anyone wishing to give up eating meat needs to take care. I gave up meat for a time, but ate a lot more fish. This gave me gout from which I still suffer :(

I'd also like to add that I know full well how the meat gets to my plate.
I'm just not going to apologize for it. As Popeye is fond of saying, I yam what I yam.

Yes, me too. Vegetarianism and veganism are life-style choices and open to all who have the luxury of choosing, properly balanced (and if necessarily supplemented with vitamin supplements) it can be as healthy as a normal diet, though not as natural.

It's a sad fact that animals now are merely part of a huge industrial process with all the bad (but perfectly legal) practices pertaining thereto. It doesn't matter how many people go for 'organic' meat or 'free range' product, the fact 99.999% of the population doesn't will not change.

Once, this bothered me mightily, especially after the UK's Channel 4 showed the animals film in its entirety, uncut and I was strict vegetarian for 10 years (and this in a time when the standard vegetarian option in a restaurant was a horribly foreshortened cheese & tomato quiche, quorn was unheard of & ready meals for veggies were inedible pap), but eventually, I weakened, the temptation of various meats (yes, that was primarily bacon) drew me back in & now I'll eat anything - call me weak willed, whatever, I'm no longer vegetarian - I do however have major respect for those who manage to maintain such a diet.