First off I'll make the disclaimer that I am not a vegetarian, and have no interest in becoming one. I'm just curious about the rationale behind different practices. Vegan I can understand for those who believe that killing or farming any sort of animal is wrong, it's internally logically consistent. Lacto-ovo vegetarian is the same, though obviously accepts the farming, just not the killing. The one I can't quite wrap my head around is pescatarians. Fair enough if it's just a dislike of the taste of meat, but if it's a moral decision what's different between fish and other meats? Even if it's farming that's objected to, surely game animals would also be a viable choice? I'm not trying to attack, just honestly curious about the reasoning behind the diet.
I've been vegan for near 16 years and don't understand it, either. Not sure it is always a 'moral' choice to be pescatarian. I remember one person saying (not sure if they were truly living the lifestyle, though) saying something about fish not feeling pain or some such. I wasn't having an argument about the suffering of animals or anything, mind you, they just shared this info with me. If I had my guess, I'd say they want to cover their bases and make sure they're getting in EFAs, but I'd be interested in hearing from them. Interesting premise for a thread. paz, dormindo
Maybe they just don't care about fish? That's a viable choice too. Perhaps tangentially, I never quite buy into the arguments of people who say things like "ah, you're vegetarian but you wear leather shoes, doesn't that undermine your entire philosophy?". Of course it doesn't. It's always better to do some good than no good. Even someone who goes veggie for a day a week is still making an economic impact on the meat industry. Even better, someone who only ever buys humanely reared and slaughtered meat if they do choose to eat meat. Vegetarianism isn't always about some hippy notion of "my body is a temple" purity. For me, it's about manipulating the forces of capitalism by doing what the capitalists always advise and "taking my business elsewhere" if I don't approve of a specific industry.
Reasoning behind vegetarianism There are several different, and often orthogonal, reasons given for being a vegetarian. I will list the one's I've encountered in no particular order. As a physician, I feel that the primary purpose of eating is to ensure proper nutrition. If you can manage it without eating animal products, then go for it. 1. Killing animals is wrong. This one is always my "favourite" just because it is at least logically consistent, though it's hard for some of these people to define "animal", especially if they'll swat a fly without thinking. You have to give the nutters at PETA(a) credit, though. They tend to be consistent even to the point of not swatting flies or mosquitoes. This reason excludes eating of meat, and some also exclude eggs (depending on their views). 1a. Exploiting animals is wrong. This one takes (1) one step further and excludes ALL animal products, prohibiting eating eggs or any dairy products. These people (especially the nutters from PETA and the nutters from the ALF(b)) are at the greatest risk for nutritional deficiencies, but they rarely are overweight. 1b. Vegans in this category Vegans in this category place themselves at higher risk because gelatin is still used to make the capsules used to dispense certain medications. A true vegan would protest even that. 1c. Religious reasons in this category Buddhists normally do not eat meat. I'm sure there are other religions that promote vegetarianism as well. 2. It's a healthier lifestyle This one is often the reasoning for pescatarians. For various reasons, they think that red meat is bad for you. (Red meat is not bad for you. Green, fuzzy meat is bad for you.) The "success guru" Tony Robins promoted a pescatarian diet based on some BS theory linking the factors that make red meat red to faeces. (It had something to do with the mitochondria, but it was SO stupid that I have forgotten the entire line of "reasoning".) This is the broadest group, because this group can range from people who won't eat red meat all the way to vegans, and any variation in between. 2a. It's better for the planet Read "Diet for a Small Planet" for this viewpoint. It's not the "hurting animals is wrong" viewpoint but simply that using animals for food is an inefficient use of limited resources. The author proposes that world hunger problems could be solved by switching to a carefully planned vegetarian diet. The author provides significant nutritional information regarding how to obtain complete and proper nutrition while eating a vegetarian or even a vegan diet. This is harder than some think because there is no single vegetable source that contains all of the essential amino acids. You need to learn to combine foods to obtain all of the essential amino acids if you are going to be a vegetarian. 3. It's cool. Yes, there are people who are vegetarians primarily as a "fashion" or social statement. This is more common in the west coast of the USA. These folks tend to be what we call "sheeple" in that they follow trends. They are part of the herd and simply conform to what they think is expected of them. 3a. There are some people who just think that the idea of eating parts of animals is disgusting. Actually, most people fall into this category for certain parts of the animal. 4. Pescatarians Some of the reasons I've heard are that fish are a more "renewable resource" and that the fish are "free-range" in that they are not farmed. This is certainly doable if you are careful about the types of fish you eat. For others, it is more to avoid obviously farmed (and perhaps mistreated or less healthy) animal food sources such as chicken, pork, and beef where the animals are raised in poor conditions and are given antibiotics and growth hormones, etc. Thus, for many people fish are simply a more "natural" food source because they are not farmed like other meats. As you can see, there are numerous reasons for being a vegetarian, and I'm sure I've left some out. I hope this helps. End notes: (a) PETA = People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. An "animal rights" group that is mostly known for its controversial protest methods including scantily clad young ladies in cages and handing out strongly-worded pamphlets to elementary school children to convince the children that their parents are murderers because they eat meat. (b) ALF = the Animal Liberation Front. An ecoterrorist group that is on the FBIs watchlist. These are the people who blow up meat processing plants, McDonald's restaurants, furriers, etc. They are a terrorist organization that is attempting to use violence to convince people to stop "exploiting" animals. There is a related organization, the Earth Liberation Front, which is involved in similar terrorist activities but for broader causes including fighting logging.
That's really interesting, my point of view has always been that meat eating isn't going to dissappear any time soon. While there's a market the only change will be through consumer pressure, by buying ethically sourced local foods. For me the vegetarian option has always only rated slightly better than the average unfussed consumer, since by abstaining from buying meat the effect is close to the equivalent of a purposely spoiled vote in an election. A point might be made but it does little to effect change without a large majority. If animal welfare is your concern then buying good meat is far more effective IMHO.
This is the option that a lot of people I know, who are very environmentally aware, tend to take. They only eat 'happy' pigs, cows and sheep! They also tend to forage where possible, shoot, grow or raise their own food and buy local, seasonal produce when they can.
Its true though! [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvAs-oM_Qfw"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvAs-oM_Qfw[/ame]
Well, since humans by and large suck at photosynthesis I guess we'll just have to live with the guilt. *nom* :hat:
Meh. Just state in your will that you want to be buried in a vegetable patch. Thus what goes round will come around.
