So You're An Environmentalist - Then Why Are You Still Eating Meat? - Page 2

[TripkeHughes]

Yammer, I can't tell if you are naughty or sarcastic? Wink.

Either way, I can't wait to pass the article on to Mr.TH. I have not been big into meat but have found it hard to eat at anothers house without making a huge fuss over not being served meat. How do you do it?

[pie]

Nice to see you Yammer.

[daylily]

It can be tough to be a vegetarian guest in a meat eating household. My MIL is always confused about what to serve when we stay with them even though I tell her not to make anything special for me and that I'll fill up on side dishes. I can tell she doesn't approve of mine and my children's diet, but she tries to be accomodating. Once she made a meatless lasagna for me because we were going to a party where sausage was the main course. Of course my mean SIL had to ask why the lasagna didn't have meat and when she learned it was for me, the nasty comments started. Her word for vegetarians is "one of THOSE."

[ando2]

I come from a very meaty background, but I haven't eaten it myself since
1987. I will eat seafood sometimes. When someone asks me why am I
a vegetarian I will say,
"think of any reason why someone would not eat meat?"
and the person thinks and thinks, and then they answer,
and whatever the answer is, I say,
"that's why!!! Now think of another reason!" ...and so on.

Most people know it is not good.

I am also pretty racist against cows. If there is one thing on this planet I
am racist against, I say it is cows. What a bunch of trouble. I think they
should be put on a space ship, all of them, and catapulted to Neptune or
something. All the sh*& and carbon monoxide emitted, water they drink,
droughts they cause (mostly due to our whopper/big mac fetish), all the
grass and whatever they eat. I say lets get rid of all but 100 of them. Things
will get better fast.

I also live across the street from two illegal chicken houses. You go in
pick out your chicken and they kill it for you. It smells real bad especially at
night. These places are teeming with people. And at 3 in the morning, there
are huge semi's with crates crammed to the hilt with screaming chickens,
no matter how freezing it is out, and these men are just tossing the crates
onto the ground. It's horrendous. Several times over the past years I have
super glued the doors to these places. Just so they lose several hours
business.

[daylily]

The cows themselves aren't the problem, it's the farmers and ranchers who own them and the people who insist on eating them. If there wasn't such a demand for meat, there wouldn't be so many cows causing environmental problems. If cows were on the verge of extinction, I'd probably be involved in some sort of "save the cows" campaign.

[ando2]

Daylily
there's too many of 'em!!!!

[KKmama]

Mamapie--

I don't do leather anything else, but I have serious foot problems (extra bones in my feet along with the highest arches you've ever seen). I wear what the dr. tells me and whatever will take my bulky orthotics, because I want to stay active and avoid/postpone surgery. It has become pretty impossible to avoid leather. However, I take good care of my shoes so that they last a decent amount of time and are good to my feet. I also don't buy shoes frivolously; I only have a few pair. When ds is old enough for shoes, I will buy him "proper" shoes, because I want him to avoid the pain I've experienced. I think that when you are active and not in a car a lot , you may have to compromise a bit on shoes.

Kristine

[pie]

Well, hey, if as anation we only ate say, one 4 oz serving of well treated cattle a week, bought only say, 3 pairs of shoes a year, and ate much much less dairy, didn't use leather for our cars, etc., then we wouldn't have quite the problems we do. Reduce your usage of everything: total elimination isn't always neccessary. Well, sometimes it is but not always. Ms. Mamapie On-the-Fence says: Moderation and good judgement are the keys to a healthy planet!

[Erin Pavlina]

Mampie, I think I read a statistic that said if everyone cut down their meat and dairy consumption by a mere 10% it would free up enough grain to feed the world.

So, 10% people... next time you want a burger, have a veggie burger instead. Just once a week.

[cat]

Unfortunately, moderation doesn't work if you're a cow or a chicken.

For some additional -- and rather unsettling -- reading, I'm posting the link to an incredible piece in the Washington Post entitled "They Die Piece by Piece." This article caused Congress to act. If anyone can eat meat after reading this...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp...60798-2001Apr9

[daylily]

Ando2, I totally agree with you that there are too many cows. If people the world over weren't clamoring for bigmacs, I don't think the cow population would be the problem that it is now. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems to me that if cows release methane when they pass gas, wouldn't the same be true of other large mammals: elephants, moose, bison, humans?

[blueridgewoman]

I have been a vegetarian for a very long time. Until ten minutes ago when I got an inexplicable craving for some chicken nuggets. Yeah, the bad kind.

So I got them. I started to eat one with lots of ketchup. And then, I promptly dumped it in my lap. On my khakis. At work.

Stupid karma.



edited for spelling errors stemming from my frantic lap scrubbing.

[pie]

I agree that meat should be preety much illegalized. It's mean, period. But that won't happen for a good long time and so I mostly never eat it myself, feed it to my family less often and work toward more ethical treatment of animals, at least while they are alive, by buying local and organic meat. I have read/heard all the arguments against my way of thinking about the subject, but realistically I think I am on to something. First we need to "make nicer" the meat industry. Then we can work toward voluntary prohibition. But I believe you are doing the completely right thing by spreading the word, and standing firmly about your beliefs.

[kazmir]

Cat/Dog Food

I am not a veggie so will not be able to add to that part of the discussion, (although I try to be organic and homegrown in my meat purchases)... I do know about cat/dog food. There are several good brands of veggie dog food out there because dogs are omnivorous(sp). Cats on the other had are almost exclusively carnivorous and cannot make it on a veggie diet - they do not have the stomachs for it!

Robin

[ando2]

Daylily
as per your question above,
I do not have statistics, but yes, elephants pass enormous methane gas,
but there are much less of them, as well as bison etc.

There are too many cows!

[pie]

And too many people who want to eat them!

[Katrina]

ando2: you did not mention that you do not consume milk or milk products. If you do, you are still supporting the cow industry, and the meat industry.

[Ruth]

I agree that there should be laws against eating animals. I think it is an extremely cruel practice. It is unnecessary to eat animals when there are so many other healthful things to eat. Also, eating animals causes much more damage and suffering to the eater and the eaten: for example, much of the slaughter of animal species is done so that there can be be agriculture for cows to be fed. Also, we spend trillions feeding cows instead of feeding the world's starving children.

It is so sad for everybody involved. Only the meat producers are benefitting.