This is why I don't like the 'avid' vegans...

[silverthorne]

I tend to get knee-jerk reactions to articles like this before I even read most of it, because the whole tone just pisses me off.

Such as: "Once these other factors are figured in, you have to put three times more energy into producing one pound of beef than the beef itself provides.".

My first thought?

"Well, yeah. But then, when we were just good little monkeys with sticks and stones, we output five to eight times more energy (as do most predatory animals to this day) than we consumed just to try and catch a mammoth or wild ox for dinner. Nevermind actually getting to eat it after if it doesn't escape and/or screw up one of our tribe mates."

Yeah, there are some good points, but the self righteous tone still bumps it down to 'meat is bad, and if you eat it, so are you.'

Fine. Once you're done taking that source of nutrition away though, I'd like to see you puzzle out the problems that farming for massive commercial interests and needs create and does to the planet. How are you going to 'stop' that rape of the planet without killing all food sources? We have to eat something, sweetcheeks. Or are you planning to have us eat each other? (Soylent Green! YUM!)

Okay, done ranting. (And no, I don't equate all vegan and vegeterians as being preachy and crazy and all that. I see nothing wrong with wanting to have that diet. It's just not my own choice. ;) ). And now I'll go back and read the damned article with as open a mind as I can manage.

Comments

[pandamonious.livejournal.com]

Hardcore vegans and vegetarians annoy me quite a bit. But I'm a vegetarian myself, though I don't stick my nose in places where it doesn't belong and bitch about people eating meat. I'm fine with it, I just wish there was a better and cleaner way of going around "producing" it. I still respect the independent companies (Whole Foods is the best one) and private farmers who give out natural meat. And by natural meat I mean without all the growth hormones and whatnot that are added in big commercial meat...producers to make the cows get bigger so they can be 'processed' faster. Whereas natural meat is from cows who are let out to graze and live a healthy, natural life, but it still gets killed and it's meat goes to market. But it's more healthier meat! yay!

We brought the problems on ourselves, we should have thought about all the crap before we created it so all this global warming would've had a lesser chance of happening. But I'm sure in a few years or so we can solve the animal poo problem (like making poo energy!) and pollution and whatnot.

Unfortunately..., a good portion of the planet is polluted only with idiotic people. In that case -- I'm totally comfortable with eating each other.. we are animals after all! Kill and eat the stupid people (or just trap them and feed them to the polar bears and wolves, yay polar bears and wolves!) and that leaves all us smart people to correct everything and make good choices for the enviornment so cows, pigs, chickens, etcetera can be cleanly produced for meat! Yay for intelligence! :B

Btw your facepalm icon is fudging awesome.

[silverthorne.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I don't have problems with vegans/vegetarians either, really. It's just the few individuals who turn it basically into an insane, almost 'religious' crusade. And just as with actual religious nuts (or any extremist, really), my first reaction is to want to, at best, slap them silly.

And yeah, we brought this on by the twin problems of monetary greed and just plain greed. It's going to take a while to reverse the process.

I'm really not comfortable with eating each other, but that's because my own world view and understanding of human nature tells me once we started thinking of each other as 'food', we'll get a whole lot worse and more destructive before we manage to kill ourselves off enough to bring stability back to this place. And the problem with that is, a good portion of the survivors will be the ones who have no problems running over everything, its brother and its dog to get what they want. Which means the whole process will only start all over again.

Thanks :)

[skywardprodigal.livejournal.com]

I view this sort of thing as posturing. Kinda like that of certain hunter-types really.

Check this out (http://steelgrrrlmai.livejournal.com/65935.html).

[silverthorne.livejournal.com]

My postering or the vegan posturing? ;)

(Yes, I'm posturing, too. Mine is all 'DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO EAT WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE ANY BETTER IDEA OF HOW TO FIX IT THAN I DO! GGRWAAAARRRR!!!!!' *cough* or, you know, something like that...)

I think I've told you my family both fish and hunts on my dad's side (or used to. I think Uncle Larry, the main 'hunter', if you would, is getting a little too old for that now, and none of the cousins really took to it).

We do use the whole thing--whether it's a cooler of fish, or a deer (Occasionally two) UL brought home. That's really the proper way to hunt, if you're going to.

I also agree with the one poster on the link you sent me to; I have to live on my society. But I try to buy the cage free eggs, organic beef from 'ethical' sources, etc. BUt I'm also anemic. Dark green leafys help, but I still need the beef backup. And I'm not exactly in an area where I can go hunt it down myself. XD.

I don't think it's 'wrong' to eat food my body is built to ingest. I do agree we need to find much better ways to go about getting it.