Guest guest Posted March 5, 2003 Report Share Posted March 5, 2003 In one of my digests of another vegetarian list, I think it was 'vegetarian support', a lad asked a question of the group. Seems he often gets teased a bit by his meat-eating friends and plagued with questions he cannot find answer to at the moment. One that troubled him was, when asked by his meat- eating pals why he is a vegetarian he'd reply that he doesn't want to be cruel to animals. To this they say that eating plants can be seen as cruel and harmful to them, so where is the difference? He never quite knows how to respond to this. My questions to the list are: Have you ever been confronted with this type of debate from your family, friends or meat-eating aquaintences? Whether or not you have, how would you choose to reply to such a comment? ~ PT ~ The strength of a nation is derived from the integrity of its homes. ~ Confucius Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 5, 2003 Report Share Posted March 5, 2003 Well, if he decides to become a " fructarian " , eating only foods that drop naturally from a living plant, then his problem is solved - however - nutrition is tough enough as a raw vegan far less a fructarian. His mistake (in my opinion) was his initial reply of not wanting to be cruel to animals. That is a lovely reason and I'm sure that many of us share that feeling, however, having opened the door to that argument, it can be very hard to close. Rather than providing an answer, he offered an arguable point. My reply to their initial question would have focused more on global health (statistics regarding the amount of land needed to grow living food for direct human consumption compared to the amount required to grow feed, process feed and then grow the animals that we consume), global impact of raising large herds of animals for slaughter (runoff from poultry farms polluting streams, methane release to the atmosphere), individual health concerns (transference of disease from animals to humans, reducing the effectiveness of antibiotics, introduction of growth hormones from meat and other hormones to increase milk production to humans) and at the very end, I would have mentioned personal health concerns based on research I read. I have been confronted like this before. One time I gave in and fell off the vegan wagon for about a year - now that I'm back on I intend to stay here. It astounds me how much energy people will expend trying to convince a vegetarian that he/she is wrong and should eat meat. You want to really raise some eyebrows tell 'em you're raw vegetarian! Cheers Steve ~ P_T ~ [patchouli_troll] Wednesday, March 05, 2003 1:07 PM [group question] vegetarian reply In one of my digests of another vegetarian list, I think it was 'vegetarian support', a lad asked a question of the group. Seems he often gets teased a bit by his meat-eating friends and plagued with questions he cannot find answer to at the moment. One that troubled him was, when asked by his meat- eating pals why he is a vegetarian he'd reply that he doesn't want to be cruel to animals. To this they say that eating plants can be seen as cruel and harmful to them, so where is the difference? He never quite knows how to respond to this. My questions to the list are: Have you ever been confronted with this type of debate from your family, friends or meat-eating aquaintences? Whether or not you have, how would you choose to reply to such a comment? ~ PT ~ The strength of a nation is derived from the integrity of its homes. ~ Confucius Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 5, 2003 Report Share Posted March 5, 2003 i get that kind of crap sometimes. mostly from family members. my stepbrother asks me why i don't eat meat almost everytime i see him. we have a running joke that i will someday write him a formal essay so he can refer to it whenever he likes. my reply is this: " i don't eat anything which would feel pain in order for it to die. i don't eat anything that has pain receptors. technically this means i can eat some crustaceans. nothing that feels pain has to die in order for me to eat. " it's kind of a spiritual thing for me. , " ~ P_T ~ " <patchouli_troll> wrote: > In one of my digests of another vegetarian list, > I think it was 'vegetarian support', a lad asked > a question of the group. Seems he often gets teased > a bit by his meat-eating friends and plagued with > questions he cannot find answer to at the moment. > One that troubled him was, when asked by his meat- > eating pals why he is a vegetarian he'd reply that he > doesn't want to be cruel to animals. To this they > say that eating plants can be seen as cruel and harmful > to them, so where is the difference? He never quite > knows how to respond to this. > > My questions to the list are: > > Have you ever been confronted with this type of debate > from your family, friends or meat-eating aquaintences? > > Whether or not you have, how would you choose to reply > to such a comment? > > ~ PT ~ > > The strength of a nation is derived from > the integrity of its homes. > ~ Confucius Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 5, 2003 Report Share Posted March 5, 2003 ~ P_T ~ [patchouli_troll] >>...they say that eating plants can be seen as cruel and harmful to them, so where is the difference...how would you choose to reply to such a comment?<< My response to such a question is that " I don't survive on the death of any of the creatures around me. " Only the real " nut cakes " ever bring up anything about plants. I then clarify that plants are botanically bases and a totally different " logical level " of life form. I add that all the creatures are biologically based and have a very similar cell structure and DNA composition to mine. That's the bottom line, they are my brothers and sisters. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 5, 2003 Report Share Posted March 5, 2003 Okay, this is a no-win situation. Find me one of those meat-eaters who doesn't eat either animals *or* plants, then I'll be willing to discuss this problem ;=) However, I'm an animal, not a plant, and I choose not to eat my fellow creatures. If there are those who are plants, not animals, who choose to eat *only animals*, never plants, then I will be willing to consider their difference but, and I warn them, I don't think we will come to a meeting of minds, for obvious reasons. He should learn to laugh and agree with them and say that he, like them, is learning to live on air - hot air. Theirs. best, pat sant P.S. This was a joke, right????? > when asked by his meat- > eating pals why he is a vegetarian he'd reply that he > doesn't want to be cruel to animals. To this they > say that eating plants can be seen as cruel and harmful > to them, so where is the difference? > -- SANTBROWN townhounds/ http://www.angelfire.com/art/pendragon/ ---------- * " Until he extends the circle of compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace. " - Albert Schweitzer * " The time will come when men such as I will look upon the murder of animals as they now look upon the murder of men " - Leonardo da Vinci * " The animals of the world exist for their own reasons. They were not made for humans any more than black people were made for white, or women created for men. " - Alice Walker ---------- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 5, 2003 Report Share Posted March 5, 2003 yes, I have.........and I my response to them is: It may very well be a valid comment [to which, they have *always* been surprised, as they felt they were making a joke]. I go on to explain that there are people who feel that way, and have chosen to be 'fruitarians', which [from my reasearch I have found that they] are people who choose not to eat anything that kills *anything*, including plants! they will eat anything that does not kill, such as beans, [hand picked] grains, nuts, [what most people consider] fruit, etc.....you get the picture: anything that is the 'fruit' of the plant. garlic, onions, potatoes, etc are *out* due to the fact that to harvest it kills the plant. All that usually leaves them pretty flabbergasted, and they shut up. least, that has been my experience. Pixx On 5 Mar 2003 at 18:06, ~ P_T ~ wrote: > In one of my digests of another vegetarian list, > I think it was 'vegetarian support', a lad asked > a question of the group. Seems he often gets teased > a bit by his meat-eating friends and plagued with > questions he cannot find answer to at the moment. > One that troubled him was, when asked by his meat- > eating pals why he is a vegetarian he'd reply that he > doesn't want to be cruel to animals. To this they > say that eating plants can be seen as cruel and harmful > to them, so where is the difference? He never quite > knows how to respond to this. > > My questions to the list are: > > Have you ever been confronted with this type of debate > from your family, friends or meat-eating aquaintences? > > Whether or not you have, how would you choose to reply > to such a comment? > > ~ PT ~ > > == http://pixxart.com the Art of Living in Health, Peace, & Light Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 5, 2003 Report Share Posted March 5, 2003 Hmm, I guess I am a " nut-cake " then.......... I feel a kinship to the plants as well............and if I thought I could actually 'make it', I *would be* fruitarian.................but, I love garlic and sweet potatoes too much to give them up!! Pixx On 5 Mar 2003 at 11:52, daveo wrote: > > > My response to such a question is that " I don't survive on the death > of any of the creatures around me. " Only the real " nut cakes " ever > bring up anything about plants. > > I then clarify that plants are botanically bases and a totally > different " logical level " of life form. I add that all the creatures > are biologically based and have a very similar cell structure and DNA > composition to mine. > > That's the bottom line, they are my brothers and sisters. > > Dave > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 6, 2003 Report Share Posted March 6, 2003 " You want to really raise some eyebrows tell 'em you're raw vegetarian! " lol no kidding steve! i've only recently become vegetarian.. and try to eat raw as much as possible... my family thought i was nuts the first time i began talking about it! michelle Tax Center - forms, calculators, tips, and more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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