Posts by tridymite

thhq, You ask where I would draw the line on killing animals to survive.  If I really had to kill an animal (or a person) to survive, I probably would.  But I don't.  I don't kill animals when there is no need to.  An ant crawling on the floor doesn't bother me, or pose any danger to me.  I'll either leave it be or put it outside.  Would I kill a mosquito that was going to give me malaria?  How would I first know that it was going to give me malaria?  Anyway, I don't live in a place where malaria is an issue, so I really can't answer that question.  As for rabid dogs, they will die anyway.  That is a case where I think that the merciful thing to do really is to out it to sleep.  At least in Europe and North America (can't speak for other places, never having been there) it is not necessary for humans to eat meat or use animals to be healthy.  Pathogens don't have brains, as far as I know.  Amoeba's for example, are single celled life forms, with a nucleus, but that is about it.  I don't think you meant to use the word anthropomorphic

but I know what you meant.  If I was ever in a situation where I had to save either a cow or a human, yes I'd save the human.  But seriously, when is this ever going to happen?  And also, if I had to save my sister, or a random person, I'd pick my sister, and I think anybody would do the same.  It doesn't matter whether the "other" is a person or a fish, anybody would pick the one they felt closest to to save.  For me being vegan means not causing unnecessary harm to creatures which can think and have feelings (I don't know one person who has a pet who would say that animals don't have feelings).  I am not racist, or sexist or homophobic, and I don't see a need to use animals.  The whole "plants are alive too" is silly, I think.  Yes, they are alive, but they haven't got brains.  They don't have families or emotions. 

I asked the question about how a dog differs from a pig, or a chicken from a parakeet, because I know several people who say that they love dogs, and would never abuse them, etc. but, they eat pigs and cows all the time.  I really am curious as to what they see the difference as.

thhq: I'm quite certain I did not call you any names, but I won't start now. Humans adapt, and so do animals. First of all, I do not agree with PETA. PETA is sexist, violent, and silly. I agree that civil dialogue is far far better than throwing paint at people or smashing windows, or walking around naked. My feelings are, that yes, pigs and chickens (those that we eat anyway, there are some wild pigs) were bred to be eaten. However, I do not think that makes it right. Going back to the slavery issue, slaves with good teeth and strong muscles were sold for higher prices and bred to create strong children. One could say that these stronger children were created, but it was definitely not right to enslave them, regardless of why they came to be. In terms of humans adapting by creating animals, and this being something that makes us more intilligent than animals...well that depends on your definition of intelligence, and since we write the tests, then I suppose we will always come out on top. Is war really intilligent though? Is it really a good idea to drive an SUV even though we know about climate change? Animals fled the area in Tailand and Sri Lanka before the Tsunami, and humans tragically did not. Call this instinct or call it intelligence, but if you call it instinct, than perhaps humans have an instinct for self destruction (look at houses being built on the shores of the ocean, under cliffs where scars from rock falls are visible. The ocean erodes the land, the rocks fall, not a good situation) I do not think that all the animals in farms at the moment should be released. I do think that they should be taken care of, and by that I mean fed good food, given enough space to move around, given clean pastures (and given pastures in the first place) etc. If the domestic cow for, example, was to go extinct, what would the negative consequences of that be? We would no longer be able to eat beef, or drink cows milk. This would not kill us, it would not even make us sick. Since we would suffer no problems from this, and the cows would no longer be being abused, I see no problem with this scenario. Some people would go without jobs. With all the land previously dedicated to factory farming and slaughter houses, we could make parks...build schools...have public gardens. I don't know, anything. Also, just so everybody is clear, the pamphlet is not put out by PETA, it is put out by Gary Francione, who is quite vocal about not supporting PETA on the basis that they are hypoctirical and sexist.

Also, just so everybody is clear, the pamphlet is not put out by PETA, it is put out by Gary Francione, who is quite vocal about not supporting PETA on the basis that they are hypoctirical and sexist.

http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2006/1000 448/index.html

The above link is the source for the statements in the pamphlet about how the environment is being harmed by animal agriculture.

I asked how tall you were because at 5' and 84lbs, you are very thin.  The thinner somebody is, the more noticeable it will be when they put something in their stomach.  Especially to themselves.  Think of it this way.  You have a balloon (stomach) that is empty (flat).  Put a piece of bread inside.  It will be a bit bigger until the bread has been digested.   Any change in size will be more noticeable in a very thin person because there is nothing to hide it.  This is normal.  But I think it is unlikely that you look 30 lbs heavier.  If you really do bloat that much, than you should see a doctor because that is not normal.  You could have an intolerance to something, ie milk, nuts etc.

Hey,

Thanks for your opinions. 

the pamphlet came from Gary Francione, who is vocally opposed to PETA. 

I've emailed him about the lack of citation.

I will let you all know what he says.

I think that the pamphlet is trying to cover all reasons as to why somebody would go vegan, as it does mention the UN's comment about how damaging to the planet animal agriculture is. 

Many places in the United States market eggs as free range (restaurants and some stores) when in fact these eggs could have come from commercial free-range farms, which have no regulations, other than that the chickens must have access to the outdoors, no matter how small that space is.

thhq, I googled WTCU and found many organizations.  What are you referring to?

How tall are you? 

Do your parents know about calories?  (Don't scoff, a lot of people I've met don't) If they do, then you could try suggesting some recipes for dinner, and make sure they see you eating them, so they know you are not trying to diet.  You could also find things on the web to show them (I know that the UN has a report out saying that if people stopped consuming animals/animal products, that would do more to slow down global warming than if everybody drove a hybrid car).  Also the American Dietary Association has a statement that says that vegetarian diets, when appropriately planed, are completely healthy.

Why do they think you want to lose weight?  Have you had an eating disorder in the past?  Do you right now?  Does your doctor say you need to gain weight? 

Ok, so with a microwave the first things that come to mind are baked potatoes with veggies, pasta, soup, and oatmeal.

sandwiches. peanut butter and banana for example.

nuts, dried fruit, chocolate, any trail mix ingredient.

will you have access to a microwave?

The wrist test has never made any sense to me.  First of all, compare your finger lengths with those of your friends.  Some people have really short fingers and some people have really long fingers.  Having short fingers doesn't necessarily mean you have a large frame though.  And, the smaller one gets the thinner ones fingers become.  Thinner fingers will be able to wrap around more of a wrist than thick ones would. 

In response to the person who said they eat fish because otherwise they fill up on carbs, if you want to be vegetarian, then eat more vegetarian protein.  There is tofu, tons of different kinds of beans and nuts, and even more recipes which use those things.  I don't know many vegans or vegetarians who went veg*n because they didn't like all flesh or all animal products, they made the decision because they believed it was the right thing to do, and then they made the effort to learn how to eat healthily as a veg*n.

You could make a curry, vegetable curries can be extremely healthy and filling, and if you serve it over brown rice and let people serve themselves, you can take as little of the rice as you want.

Are you avoiding pasta because of a condition like diabetes where you have to watch your carb intake very closely?  If not, maybe you could have one night where you have a plate of pasta.  Pasta, sundried tomatoes, olive oil, garlic and other veggies of your choice is delicious!

Good luck.

Hey,

What country do you live in?  I know that Canada and the United States have YMCAs, and somebody at one of those might be able to direct you to a shelter or somewhere that you could go for free help.  How much about all this do the friends who loaned you college money know?  Could they help you find help?  I would think that as a student supporting yourself, you must be eligible for some sort of health insurance type deal.  Also, as others have said, check out what your college health center has to offer.  Do you have a phone?  Wherever you are, there should be 1-800 (or the equivalent) numbers which you can call for support.  Good luck!

As far as the health side of palm oil goes, I don't know.  But, the first source seems pretty legitimate to me, at least as far as the environmental side goes.  It is definitely true that rainforests around the world are getting cut down at very fast rates to create fields to grow food for cows or to supply people with exotic wood etc.

I would suggest eating beans, rice, pasta, oatmeal, fruit, berries, vegetables...look for a vegetarian cookbook.  It can give you ideas for meals.  As for blindness, mania etc, I know that not getting enough B12 can cause blindness in severe circumstances, but that shouldn't be a problem for you if you still eat eggs and milk.  If you choose to become vegan, then you need to make sure you get B12, either by soymilk, nutritional yeast, or supplementation.  According to the American Dietary Association a well planned vegetarian or vegan diet can give you all the nutrients you need, and B12 is the only nutrient that can not be found "naturally" in a vegan diet.  All nutrients can be found in a vegetarian diet.