# Do Vegans swallow? (TMI -maybe) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 9, 2003, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegans-swallow-tmi-maybe/200580 "2003-09-09T18:33:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2003, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegans-swallow-tmi-maybe/200580/21 "2003-09-11T10:15:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Guinastasia \* > \*\*Question-could one get koru from eating placenta? \*\* I don’t intend to eat the placenta of a kuru sufferer (or anyone else’s, for that matter) and find out, but I’ll take a guess on “probably not, but you’d need strong nerves to put it to the test”. The transmission vector for koru/kuru/laughing sickness is infected human brain tissue - pretty specific, and it makes you shudder to think how often they must have been eating each other’s brains for a disease organism to find this a useful biological niche. :sick: IMHO this is an extremely kooky practice with distinct overtones of mother-as-the-incarnation-of-the-Goddess about it, but as long as no-one asks me to join in… ---
**Author:** ![Monkeytoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Monkeytoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monkeytoes)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2003, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegans-swallow-tmi-maybe/200580/22 "2003-09-11T16:06:54Z")
Egad. Placenta-scarfing is NOT “a vegetarian/vegan thing”. It’s a kooky mother-earth-subculture thing that omnivores might engage in as well. I’ve been an active reader of vegetarian/vegan discussion groups for over a decade, and NOT ONCE has there EVER been a discussion of this topic. There’s lots of mothers on the groups–you’d think it would have come up if people were doing it. Vegans, particularly, are generally physically repulsed at the thought of eating meat. Regardless of the source. I wouldn’t be surprised if a homebirthing veg/vegan mother buried the placenta in the backyard to “return it to the earth” or something. But eat it? Highly, highly, highly unlikely. ---
**Author:** ![caveman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caveman/32/7242_2.png) [@caveman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caveman)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2003, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegans-swallow-tmi-maybe/200580/23 "2003-09-11T19:16:45Z")
Well, they don’t eat meat, but they sure like the bone… _d&r_ ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2003, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegans-swallow-tmi-maybe/200580/24 "2003-09-11T19:21:22Z")
I sjuppose a Catholic Vegan would not be able to swallow because of her religious beliefs. After all each sperm is capable of producing life, in effect she’d be eating little Catholic babies. Very not vegan. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2003, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegans-swallow-tmi-maybe/200580/25 "2003-09-11T21:25:57Z")
So is it okay if a vegan guy blows himself & swallows? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Griffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_Griffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Griffin)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2003, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegans-swallow-tmi-maybe/200580/26 "2003-09-11T21:33:28Z")
Sperm are like soldiers in a war - expendible. Only one needs to get there. they obey simple orders (find the get and pork it) and they are not allowed to think for themselves. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Griffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_Griffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Griffin)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2003, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegans-swallow-tmi-maybe/200580/27 "2003-09-11T21:34:46Z")
get??? i meant egg… ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegans-swallow-tmi-maybe/200580/28 "2003-09-12T00:11:20Z")
AFAIK almost all vegans avoid animal products to avoid causing any unescessary harm to any animal. This would not apply to placentas and semen, so they’d decide whether to eat these the same way anyone else does. However, depressingly, there are a very few vegans who eschew _all_ ‘animal products’ regardless, including breast milk! IMO this is stupid, dangerous, and possibly mad (especially when imposed on children), but they do exist. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegans-swallow-tmi-maybe/200580.md?page=1)