Okay, I’m a vegetarian, and I love it. I also pride myself in being rational. I stamp out urban legends when I can, I’m a born skeptic, and I have a great respect for the scientific method. That’s why I’m a vegetarian, in some ways.
So why the heck is there this crossover between vegetarians and anti-scientific twits?!?!? This has been bugging me for a long time, but I thought Straight-Doper vegetarians might be able to understand my point of view here. No wonder so many meat-eating Dopers think veggies are irrational and gullible, when the vegetarian-interest books are in the same section as the homeopathy books in the local bookstore! When half the ads in the veggie magazines are for dubious “natural remedies” that have never been verified effective in double-blind tests! Come on, Veggie Times has a horoscope in the back, fer cryin’ out loud, and the head editor is an astrologer herself!
So why is this? I think it’s a perfectly rational, scientific choice to give up (or at least cut down on) meat, when you look at cancer rates and epidemiologies and so forth. So why are all the nut-cases on my side?
Okay, I’m done venting. Anybody have any insights on this?
Your Quadell
P.S. Maybe I should have out this is in the Pit, but I wanted to avoid the “It’s because all you vegetarians are stupid” answers.
I’m not a vegetarian, but I read your post anyway!
But seriously, folks…I have done some work on the history of vegetarianism in the US, especially on the most recent surge of vegetarianism which started in the late 1960s. I believe I could offer some insight into why vegetarianism is often linked to “anti-scientific twitism”–to use your term.
Well, I’m not veggie, but we don’t eat a lot of meat and I do most of my shopping at a local Co-op that doesn’t sell any products with dead animials in them.
My non-professional analysis of some of my fellow shoppers is that they are a bit on the anxious and hypochondriacal side. Veggie diets can, of course, be very healthy, but these people spend waaay to much time and money sucking down wheatgrass juice and popping whatever the latest herbal craze is. Restricted diets (like veganism and macrobiotics), herbs, aromatherapy, crystals, etc.–they are all ways of spending a lot of time doctoring yourself without getting a medical degree.
Another factor is that these things are all reactions to mainstream Western medicine. A lot of people feel that we are too dependent on doctors and drugs. I think that a lot of people draw the tempting, but illogical, conclusion that if Western scientific approaches to health are bad, all other approaches must be good.
I think it’s because it’s an activity that one can easily be obsessive and evangelical about without requiring much knowledge. Those sort of activities always seem to attract nutters, like religion, astrology, environmentalism, … .
Something else that bothers me, is why does everyone seem to assume vegetarians are health nuts? I would love to get some kentucky fried tofu. At least Harvey’s has finally come out with a pretty decent veggie burger.
Why? Beats the cellulose outta me. I’m a vegetarian, and I don’t believe in any of that stuff. It seems to me that a lot of these people become vegetarians due to their crystal-wearing inclinations, not the other way 'round. Once people start in on one aspect of this pseudoscientific belief, swallowing the rest of it comes easily, I guess.
Heck is where you go when you don’t believe in Gosh.
Could it be that vegetarianism has its recent roots in the counterculture of the 60s and 70s? Even though they were a bunch of hippie freaks (please pardon the expression), part of their ideal was peace, non-violence towards all creatures, presumably including veal calves, chickens, lambs, porks, and other edible type creatures.
These are the same people who named their kids Moonflower, dropped tons of acid, lived in the Age of Aquarius, and generally did a lot of weird things.
The connection still exists, at least among some groups. I’m far removed from the hippie generation, but I am vegetarian for the reason I mentioned above; that is, in my opinion, it’s wrong to kill animals to eat them. I don’t believe in all the hoo-ha that’s often associated with that position, but I’m able to ignore it and get on with buying the bean curd.
Former vegetarian who gave in to the dark side and now eats fish and birds here…
I’d say that–in addition to the groups already noted that have a greater propensity towards vegetarianism (New Age postmoderns distrustful of science)–you’d also have to note the tendency of Seventh-Day Adventists to go veg. It’s not a requirement, but they are strongly encouraged to do so. 7th-day adventists are pretty staunch creationists and many so-called “scientific creationists” hail from their ranks. That’s not to say that they aren’t nice people, but they are more members for your “veg yet anti-science” category!
This bothers me too! Arg! Or they assume I live off tofu and stuff. I don’t eat tofu at all. And I am addicted to Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs (hey, they’re only around for a little while each year)
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From an actual catalog: “Disco balls create an enchanting, dazzling effect of light shafts, adding movement and glamour to any occasion” the Abrams’ bris was certainly memorable
O p a l C a t www.opalcat.com
Green Bean, I’d love to hear your research. In fact, I’d love to hear whatever you can share on the history of vegetarianism.
Cher3, I think you’re right about the rebellion against Western Medicine. (Click the link for a laugh.) But my “western” doctor urges his patients to cut down on their meat, while ancient Asian remedies often involved animal parts.
And Pweetman, I’m with you. Black Forest cherry cake is my idea of good vegetarian cooking.
um… probably because it’s a healthier way to eat. Most people (at least that I know) have either given up meat becuase of health reasons or because of ethical/moral reasons.
Now, you certainly don’t have to be a health nut to be a vegetarian. My stepson has been raised vegetarian, but is also 11 and is developing crappy habits like eating mostly carbs and very little protein, not exercising, eating most of his calories in the late afternoon and night. He’s getting fat.
I wouldn’t recommend being a vegetarian to anyone who isn’t going to go to the effort of preparing other forms of protein. It is still vital to have those amino acids. One can’t survive on steamed vegetables and grain. Well, you can survive, but not very well. Being vegetarian is a bit more high maintenance from my experience. I don’t just eat anywhere - I can’t because not all places offer what I can or want to eat. (and I’m not even vegetarian anymore. I’m eating fish now).
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Something else that bothers me, is why does everyone seem to assume
vegetarians are health nuts?’
They are? With all those chemicals used on plants etc, I don’t see that much advantage.
Also, have you ever seen organic vegatables harvested? It doesn’t appear very sanitary at all most of the time. So, I’d rather have some meat now & then after all, I’m 100% meat too.
I gave up meat for the latter reason primarily. I have always considered myself a health-nut, even when and if I was eating donuts and drinking coffee. I’m, uhhhh, a little wiser now.
Same here. I stil eat fish about 3-4 times a month. But it’s just like you said as being religiously partially-vegetarian is itself an extremely high maintenance lifestyle. But deep inside I feel like I am to be considered a vegetarian because of my commitment to the risks and benefits that being almost a vgetarian provides. But I still eat fish, though rarely. What do I call myself? Maybe being a lacto-ovo-pesca-vegetarian is a little too wordy, even for me.
“What’s right is only half of what’s wrong and
I want a short-haired girl who sometimes wears it twice as long.”
George Harrison - Old Brown Shoe
I gave up meat for the latter reason primarily. I have always considered myself a health-nut, even when and if I was eating donuts and drinking coffee. I’m, uhhhh, a little wiser now.
Same here. I stil eat fish about 3-4 times a month. But it’s just like you said as being religiously partially-vegetarian is itself an extremely high maintenance lifestyle. But deep inside I feel like I am to be considered a vegetarian because of my commitment to the risks and benefits that being almost a vegetarian provides. But I still eat fish, though rarely. What do I call myself? Maybe being a lacto-ovo-pesca-vegetarian is a little too wordy, even for me.
“What’s right is only half of what’s wrong and
I want a short-haired girl who sometimes wears it twice as long.”
George Harrison - Old Brown Shoe
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From an actual catalog: “Disco balls create an enchanting, dazzling effect of light shafts, adding movement and glamour to any occasion” the Abrams’ bris was certainly memorable
O p a l C a t www.opalcat.com
