# PETA = Idiots **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 5, 2000, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peta-idiots/35814 "2000-10-05T18:14:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![KJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b2d939/32.png) [@KJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KJ)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2000, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peta-idiots/35814/41 "2000-10-07T19:49:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kinsey \* > \*\* > I guess we should use sugar as a sweetener instead of honey, because of course we all know how wonderfully the migrant farm workers are treated… > \*\* Honey **is** sugar. It’s just extracted differently than cane sugar. And what I’m wondering is, how the hell can you treat bees poorly? a) They have yet to prove that bees even have basic emotions, and b) I’ve seen bees before, and they do not seem to mind having thousands of bees crawling over each other in a small space, or other such restrictions. They’re bees, fercryinoutloud. I’d like to know how bee farmers are “mistreating” bees. Maybe vegans just don’t like the idea of eating bee puke. ---
**Author:** ![KJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b2d939/32.png) [@KJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KJ)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2000, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peta-idiots/35814/42 "2000-10-07T19:50:56Z")
I just realized, in my other thread, I seemed to think that “cute” started with a Q. I don’t know why I did that. It was 1 in the morning, give me a break. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2000, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peta-idiots/35814/43 "2000-10-07T21:29:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KJ \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Kinsey \* > > \*\* > > I guess we should use sugar as a sweetener instead of honey, because of course we all know how wonderfully the migrant farm workers are treated… > > \*\* > > Honey **is** sugar. It’s just extracted differently than cane sugar. > \*\* I know honey is sugar, but some health-food fanatics advocate using honey as a sweetener over regular sugar, because it’s supposed to be “better” for you, health-wise. The thing about bees being mistreated had to do with the way the keepers smoke them out and “steal” their honey. I will look for that link. I did a Google search on “honey, vegans” and found quite a few sites. Here’s a couple: [http://www.vegetus.org/honey/honey.htm](http://www.vegetus.org/honey/honey.htm) [http://www.bergen.com/home/vegans19990314.htm](http://www.bergen.com/home/vegans19990314.htm) This second site is interesting. Apparently, vegans use only soy-based crayons and won’t take medicine in gelatin capsule form, either. Whatever. We’re having spaghetti with meatballs tonight. Real ground-up cow-flesh meatballs. Yummy! ---
**Author:** ![milroyj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@milroyj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/milroyj)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2000, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peta-idiots/35814/44 "2000-10-08T00:40:50Z")
> [@](#): > > But cheese is an animal product, like eggs and milk and honey Ok, two questions. I know vegans don’t wear leather or wool, but do they wear silk? Those poor silkworms, you know. So what _do_ vegans wear, plastic? Which comes from petroleum, and we know that the extraction and refining of said product isn’t particularly friendly to the environment where all their little animal friends live. ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2000, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peta-idiots/35814/45 "2000-10-08T03:52:49Z")
> [@](#): > > Whatever. We’re having spaghetti with meatballs tonight. Real ground-up cow-flesh meatballs. Yummy! Why do people invariably make these comments in vegan/vegetarianism/PETA threads? Personally, I also eat meat, and have no ethical qualms about animals dying for this reason. However, I see no need to point out how good meat tastes in a conversation about vegans. It simply isn’t relevant. There are vegans on this board that I otherwise find to be great people overall, and I see no reason to be purposely inflamatory towards their beliefs. Great, you like meat! I suppose you think that makes you a better person than pldennison, for example. I don’t know why you would believe this. However much I might disagree with him on the ethics of eating meat, I see no reason to go out of my way to express my glee at engaging in a practice I know he finds wrong. I figure that it makes as much sense it would for one of the religious guys here to end his posts about religion with random comments about how happy he is to not be going to hell. ---
**Author:** ![Major\_Feelgud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3be4f8/32.png) [@Major\_Feelgud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Major_Feelgud)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2000, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peta-idiots/35814/46 "2000-10-08T05:06:43Z")
I wonder if those PETA idiots ever watch Nature or any other nature show. The ones I see show animals eaten alive, torn apart when still breathing or drowned in river crossings. Why aren’t they in Africa stopping this kind of cruelty? Those lions and other carnivores must be stopped. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2000, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peta-idiots/35814/47 "2000-10-08T14:08:28Z")
Like it or not, I don’t think we’ll ever be able to get away from ALL animal products. I wouldn’t be surprised to see some PETA high ups eating steak in secret… ---
**Author:** ![tygre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c4cdca/32.png) [@tygre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tygre)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2000, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peta-idiots/35814/48 "2000-10-08T16:39:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by milroyj \* > \*\* > Ok, two questions. > > I know vegans don’t wear leather or wool, but do they wear silk? Those poor silkworms, you know. > > So what _do_ vegans wear, plastic? Which comes from petroleum, and we know that the extraction and refining of said product isn’t particularly friendly to the environment where all their little animal friends live. \*\* The only two fabrics I can think of that are natural and non-animal products are linen (from the flax plant) and cotton. You could wear non-leather shoes but aren’t most quality shoes leather? One of the vegans I know won’t even use sugar in her cooking - apparently the bleaching process to make it white uses charcoal from animal bones? So she uses fructose instead. –tygre ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2000, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peta-idiots/35814/49 "2000-10-08T19:39:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by tygre \* > \*\* > The only two fabrics I can think of that are natural and non-animal products are linen (from the flax plant) and cotton. You could wear non-leather shoes but aren’t most quality shoes leather? > > –tygre > \*\* Everyone knows that vegans only wear clothing made from the finest hemp… ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2000, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peta-idiots/35814/50 "2000-10-08T20:04:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by waterj2 \*\*\* > …I suppose you think that makes you a better person than pldennison, for example. I don’t know why you would believe this. However much I might disagree with him on the ethics of eating meat, I see no reason to go out of my way to express my glee at engaging in a practice I know he finds wrong. I figure that it makes as much sense it would for one of the religious guys here to end his posts about religion with random comments about how happy he is to not be going to hell. \*\* I never said I was better than pldennison. How do you get the idea that I said that just from a comment I made about dinner? I wasn’t express glee at engaging in a practice he finds wrong. How many vegans have even responded to this thread? If someone who was religious ended a thread by commenting on how glad he was not to be going to Hell, I wouldn’t be offended. ---
**Author:** ![pldennison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@pldennison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pldennison)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2000, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peta-idiots/35814/51 "2000-10-08T23:46:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Guinastasia \* > \*\*Like it or not, I don’t think we’ll ever be able to get away from ALL animal products. > > I wouldn’t be surprised to see some PETA high ups eating steak in secret… > \*\* Yes, that’s right, vegetarians are all secretly hypocrites, and we would’ve gotten away with it if it wasn’t for you meddling kids. :rolleyes: **tygre** : > [@](#): > > The only two fabrics I can think of that are natural and non-animal products are linen (from the flax plant) and cotton. You could wear non-leather shoes but aren’t most quality shoes leather? I have several pairs of nonleather shoes, including sandals, sneakers, boots and oxfords for work. All have lasted me nearly two years now. I bought them, if anyone is interested, at [http://www.vegetarian-shoes.co.uk](http://www.vegetarian-shoes.co.uk). **Kinsey** : > [@](#): > > The woman (I think she was the president) compared chicken farms to Holocaust concentration camps. I can’t believe she would compare a chicken farm to something like that! On the other hand, a well-known poultry farm in Ohio recently had to destroy more than 60,000 chickens because of injuries sustained and damage done to their overpakced cages during recent storms. According to the Humane Society of the United States, if the grower had adopted less cruel conditions for the chickens, **as PETA, HSUS, and other groups have been urging them for years** , they could probably have been salvaged. To be eaten eventually, yes, but now they were just wasted. **pricciar** : > [@](#): > > To go off on another point, I have a question for the PETA members. It is obvious that campaigns such as the “Got Prostate Cancer” and “Got Beer” put your organization in a bad light. Do you feel that the bad press that is created by the campaigns is worth it? In my opinion as a former PETA member, they have an enormous PR problem right now, they jump on junk science reports, and they don’t think ahead as to the ramifications of their campaigns. They also don’t go nearly far enough to disassociate themselves from the actions of the ALF. The campaigns like “I’d Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur” were clever, well-executed, and eye-catching. They’ve done some other useful work recently, too (getting McDonald’s to issue more humane guidelines for their poultry suppliers is a HUGE step). But each successive campaign seems to be less well thought out, from where I sit. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peta-idiots/35814/52 "2000-10-09T00:37:30Z")
I did not say ALL vegetarians. I said some of the PETA bigwigs. Because they seem to only care about their own goals for the organization. Why don’t they worry about some real animal abuses, such as people who don’t get their pets spayed or neutered and then let them run free, or people who dump animals they don’t want off on some busy highway, rather than about bees being treated poorly. My comment was TONGUE IN CHEEK! :rolleyes: (BTW, my father always burns beehives he finds on our property, since he is severely allergic.) ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peta-idiots/35814/53 "2000-10-09T00:40:32Z")
The go naked campaign…wasn’t that, “I’d rather Go-Go Naked…” and didn’t it involve the GoGos? ---
**Author:** ![pldennison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@pldennison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pldennison)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peta-idiots/35814/54 "2000-10-09T12:56:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Guinastasia \* > \*\* . . . Because they seem to only care about their own goals for the organization. Why don’t they worry about some real animal abuses, such as people who don’t get their pets spayed or neutered and then let them run free, or people who dump animals they don’t want off on some busy highway, rather than about bees being treated poorly. > \*\* Uh, yeah, they actually ignore those issues and only ever talk about bees. Bees and mosquitos. THose are the only two issues they ever address. Spaying, neutering and dumping are **completely** ignored by PETA. I think Opal put it best when she said: “Because as we all know, you can only be outraged by one thing at a time. If a new outrageous thing comes up, you must decide whether to abandon your previous outrage and take on the new one, or keep your previous one and pass on the new one. It is unlawful to be outraged by multiple things at any given time, in addition to being humanly impossible.” ---
**Author:** ![KJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b2d939/32.png) [@KJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KJ)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peta-idiots/35814/55 "2000-10-09T23:15:03Z")
I just realized, in my other post, I referred to my other other post as a thread. I’m screwed up. Anyway, regarding the OP: If you don’t eat meat, fine. I’ve got nothing against that. And I won’t say anything to you. But if you try to tell me not to eat meat, or try to “convert” me to vegetarianism, don’t be surprised if I jokingly flaunt my meat-eating habits in your face. Don’t bother me, I won’t bother you. And if you (I am sort of referring to anyone at PETA) DO try to convince me to not eat meat, at least do it in a practical way. Say “Don’t eat meat/drink milk, because animals are mistreated.” Don’t make up some bullshit story about prostate cancer or Jesus to try to change my mind. **I’m not incompetent, I can choose to do things without divine intervention.** It’s just like when people said “Pokémon is evil because it’s satanic and promotes slavery.” It’s obvious these people just thought the Pokémon craze was a bit annoying, and made this up as an excuse to be able to badmouth it. PETA is essentially doing the same thing; I doubt anyone there actually cares that drinking milk might reduce their risk of prostate cancer by n% (even though that is probably total quackery) but, hey, whatever sells. My point? I don’t know, I’m sort of just ranting, but I hate it when people don’t stick to the facts and just tell me what they mean. Pokémon is qute. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peta-idiots/35814.md?page=2)