Ok, this has been bothering me for a while, but if someone is a Veg/Vegan for reasons other than health, aren’t they discriminating against plants?
Think about it.
Vegetarians/Vegans won’t eat animals, but they will eat plants.
You’re prolly thinking I’m on crack, but wait a second, take the same statement, but change a few words:
A resturaunt won’t serve blacks, but they will serve whites.
Now that sounds pretty racist, now doesn’t it.
I have nothing against Veg/Vegans, but from the ones I see in my life, they act like people who are omnivores are cannibals. Yes, your thinking stereotyping, but I KNOW that all aren’t like this.
The reason I am even bothering with this is because of a recent arguement with some other folks about life, eating to survive, values of life, etc.
Your allegory is kinked. Refusing to EAT meat is different than refusing to provide a service to a fellow being because of race, religion, skin color, whatever.
What they are actually doing is discriminating against their own longevity. This is not a crime if it is carried out over time, only if it is done as the result of one proximate act of self destruction. Just tell your vegan friends to take a lot of B-12 supplement, or they will drop dead before their time.
Yeah, you’re absolutely right. I’m not only a vegetarian, I’m the next George Wallace. And to think it’s all due to the lack of meat in my diet! For shame!
You must be reading someone else’s post. I didn’t refer to vegetarians at all. I am a vegetarian at least insofar as I don’t intentionally eat red meat. What I said was that serious VEGANS…I know a lady who will eat nothing but fresh, raw fruit and vegetables that she has washed with the purification system built into her car…will have a little B-12 problem on down the road if they are not careful about their ditetic regimen. And I think I also implied that being a vegan does not discriminate against plants or anything else, the only possible harm accruing to the vegan who does not provide the vitamins and minerals that his or her body requires to continue respiration.
I’m not arguing with you, I am sure you are correct. I just don’t know what you are talking about.
Powerpuff has a (small) point though.
By refusing steadfastly to eat red meat but then happily munching away on chicken, fish, shellfish, etc, isn’t this, to use a phrase coined by another famous Adams, species prejudice?
This post defies logic. You have the right to
choose what to put into your own body. I don’t
eat any meat, fine. I don’t get down on
people who do (I put PETA people right there
with the anti-abortion group).
The law prohibits discrimination against certain
groups of people. My own moral code is YOU DON’T
GET DOWN ON PEOPLE FOR ANYTHING THEY CAN’T HELP.
That includes obvious things like race and
handicaps, plus some less obvious like sexual
orientation.
This thread doesn’t belong in this forum, but I’m kind of embarrassed to send it anywhere. I guess Great Debates is the least worst place for it. But two things. First, everybody be nice so David B and Gaudere don’t have to move it again (to the Pit). Second, when they come storming into GQ whacking everybody with their moderator hats, I’m going to blame you guys. So there.
“I’m not a vegetarian because I like animals. I’m a vegetarian because I hate plants.” anon
I get a little tired of people harping on me, as a vegetarian about drinking milk and eating vegetables, because “they’re alive, too.” Give me a break. Because I would starve to death without eating veggies, I would be more correct to eat meat? These types of comments ALWAYS come from a meat-eater, usually someone with a honkin’ piece of steak dangling from their front tooth. Meat-eaters eat plants, too. So because I don’t cut out all food from my diet completely, I’m a hypocrite? Plllluuuuhhheeeese.
I don’t like meat. I stopped eating meat 4 years ago. I realise that other people like meat. If asked, I will tell them why I do not like eating meat. But I never, ever, judge a meat-eater. Hell, chimps eat meat, I’d say that’s pretty good proof we’re supposed to be omnivores. But I myself find the concept disagreeable. And because I don’t launch into the “why meat is bad” speech unless asked directly, I assume that other people will leave me alone about being a veggie. This is rarely the case. And no, I’m a vegetarian by choice, but it has positively effected my health.
The reason you have a sterotyped vision is because you probably don’t recognize the non-militant vegetarians. It’s akin to gay sterotypes, they are still around because people who DON’T conform to those stereotypes aren’t noticed. They appear “normal.”
Let me just say that this topic was in no way to offend vegetarians or vegans, but just to look at something with a new light.
I have no problem with vegetarians or vegans, but if you don’t look at something from several points of view, then you never take anything in. In retrospect, discrimination was too harsh a word to use, but with a small vocabulary, you can come up with words for everything.
This wasn’t a debate really, it prolly belongs in the pit anyways, the attitude doesn’t matter.
It’s not really stereotyping, espically since I said…
The reasons, and correct me if I am wrong here, that the ‘animal rights vegetarians’ (as opposed to vegetarians who do so for health reasons) do not eat meat are ones of empathy. They firmly believe that the animals we munch on are as deserving of a life unfettered and without mistreatment, especially in the form of the slaughterhouse, as we humans are.
As to vegetables, it’s a little difficult to extend the empathy that far. They are alive, sure, but they feel no pain and exhibit no sense of self-awareness that we know of. I find it difficult to credit, or even imagine, any sort of hierarchy of values that would judge animals less deserving of empathy than vegetables.
Seems to me we have limited diet choices here:
Omnivore
Carnivore
Herbivore
Of course, you could starve yourself to death, or eat rocks until you expire, but don’t blame me if someone on some message board accuses you of discriminating against minerals.
That was one of the arguements I was thinking of, you can’t really prove that plants don’t feel, heck, they may be talking and we just can’t hear them, I mean you can’t hear a bat use it’s sonar. I know it’s kind of a far leap.
Yeah, Technically really thinking about it, the idea could be taken farther out, going to the other 3 kingdoms.
The whole idea was that in my conversation, they were assigning values of life to kingdoms. It’s pretty interesting how a discussion can go like that. It was out there, we never came to a result on if all life is equal, or if some is better than others.
“I’m gonna take some Arron Roberts in a doggie bag, anyone want any?” -Mr Garrison on South Park.
Oh Puleeeze. I am so tired of the multiple variations of “Plants have feelings too!” line. It’s getting a little threadbare. I am sorry if I am coming off sounding curt or mean, I don’t mean to. But I’ve been a vegetarian for a long time, and I’ve heard umpteen people bring that up, in many variations. I guess I’m just tired of it. Put me in Swimming Riddles’ corner as well. I don’t intend to put down meat-eaters, and I don’t judge them. I just don’t want to eat meat personally, that’s all.
Mustapha wrote:
Another tired old line. By the way, VEGETARIANS do not eat “chicken, fish, shellfish, etc.” They steadfastly refuse to eat red meat, fish meat, chicken meat…the common denominator here is meat, meat, animal flesh, meat…you get the trend there…
When you eat an animal, it is dead. It’s not going to
make any more meat. When you eat a part of the plant,
it is still around to make more fruits and/or veggies.
It also makes sense to eat the plants instead of feeding
them to the animals. It takes around 15 pounds of plants
to make one pound of meat.
