Ah yes, how dare I forget to use the ever politically correct “Many” instead of the implied “All”?
Even if my statement only applies to a group of people, I still think it’s a valid point.
shrug
Don’t know why I’m chiming in here, except to address the OP and some other posters (veggies as well as carcass-eaters, of which I’m one).
I think it’s disgraceful for anyone to disparage someone else’s food preferences, especially during a MEAL!! If the fact that someone eats meat is particularly repugnant to you, Miss Manners says the polite thing to do is ignore it, but if you can’t, then excuse yourself and leave the table. Creating unpleasantness is never proper. (And don’t give me any jive talk about the other person creating unpleasantness by eating murdered animals. It’s still acceptable in our society to eat meat, whether you like it or not. It is not acceptable in our society to create a scene in a restaurant.)
If someone is a vegetarian, why make fun of them? Why wave a slice of your meat dish under their nose and taunt them? Are we second-graders all of a sudden? Hey, I’ve got a great idea! Let’s take a pork chop into a Kosher restaurant and wave it in a diner’s face! Lotsa laffs! Cretins.
While we’re engaging in the behaviors mentioned above, let’s all just decide to look at everyone’s plate and make rude comments about what everyone is eating. “Eew! You’re eating asparagus? Gross! Look, that person’s eating mushrooms! Mushrooms make me gag! Man, how can you eat fish? Fish is so fishy, it’s disgusting!”
GROW UP, PEOPLE!
Now, Satori, I am all for saving the planet, and I’m not going to get into an argument about how much water beef cows consume or the effect of sheep farts on the ozone layer. But I’d like to know, quite honestly, how is my eating vegetarian going to have a positive practical influence on starving third-world peoples? This sounds suspiciously like the specious “eat your peas, there are people starving in China” argument. If I eat my peas that will help the people starving in China? If I stop feeding soy and alfalfa to cattle that will somehow benefit other nations?
It’s one thing to say that the money or the food saved in such an endeavor could then be distributed in relief efforts. It’s quite another to have this actually happen. Nowadays we’re familiar enough with the concerns that the food packets the US was dropping in Afghanistan were being appropriated by the Taliban and thus never got to the people they were meant to help. This is by no means a unique situation.
As I said, I’m all for saving the planet (which includes providing food for nations in need). This is why I make regular donations to a charitible service organization which provides not just food, but medical care, education, buildings, agricultural assistance, etc., to crisis areas the world over. This organization is providing practical long-term help to people in need. Not just theories. My contributions to them go further, I believe, than my swearing off cheeseburgers and ham steaks.
Mod thing:
This one has almost teetered over the edge.
I’m leaving it here for the nonce outta consideration for the OP and those who’ve kept the discussion civil and on topic.
For the rest, start your own threads in GD or the Pit. (Not that the veg/carnivore thing is exactly new, y’know?)
It’s a little depressing when a discussion about the basis of intolerance degenerates into Exhibit A.
TVeblen for IMHO