blessings,
Lorette

For the record, I think that ovo-lacto vegetarianism can be done well. I think veganism is where it goes off the track as animal products are and always have been part of the human diet (there has never been a single group of humans that has excluded all animal products…at least not one that left a record of their existence ). I think you’re on the right path with getting your own hen, using raw milk if you can, and looking to bugs. I’d love to get into some bug-eating myself…need to look around and see what I can find.

You have to remember that many vegans and vegetarians love to spread misinformation about us heathen meat-eaters and have some lovely names for us. The real issue for vegans is that vocal minority known as PETA that are so vitriolic and are not afraid to tell a few lies to convince others of their position. Not to turn this into a political/religious discussion, but that vocal minority is much like the fanatical Christians and Muslims that are the voice that gets the press. 98% of all Christians, Muslims, Hindus, etc are normal people going about their lives. Then there’s the other 2% that can’t handle someone making a decision for themselves and choosing a different path.

I think I have a post on how to maintain a diet that doesn’t kill the animal, yet still provides the animal protein that I think is necessary. I can’t go down the vegan route, as I really can’t advocate such a diet, but ovo-lacto-ento, I can get with.

Cheers
Scott

Singer is also under the impression that cage-free (i.e. thousands crammed into one big cage) eggs are a step in the right direction.

I’m looking into getting a hen (maybe two?). I’ve heard they make great pets, even in an urban setting. I’d have no problem eating these eggs, and the same goes for raw milk etc from local farmers. I think entomophagy is a really interesting option, certainly primal etc, and purportedly a lot more sustainable than meat production. I’m trying to find places in Boston where I can get bugs in bulk. http://www.slshrimp.com/

I think another stereotype about vegans is that they haven’t really thought things through (she compares vegans to Hezbollah? wtf?). But if you said to me “would you rather this cow live or die humanely?” I’d pick the former. I’m not expecting to reach some sort of fitness omega point, but I mean, most of us have been bathing in xenoestrogens since childhood, and veganism can get you pretty fit anyway. http://www.veganbodybuilding.com/?page=bios I don’t endorse all of their diets! there’s a lot of variety, much of which I don’t agree with. I do love hempseed oil though http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hempseed_oil .

I get that most people can’t eat vegan for all sorts of practical health, budget, social reasons etc. If I was in that position, I wouldn’t either. But frankly it’s easy and cheap for me, and it’s not difficult to eat mostly local, either. Becoming vegan forced me to learn how to cook.

The point of all this is it’s good for a lot of vegans/vegetarians, and while I like a lot of these fitness blogs, (particularly the primal-themed ones) it seems that you guys just love to beat on us. Why not try to reach out and have a positive effect on the health of people who you can’t convince to eat meat? Why not explore just how primal vegans/vegetarians can be?

Thanks again, Scott!

“Singer does not specifically contend that we ought not use animals for food insofar as they are raised and killed in a way that actively avoids the inflicting of pain, but as such farms are uncommon, he concludes that the most practical solution is to adopt a vegetarian or vegan diet.”

It seems that one can be both exquisitely healthy, eat animals, and maintain the moral high ground by making the switch from improperly fed, caged, drug and hormone laden meats to grass-fed, well-cared for animals.

I hope this doesn’t come across as an attack, because it isn’t. It’s an attempt to help sort through the ethical issues surrounding meat consumption. Thoughts?

Cheers
Scott

I’m not under any illusions that veganism is “natural” or the healthiest diet on the planet. I’m a vegan for ethical reasons. There are a lot of people like me, who for ethical reasons refuse to eat animal products even though it’s not the healthiest thing for us. Instead of alienating ethical vegans/vegetarians you guys should try to reach out to us by helping us be the healthiest vegans/vegetarians we can be.