Comments on: They’re called vegetables. Get over it.

By: Hanne Blank

Hanne Blank — Sun, 23 May 2010 00:43:54 +0000

Oh Ara honey, you have my empathy. Years ago, when I was in a vegan period, I drove cross-country from Boston to Seattle and upon hitting South Dakota’s eastern border — I’m pretty sure it was SD — there was a huge billboard that read “East to West, Beef is Best!” I shuddered at this, and you know what? I was right.

Every single thing someone tried to feed me in South Dakota had meat on it. Including the salad and the baked potato that I had ordered with fervent pleas that I wanted them totally plain, with nothing extra on them at all. Apparently bits of meat in one’s salad is not extra, it’s just, y’know, salad.

By: Ara

Ara — Sat, 22 May 2010 16:56:21 +0000

This made me happy. I live in the middle of Nebraska and you have no idea how much crap I get for being vegetarian!

By: Hanne Blank

Hanne Blank — Mon, 17 May 2010 18:51:23 +0000

I usually point out that both human beings and household pets are also made of meat, but we don’t eat them, as a rule. Only people who are starving and desperate eat food solely on the basis of whether or not it is edible. The rest of us pick and choose.

By: RW

RW — Mon, 17 May 2010 18:32:11 +0000

I once had a guy trot out that tired old line, “If we aren’t meant to eat animals, why are they made of meat?” I replied, “If your daughter isn’t meant to be raped, why does she have a vagina?” Yeah, it was harsh, but it shut him up!

By: Mary

Mary — Sun, 09 May 2010 17:19:42 +0000

Brilliant.

By: Mark H

Mark H — Fri, 07 May 2010 18:47:50 +0000

You tell ‘em. I’m sorry to say I was ONE of those chest-thumping meat-eaters (perhaps not quite as bad as all that, but close enough) until I discovered I was gluten-intolerant and dairy-intolerant. Neither of those afflictions stop me from eating meat, but they forced me to set food in a larger world of better and more diverse foods – a world whose residents don’t sugar-coat where their meat comes from and the price they pay for it. My stomach still digests muscle tissue on a regular basis, but my chest has gone un-thumped for quite a while.

By: Elle

Elle — Fri, 07 May 2010 16:31:01 +0000

Thanks for responding to my question about slaughtering/butchering. I struggle with this dilemma, because I do feel that one shouldn’t eat animals one isn’t personally capable of killing. But the one year I went without meat, I got so extremely run-down, I had to stop. I’m pretty sure I could kill chicken and fish, but personally would have trouble with mammals, especially if I had raised them. So I’m a hypocrite by my own standard.

I take comfort (or rationalization, take your pick ;)) after learning about Temple Grandin’s humane slaughterhouse designs. A recent documentary said half the cattle slaughterhouses in the U.S. now follow her designs? Surprising if true (but great).

Share the concerns about pigs. I went on a field trip in middle school to a slaughterhouse, when our school’s model-farm took our pigs there, and I still can’t get the horrible sights, sounds, and smells out of my mind. Also agree on octopus. As smart as cats, only live for 2-4 years, breed once, and die shortly after? It’s a good thing they’re so rubbery, or they’d probably be extinct.

I’m sorry, this is all a tangent. Totally agree, guys who stake (heh) their manliness on eating meat are ridiculous. :)

By: Spooky

Spooky — Thu, 06 May 2010 21:22:57 +0000

Brian, [content has been edited due to inappropriate name-calling] If your friends aren’t meeting your expectations perhaps it is because you think so little of them. You have ranted about people who eat meat and made it very clear you think very little of people who do; going so far as to say that you will not take anyone who isn’t a vegetarian seriously. Your friends know this and why would they treat you with respect when you have no respect for them? Your professed appreciation for them in words is quickly trounced by your easy dismissal of their feelings and opinions. Grow up.

Moderator’s Note: This comment was edited because it contained inappropriate name-calling. Criticism is fine if you have something of substance to say, namecalling is not substantive and besides, it’s rude. Fight if you must, but if you don’t fight clean and fair, you won’t fight here.

By: Hanne Blank

Hanne Blank — Thu, 06 May 2010 10:57:40 +0000

I agree completely. As an omnivore, I do occasionally take heat for eating what I do, as well. Over the years, I have come to a point where I believe the best response, in the moment, is to say “It is rude to criticise other’s food choices while they are trying to enjoy their meal. If you have a point to make, it can wait until after I have finished.”

Because it is rude, and it can wait.

By: Sara

Sara — Thu, 06 May 2010 03:04:36 +0000

I applaud you. This was brilliant. The end.