If They Do It, Why Shouldn’t We?

One question I’ve been puzzling with over going veggie is this: Animals themselves eat other animals. Not all of them, of course. Some are natural herbivores, preferring to eat plants unless unusual circumstances/dire situations lead them to do otherwise. But a good number of them do, and in fact eat even members of their own species. Often WHILE they’re still alive. So if animals themselves eat other animals, why should we–B and me–consciously exclude ourselves from the carnivorous clan?

And I came to this conclusion: It’s because animals eat for necessity, while humans tend to eat for pleasure. Animals eat only what they need to survive, while humans do indulge and can go on eating even when they’re already full. It’s because I, as a member of the dominant race, have more control over what goes into my mouth and why. I have options, which I can weigh and analyze to ad infinitum. I have a choice.

The above reasons are good enough for me. If you have anything to add, for or otherwise, I’d be interested to hear it.  :)

 

 

Addendum:

After browsing a bit on the Internet, I saw so many other compelling reasons to going green. Here are just a few of my faves:

• In general, vegetarians have a 20% lower mortality rate (i.e. they live longer and don’t get sick as often)

• Some farmers use tranquilizers to keep animals calm. Others routinely use antibiotics to prevent infections. When you eat meat you ingest those drugs. In America, 55% of all antibiotics are fed to animals.

• Avoiding meat is one of the best and simplest ways to cut down on your fat consumption. Modern farm animals are deliberately fattened up to increase profits.  It’s much easier to become (and stay) slim if you are vegetarian. 

• Half of the rainforests in the world have been destroyed to clear ground to graze cattle to make beef burgers. The burning of forests contributes to 20% of all green-house gases. Roughly 1,000 species a year become extinct because of the destruction of the rain forests.  An inch of topsoil takes 200-1000 years to develop, yet in the USA, they have lost around 1/3 of their prime topsoil in 200 years (around 7 inches) due to animal farming.

• Eating the plants we grow instead of feeding them to animals is one solution to the food shortage problems in parts of the world. Consider this: 100 acres of land will produce enough wheat to feed 240 people, but only enough beef for 20 people.

Eeny-Meeny-Miney-Moe? Well, no.

I always knew there’s more than one type of vegetarian, but eight? Whoa. Apparently, you can be a:

• Vegan. You avoid all things animal. That means no eggs, dairy or even honey. You also don’t wear or use anything made from animal products, such as leather, wool, cashmere, suede, shearling, down, silk and fur. (Whew! If you are vegan to the core, I salute your willpower and drive. Considering the scarce options offered by merchandisers, it must be tough. I myself cannot aspire to such. Maybe someday.)

• Fruitarian. You eat only fruits, fruit-like vegetables (e.g. tomatoes, cucumbers), seeds, nuts, and other plant components that can be gathered without harming the plant. (Oy vey! Is this even healthy? What about veggies, o veggie one?)

• Lacto-vegetarian. You avoid meat but eat dairy products, except for eggs. (This I can see. B hates milk, except if it’s in cheese form. I love eggs, though. Fried, poached, scrambled, made into crepes or pancakes. Eggs rule.)

• Lacto-ovo vegetarian. You avoid meat but eat both eggs and dairy products.  This is the most common group of vegetarians and what most people think of when someone says they’re “a vegetarian.” (This is us! Common, join-the-majority-in-the-minority us!)

 

 

• Pesce-vegetarian. Your diet includes fish. (Or maybe this. If one day we break down in front of the “fresh salmon” sale.)

• Pollo-vegetarian. You eat fowl, such as chicken, turkey and duck, but avoid red meat and pork. (I didn’t even know you can call this vegetarian! I just thought it was healthy eating.)

• Raw/Living foodist. You avoid meat and eat only raw food, because enzymes are destroyed by normal cooking processes. (Yowza. It must be healthier, but seriously? Can someone really go through life without ever grilling anything? I’m genuinely curious to know if this is possible.)

• Flexitarian. You mainly eat veggie food, but will occasionally make exceptions. (Ah. I’m not scratching this one off just yet.)

I think some of those categories overlap, but it’s definitely interesting. I would love to eventually do interviews of people from different categories, to see how they did it and why they chose one over the other. For now, B and I will likely stick to option four–eggs and milk, please. But we’ll stay flexible, because who knows?