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like pork? how about some dog?

Vegetarianism

This nOde last updated June 4th, 2005 and is permanently morphing...
(3 Ak'bal (Night) / 1 Zots (Bat) - 3/260 - 12.19.12.6.3)

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Herbivores:


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internal linkatomjack - vegetarian since 1988
 vegan for 9 months in 1992


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According to a study published in South Africa, vegetarians are more likely to be internal linkleft-handed.


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A man of my spiritual internal linkintensity does not eat corpses.
George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), Anglo-Irish playwright, critic. Quoted in: Hesketh Pearson, Bernard Shaw: His Life and Personality, ch. 9 (1942). Shaw, Pearson reported, believed vegetarians had radically different experiences from meat-eaters: "The odd thing about being a vegetarian is, not that the things that happen to other people don't happen to me- they all do- but that they happen differently: pain is different, pleasure different, fever different, cold different, even love different."


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think of it this way.  would you eat a dog?  cats?  monkeys? why not?  in some asian and african cultures, it's perfectly acceptable.  in some cultures, eating a cow is unheard of.  eating pig, which are smarter than dogs, is okay within our culture, but to some it is perfectly unacceptable.  so the difference is myopic culturalism.  i figure, for survival sake, i understand, but if you are in a position (like i am) where you have a choice in the matter, why not let go of the need to eat flesh?  it saves you a lot of money, you pay more internal linkattention to what you eat, and it makes it more fun to "hunt" for food you can eat.  the alternatives are getting more internal linkubiquitous, and it's a natural internal linkprocess, because it makes sense.  12 pounds of grain to feed 1 pound of meat is a total waste of resources.  i was never a big health nut, and i didn't make the choice for health reasons.  i did it because i find the idea of paying someone money to hide slaughter and death as hypocritical.  i have much more respect to those that can single handedly kill an animal, clean it, cook it, and eat it w/o the mediation of some corporate entity hiding all the bad parts that go along with it.  if you live on a farm and don't mind cutting off heads of chickens and bleeding a cow for a few fleshly meals, great.  me?  i'm a wimp, and proud of it.  i can't kill an animal so i figure i shouldn't eat one.  to me, anyone that pays for someone else to do the dirty work is a bigger wimp.

as far as the snobs who find it trendy one day to be "hip and vegetarian", then turn around the next day and denounce it and gloat over carnivorous behavior, it just proves that you are all a bunch of insecure wankers snorting coke, commodifying true art, and trying to look cool.  you know who you are.  piss off.  - @Om* 12/8/01


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Capitalism is the relentless accumulation of capital for the acquisition of profit.  Capitalism is a carnivore.  It cannot be made over into a herbivore without gutting it, i.e., abolishing it.    - Warren Wagar,  Professor of History, State University of New York at Binghamton


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Land Utilization and Soil Erosion

Water Consumption Endangered Species Rainforest Destruction Pollution Pesticides & Food Contamination Resource Distribution World Hunger References

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Carl Craig - More Songs About Food And Revolutionary Art on SSR (1997) Melt Banana - Scratch Or Stitch on Skin Graft (1996)

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Some Famous Vegetarians:

(film/tv)
 

 (musicians)
   (other)
 
Albert Einstein collage
Pythagoras

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"I want to say sorry to children everywhere for selling out to concerns who make millions by murdering animals." ~ Geoffrey Guiliano, internal link1980's Ronald McDonald Actor

MDC - _CORPORATE DEATHBURGER_ MP3 (192k)atomjacked inventory cache off of _Millions Of Dead Cops/More Dead Cops_ CDatomjacked inventory cache on R Radical (1982/1988)

MDC - Millions Of Dead Cops

ronald laughs as millions starve and profits forever increase
your stenching farts as they smile they say they try to please
plastic chairs and fake shakes to help it all go down
polluting your children with their lies and trying to destroy your mind

corporate deathburger, ronald mcdonald

change from your five, ankles deep in blood
make it your career, sell billions every year

golden arches and ronald smiles

ronald laughs as billions starve and profits forever increase
feeding all your grain to cows, dead children rest in peace
the stench of humans rotting smells just like fish filet
your sign neglects to mention 50,000 starved today

change from your five torture camps for cows
slaughter and starvation, multi death corporation

golden arches and ronald smiles

you say you're christian but you're a fake
multinationals on the take
starving children deserve a break today


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... I would suggest that it is only because we all tacitly DO believe in something like Huneker's distinction that most of us are willing to eat animals of one sort or another, to smash flies, swat mosquitos, fight bacteria with antibiotics, and so forth.  We generally concur that "men" such as a cow, a turkey, ainternal linkfrog, and a fish all possess SOME spark of consciousness, SOME kind of primitive "soul", but by god, it's a good deal smaller than OURS is - and that, no more and no less, is why we "men" feel that we have the perfect right to extinguish the dim lights in the heads of these fractionally-souled beasts and to gobble down their once warm and wiggling, now chilled and stilled protoplasm with limitless gusto, and not to feel a trace of guilt while doing so.

- preface of _Godel internal linkEscher Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid_ by Douglas R. Hofstadter

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The question is not, Can they reason? nor, Can they talk? But rather, Can they suffer? - Jeremy Bentham, 19th C Philosopher, Oxford University

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People often say that humans have always eaten animals, as if this is a justification for continuing the practice. According to this logic, we should not try to prevent people from murdering other people, since this has also been done since the earliest of times.

- Issac Bashevis Singer, Nobel Laureate

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Vegetarianism is a dietary practice excluding most or all body parts of any animal and products derived from them (e.g. lard, tallow, gelatin, cochineal) from one's diet. Most contemporary vegetarian diets may include some internal linkhoney as well as cow's milk and other dairy products, and some include eggs.

Varieties of vegetarianism

Different practices of vegetarianism include:

* Ovo-lacto vegetarianism. This practice eschews the eating of all meat, yet allows the consumption of animal products such as eggs and milk. Ovo-lacto vegetarians who are such for ethical reasons may additionally refuse to eat cheese made with animal-based enzymes, or eggs produced by factory farms.

* Lacto vegetarianism refers to the practice of eschewing all meat, yet allowing the consumption of milk and its derivatives, like cheese, butter or yoghurt. Similarly ovo-vegetarians presumably only eat eggs in addition to their otherwise strictly vegetarian regimen.

* Pesco vegetarianism refers to the increasingly common practice of occasionally including some seafood, primarily fish, in one's diet. This is the diet practiced, with occasional supplementation of dairy products, by the integrated medicine practitioner Andrew Weil, M.D. and advocated by his books Eating Well for Optimum Health. (This is not true vegetarianism, as fish are obviously not a vegetable or plant)

In the United States, vegetarianism is usually synonymous with ovo-lacto vegetarianism; and will sometimes be assumed to tolerate some meat, for instance, chicken (or "at least" fish)(This is not vegetarianism, but only the term is used to denote a fad or health-based reasoning, as opposed to an ethical one). In the UK, due to its sizeable Hindu minority, vegetarianism often refers to the Hindu practice described below.

* Strict vegetarians avoid the consumption of all animal products (e.g. eggs, milk and cheese.) Today, these people are commonly called vegans, though some reserve this term for those who additionally avoid usage of all kinds of animal products, not just food (e.g. leather).

* Hindus of certain castes are forbidden from consuming anything gained at the expense of an animal's suffering: e.g. meat, eggs, animal byproducts such as rennet and gelatin (including gelatin capsules) and honey. The milk of cows, buffalo and goats as well as dairy products (other than cheese containing rennet) are acceptable, as milk is given willingly. Leather from cows who have died of natural causes is acceptable. (Note: The diet of the orthodox Hindu also excludes alcohol, as well as "overly-stimulating" foods such as onions and garlic.)

* All dietary rules listed for Hindus apply to Jains, in addition to which Jains must take into account any suffering caused to plants and suksma jiva (Sanskrit: subtle lifeforms; refers to what would later be termed "microorganisms") by their dietary choices. They are forbidden from eating most root vegetables (e.g. internal linkpotatoes) and deem many other vegetables acceptable only when harvested during certain times of the year.

* Jews, Christians and Moslems are all left with the biblical ideal of the "Garden of Eden" diet, which from all appearances is strictly vegan (cf. Gen. 1:29, 9:2-4; Is. 11:6-9). However, only minorities within these populations actually practice and advocate such strict diets, as most that practice these monotheistic flavors of religion do so hypocritically on all fronts. Suffice to say, the Judaeo-Christian god's permission for humankind to eat meat was not an unmixed or otherwise "unqualified" blessing. Within their mythology, it was a concession, with penalties--not the least of which was, most probably, a dramatically decreased life expectancy.

* In Chinese societies, "simple eating" refers to a particular restricted diet associated with internal linkTaoist monks, and sometimes practiced by members of the general population during Taoist festivals. It is referred to by the English word "vegetarian;" however, though it rejects meat, eggs and milk, this diet does include oysters and oyster products, so it actually isn't.

* Fructarians (more commonly called "fruitarians") eat only fruit, nuts, seeds and other plant matter that can be gathered without harming the plant. Thus a fructarian will eat beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, pumpkins and the like, but will refuse to eat potatoes or spinach.

The following is not generally considered vegetarianism:

* Some people choose to avoid certain types of meat for many of the same reasons that others choose vegetarianism -- health, ethical beliefs, and so forth. For example, some people will not eat "red meat" (mammal meat -- beef, lamb, pork, etc.) while still consuming poultry and seafood. Others might feel that the suffering of animals in factory farm conditions is the main consequence they want to avoid, so they might eat animals raised under humane conditions or hunted in the wild. This is not considered vegetarianism, but may be called semi-vegetarianism or Pesco/Pollo vegetarianism (see above). Many vegetarian advocates, however, like to make "vegetarianism" as broad and all-encompassing as possible.

Motivations

A person's decision to become a vegetarian may be influenced by a combination of factors.

Religion: A majority of the world's vegetarians follow the practice for religious reasons. Many religions, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism and especially Jainism, teach that ideally life should always be valued and not willfully destroyed for unnecessary human gratification.

Many early Christians were vegetarian, including the Desert Fathers. Since then, the Trappist, Benedictine, and Carthusian orders have encouraged vegetarianism, as have Seventh-Day Adventists. In the nineteenth century, members of the Bible Christian sect established the first vegetarian groups in England and the United States. As this religion got perverted and twisted into the monstrosity we have today, people who call themselves christian usually have no qualm about killing either animals or other cultures, as long as they don't have to see it with their own eyes.

Rastafarians generally follow a diet called "I-tal," which eschews the eating of food that has been artificially preserved, flavoured, or chemically internal linkaltered in any way. Many Rastafarians consider it to also forbid the eating of meat.

Genesis 1:29 states "And god said: Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree that has seed-yielding fruit - to you it shall be for food." According to many classical Jewish Bible commentators, this means that god's original plan was for mankind to be vegetarian. As with all mythological systems, the original meaning gets twisted over time and usually people co-opt the opposite meaning.

Ethics: There is a small minority of people in the world today for whom meat is a staple food. (Principally, members of nomadic hunting or herding societies such as Inuit and Saami.) Since most people can live perfectly healthily on a vegetarian diet, the eating of meat is voluntary, but many people continue to eat meat out of tradition, for convenience or for the pleasure of eating it. "Ethical vegetarians" consider tradition, convenience and sensual pleasure to be insufficient justification for the suffering entailed in the production of meat. Vegetarianism of this sort is often associated with the animal rights movement, although not all ethical vegetarians subscribe to the notion of animal rights.

Environmental or ecological concerns: Particularly since the Industrial Revolution, machinery has enabled people to change their environment at a rate that, some argue, exceeds the ability of ecosystems to adapt. The use of large areas of land for livestock farming, and large-scale fishing in the oceans, have fundamentally affected animal and marine populations. Livestock production is also often linked to de-forestation and theft of the land from indigenous tribal people. In both environmental and economic terms, many vegetarians point out that the cost of raising a kilogram of animal protein is many times the cost of growing a kilogram of vegetable protein.

Health: Statistics indicate that people on vegetarian diets have lower incidence of heart disease, cancer and osteoporosis. The American Dietetic Association says, "Although nondietary factors, including physical activity and abstinence from smoking and alcohol, may play a role, a meat-free, vegetarian diet is clearly a contributing factor" in reducing both morbidity and mortality "rates from several chronic degenerative diseases than do nonvegetarians."

Researchers like Dean Ornish have had successful results treating heart disease patients with strictly vegetarian diet, exercise and stress reduction programs. There are also nutritional considerations which encourage diets emphasizing fruit, vegetables and cereals and minimising meat and fat intake.

Aesthetics: Some people intuitively find meat unappetizing, particularly when raw, and simply prefer to abstain from the consumption of animal flesh for aesthetic or emotional reasons.

Pragmatic considerations: Modern-day, industrially produced meat is laced with chemicals, such as growth hormones, antibiotics, preservatives, food-coloring, and pesticides. Moreover, the meat of pen-raised animals (such as feedlot-fattened cows and pigs and farmed salmon) have much higher levels of fat and less nutritional value than the meat of their corresponding free-range or wild bretheren. Hence, many people are vegetarians not for ethical or aesthetic reasons but simply because meat nowadays has much less nutritional value than it once had while plants have just somewhat less.

Additional considerations

Choosing not to eat meat for one or more of the above-mentioned reasons must be seen as a rational choice. Strict vegetarianism is something comparatively new in human history, that is to say, in evolutionary terms. This can be taken as an indication that as a species the human eating habits are changing as more and more people become vegetarian out of choice. The holistic well being of the planet seems to guide the species into this direction, through reasons of self sustainability.

The universally available Indonesian fermented soy product tempeh contains b12. A range of foods have the vitamin added, including breakfast cereals, soft drinks, soy milk, Marmite, Vegemite and others (if you are avoiding U.S. based products, look for Promite instead of Marmite or Vegemite). B12 is stored in the body for many months, so B12 deficiency symptoms do not appear immediately on embarking on a pure vegan diet, but can eventually be severe. However this deficiency is rarely seen in Western vegans, since the problem is well-known.

Some important nutrients (amino acids, fats, vitamins A, D, K and E) are present in good quantities in meat, but with minimal internal linkattention a vegetarian diet with plenty of all of these can be designed. The American Dietetic Association states: "Plant sources of protein alone can provide adequate amounts of essential amino acids if a variety of plant foods are consumed and energy needs are met." It is more common to find instances of scurvy and other consequences of vitamin C deficiency in people who subsist purely on a diet of fast food. However, it is important for vegetarians and vegans to be conscious of their intake of protein, B12, and other nutrients. Like any diet, one that eschews animal products needs to be balanced and include a variety of foods.

One issue raised by choosing vegetarianism to avoid the suffering of animals is that agricultural cultivation of plant foods also harms animals. Run-off from fields harms aquatic life by polluting waterways with sediments, nutrients, and chemicals. Automatic farm machines kill small animals unintentionally, while cutting down trees takes away habitat for other animals. Pesticides kill beneficial and harmful insects alike. However, it should be noted that vegetarian diets require less agricultural resources than meat based diets. Thus, in populations where most of the meat consumed does not come from grazing animals a vegetarian diet will in fact reduce the suffering caused by agriculture because less plants overall will be necessary to sustain the diet.

Vegetarians (except fructarians) also kill plants in order to survive. Even though a vegetarian might contend that plants do not have the same sensory mechanisms to feel pain, some people feel that it is a worthwhile philosophical question. Even if plants are sentient, however, a vegetarian could argue that it is acceptable to consume the plant because intuitively plants need to be eaten in order to propagate (seeds hidden in fleshly edible confines). Also, vegetarians point out that eating animals uses a lot more plants than eating plants do, as animals are very inefficient at converting plants into flesh.

Related beliefs

While vegetarianism is commonly defined strictly on the basis of dietary intake, many religiously, ethically or environmentally motivated vegetarians (in common with animal rights and Green movements) try to minimise the harm done to animals in all aspects of their lives.

Many religiously motivated vegetarians consider the avoidance of skin internal linkcontact with products made from body parts (e.g. leather, tallow soap) an integral part of their definition of vegetarianism. Others consider leather made from the skin of animals who died of natural causes acceptable.

Many health-motivated vegetarians are also associated with the organic food movement and/or are concerned about the use of genetically modified organisms in food production.

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Imitation meat typically refers to any vegetarian food product designed to imitate the flavour and texture of processed meat. It also refers to meats produced by mincing a low quality protein to form an imitation of a higher quality protein. This process is known as Surimi, although in North America "Surimi" tends to refer to the entire product and only to products made from fish, although the same internal linkprocess is also used with turkey in North America also.

In the United States, the most common technology for producing imitation meats involves textured vegetable protein (TVP), a dry bulk commodity derived from soy. In the UK, Ireland and European Union imitation meats are derived from a variety of grains and vegetable proteins including soy, rice and peas. The foods thus produced imitate not raw meat but cooked, processed meats such as sausage, hamburger, frankfurter, roast beef, bacon, steak pie and so on. In Chinese Buddhist cuisine, imitation meat is often eaten by Buddhists who cannot eat meat for religious reasons and is often made from gluten.

"Quorn" is the trade name for an mycoprotein-based imitation meat product made from microorganisms. Its maker's characterisation of this organism as "a relative of the internal linkmushroom".

Imitations of meat, fish, cheese, milk etc. are big business in Europe. There are many successful companies producing these foods.

Surimi products in North America are typically marketed as "imitation" foods (imitation crab, imitation shrimp, imitation lobster). Although some companies do market Surimi loaf, burgers, salami, and sausage in North America, typically it is the Asian and European markets that have the most supply of these items.

As of 2003 most Dutch supermarkets sell a wide range of imitation meat products.

Tofu, tempeh and seitan are sometimes considered imitation meats in the West, though technically they are not as their usefulness as meat substitutes is more incidental than internal linkintentional.

Note: The terms synthetic meat and artificial meat are ambiguous, as they may refer to either imitation meat, or laboratory-grown meat.

* Gluten
* Chinese Buddhist cuisine
* Surimi

Textured vegetable protein (TVP) is made from defatted soy flour, a by-product of the soybean oil process. TVP is used as an imitation meat. It is quick to cook, high in protein, and low in fat. Therefore, it is a staple in many vegetarian diets.

TVP has no flavor of its own; it needs to be rehydrated and flavored (both can be accomplished in the same step), then added to dishes.

TVP comes in 2 forms: ground for ground beef substitutions, and chunked for chunked chicken substitutions. Using TVP, one can make vegetarian versions of popular dishes like chili, sloppy joes, tacos, burgers, etc...

TVP can be found in health food stores and larger supermarkets.


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