On Mon, 13 Oct 2003 14:33:56 GMT, Gary Beckwith > wrote:

>you are full of vegan baloney!
>
>first of all eating vegan DOES help animals because it decreases demand
>for meat.

Which animals does it help, and how does it help them?

>second, vegan is not just an eating habit. it is a way of life. many
>vegans don't just refrain from eating meat, they also contribute to
>organizations such as Farm Sanctuary or PETA, that have many programs
>that directly affect the welfare of animals.

Veg*nism itself does nothing to help animals, regardless of
what other things a person does.

>now, i have to take particular issue with your portrayal of the meat
>industry providing a good life for many animals. That simply is NOT
>true. The vast majority of animals raised for meat live HORRIBLE
>lives. They are confined to very small areas, pumped with hormones,
>body parts removed, and killed in very painful and inhumane ways. Do you
>know how a beef cattle is killed? Look it up, it's disgusting. I know,
>I live in farm country and I see it every day. Even dairy cows are
>often confined to indoor barns and never get to roam. I drive by a
>dairy farm almost every day, that is basically a huge metal building
>full of cows that can't even turn around. I've never seen them let
>outside in years.

Some of them have decent lives and some of them don't. If
you think they all have HORRIBLE lives then you're being no
more realistic about it than someone who thinks they all have
decent lives.

>your #7 is outrageous. what exactly are you thinking of? A vegetable
>crop that kills more animals than meat?

From the life and death of a grass raised steer people can
get over 500 servings of beef. A few meals of tofu are likely
to involve more deaths than 500 meals from grass raised beef.
From the life and death of a grass raised dairy cow people can
get thousands of dairy servings. A few servings of rice milk are
likely to involve more deaths than a thousand servings of grass
raised cow milk.

>you should get your facts straight before you state them as "facts".
>
>It sounds to me like you are just another meat eater trying to justify
>your cruel habit. Virtually all your statements are completely false.

They are all true, as was the main point which is that there
are quite a few significan facts that you veg*ns do *not* want
people to consider. That's because you care more about
promoting veg*nism than you do about human influence on
animals.

>If you do some research, read some books, you'll get the real facts.
>But then I suppose you'll turn on your blinders and then start talking
>about how vegetables feel just as much pain when they are killed so
>there's no reason to be vegetarian. I've actually heard that one
>before.
>
>Look, if you want to eat meat, go ahead and do it. No one is stopping
>you. Don't try to tell vegetarians that their lifestyle is wrong,
>though. Especially if you are going to make your argument is completely
>untrue.
>
>Gary
>
wrote:
>>
>> It appears that in order to think of things in the correct and ethically
>> superior way, some people believe we should disregard certain facts.
>> Overall it appears to me that veg*ns want to disregard more facts than
>> meat consumers, but maybe I'm wrong about that. The following are
>> lists of facts that meat eaters want to disregard, and that veg*ns want
>> to disregard. If you have more to add, please do so.
>>
>> Facts that meat consumers want to disregard:
>> 1.The meat industry provides life for the billions of animals who are
>> killed so we can eat them.
>>
>> Facts that veg*ns want to disregard:
>> 1.The meat industry provides life for the billions of animals who are
>> killed so we can eat them.
>> 2. Some of the animals raised for food have decent lives.
>> 3. Veg*nism does nothing to provide decent lives for farm animals.
>> 4. Veg*nism does nothing to help or provide more life for any animals.
>> 5. People can contribute to decent lives for farm animals, but they
>> can't do it by being veg*n.
>> 6. Veg*ns contribute to most of the same animal deaths that everyone
>> else does by their use of wood, paper, roads, buildings, electricity,
>> things that contain animal by-products, and the veggies they eat.
>> 7. Some types of meat involve fewer animal deaths than some types of
>> veggies.
>> 8. Some types of meat involve less animal suffering than some types of
>> veggies.