"C. James Strutz" > wrote in message
...
>
> "LizH228" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Here is a letter to the editor taken out of yesterday's Denver paper
> (Rocky
> > Mountain News):
> > Letters to the Editor, February 10
> > February 10, 2004
> >
> > Worldwide vegan diet would be catastrophic
> >
> > With the recent mad cow disease scare I've noticed a lot of people have
> > suggested that we all eat vegetarian. Let's think about that for a
minute.
> Here
> > are a few reasons why a total vegetarian planet would be a horrific
idea:
> >
> > 1. We would have to clear billions of acres of land, rainforests,
national
> > parks, etc., to make room to grow crops.
>
> Wrong. If you consider the gross inefficiency of cattle as converters of
> grain to meat, we probably already have enough agricultural land to feed
> everyone on the planet several times over.
==========================
I guesss you just don't know that cattle eat grass, eh? All cattle eat
grass. Let's see you survive on grass. cattle are a very efficient means
of turning an inedible, for us, plant material into perfectly good, healthy
food we can eat. That you have to try and convenice yourself that all meat
is raised the way you have delusions about doesn't make your diet better.
In fact, it's very easy to show that a vegan diet can cause far more death
and suffering of animals than a meat-included diet.


>
> > 2. Deer, elk, cattle, sheep, goats, etc., would wreak havoc on those
crops
> > because their natural food source would no longer be available to them.
We
> > would not like that and we would insist that someone do something about
> it.
> > What do we do? Shoot them? Chase them away? To where? We would come to
> look at
> > them as "pests." These predators would eventually become extinct due to
> lack of
> > natural prey.
>
> There would be a reduction of livestock if we didn't eat them for meat.
> Wildlife would have more habitat in the reclaimed farmland.
>
> > Until then, I'm sure they would find humans pretty tasty.
>
> Deer, elk, cattle, sheep, and goats don't eat people. :^)
>
> > 3. Without humans and predators keeping down their populations, deer,
elk,
> > etc., will die from sickness, disease and overcrowding, eventually
> becoming
> > extinct themselves.
>
> Without livestock, predators of deer and elk (which were "controlled"
almost
> to extinction to protect livestock interests) could return to help
regulate
> the population, as was intended by nature.
=====================
No they wouldn't. You wouldbn't allow them in your back yard. You'd be one
of the first screaming to get them out...



>
> > 4. With no room to breed livestock, many goods and foodstuffs, like wool
> and
> > dairy products, will no longer be available.
>
> There would be plenty of room to breed livestock for dairy and non-food
> products.
=======================
There's plenty of room now.


>
> > 5. Our oceans would be fished to extinction. Yes, all the vegetarians I
> know
> > eat fish and seafood.
>
> I'm guessing the author doesn't know many vegetarians (or the few he does
> know really ****ed him off, prompting him to write the letter!). The
demand
> for seafood products would be greatly diminished since most vegetarians
> DON'T eat seafood.
======================
Right, and vegans don't kill animals for their food. You really are a hoot!


>
> > 6. Without rainforests, global warming will accelerate out of control,
> creating
> > floods in many parts of the world and drought in others.
>
> I suppose the author reasons that rainforests would be eliminated to
support
> his first fallacy, which is untrue. Unfortunately, a larger reason for the
> destruction of rainforests is increasing human population and the
resulting
> sprawl into new territories. Also the demand for tropical hardwood
products.
>
> > 7. What would happen if we had a drought? A lot of human deaths would
> occur, of
> > course, but our crops will die, too. The planet will become a desiccated
> > tinderbox waiting for something to ignite it.
>
> Well, at least the floods would help to extinguish the raging fires. :^)
>
> > Human beings are omnivores, meaning we eat fruits, vegetables, nuts . .
..
> and
> > meat. If you wish to eat vegetarian, fine. In fact, if we all decided to
> be
> > totally carnivorous (eating only meat products) a similar worldwide
> catastrophe
> > would occur. We need to be omnivorous. Otherwise, this planet will die.
>
> The book is out on whether humans were intended to be herbivores,
> carnivores, or omnivores. There are too many varying opinions on the
subject
> for anyone to conclude anything with any certainty.
>
> > We'll be moving to Mars a lot sooner than we think.
>
> Mars isn't such a bad place. I grew up there (Mars, Pennsylvania that
is!).
>
>
>
>