Hello all,

OK - to start, this is not a flame thread - I'm hoping its a real discussion
about WHY people choose to be vegan. I'm not a vegan, but am in the food
industry starting out as a chef.

So, I'll start with the bits and pieces of what I have heard over the years:

"Meat is a corrupt industry! Why take part in it?". Can someone please tell
me what exactly is corrupt about it?

"You cant kill another animal - Animals have rights!" OK, I can see the
argument from the viewpoint as if I were the animal. However, if I went
camping, and encounted a hungry bear, I'm sure Mr Bear would NOT consider my
'rights' to not be eaten. Please expand on this for me.

"Vegetables don't have a central nervous system, therefore cannot be aware
of what is happening to them." I can think of something like goldfish,
which have only the most basic of reactive brain funtion (eat, swim, avoid
objects, poop) and its doubtfull they have any real concept of what is going
on around them. Would they then be OK to eat, depending on the "stupid
factor"?

Last question: Is it OK for vegans to kill? I mean things like flies and
cockroaches, etc. Just cuious.

Again, this is not intended to be a flame message - its some real questions
I have.

Thanks!

On Wed, 20 Dec 2006 23:00:14 -0600, "ArmisBrooks" > wrote:

>Hello all,
>
>OK - to start, this is not a flame thread - I'm hoping its a real discussion
>about WHY people choose to be vegan. I'm not a vegan, but am in the food
>industry starting out as a chef.
>
>So, I'll start with the bits and pieces of what I have heard over the years:
>
>"Meat is a corrupt industry! Why take part in it?". Can someone please tell
>me what exactly is corrupt about it?
>
>"You cant kill another animal - Animals have rights!" OK, I can see the
>argument from the viewpoint as if I were the animal. However, if I went
>camping, and encounted a hungry bear, I'm sure Mr Bear would NOT consider my
>'rights' to not be eaten. Please expand on this for me.

· Vegans contribute to the deaths of animals by their use of
wood and paper products, electricity, roads and all types of
buildings, their own diet, etc... just as everyone else does.
What they try to avoid are products which provide life
(and death) for farm animals, but even then they would have
to avoid the following items containing animal by-products
in order to be successful:

Tires, Paper, Upholstery, Floor waxes, Glass, Water
Filters, Rubber, Fertilizer, Antifreeze, Ceramics, Insecticides,
Insulation, Linoleum, Plastic, Textiles, Blood factors, Collagen,
Heparin, Insulin, Solvents, Biodegradable Detergents, Herbicides,
Gelatin Capsules, Adhesive Tape, Laminated Wood Products,
Plywood, Paneling, Wallpaper and Wallpaper Paste, Cellophane
Wrap and Tape, Abrasives, Steel Ball Bearings

The meat industry provides life for the animals that it
slaughters, and the animals live and die as a result of it
as animals do in other habitats. They also depend on it for
their lives as animals do in other habitats. If people consume
animal products from animals they think are raised in decent
ways, they will be promoting life for more such animals in the
future. People who want to contribute to decent lives for
livestock with their lifestyle must do it by being conscientious
consumers of animal products, because they can not do it by
being vegan.
From the life and death of a thousand pound grass raised
steer and whatever he happens to kill during his life, people
get over 500 pounds of human consumable meat...that's well
over 500 servings of meat. From a grass raised dairy cow people
get thousands of dairy servings. Due to the influence of farm
machinery, and *icides, and in the case of rice the flooding and
draining of fields, one serving of soy or rice based product is
likely to involve more animal deaths than hundreds of servings
derived from grass raised animals. Grass raised animal products
contribute to fewer wildlife deaths, better wildlife habitat, and
better lives for livestock than soy or rice products. ·