The diet choice thread

[egan.]

I think people in general get too aggressive about their beliefs. I actively avoid this conversation but I'll say this:
Very few Americans (I cannot speak for the rest of the world) acknowledge and internalize the reality of where their food comes from. Even among the super aggressive meat eaters I know very few could actually look a mammal in the eyes before they killed it to eat it. I have respect for hunters and fishermen in that they are actually owning their role in the food chain. To me their position has more in common with mine than the people who cry when the Sara McLaughlin comercial comes on while eating a McRibb.
I think if you've read the Omnivore's Dilemma then you probably know most of this stuff. If you eat meat (in the US at least) it's worth investing in the pasture raised, free range, organic stuff for the sake of your own health and/or the treatment of the animals. Whether or not you eat meat, factory farming is a pretty morally vile practice but by all accounts it results in an inferior tasting product too.

 

[DanLights]

I think people in general get too aggressive about their beliefs. I actively avoid this conversation but I'll say this:
Very few Americans (I cannot speak for the rest of the world) acknowledge and internalize the reality of where their food comes from. Even among the super aggressive meat eaters I know very few could actually look a mammal in the eyes before they killed it to eat it. I have respect for hunters and fishermen in that they are actually owning their role in the food chain. To me their position has more in common with mine than the people who cry when the Sara McLaughlin comercial comes on while eating a McRibb.
I think if you've read the Omnivore's Dilemma then you probably know most of this stuff. If you eat meat (in the US at least) it's worth investing in the pasture raised, free range, organic stuff for the sake of your own health and/or the treatment of the animals. Whether or not you eat meat, factory farming is a pretty morally vile practice but by all accounts it results in an inferior tasting product too.

I totally agree with you. One thing though, I don't see how this conversations counts as "beliefs", unless you count morality as a "belief", which I personally don't see as such. I don't see a reason to be aggressive about dietary choices, but I do agree some people tend to get bitchy about it

 

[ratsapprentice]

Morality is definitely a belief.

 

[MIAnn]

I don't mean to sound offensive, or on a "moral high horse", heck I only quit meat a month ago, but I'm trying to fight ignorance about the subject.

respect man i been vegetarian for just over 20 years now.. if you quit around a month ago (and memory serves me correct) you'll be fighting flatulence a lot more than ignorance for another few weeks

 

[Damian B]

respect man i been vegetarian for just over 20 years now.. if you quit around a month ago (and memory serves me correct) you'll be fighting flatulence a lot more than ignorance for another few weeks

That's the damn truth :hotjump:

 

[DanLights]

respect man i been vegetarian for just over 20 years now.. if you quit around a month ago (and memory serves me correct) you'll be fighting flatulence a lot more than ignorance for another few weeks

Hahahaha I think I'm fine so far, I've always been a farter so I guess I'll be the same, but I have heard horror stories about vegan farts

 

[JeffTD]

a) Try to cook a piece of beef without adding any herbs and spices... it will smell like old homeless guys socks... (i know this from cooking meat for my dog)

Yeah... no. Not at all. Not in the slightest.

 

[ratsapprentice]

Mutant must be eating some really, really shitty beef.

 

[~BURNY~]

Or some quality homeless man.

 

[Mutant]

Well where i live meat is really high quality mainly because most meat comes from small farmers that only have like from 1 to 10 animals on a field next to their house.
Do you really like how an unflavored cooked meat smells like ?
REALLY ???

---
The morality here goes to the question of how different and how similar the animal is to a human.
1.Does it experience its life through having that low level internal spectator like us humans or is it just a highly complicated "biological machine" ?
2.Does it have some basic thinking ability ?
3.Does it remember things that happen around it ?
4.Does it like and hate or have any other feelings towards something or someone ?
5.Does it have dreams when it sleeps ?
Is it really good to kill an animal that may have some or all of these traits just because you want to eat a steak instead of frying 3 eggs and having a glass of milk to supply your body with the same amount of proteins, vitamins and calories ?

 

[JeffTD]

Actually, on the flipside, I find the smell of most vegetables when cooked (ESPECIALLY without adding any herbs and spices) to smell god-awful. How does broccoli smell so terrible considering how relatively good it tastes? It makes NO sense.

 

[JeffTD]

Do you really like how an unflavored cooked meat smells like ?
REALLY ???

---
The morality here goes to the question of how different and how similar the animal is to a human.
1.Does it experience its life through having that low level internal spectator like us humans or is it just a highly complicated "biological machine" ?
2.Does it have some basic thinking ability ?
3.Does it remember things that happen around it ?
4.Does it like and hate or have any other feelings towards something or someone ?
5.Does it have dreams when it sleeps ?
Is it really good to kill an animal that may have some of these traits just because you want to eat a steak instead of frying 3 eggs and having a glass of milk to supply your body with the same amount of proteins, vitamins and calories ?

First off, Bacon.

For your second point, all of these arguments are routinely made about fetuses and I'm still 100% pro-abortion; I don't see what you're getting at unless you're just trying to be holier-than-thou. At the end of the day my desire to eat meat outweighs how much I care about the suffering of animals.

 

[DanLights]

Honestly, I NEVER get mutant's arguments, they're always weird hahahahaha

About your last point though, using eggs and milk to replace meat is retarded, you're doing the same damage to a different animal, they get killed anyways.

 

[Mutant]

Mutant must be eating some really, really shitty beef.

I don't.
My dogs eat meat meant to be consumed by people...

 

[Mutant]

using eggs and milk to replace meat is retarded, you're doing the same damage to a different animal, they get killed anyways.

First time i hear that a hen dies after laying an egg and a cow dies after being milked.

LOL

Do you even have some family in the contryside ?

 

[Mutant]

First off, Bacon.

I was talking about raw meat like you would get from a freshly slaughtered cow.

At the end of the day my desire to eat meat outweighs how much I care about the suffering of animals.

So you know it is not good, but you still do it because you like the taste.

BTW about the high horse: I eat fish and seafood, so i am definitely not a saint.

 

[DanLights]

First time i hear that a hen dies after laying an egg and a cow dies after being milked.

LOL

Do you even have some family in the contryside ?

I'm talking about the eggs and mill you buy at a supermarket, after the animal passes its fertile age they get slaughtered. Factory farms, not "family" farms

 

[Mutant]

I'm talking about the eggs and mill you buy at a supermarket, after the animal passes its fertile age they get slaughtered. Factory farms, not "family" farms

OK then, but still the animal lives much longer than if it were slaughtered just after reaching a high enough weight and gives much more food per one life.

 

[MIAnn]

Or some quality homeless man.

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

I'm guessing that my bros from across the pond don't know that you can buy local from stores in America?

My apple cider (when in season) comes from Canastoda NY. The farm even does a corn maze every year. I've looked at the cider process, it's pretty neat to see it made and then buy a gallon. (they sell it local at wegmans)

My eggs come from a small farm that I pass on the way to work once a week. It's only 20 cents more than the stuff you find in walmart. You buy it by the flat though (2 dozen eggs).

With the exception of bacon (yeah I have no idea where that comes from truthfully, I don't buy it often enough to care honestly) cow products come from the only butcher still around in town. I order a half a cow at a time, the meat comes from local farmers in the area, but it varies what farm they come from. A half a cow ranges in cost from $250-400 depending on size, cuts, and how it was raised (all of which can be chosen by the buyer). Between me and the wife it lasts us quite a while.