Why don’t I / you become vegetarian?
Discussion
I watched a Netflix documentary at the weekend (Seaspiracy). It was a bit uneven in quality but did raise some interesting points. The main thrust I was aware of ie industrial fishing is wiping out much marine life and negatively impacting the oceans. The suggested solution was for consumers to stop eating seafood - at least until the oceans have recovered.
It made me think more broadly about my food habits.
This is what I know:
- As above, there is currently no such thing as “sustainable fishing” and really I should stop eating seafood. Not to mention that lots of seafood is contaminated with pollution so not that healthy
- I hate seeing animals suffer - yet most animals in the food chain suffer hugely under industrialised farming
- Eating meat or animal products is not necessary - humans can easily survive without
- producing meat is very wasteful of resources and causes huge pollution and damage to the environment
- I’ve eaten plenty of really good veggie food over the years
Based on the above it seems a bit of a moral failing on my part not to become a vegetarian. Of course, me going veggie won’t solve any problems because that would only work if a very significant number of people chose the same path. But does that let me off the hook?
It made me think more broadly about my food habits.
This is what I know:
- As above, there is currently no such thing as “sustainable fishing” and really I should stop eating seafood. Not to mention that lots of seafood is contaminated with pollution so not that healthy
- I hate seeing animals suffer - yet most animals in the food chain suffer hugely under industrialised farming
- Eating meat or animal products is not necessary - humans can easily survive without
- producing meat is very wasteful of resources and causes huge pollution and damage to the environment
- I’ve eaten plenty of really good veggie food over the years
Based on the above it seems a bit of a moral failing on my part not to become a vegetarian. Of course, me going veggie won’t solve any problems because that would only work if a very significant number of people chose the same path. But does that let me off the hook?
Homo Sapiens was never vegetarian, and seeing as I'm one of that genus I still eat meat.
Our cat was a carnivore. He never stopped catching, or trying to catch, rodents, birds, etc.
I have no issue with anyone who chooses to be a vegetarian, but these days so many of them seem to have an issue with my choice!
Our cat was a carnivore. He never stopped catching, or trying to catch, rodents, birds, etc.
I have no issue with anyone who chooses to be a vegetarian, but these days so many of them seem to have an issue with my choice!
Mr Tidy said:
Homo Sapiens was never vegetarian, and seeing as I'm one of that genus I still eat meat.
Our cat was a carnivore. He never stopped catching, or trying to catch, rodents, birds, etc.
I have no issue with anyone who chooses to be a vegetarian, but these days so many of them seem to have an issue with my choice!
Humans have always been omnivores not carnivores. We can survive quite happily without meat. I am not sure about a meat only diet.Our cat was a carnivore. He never stopped catching, or trying to catch, rodents, birds, etc.
I have no issue with anyone who chooses to be a vegetarian, but these days so many of them seem to have an issue with my choice!
ThunderSpook said:
f
k off, that’s why.
You do whatever you want to do, but you leave me and my bacon out of it.
.
Thanks for the thoughtful contribution!k off, that’s why.You do whatever you want to do, but you leave me and my bacon out of it.
.
Your response pretty much supports my pessimism about humans and their ability, or rather willingness, to make changes to save us from ourselves.
Esceptico said:
Thanks for the thoughtful contribution!
Your response pretty much supports my pessimism about humans and their ability, or rather willingness, to make changes to save us from ourselves.
What a load of toss - he's not suggesting we eat each other!Your response pretty much supports my pessimism about humans and their ability, or rather willingness, to make changes to save us from ourselves.
You just don't seem to want to accept that other people have legitimate ideas that don't align with your dogma.
There are options to eat sustainably caught fish, as there are to eat sustainable, environmentally friendly meat. It seems very strange people seem to completely avoid exploring this and jump to veganism or the like. Yet they then pay little attention to the environmental harm of industrial crops nor the transportation costs of many of these foods.
Op, you should watch Game Changers too, we eat a lot more plant based stuff since watching that and I actually prefer some of the meat free burgers.
I still eat steak, chicken and mince, but mainly because my kids are fussy buggers and we can't be bothered to cook 2 different meals each night
I still eat steak, chicken and mince, but mainly because my kids are fussy buggers and we can't be bothered to cook 2 different meals each night
I haven't seen the programme yet although I think I've seen it on Netflix. I don't know if I'm ready to become a vegetarian as I have always been a well-known carnivore - happy to eat the bits that many others turn their noses up at. And properly cured bacon really is a wondrous thing. As for being a vegan, that's never going to happen. I like cheese far too much for that to ever be a possibility.
Having said that, I have been making an effort to reduce my meat consumption and I probably eat less than half as much meat as I used to. And when I do buy meat, I get it from the local farm shop where the quality is better and so is the choice. But the prices are much higher, which is an incentive to buy less. It was the pandemic and the closure of the supermarket meat counters that drove me to the farm shop. And having discovered just what a difference it makes to taste and texture, I doubt I'll ever go back to supermarket meat. I do love fish too - so much so that I had smoked haddock and oyster fritters for dinner earlier. My reasons for reducing my consumption are many - my main concern is my waistline which is far bigger than it ought to be. But I do also worry about animal welfare and the impact on the environment. Given the choice, I'd much rather give up meat than my petrol-powered cars.
Having said that, I have been making an effort to reduce my meat consumption and I probably eat less than half as much meat as I used to. And when I do buy meat, I get it from the local farm shop where the quality is better and so is the choice. But the prices are much higher, which is an incentive to buy less. It was the pandemic and the closure of the supermarket meat counters that drove me to the farm shop. And having discovered just what a difference it makes to taste and texture, I doubt I'll ever go back to supermarket meat. I do love fish too - so much so that I had smoked haddock and oyster fritters for dinner earlier. My reasons for reducing my consumption are many - my main concern is my waistline which is far bigger than it ought to be. But I do also worry about animal welfare and the impact on the environment. Given the choice, I'd much rather give up meat than my petrol-powered cars.
Edited by LunarOne on Thursday 8th April 02:20
Mr Tidy said:
What a load of toss - he's not suggesting we eat each other!
You just don't seem to want to accept that other people have legitimate ideas that don't align with your dogma.
Show me on the doll where the bad vegetarian hurt you?You just don't seem to want to accept that other people have legitimate ideas that don't align with your dogma.
Have you read my post? Or just can’t read English? I am not a vegetarian. Just ordered my lunch - sweet and sour pork with rice.
There are so many posters on PH that don’t bother to read what is written but get triggered by certain words and then spew out some emotional BS (usually the same s
t each time) without engaging their brain at all. Esceptico said:
ThunderSpook said:
fk off, that’s why.
You do whatever you want to do, but you leave me and my bacon out of it.
.
Thanks for the thoughtful contribution!k off, that’s why.You do whatever you want to do, but you leave me and my bacon out of it.
.
Your response pretty much supports my pessimism about humans and their ability, or rather willingness, to make changes to save us from ourselves.
Save us all from ourselves
Been a vegetarian for going on 20 odd years and I'm early 30's. It's not a big deal and it's a lot easier than it used to be.
In those years I've only really had two people that took offence, one was an old woman in work that got really offended when I wouldn't except one of her bacon butties she also made one for a Jewish guy, we just put it down to ignorance.
Another was a mates ex Gf who got ridiculously drunk once and made a complete embarrassment of herself in a bar telling me she was veggie for a week, called me a weirdo and sheep shagger while I laughed at her. The most hilarious thing is she is now a vegan and rants about animal rights on a vlog. Mate got well rid.
In those years I've only really had two people that took offence, one was an old woman in work that got really offended when I wouldn't except one of her bacon butties she also made one for a Jewish guy, we just put it down to ignorance.
Another was a mates ex Gf who got ridiculously drunk once and made a complete embarrassment of herself in a bar telling me she was veggie for a week, called me a weirdo and sheep shagger while I laughed at her. The most hilarious thing is she is now a vegan and rants about animal rights on a vlog. Mate got well rid.
Esceptico said:
rodericb said:
How does not eating fish due to fish stocks being decimated become not eating "meat" at all? Don't eat beef or chicken due to fish stocks being depleted?
Did you actually read the post or just the title? I ask as it was explained.king things up and why should I change my ways so that others can continue on blithely?You are only going to be able to influence pretty much nothing on your own and if you got ten thousand of your closest friends to stop eating fish you'll barely make a dent in the problem. You and your friends are not drag-netting the oceans around the world and ramming the ships of the countries whose fishing grounds you're looting to intimidate them into letting it slide. You can reduce your intake and not waste any of what you do take but of equal importance is to check the source of the product.
mikiec said:
There are options to eat sustainably caught fish, as there are to eat sustainable, environmentally friendly meat. It seems very strange people seem to completely avoid exploring this and jump to veganism or the like. Yet they then pay little attention to the environmental harm of industrial crops nor the transportation costs of many of these foods.
“Sustainably caught fish” is mainly greenwash. Marketing blurb backed by fishing industry to make people feel better about eating fish. Seaspiracy had some good bits. There was an interview with head of organisation that certifies “dolphin friendly tuna”. Person interviewed admitted that they have very few observers checking boats and volunteered that such observers can be bribed anyway. So basically they just take the word of the fishermen than no Dolphins were killed. However they guarantee that their label means it is dolphin friendly. He literally admitted it wasn’t guaranteed but then said it was guaranteed in the next sentence! Bizarre.
I am a meat eater but it is a bit embarrassing to see how some people respond to the question of why they eat meat. It reminds me of the kind of indignation you get from smokers who refuse to quit while plugged into oxygen. Tragic.
We (globally) do have serious issues with farming and fishing. The situation with cattle in the US and South America is not a small one. The way we fish in too many places is a joke, literally scraping the sea bed for all it has to offer.
I don’t remember how long a go it was that ‘meat free Monday’ was pushed as an idea but it must have been a decade ago? It was a fringe idea at the time but I reckon more and more people are consciously cutting down their meat intake.
We (globally) do have serious issues with farming and fishing. The situation with cattle in the US and South America is not a small one. The way we fish in too many places is a joke, literally scraping the sea bed for all it has to offer.
I don’t remember how long a go it was that ‘meat free Monday’ was pushed as an idea but it must have been a decade ago? It was a fringe idea at the time but I reckon more and more people are consciously cutting down their meat intake.
Gassing Station | News, Politics & Economics | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff