Vegetarian myths, debunked. - Slate Magazine

Here's the deal. First of all this guy is sharing HIS experiences and saying that's how vegetarians are, which is a different flavor of the same type of discrimination he's upset about.

Secondly, I can't stand people who favor some living beings over others because they have more in common with them. I have respect for all living things; people, redwood trees, cats, grass, AND cows. This guy is giving up meat because, as he puts it, he can't justify killing an animal.

Well, unless you're a plant and you make your own food from sunlight and dirt, then you're killing something in order to live. That's just how it works. Animals kill other animals all the time. Favoring furry, cute animals over everything else is really wrong and silly in my book.

What we, as human beings, should be more involved with is the humane treatment and respect of all living things. Not just things that are furry and cute and like us, mammals. We need to take care of snakes, slimy toads, rain forests, redwood trees, ocean creatures, and everything else.

@mortalwind Sorry my response was so heated. It's just something that's been bothering me for a LONG time. I live in an area with lots of vegetarians who'll scream at people for eating meat like they're the antichrist, but they have no real respect for life as a whole.

Hidden in my heated post was a question that I don't think gets asked often enough: what about plants? There's no proof that they aren't sentient, and favoring cute mammals over everything else seems really egocentric. Selfish, in other words. The fact of the matter is that we HAVE to consume in order to survive, why play favorites?

My other point was that he makes a lot of generalizations about vegetarians. For example, he states the reasons why people become vegetarian, but he left a few out. Often times I'll go through periods of not eating meat because I don't like the texture. Essentially, I disagree with his generalization of people, but other than that I wasn't to bothered by THIS article, it's just the encounters I've had with similar mentalities in real life that have hardened my feelings.

Yeah, I left this one at a no-vote because I really don't personally agree with what he's saying but he has the right to speak his mind and it was a well-written article. So, I don't want to vote it up or down. I normally love the things you submit though, so no worries dude.

Comments (11)

- calinazaret
Here's the deal. First of all this guy is sharing HIS experiences and saying that's how vegetarians are, which is a different flavor of the same type of discrimination he's upset about.

Secondly, I can't stand people who favor some living beings over others because they have more in common with them. I have respect for all living things; people, redwood trees, cats, grass, AND cows. This guy is giving up meat because, as he puts it, he can't justify killing an animal.

Well, unless you're a plant and you make your own food from sunlight and dirt, then you're killing something in order to live. That's just how it works. Animals kill other animals all the time. Favoring furry, cute animals over everything else is really wrong and silly in my book.

What we, as human beings, should be more involved with is the humane treatment and respect of all living things. Not just things that are furry and cute and like us, mammals. We need to take care of snakes, slimy toads, rain forests, redwood trees, ocean creatures, and everything else.
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- mortalwind
Damn why so serious..........I'm a meat eater and have no paticular fondness for vegheads but I thought he represented himself in as fair a manner as us humans can. Not to mention he was way less obnoxious than a lot of herbavores I have know. I can read an article based on ideas that I dont agree with without being offended, if it is written in what I perceive to be a fair manner. I'm just a little suprised at the heat in your responce now I have to reread the article to see what got you going. Not that I think what you wrote is wrong, I'm just confused as to how the article made you seemingly indignant.
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- MarkCarras
I got about halfway through that article and got hungry for some burnt flesh myself. Time for second lunch?
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- mortalwind
@calinazaret Wow you didn't even vote this post up. Just left a comment. Hey no law against that. Non the less no hard feelings. Your one of my favorite mixxers.
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- mortalwind
@MarkCarras I doubt I could ever go veggie, but I do like my vegtables, and I'm a fish fan big time and they do have faces. Hey if you apply the face test couldnt you eat shellfish?
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- runonearth
Well, I loved this. I think it was very well written and does, in my opinion, explain exactly how a great many vegetarians feel. Yes, I realize too that there are those vegi-nazis, but the majority of vegetarians I have met could care less about "spreading the word."

We (me being a vegan) just wish for people to respect how we live. We, typically, don't live our lives going around disrespecting others for how they live (again with the exception of the extremists/activists).

If it bothers people so damn much, then I suggest they don't ask questions of us about "why." I often think people question me just to create some conflict, and I am often immediately on the defensive.

That's how I feel, and I'm glad someone so nicely put all these thoughts into words. Thank you for this post Moratalwind.
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- calinazaret
@mortalwind Sorry my response was so heated. It's just something that's been bothering me for a LONG time. I live in an area with lots of vegetarians who'll scream at people for eating meat like they're the antichrist, but they have no real respect for life as a whole.

Hidden in my heated post was a question that I don't think gets asked often enough: what about plants? There's no proof that they aren't sentient, and favoring cute mammals over everything else seems really egocentric. Selfish, in other words. The fact of the matter is that we HAVE to consume in order to survive, why play favorites?

My other point was that he makes a lot of generalizations about vegetarians. For example, he states the reasons why people become vegetarian, but he left a few out. Often times I'll go through periods of not eating meat because I don't like the texture. Essentially, I disagree with his generalization of people, but other than that I wasn't to bothered by THIS article, it's just the encounters I've had with similar mentalities in real life that have hardened my feelings.

Yeah, I left this one at a no-vote because I really don't personally agree with what he's saying but he has the right to speak his mind and it was a well-written article. So, I don't want to vote it up or down. I normally love the things you submit though, so no worries dude.
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- kdaniel179
GREAT post! Thanks! I must disagree with one thing though....it IS possible to make a mean tofu, I do it just about everyday!
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- Honest_Ape
@calinazaret
Plants may be sentient, but they're fair game, because plants are assholes.
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- jdow
Where are the myths debunked? He doesn't address the advantages of being a vegetarian.

He wrote, "Vegetarians give up meat for a variety of ethical, environmental, and health reasons that are secondary to this essay's goal of increasing brotherly understanding, so I'll mostly set them aside"

One can't blame tofu in general because some people prepare it badly any more than one could blame meat because some turned it Spam (the food). Go to a country where tofu is traditionally eaten and you may find a tofu dish that you like.

I'm not a vegetarian, but I think there are a lot of benefits to being a vegetarian, or eating a low-meat diet like much of the world.
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- mortalwind
@jdow It worked for Hitler :P
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