Milk is vegetarian? Really?

[zxcvbob]

Twenty y.o. daughter is going thru a vegetarian phase.  (I really think it's a 20 yo girl thing)  As long as she doesn't give up eggs and dairy, I'm OK with it.  A totally vegan diet is unhealthy unless you really work at it, and while she's struggling in college she has neither the time nor the money to devote to that and she can't afford to get sick.

While she was home for the summer, I pretty much gave up meat except for occasional 99¢ Wendy's Jr. Bacon Cheeseburgers.  I didn't really miss it, but I might have without those cheeseburgers!

Now that she's back in school and the tomatoes are coming-in in the garden, I've been eating a *lot* of BLT's.  I still don't eat much beef, maybe because I'm so cheap.

A vegetarian once told me that fish weren't animals and therefor weren't considered meat.     

Why can't people just say "I don't like meat except for fish" and leave it at that?  Is is so important to label everything? 

[PTK]

What I've noticed is that most "vegetarians" are creatures of convenience, as pointed out. Most will eat eggs, fish, dairy, etc. but nothing "cute" or anything that they "like". Fish don't scream, so....

[lupinus]

Vegetarian = bad hunter but not bad fisherman 

In either event, most vegetarians I have run into have no problem with dairy and eggs. Basically animal is fine so long as it doesn't require killing the animal.

[Zardozimo Oprah Bannedalas]

Twenty y.o. daughter is going thru a vegetarian phase.  (I really think it's a 20 yo girl thing)

Or a weight-control thing. Quite a few vegetarians are doing what they do to shed 20 lbs or so (though they rarely admit that as a reason). They're an okay bunch. The "status symbol" vegans/vegetarians, on the other hand, are from hell.

[BridgeRunner]

Sometimes it's a poverty thing....

Here's to waiting for deer season.

[French G.]

I get a little religious, spirtual, or whatever about it. Maybe medevial is better. I look through history and realize that the higher rich protein sources have always been the right of the victorious. Sure, you can have some if you're a farmer, but you can have more if you oppress the farmers. Those that are not conquerors or farmers are going to eat lower value food stuff. So bring me a steak wench, I need to get big so I can go oppress more little people.

I'm only half kidding.

The hard core vegans are contrary to evolution the way I see it. We evolved large brains and bipedal motion so we could chase tasty meat, not so we could dig more roots. I read that Bible thing too, apparently our dominion covers all things tasty. 

[Perd Hapley]

So bring me a steak wench, I need to get big so I can go oppress more little people.

I would also like a steak wench.  Sounds like a fun kinda girl.

[makattak]

What I've noticed is that most "vegetarians" are creatures of convenience, as pointed out. Most will eat eggs, fish, dairy, etc. but nothing "cute" or anything that they "like". Fish don't scream, so....

“If trees fish could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting eating them down? We might, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason.”

[seeker_two]

“If trees fish could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting eating them down? We might, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason.”

Aren't the PETA/vegan crowd trying to call fish "water kittens" or something?.....not that it would stop me...I've eaten authentic Mexican before....whiskers and all... 

[Nitrogen]

Aren't the PETA/vegan crowd trying to call fish "water kittens" or something?.....not that it would stop me...I've eaten authentic Mexican before....whiskers and all... 

Yep.  Sea Kittens: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99249669

[PTK]

....to think, I was sure I couldn't possibly dislike PETA any more than I already did.

[KD5NRH]

As long as it doesn't require the death of the animal, it is pretty much okay.

Hmmm...I rarely eat any part of an animal that it couldn't survive without...does that make me a vegetarian?

[Perd Hapley]

Hmmm...I rarely eat any part of an animal that it couldn't survive without...does that make me a vegetarian?

It just means you're doin it wrong.


From the PETA story:

Byrne says that rebranding fish as sea kittens was obvious.

   

[makattak]

Yep.  Sea Kittens: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99249669

Mmm... mmm... mmmm...

I had some tasty sea kittens tonight. Well, I think they're technically river kittens. Good stuff.

Maybe I'll start looking for some of those tasty shell kittens. Mmmmm... Shell kittens dipped in butter.

[gunsmith]

There used to be a sub-set of vegetarians who called themselves "lacto/ovo vegetarian." They would drink milk and eat eggs and cheese, but they would not eat meat of any kind. Another sub-set would eat fish but not "flesh" -- I never tried to explain to the fish that their corporal substance isn't "flesh."

We live in a complex world.

fish are vegetables that swim

[Jamisjockey]

Gaff a sea-kitten for PETA!

[GigaBuist]

I know a guy that's vegetarian except for the fish, pork and beef he eats.

Basically he's only a vegetarian when eating outside his house.  At a restaurant he'll eat fish if he can't find anything else on the menu he likes.  At home he'll eat pork and beef but only organic stuff that's from a local farm where he knows it had a good diet and wasn't injected with antibiotics.

That actually makes sense to me.  But it was funny learning how "vegetarian" he really was one day. :)

[zxcvbob]

Hmmm...I rarely eat any part of an animal that it couldn't survive without...does that make me a vegetarian?

No, but it reminds me of the joke about the pig with a wooden leg.

[seeker_two]

No, but it reminds me of the joke about the pig with a wooden leg.

Just remember....when it comes to breakfast, a chicken just makes a regular contribution...the pig makes a lifetime committment...

[gunsmith]

I heard that a guy died from drinking milk!





the cow sat down!

[tyme]

I never did understand the appeal of moving down the food chain.

That equates the empirical concept of food chain (that you are at the top if you continue killing less self-aware/intelligent/social creatures) with the theoretical concept of food chain (that you are at the top if you can, if necessary, kill to other creatures to stay alive).

It also ignores that people aren't typically hunting for their own meat.  They're buying it pre-killed, after its short lifetime of living in utterly disgusting conditions.  The entire process is heavily mechanized and takes minimal skill even for the people doing the animal raising and slaughtering.  Does working on an animal farm or at an abattoir really make someone lord of the food chain?  I don't think so.  Buying meat at a grocery store certainly doesn't.

Ignoring the ethical swamp of whether raising, killing, and eating animals is bad, there are other reasons people might be veg*ns, e.g. health and environmental sustainability / land use.

[Ned Hamford]

Two pages of posts and no long pork reference?

 

[HankB]

If the Almighty didn't want us to eat animals, then He wouldn't have made them out of meat.

I'm on a vegetarian diet - I only eat vegetarians.

Vegetables aren't food - vegetables are what food eats.

[Tallpine]

They're buying it pre-killed, after its short lifetime of living in utterly disgusting conditions.  The entire process is heavily mechanized and takes minimal skill even for the people doing the animal raising and slaughtering.

Thank you so very much for insulting all my cattle rancher neighbors 

FYI, we go out and ride our horses in those "utterly disgusting conditions."   I guess you don't like hills and pine trees and far off mountain vistas   

[Brad Johnson]

If the Almighty didn't want us to eat animals, then He wouldn't have made them out of meat.

Me "Does God make mistakes?"

Veggie-tarian "Never!"

Me "Well, I'm confused.  You just said God made a mistake."

Veggie-tarian "No I didn't!!"

Me "Yes, you did.  You just said God made a mistake when he made us."

Veggie-tarian "What?  Prove it!!"

Me "You say God doesn't want us to eat meat.  Okay.  Problem is these pointy teeth in our mouths are called canines.  They're only useful for the biting, ripping, and tearing of meat.  Why are they there if God doesn't want us to eat me?  See, God made a mistake."

Veggie-tarian  "I, um... what?"

Brad