Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post

Devils'Advocate · 08-31-2010, 02:35 AM

I've been a vegetarian going on 20 years now.

First, a vegetarian diet CAN be healthier than a non-vegetarian diet. And most vegetarians DO have a healthier diet than most non-vegetarians. As a vegetarian I do have to watch certain things like ensuring I have enough protein, but equally important is checking that I have enough iron in my diet. Vegans have to watch their B-12.

For 19 of those 20 years I had a pasta, pizza, pastries and peanut butter based diet. It is quite possible to have a horribly bad diet and be vegetarian. People thought it was impossible to be a 340 pound vegetarian.. trust me, it's easy. Ice cream is good. So vegetarian doesn't automatically equal healthier. But in general, if you are eating more fruits and vegetables and yes Azure, avoiding carbs, the better your diet will be.

My reasons for being vegetarian had NOTHING to do with health reasons. First reason was environmental. Animal agriculture is incredibly energy intensive. And worse, it needs a lot of land to be cleared because not only do you need to clear land for the animals, but also for the feed. And if you remember the energy pyramid, if you feed corn to a pig, you automatically lose 50% of the energy of that corn... so you need to grow twice as much. Growing that much feed means more fertilizers in our streams and rivers. And then there is all the animal waste! Ever smell a pig farm? They usually have giant lagoons of waste with a smell that will make you sick. Sometimes those lagoons fail and that waste ends up in the water supply. Farm waste was what caused the water contamination in Walkerton.

Secondly, I read all these threads about a woman throwing a cat in a bin or someone drowning puppies. And we condemn those things as the people are killing good animals. How horrible. But don't all animals have the ability to suffer? And many have shown various degrees of self awareness. From dogs, to dolphins, to elephants - studies have shown that they will sometimes act on more than instinct, meaning they may well have emotions. I think the conditions on the factory farms are deplorable and should be viewed as torture. But I wouldn't even consider buying from a free-range farmer as I don't believe in taking the life of a living breathing animal unless my health will suffer for it.

Now, way back when, I was at Elizabeth May's house for a joint conference of environmentalists and aboriginals. We environmentalists decided to have the conference with a vegetarian menu for the points above. However, the Micmacs were not happy with this and they present their reasonings... the traditional Micmac diet was primarily meat based. Now that I think about it, it seemed very much like Atkins. Very low carb. Very high protein. Lots of greens - either grown or gathered. Given their need for meat, we agreed that they could bring in meat for the conference so long as it was not factory farmed. So they brought deer steaks and rabbit. So if you need it, I see no problem with doing what you need to live. I on the other hand am leading a very happy life without needing meat.

In any case, very long story short, there are valid reasons for being vegetarian... but the article posted by the OP is way out to lunch.

08-31-2010, 02:35 AM	#85
Devils'Advocate #1 Goaltender Join Date: Jul 2005 Exp:	I've been a vegetarian going on 20 years now. First, a vegetarian diet CAN be healthier than a non-vegetarian diet. And most vegetarians DO have a healthier diet than most non-vegetarians. As a vegetarian I do have to watch certain things like ensuring I have enough protein, but equally important is checking that I have enough iron in my diet. Vegans have to watch their B-12. For 19 of those 20 years I had a pasta, pizza, pastries and peanut butter based diet. It is quite possible to have a horribly bad diet and be vegetarian. People thought it was impossible to be a 340 pound vegetarian.. trust me, it's easy. Ice cream is good. So vegetarian doesn't automatically equal healthier. But in general, if you are eating more fruits and vegetables and yes Azure, avoiding carbs, the better your diet will be. My reasons for being vegetarian had NOTHING to do with health reasons. First reason was environmental. Animal agriculture is incredibly energy intensive. And worse, it needs a lot of land to be cleared because not only do you need to clear land for the animals, but also for the feed. And if you remember the energy pyramid, if you feed corn to a pig, you automatically lose 50% of the energy of that corn... so you need to grow twice as much. Growing that much feed means more fertilizers in our streams and rivers. And then there is all the animal waste! Ever smell a pig farm? They usually have giant lagoons of waste with a smell that will make you sick. Sometimes those lagoons fail and that waste ends up in the water supply. Farm waste was what caused the water contamination in Walkerton. Secondly, I read all these threads about a woman throwing a cat in a bin or someone drowning puppies. And we condemn those things as the people are killing good animals. How horrible. But don't all animals have the ability to suffer? And many have shown various degrees of self awareness. From dogs, to dolphins, to elephants - studies have shown that they will sometimes act on more than instinct, meaning they may well have emotions. I think the conditions on the factory farms are deplorable and should be viewed as torture. But I wouldn't even consider buying from a free-range farmer as I don't believe in taking the life of a living breathing animal unless my health will suffer for it. Now, way back when, I was at Elizabeth May's house for a joint conference of environmentalists and aboriginals. We environmentalists decided to have the conference with a vegetarian menu for the points above. However, the Micmacs were not happy with this and they present their reasonings... the traditional Micmac diet was primarily meat based. Now that I think about it, it seemed very much like Atkins. Very low carb. Very high protein. Lots of greens - either grown or gathered. Given their need for meat, we agreed that they could bring in meat for the conference so long as it was not factory farmed. So they brought deer steaks and rabbit. So if you need it, I see no problem with doing what you need to live. I on the other hand am leading a very happy life without needing meat. In any case, very long story short, there are valid reasons for being vegetarian... but the article posted by the OP is way out to lunch.