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[NF] vegetarianism / veganism versus meat eating

gromit

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Weird fact.

Historically, pigeons were actually a common food source. People built dovecotes link and some didn't even endeavor to feed the birds on their own. They simply built a nesting site for the birds, let them flock, lay eggs, forage for their own food, and then they'd regularly collect the eggs and occasionally a bird for easy protein.

View attachment 9788

Pigeons have been used for a variety of domestic uses for thousands of years, possibly long before chickens took the stage.

The guano is considered especially good as a fertilizer.

That is cool and fascinating.
 

Tiltyred

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I eat meat. I feel better when I eat meat. Mostly chicken, but if somebody wants to buy me a nice steak, I will happily eat it. That happens a couple of times a year. I eat eggs and yogurt and chicken and fish, mostly. I watched a documentary last night that pointed out that humans have been carnivorous since there were humans, and we are constructed to eat meat, having one stomach. We're not constructed like cows, with more than one stomach, to handle eating plants and nothing else. This makes sense to me. I think the problem is not so much with eating meat as it is with factory farming.
 
G

Glycerine

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I eat meat because that's a easy source of protein to get 100+ g a day.
 
S

Society

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i butchered a chicken once - well i had help and guidance from someone with practice, but it was an interesting experience... i sort of think every meet eater should do that at least once.

as for ethics: i don't agree with the notion that we are above the natural cycle of life, or that aspiring to be so is necessarily positive, nor do i agree with the notion that animals are lesser beings whose experience is somehow objectively less valuable than our own - value has to be answered in the context of "valued by whom", and the answer is simple: humans are more valuable to human society as animated beings playing in the grand experiment of trying different ways to live life, while most animals are more valuable to human society as slaves or carcasses, and i see myself as part of human society.

a more interesting question is the future:
as the world's economy flattens, population continues to rise & urbanize, i can see a case for price of meat will increase dramatically. in turn more and more development funds might be be injected into synthetic and artificially grown meat - for awhile being a cheaper but lesser quality alternative (and quite possibly demanding a few FDA loopholes) until it reaches a certain threshold of competitive quality - and quite possibly having pushed food engineering to not only recreate the textures & flavors of meat but diversify them - potentially bringing a sellout reaction - a point where the price of "organic meat" might drop so low that farms will be slaughtering them faster then reproduction rates.

while this is happening, raising your kids on a mostly-vegetable diet isn't a bad idea.
 

SoraMayhem

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...I watched a documentary last night that pointed out that humans have been carnivorous since there were humans, and we are constructed to eat meat, having one stomach. We're not constructed like cows, with more than one stomach, to handle eating plants and nothing else.

herbivore.jpg
 

Tiltyred

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Right, so ... arguments on either side. It's not something I'll ever take a rigid stance on -- different strokes for different folks.
 

SoraMayhem

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I'm just not really seeing how "we have one stomach therefore carnivore" is an argument, considering there are plenty of monogastric herbivores, like horses and rabbits and rodents.
 

SoraMayhem

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Too bad the movie isn't free, or else I'd watch it. Frankly I don't feel like paying the $4 though.

Honestly though, the dietary aspect of it isn't what decided me either. I'd be vegan even if it shortened my lifespan or was completely 'unnatural'.
 

Tiltyred

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PETA is what decided you?
 

SoraMayhem

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Gross, I don't like PETA. Neither do a lot of vegans. My veganism is mostly environmental, but I also believe that animals are unique individuals with the right to life. I guess I'm not inherently opposed to the idea of people eating meat for survival purposes.

There are a ton of other animal rights organizations, like MFA, COK (those being my two favorites), Veg Outreach is pretty good too IIRC. PETA is a buch of sexist capitalist yoo-hoos with an incredibly shameful euthanasia rate. Not all vegans and vegetarians are talking heads for PETA.
 

Falcarius

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Falcarius is a vegetarian. No individual reason but rather a collection from health, environmental, and animal welfare.
 

Tiltyred

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What about the argument that the human body cannot produce B12 on its own, and B12 is only found in animal flesh? (just curious, because I don't care, I eat meat because I feel better when I eat meat).
 

SoraMayhem

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Microorganisms, primarily bacteria, are the only known organisms that manufacture B12. These bacteria often live in bodies of water and soil. Animals get B12 by eating food and soil contaminated with these microorganisms. From here

So, I get my vitamin b12 from fortified milk alternatives, nutritional yeast, I've heard that some sea veggies are naturally high in b12, there are breakfast cereals with it, and energy drinks; no animals involved.
 
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