Open Phones

'Special Open Phone Tuesday – Ice Baths, Karma and Conspiracy – May 29, 2012' have 3 comments

1. 

   May 30, 2012 @ 5:32 am Bernard

   The whole issue about eating meat and veganism is not as simple as people think.

   First of all, what makes people think when they eat vegetables they DON’T cause the death of animals???

   How many insects and small lifeforms died in a small patch of land so you can have your tomatoes on your dinner table?

   No matter how small these animals are, they are living, breathing beings that can feel pain as much as a COW does.

   The difference is, a cow is a large animal but a thousand insects inhabited a patch of farmland are small. And modern human beings are such superficial shallow thinkers (our social media teach us to be that way), we only look at issue at surface level.

   Just because Cows are cute and furry, it doesn’t mean their life is more value than a thousands of small insects and rodents.

   Being human being and alive on Earth, one CANNOT avoid causing the death of other being. JUST being alive on Earth alone already you’re taking available resources away from other beings.

   The question is would you rather cause the death a SINGLE animal (a cow) or THOUSANDS animals (insects, rodents and worms)? Most superficial, shallow minded people would rather chose to kill thousands of insects than a cow, because cow is cute and furry.

2. 

   May 30, 2012 @ 12:13 pm Meghan

   So as a former vegan I understand the simplicity of the question and that is the problem it is simplistic. Of course the above is true about insects and small rodents however if everyone where to adopt a vegan lifestyle we would devastate the ecosystems of the world in exponential proportion to that which we now do. Even at the rate at which we consume grains and legumes currently, every year millions of acres of rainforest in S. America and parts of Africa are eradicated for nice vegetarian crops like wheat and soy. Thanks to this “green desert” created in former rainforests, hundreds to thousands of species of native plants, animals, birds and insects become extinct every year. Film “The World According to Monsanto” has excellent video of how the soy industry is eating away at the Brazilian rainforests. The continued cultivation of crops that we cannot eat as natural born carnivores is destroying much more of the planet than a vegetarian will claim cattle do.
   In point of fact, cattle and other ruminants are being used in Zimbabwe to reverse desertification and restore grasslands and water to lands previously drought scorched. A very interesting man is Alan Savory who has applied natural mob grazing in Africa to create these lush areas complete with permanent water in the middle of deserts. http://www.savoryinstitute.org
   Like everything else we have been told is good for us (low fat diets, avoiding sunlight) we have been given false choices and had very imporant life-sustaining knowledge taken away under the guise of being an enlightened and compassionate person. A vegan lifestyle is also harder in impact because we simply cannot source enough protein in the form of grains or legumes from only our local area to eat year round.
   By returning to eating meat, I am a kinder happier person because my hormones are functioning which they do not on a high carb vegan eating plan. ALso, after several years of meeting as many farmers as possible I can easily say that 90% of my food comes from less than 50 miles away and I have seen the face of the animals I eat when I go to visit them and thank them for giving me their life.

   So that may gross some people out, but since a vegan diet nearly hospitalized me 3 years ago, I don’t think anyone has the right to put any diet in spirtitual or religious terms. Sadly this keeps many people on a diet that does come with very serious and life altering consequences. I also worked for the foremost physician in vegan lifestyle, Dr. Dean Ornish, so I followed what was taught as the best diet in the world.
   It is especially frightening to see so many children being put on a vegan diet, which will create cognintive deficits and that is absolutely provable. I would refer to work by Dr. Weston A. Price and Dr. Pottenger in regards to the epigenetics of an unnatural diet and the results in a very few generations.
   If people still feel the act of eating meat causes them too much emotional pain they can choose to do so in a concious way with all of the facts. Two books I recommend are the Vegetarian Myth by Lierre Keith and Beyond Broccoli, Susan Shenk. Both are former vegans like myself and since it takes a whole book to explain the biochemical and environmental costs of veganism, I suggest either author as a very intriguing guest. It is a hard decision but again I don’t like the fact that it has become a so-called spiritual choice when it is not based on reality, and a judgemental attitude that goes with it. How is that spiritual?

3. 

   May 31, 2012 @ 8:38 am Jill

   We expect animals to eat the diet that is natural for them, yet when it comes to humans eating their natural diet, we don’t always base it on science and physiology, we base it on morals. That is what gets us into trouble. I do not know of any vegan societies that have lived for more than a generation or 2. But hunter gatherer societies have lived very healthfully for eons. How many animals lose their home due to grain farming? Grain farming not only destroys the land, it destroys the homes of many species. And it destroys our health. We have not been eating grains very long. When it comes to deciding what to eat, we need to ask our body what it needs, not our priest or rabbi or anyone else. Plants are just as living as animals. I don’t think God wants us to destroy our health because WE think it’s politically or spiritually correct to eat only plants. I feel so much better eating all flesh, veggies and some fruit with NO grains. There is a reason why so many have gut issues now and most of it can be traced to the eating of grains. It comes down to allowing EVERY PERSON the freedom to choose what’s best for them, leaving all judgement at the door.