I agree with moderation, but it is interesting that a strict vegetarian diet is just as (if not more) effective at lowering bad cholesterol as statin drugs . . . and this keeps heart disease, stroke, and embolisms at bay.
In any case, I just reached a stage in my life when I decided that I don’t want to kill things any more than I absolutely have to. I can distance myself from the process that involves a screaming, terrified animal experiencing horrible agony for no other reason than my gustatory pleasure.
I’m still implicated in the ongoing deaths of animals because I’m a modern person who uses synthetic materials (made in factories that produce industrial waste), and drives a car that contributes to global warming . . . but I’m trying to do the best that I can to be a kinder person, and not because of religious belief.
LOL: Perhaps the most extensive empirical information, write Fischer and Lamey, comes from a 2003 paper that estimated the average number of field deaths at about six per acre. That figure was extrapolated from earlier studies on rodent deaths during grain and sugarcane harvesting. Another oft-cited figure comes from an Australian finding of 40 mouse deaths per acre of grain. Wild bird, reptile, amphibian, and freshwater fish deaths are trickier to pin down but likely amount to a small fraction of the overall total, which Fischer and Lamey estimate at 7.3 billion wild animal lives.
That’s a rough estimate, to be sure, not a rigorous figure, but it would put plant agriculture’s toll in the same ballpark as industrial animal consumption. “Traditional veganism,” say Fischer and Lamey, “could potentially be implicated in more animal deaths than a diet that contains free-range beef and other carefully chosen meats.”
Enjoy your salad! LOL (Okay, I’m being a bit of an ass.) Fact is, life feeds on life. There is no free ride. We all kill animals. We all eat what we kill, and we will be eaten. In fact, we are being eaten as we live and breath. There is no escaping. Not that I am aware of.
My eldest preferred not eating meat since he was born. I adapted to his needs for food types and nutrition. My other two eat meat about twice or three times a week. I have meat in my diet daily.
Wouldn’t this be shifting the goalposts, as the goal isn’t to digest them completely, but to get enough nutrients from them.
But I never claimed herbivores can eat meat, we are omnivores, so what a herbivore is capable of isn’t entirely relevant. goal posts again!
I also never claimed our bodies cannot digest meat, of course it can.
Vegetarians have several options for sources of B12. These include eggs and dairy products, such as milk and cheese, shiitake, tempeh, tofu for a few examples.
Vegans have a more limited list of options. Fortified foods, or those with added vitamin B12, are a great source. (Vegan’s can also eat animal products like egg, depending on definitions, some define veganism as ‘reducing animal suffering to the highest degrees practicable.’ eggs and dairy aren’t always disqualified in a vegan diet.)
In general, we need to replenish between about 1 and 3 grams of creatine a day, depending on how much muscle we have.
Creatine can be produced by our liver. It’s synthesized from the amino acids (protein building blocks): arginine, glycine, and methionine. so as long as you intake these building blocks, you can forgo eating creatine directly, I do eat cranberries also though, which is a pretty good source of creatine.
Arginine, glycine and methionine are found in dairy products and eggs, tofu, beans and some nuts.
All found in eggs, dairy and tofu, oranges, almond milk, and one of my favourites Agaricus bisporus mushrooms.
Could it be argued that eating meat is an extreme choice, as an animal is having it’s life cut short to feed another animal, when that animal is cognitively aware of this occurrence and also has an alternative available?
Until we acquired the ability to control fire, which provided the opportunity to cook meat which made it far more digestible and the protein more readily available, translating to availability of the energy required for the lifestyle.
Depending upon where your research is centered and what time period concerned, eating meat was definitely not just a choice. Where I live, there is evidence of a primarily meat dominated diet for an extended period. (Paleo-Archaic) Although fire was being employed, climatic changes dictated when a pivot to a more plant-based diet became even possible. Poignantly, fire also played a role in the adoption of certain vegetative diets (e.g. maize) due to the acquired abilities to fire pottery, allowing for the cooking of plants which improved digestion, nutritional availability and reduced the need for nomadic lifestyles, due to contributing localized controlled agriculture.
A discussion of the “Cooking Hypothesis” , among other related subjects can be found here: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/692113#:~:text=The%20cooking%20hypothesis%20posits%20that,of%20novel%20digestive%20adaptations%20and
They often do, yet synthetic options are apparently becoming more readily available, but this also rolls back to what definition of veganism is being used.
I also want to reiterate, I am not a vegan, I am a vegetarian, as I don’t believe a vegan diet is sustainable.
Heh, yeah; I’ve caught every “vegan” I know consuming animal derivatives.
eta:Reminds me of the people who say they want to protect the environment, go out and buy an electric car; then plug it into an outlet that is powered by a coal plant. All they have done is removed the part they don’t like, to somewhere where it isn’t as easy to see.
I did not intend to infer that you did. Apologies if I came off that way.
If you get a chance, peruse the articles I referenced, as your posts indicate to me that you might find them relevant and interesting.
Hey, I’m not arguing at all, I am simply stating my position and why I hold it, remember text doesn’t convey emotion well, there’s no heat in this fire.
You assert eating meat is not an extreme choice, this is a very subjective topic, and not one I feel is needed to encroach on.
The policy of agreeing to disagree on this maybe a fair approach?
Not a species in it’s entirety, but you can’t deny vegetarians exist, cognitive awareness was and is a necessity for a vegetarian to exist.
While I agree, that most people don’t see the irony in this action, I could make an argument on their behalf.
As a species, we are working towards more sustainable and eco friendly sources of energy, we are roughly 1.7 on the Kardashev scale, so, eventually, those coal plants won’t be the primary energy source.
This, it could be argued would make those Electric cars far more sustainable than they are currently.
Of course, this wouldn’t negate the use of rare materials, and the difficulties of disposing of them once they become obsolete.
What I’m getting at is, currently they aren’t very economical, but it is a preparation for the future?
I can’t drive, as I’m epileptic, but if I were to drive, I would choose an electric car, if money wasn’t an obstacle.
Sorry, I was distracted by a squirrel running along my fence and missed that one!
Well, go pull on @Cognostic paw, I shan’t acquest your request! Nope, nuh uh. noooooo way.
I will admit, I slack from time to time, mainly when I’m off up on the moors with the fairies and the hermits, or losing my mind in the confines of my own home. But I am confident that my dietary needs are kept strictly adhered to, when I am sane and rational.
Don’t worry, @Cognostic leaves plenty about if I need one.
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