Thanks to some folks for walking me through some vegan viewpoints and ideals.
How do us regular non vegans give up meat & milk, which vegans assert is at the root of a great many deal of problems with the world?
For one, we (omnivores) must not be judgemental in what other cultures choose to eat. If people eat dogs and cats, that's fine. We eat cows. I'm sure Hindis find that fairly disgusting.
I encourage you to try eating a cockroach. Many cultures eat them. Breeding cockroaches (and other insects) for consumption is actually far far more efficient than cattle, chicken, pigs, etc.
I could not eat one, gag reflex is a tough issue to overcome. Vegans point to tofu, but this isn't the kind of compromise I'm looking for. I prefer a thick steak over a chunk of tofu. Asking everyone to become a vegan, to make a sacrifice for the greater good, is a hard sell. But gradually breaking down our cultural resistance to some forms of food would be a good thing. I hear German cockroaches are delicious on salads.
Every time you eat meat you are directly responsible for people starving, not to mention environmental damage. Actually anyone who goes out and kills their animals to eat meat, I have no problem.. it's the McDonalds hamburger that bothers me, why billions of sentient creatures are literally tortured to death so humans can get a hamburger for a dollar boggles my mind.
The ethical dilemma involves vegans attributing rights for entities that have the quality of sentience. A sentient creature is one that has the ability to feel pleasure and/or pain. There is debate, such as if a lobster and other invertibrates are sentient.
Ok, so if we can responsibly make GMOs not to feel pain, that's a solution. It's a couple generations away, and may be impossible due to vector delivery issues. But I'm hopeful that this can be done. I think vegans have a purposeful calling to go to, I hope you pursue it.
As far as meat eating = starving someone else, thats a distribution issue and one related to business methods. It's not a problem that can't be overcome. I hope vegans unite into co-operatives and supply food to the masses responsibly. Provide us omnivores with the ethical option.
These ethical options currently exist, they cost more, but they do exist. Private schools have considered these sorts of options for school lunches, but the price difference is enormous.
If you think it's ok to raise animals for food, then why not raise humans.
I happen to differentiate conscious beings from sentient beings. The quality of consciousness imparts rights that sentient beings do not have. But if you do not make that distinction, then it is OK to raise humans. I don't know how much market demand exists for human flesh, but go ahead if you want to. I will object based on my distinction I raised earlier.
Humans have no right to exist since they cannot live in harmony with the planet.
This one was an odd one, I couldn't wrap my head around. I still don't. But if some vegans truly feel this way, lead by example and follow your principles and take a Dr. K injection. Maybe this will inspire the rest of us to follow your lead.
