I've been vegetarian for maybe a year (I did feel good, was strong n everything), but now (since last year) I think the so called "paleolithic diet" is the one I'd like to follow. What this means to me is eating wild stuff, gathered plants, fruit, nuts, but also insects, meat, fish, etc. What I'd rather not eat is food from agriculture (note the difference between agriculture and horticulture made in anthropology) like factory meat, dairy and monocropped plants, also rather not too much grains or beans (as they're not so ideal as food for humans according to what I read and how I feel when eating them). This is what I think of as an ideal diet, but actually I don't follow that diet too much. I'd like to start fishing more and hunting rabbits, also growing plants semi wild (a bit like Fukuoka's "natural farming"), gathering plants more too, there's just not many places where I can get them here.
I think plants have feelings just as well. You can hurt them, kill them like you do with an animal. That's how life is, we all have to kill to live. I think it's all in the way of how we do it. I read some stuff about how primitive hunters would communicate with animals and their spirits, somehow getting permission to kill the animal. And after killing the animal thanking it's spirit that it sacrifised itself. Also talking to plants why you pick them, and asking permission. I think that's walking life gently. Take what you need and leave the rest so others get something too.
As for vegetarianism, I think there are many arguments that can be shown false. But I think mostly vegetarians give those short explanations because they're confrontated with someone who thinks it's stupid, rediculous, etc. And they just give a fast reply. Whatever most people probably have got good reasons, or they are just because they feel like it, which is a good reason too. Also I'd not say of myself that I'm vegetarian even if I'd not eat meat or fish, because I don't like to get such a label on me, there'd be more important things to me then that I don't eat meat or fish you know. I don't call me an anarchist either, or whatever, I'm just human like the rest.
Like that meat would be unhealthy: inuit lived almost completely on meat healthily, there was also an experiment in the early 1900's of two men who tried to only eat meat for one year and they were perfectly healthy because they ate all the fat and sucked/chewed the bones and so on. ( http://www.biblelife.org/stefansson1.htm ) Eating only meat is possible only if you eat the whole animal.
I think it's right though, that factory produced meat is generally unhealthy because of the chemicals and the poor conditions the animals live in. I actually heard that the emotions of the animals result in some chemicals in their meat, and when you eat meat from for example a depressed sick cow then you'll be influenced emotionally as well. Ofcourse it will probably not influence you terribly much on it's own, but every bit counts. And I think I can say that our society is quite depressed (look at all the suicides, etc).
Or the arguement that it takes more land to produce meat, but think of all the land that can't be used to raise crops on. Where animals can still get fat.
Though ofcourse it's terrible the way that for example the rainforest is destroyed to plant soy to feed the porks.
I think factory farming in general sucks. It's so insensitive and it's all about efficiency and nothing about pointfullnes, beauty or respect.
I had a lot of experience with anarchist vegans screaming "eeew that's disgusting!", "arghh is that meat you're eating?!", etc . And if I didn't know any other vegans (I also tried it for a while) I'd say I hate them. I definately understand people who say they do. Well I guess it's all about respect and me personally, I try not to judge others then myself. We all got our story and our reasons of why we do what we do.
Then something else, there was a post with news about the lower agricultural profits this year. I think this is also a nice article about it "global warming and global food supply":
http://anthropik.com/2006/08/global-warming-global-food-supply/
In short: 2004 was the globally best agricultural year in the last century but since then it's been going down a lot due to climate problems and oil/water/... getting more expensive. Probably next year will be even worse, and we should expect food prices to rise a lot in the next years... Mind you that it's globally, and we in western europe might not notice the difference as soon as others in the world.
By the way, my brother has been strictly vegetarian for more then a year and his farts smell a lot. If he has been to the toilet you'd really not want to go there in the rest of the day anymore... Ofcourse this doesn't count for all people who not eat meat or fish, it's just individually. Maybe it's right vegetarians smell less then meat n fish eaters, but I think it's bull****
I think plants have feelings just as well. You can hurt them, kill them like you do with an animal. That's how life is, we all have to kill to live. I think it's all in the way of how we do it. I read some stuff about how primitive hunters would communicate with animals and their spirits, somehow getting permission to kill the animal. And after killing the animal thanking it's spirit that it sacrifised itself. Also talking to plants why you pick them, and asking permission. I think that's walking life gently. Take what you need and leave the rest so others get something too.
As for vegetarianism, I think there are many arguments that can be shown false. But I think mostly vegetarians give those short explanations because they're confrontated with someone who thinks it's stupid, rediculous, etc. And they just give a fast reply. Whatever most people probably have got good reasons, or they are just because they feel like it, which is a good reason too. Also I'd not say of myself that I'm vegetarian even if I'd not eat meat or fish, because I don't like to get such a label on me, there'd be more important things to me then that I don't eat meat or fish you know. I don't call me an anarchist either, or whatever, I'm just human like the rest.
Like that meat would be unhealthy: inuit lived almost completely on meat healthily, there was also an experiment in the early 1900's of two men who tried to only eat meat for one year and they were perfectly healthy because they ate all the fat and sucked/chewed the bones and so on. ( http://www.biblelife.org/stefansson1.htm ) Eating only meat is possible only if you eat the whole animal.
I think it's right though, that factory produced meat is generally unhealthy because of the chemicals and the poor conditions the animals live in. I actually heard that the emotions of the animals result in some chemicals in their meat, and when you eat meat from for example a depressed sick cow then you'll be influenced emotionally as well. Ofcourse it will probably not influence you terribly much on it's own, but every bit counts. And I think I can say that our society is quite depressed (look at all the suicides, etc).
Or the arguement that it takes more land to produce meat, but think of all the land that can't be used to raise crops on. Where animals can still get fat.
Though ofcourse it's terrible the way that for example the rainforest is destroyed to plant soy to feed the porks.
I think factory farming in general sucks. It's so insensitive and it's all about efficiency and nothing about pointfullnes, beauty or respect.
I had a lot of experience with anarchist vegans screaming "eeew that's disgusting!", "arghh is that meat you're eating?!", etc . And if I didn't know any other vegans (I also tried it for a while) I'd say I hate them. I definately understand people who say they do. Well I guess it's all about respect and me personally, I try not to judge others then myself. We all got our story and our reasons of why we do what we do.
Then something else, there was a post with news about the lower agricultural profits this year. I think this is also a nice article about it "global warming and global food supply":
http://anthropik.com/2006/08/global-warming-global-food-supply/
In short: 2004 was the globally best agricultural year in the last century but since then it's been going down a lot due to climate problems and oil/water/... getting more expensive. Probably next year will be even worse, and we should expect food prices to rise a lot in the next years... Mind you that it's globally, and we in western europe might not notice the difference as soon as others in the world.
By the way, my brother has been strictly vegetarian for more then a year and his farts smell a lot. If he has been to the toilet you'd really not want to go there in the rest of the day anymore... Ofcourse this doesn't count for all people who not eat meat or fish, it's just individually. Maybe it's right vegetarians smell less then meat n fish eaters, but I think it's bull****
