Some thoughts (Vegetarianism)

Member Name: samantha

Product:	Vegetarianism
Date:	31/03/01 (90 review reads)
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The more I've had to sit and watch livestock burn on the television the more distressed I've become. I've been vegetarian for over 10 years and would never contemplate eating meat again.

My standpoint comes from the issue of cruelty, I subscribe to the firm belief that all animals have a right to live BUT everyone has the right to choose their own beliefs, I certainly don't ram my beliefs down other peoples throats.

But if I simply gave you a list of my own beliefs on why eating meat was wrong this would be one very boring opinion, so I've done a bit of research.

Historically many people have chosen not to eat meat for a variety of reasons, this article from the International Vegetarian Union caught my eye, and talks of orpheus, c540

'the severer Orphic doctrines taught (not always consistently as there was no Orphic church) respect for all life, with its corollary, vegetarianism, and sexual abstinence. The movement . . .
remained . . . far into Christian times.'

Clearly this sounds deeply boring and for many reasons not eating meat often features in religions and cults who believe in forms of abstinence. Religion and vegetarianism seem to have been inexplicably linked throughout the ages from its well known association with Buddhism to its origins in the Christian church in 1809 when the Reverend William Cowherd, (founder of the Bible Christian Church Salford) asked his congregation to refrain from eating meat. (European Vegetarian Union)


Present day reasons for becoming vegetarian have moved away from religion and The Vegetarian Society state there are 3 main reasons currently leading to vegetarianism. Firstly those that believe that the slaughter of animals is cruel and believe they can help in some small way be refraining from eating meat, or don’t wish to eat animals that have suffered.

I don’t want to go into the way animals are slaughtered becau
se I find it distressing personally and I’m sure someone far more informed than myself will write an opinion on this specific point.

Secondly the environmental argument linked to the destruction of the rainforests and the reason for the popularity of campaigns against large firms such as McDonald’s and links between meat production and famine in developing countries.

Thirdly one of the most recent moves has been that into people choosing to become vegetarians for health reasons. Heartsavers state that

'Vegetarians stand around 40% less risk of developing cancer and have around 30% less risk of developing coronary heart disease. The overall premature mortality rate is around 20% less for vegetarians when compared to meat eaters'

Longevity has also been associated with the vegetarian diet, but that could be contributed to other factors, such as a choice of a generally healthy lifestyle.

Bringing children up as vegetarians has always been a contentious subject. This can be argued in many ways from people who argue that meat is necessary for growth and general health or that human beings are carnivorous and children should be given a choice in whether they want to modify their eating. Charles Attwood, M.D paedatrition argues that meat eaters are made and not born and that children acquire a taste that can be adapted as with any other behaviour. Personally I have a friend who was brought up as a vegetarian and is far healthier than many people I know, not stereotypically thin or pale (in fact we call him fat boy – aren’t we nice!).

Conversely the meat marketing board rebut the heath claims and state
A study commissioned by The Meat and Livestock Commission compared the dietary intake of 30 vegetarians and 30 meat-eating adolescents.

‘The results showed that there is no significant difference in intakes of saturated fat between vegetarian and meat eating adolescents
. Some saturated fats have been shown to raise blood.’

Whilst I believe that people have the right to choose what they eat it is the backlash by organisations and individuals that worries me. The boundaries are constantly being pushed displayed by the recent coverage of kangaroo and ostrich meat being sold by popular supermarkets. The European Vegetarian Union even put out a warning that the Chinese are promoting eating St Bernard dogs! Culturally vegetarianism has always been more highly developed in certain countries than others. The problems with blurring the boundaries between ‘acceptable’ animals to eat and the need for new taste experiences was recently exposed on the Channel 4 Cannibals programme which suggested that the taste boundaries (more animal breeds being used as foodstuffs) are being pushed in China and this leads to a danger of cannibalism (being the next forbidden step). This may seem a little far-fetched.

Stereotypes of vegetarians have us all clutching a nut roast whilst peering through our wire rimmed glasses and wearing hemp. Clearly this is not true but the popular press reverts to this position to dismiss the vegetarians as cranks. However the percentage of vegetarians is growing most polls show the percentage of vegetarians at about 5% with the percentage being higher for vegetarians who eat fish.

So why do people so strongly feel the need to attack vegetarians? We are often criticised for making our views known. Well clearly some do, but meanwhile us who keep quite are not counted, as we are keeping quiet! Another criticism that is often levelled at myself is feeding animals. If you don’t believe in eating animals why do you feed your cats meat? Aside from the argument that cats need vitamin B12, which is difficult to find in non-animal form, they have not piped up and demanded a carrot instead of some lamb. The day they do I will feed them veggies (and take them on a national tour!) I f
irmly believe that domestic pets should be fed on a diet that is suitable for their needs, without consideration for ethics. People who don’t believe this should not have animals.

The Internet has done a lot to promote vegetarianism from recipes and organisations to Veggiedate.com (?) In the interests of research I did a search for a male, 5’7 (ish), drinker (essential!), vegetarian, interested in marriage (lets get the serious ones!) and got no results (sob).

That was my overview of issues, I hope that people will cover some of the issues raised in depth. Obviously I can’t type anymore because I’m weak from my lack of meat consumption, byeeeeeee.

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