Korn
Feb 27th, 2005, 11:02 PM
Hi, I'm planning to set up a poll soon, to find out what the most common comments vegans get from non-vegans are. I made a list below, but before I make a poll out of it, comments are welcome if you have any. (In the list below I have included the first sentences that pops into my head when I come across these comments, but won't include them in the poll itself.)
1) Everybody should eat whatever they want to […but if someone eats an animal, that animal can’t eat whatever it wants to!]
2) Humans have always been eating animals. [There have been cultures that have been avoiding meat for thousands of years too. Plus, even if something has been going on for a long time it isn't necessarily right.]
3) The life of a human is more precious than the life of an animal
4) I like variation [So do vegans. Vegans normally eat more varied food on a vegan diet than they did before going vegan]
5) Some living creatures, like fish, can’t feel physical pain [To me, it looks like they do, and according to several studies they can feel pain. Besides, what do we know about their non-physical emotions? What do other animals feel when one of them is killed? Would you kill and eat ie. a human in coma, that was unable to feel pain or was not consciously aware of what was happening?]
6) Give me one good reason to become a vegan! [Here is one: there are no good arguments for eating animal products! We don’t even need to!]
7) Death is a natural part of life [That doesn't give us the right to kill.]
8) Animals kill each other too [Some do, some don’t. Why should we copy those who do?]
9) It’s natural to use dairy products. [Why are there no other animals who drink milk throughout their life then – from another species?]
10) I like meat [Most people like what they are brought up with. Habits can be changed – and changing them can be fun].
11) I just feel so good when eating animal products. [What do you compare with - have you ever tried a few weeks without?]
12) I give meat to my kids now, and when they grow up they can decide. I believe in freedom. It's unfair to force them to eat vegan food. [Nobody is against eating plants – isn’t it better to give them a diet where you won’t run the risk of feeding someone something they might disagree with later in life (when they find out what you have been giving them)? Why give them unhealthy habits that they might find it hard to drop? And, regarding freedom – what about the freedom of the animals? And why do you consider give meat to kids less 'forcing' than feeding them with a vegan diet?]
13) A number of studies say that eating animal products are associated with increased cancer risk and other serious health problems, but I don’t know - I guess there's only a 50/50 chance that this is correct… [What do you normally recommend when you or your kids have the choice between something that involved a 50% injury risk?]
14) To decide to go vegan is difficult for me [Did you ever actually decide that you want to eat animal foods?]
15) My decision to eat meat is based on my free will, I’m not influenced by anyone. [People normally end up with the diet they’re brought up with from their parents/society, but nobody will admit that they have been influenced by their past…]
16) I would never eat a dog, but I enjoy eating lamb [What’s the difference between a dog and a lamb, really?]
17) I know and love my pets, but not the lamb I eat [Is killing ethical if you don’t know or love the ones you kill? Did a judge or a lawyer ever say that it's OK to kill someone if you don't know them personally?]
18) When being a vegan, or raising vegan kids, you need to know what you do [Is there anything that indicates that this isn’t also the case (or even more of an issue) with meat eaters and the food they give their kids?]
19) I don’t care about good arguments, I follow my feelings [Since most people who have tried both say that they feel much better on a vegan diet – why not try before you decide?]
20) You’ll die or go blind if you don’t eat animal products [Donald Watson, who invented the term vegan in 1944, is still well alive after 60+ years on that diet (he's 94 now), and he is not blind!]
21) It’s not natural to eat a diet that means that you need supplements [1)Many vegans have been living for many years without supplements with no sign of deficiency 2) The animals you eat normally get supplements too - and a lot of them 3) People above 50 are adviced to take B12 as well, is it unnatural to live longer than 50 years? 4) We wouldn’t need those supplements in a natural world 5) You are wearing clothes – is that natural? 6) Eating cultivated vitamins (like vegan B12) that are made without harming anyone or anything isn’t that bad if you really need it, is it? 7) Meat eaters are deficient in at least as many nutrients as vegans!!!!]
22) Just by taking a walk you might unintentionally kill an insect [Unintentional killing doesn’t justify intentionally killing]
23) My religious belief tells me that I should eat meat - it’s not my own decision [If you have decided which religion to follow, it's your decision anyway?]
24) Some cultures are killing the animals they eat with respect If you think that you can respect someone and kill him at the same time, we simply have really different definitions of ’respect’. If someone killed someone you cared for, would it help if he said that he respected her?]
25) Where do you get your nutrients from? [From the same kind of sources that the animals you eat get them from - plants!]
26) I eat animal products to be on the safe side [Please read something about all the health problems associated with consuming animal products – an average meat eater is sick 10 years of his life.]
27) The studies that show that vegan food is healthy are made by vegans [No - these studies are normally made by meat eaters]
28) Meat harmful??? I think spending too much time with PC’s and cell phones is harmful! [You're probably right, but that doesn’t make eating animal products more healty!]
29) I believe in the middle way – no extreme choices, please. [What you define as extreme is based on what you are brought up with. A diet should be based on many different elements, but why combine healthy and unhealty ingredients? Ethical and unethical? If you are against murder, you don’t kill now and than – you ’fanatically’ avoid it.]
30) I wouldn’t enjoy having to eat something so different from what I eat now [But you do do enjoy vacations in countries where you try new foods every day, don't you?]
31) If we were meant to eat vegan food, it would have enough B12 in it. [Spend some time on veganforum.com reading about B12!]
32) The animals will get killed anyway! [No. In the long run, each animal you don’t eat, will result inone less animal being killed tomorrow].
33) Come on, taste this ******, it’s so good. [Most vegans have lived on the diet you’re on for many years. It’s you who haven’t tried our diet – not the other way round!]
34) But I need physical strength! [Have you noticed what elephants and horses and many athletes eat?]
35) Insects are killed in modern agriculture, so you are responsible for killing living beings anyway! [Try that one in court: ‘I’m already a killer, so what’s wrong with some more killing? Plus: 50% of all agriculture is used to produce food for animals living in factory farms, waiting to become your dinner!]
36) Plants have feelings too. [While fish, birds and animals do whatever they can not to be killed, and look like they suffer when they are killed, I haven’t seen any plants yet that try to escape - or heard them scream].
37) Humans have the same physiology as meat eating animals [Try Google, or read this thread: http://www.veganforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1194 ].
38) Why don't you eat meat? [Asking why people don’t do something is a bit upside down, isn’t it? Why don’t you give me a good argument pro eating animal products instead (besides that you obviously like the taste)?]
39) Don’t you think producing millions of synthetic shoes etc. is a bad idea, and will cause pollution? [Agree, and there are better solutions.]
40) If you were really hungry, on a desert island, and there was a rabbit there – wouldn’t you eat it? If there was a rabbit there, there would be plants there as well. Like any child on this planet who were given the choice between trying to kill than animal with their bare hands and eat it afterwards, and eating ie. a carrot, I’d instinctively go for the carrot. Wouldn't you too? Anyway, do we agree that avoiding eating animals is the best solutions when [i]not stranded on a desert island?;)
41) Honestly, what did you feel when you had the first meal after you decided to let go of dairy products?
42) I tried being a veg’n once, but was hungry all the time [You might need to learn a little more about how to get/make food that satisfies you. The transition time isn’t that long. But you can’t just remove the animal products from your old diet – the result would be both boring and unsatisfying.]
43) Plant eaters’ babies are born smaller [That all depends on the diet of the mother. If you are pregnant and really want the baby to be huge when it’s born, we know what nutrients that are needed to promote fetus growth and result in big babies. Let us know if you are pregnant and interested...]
44) Fish must be OK to eat – they haven’t had a life on factory farms? [Neither you or your cat are raised on a factory farm… but does that give me the desire - or right - to kill and eat you?]
45) We need animal products for protein, iron, cholesterol, Omega-3, sinc, calcium etc. [No, we don’t. Try a book! :) ]
46) I'm OK with eating meat from an animal if I know the meat is organic. [It might be OK with you, but is it OK with the animal?]
47) But the animals I eat aren’t important for me! [Maybe you’re not important for them either? They are important for [I]them!]
48) Humans are at the top of the food chain [Why did you choose to believe in that theory?]
49) Each to their own. [This one obviously doesn't include taking the freedom of the ones they choose to eat into consideration]
50) But the animal won't become alive again even if I don't eat this piece of meat! [Maybe you need some sleep? :)]
1) Everybody should eat whatever they want to […but if someone eats an animal, that animal can’t eat whatever it wants to!]
2) Humans have always been eating animals. [There have been cultures that have been avoiding meat for thousands of years too. Plus, even if something has been going on for a long time it isn't necessarily right.]
3) The life of a human is more precious than the life of an animal
4) I like variation [So do vegans. Vegans normally eat more varied food on a vegan diet than they did before going vegan]
5) Some living creatures, like fish, can’t feel physical pain [To me, it looks like they do, and according to several studies they can feel pain. Besides, what do we know about their non-physical emotions? What do other animals feel when one of them is killed? Would you kill and eat ie. a human in coma, that was unable to feel pain or was not consciously aware of what was happening?]
6) Give me one good reason to become a vegan! [Here is one: there are no good arguments for eating animal products! We don’t even need to!]
7) Death is a natural part of life [That doesn't give us the right to kill.]
8) Animals kill each other too [Some do, some don’t. Why should we copy those who do?]
9) It’s natural to use dairy products. [Why are there no other animals who drink milk throughout their life then – from another species?]
10) I like meat [Most people like what they are brought up with. Habits can be changed – and changing them can be fun].
11) I just feel so good when eating animal products. [What do you compare with - have you ever tried a few weeks without?]
12) I give meat to my kids now, and when they grow up they can decide. I believe in freedom. It's unfair to force them to eat vegan food. [Nobody is against eating plants – isn’t it better to give them a diet where you won’t run the risk of feeding someone something they might disagree with later in life (when they find out what you have been giving them)? Why give them unhealthy habits that they might find it hard to drop? And, regarding freedom – what about the freedom of the animals? And why do you consider give meat to kids less 'forcing' than feeding them with a vegan diet?]
13) A number of studies say that eating animal products are associated with increased cancer risk and other serious health problems, but I don’t know - I guess there's only a 50/50 chance that this is correct… [What do you normally recommend when you or your kids have the choice between something that involved a 50% injury risk?]
14) To decide to go vegan is difficult for me [Did you ever actually decide that you want to eat animal foods?]
15) My decision to eat meat is based on my free will, I’m not influenced by anyone. [People normally end up with the diet they’re brought up with from their parents/society, but nobody will admit that they have been influenced by their past…]
16) I would never eat a dog, but I enjoy eating lamb [What’s the difference between a dog and a lamb, really?]
17) I know and love my pets, but not the lamb I eat [Is killing ethical if you don’t know or love the ones you kill? Did a judge or a lawyer ever say that it's OK to kill someone if you don't know them personally?]
18) When being a vegan, or raising vegan kids, you need to know what you do [Is there anything that indicates that this isn’t also the case (or even more of an issue) with meat eaters and the food they give their kids?]
19) I don’t care about good arguments, I follow my feelings [Since most people who have tried both say that they feel much better on a vegan diet – why not try before you decide?]
20) You’ll die or go blind if you don’t eat animal products [Donald Watson, who invented the term vegan in 1944, is still well alive after 60+ years on that diet (he's 94 now), and he is not blind!]
21) It’s not natural to eat a diet that means that you need supplements [1)Many vegans have been living for many years without supplements with no sign of deficiency 2) The animals you eat normally get supplements too - and a lot of them 3) People above 50 are adviced to take B12 as well, is it unnatural to live longer than 50 years? 4) We wouldn’t need those supplements in a natural world 5) You are wearing clothes – is that natural? 6) Eating cultivated vitamins (like vegan B12) that are made without harming anyone or anything isn’t that bad if you really need it, is it? 7) Meat eaters are deficient in at least as many nutrients as vegans!!!!]
22) Just by taking a walk you might unintentionally kill an insect [Unintentional killing doesn’t justify intentionally killing]
23) My religious belief tells me that I should eat meat - it’s not my own decision [If you have decided which religion to follow, it's your decision anyway?]
24) Some cultures are killing the animals they eat with respect If you think that you can respect someone and kill him at the same time, we simply have really different definitions of ’respect’. If someone killed someone you cared for, would it help if he said that he respected her?]
25) Where do you get your nutrients from? [From the same kind of sources that the animals you eat get them from - plants!]
26) I eat animal products to be on the safe side [Please read something about all the health problems associated with consuming animal products – an average meat eater is sick 10 years of his life.]
27) The studies that show that vegan food is healthy are made by vegans [No - these studies are normally made by meat eaters]
28) Meat harmful??? I think spending too much time with PC’s and cell phones is harmful! [You're probably right, but that doesn’t make eating animal products more healty!]
29) I believe in the middle way – no extreme choices, please. [What you define as extreme is based on what you are brought up with. A diet should be based on many different elements, but why combine healthy and unhealty ingredients? Ethical and unethical? If you are against murder, you don’t kill now and than – you ’fanatically’ avoid it.]
30) I wouldn’t enjoy having to eat something so different from what I eat now [But you do do enjoy vacations in countries where you try new foods every day, don't you?]
31) If we were meant to eat vegan food, it would have enough B12 in it. [Spend some time on veganforum.com reading about B12!]
32) The animals will get killed anyway! [No. In the long run, each animal you don’t eat, will result inone less animal being killed tomorrow].
33) Come on, taste this ******, it’s so good. [Most vegans have lived on the diet you’re on for many years. It’s you who haven’t tried our diet – not the other way round!]
34) But I need physical strength! [Have you noticed what elephants and horses and many athletes eat?]
35) Insects are killed in modern agriculture, so you are responsible for killing living beings anyway! [Try that one in court: ‘I’m already a killer, so what’s wrong with some more killing? Plus: 50% of all agriculture is used to produce food for animals living in factory farms, waiting to become your dinner!]
36) Plants have feelings too. [While fish, birds and animals do whatever they can not to be killed, and look like they suffer when they are killed, I haven’t seen any plants yet that try to escape - or heard them scream].
37) Humans have the same physiology as meat eating animals [Try Google, or read this thread: http://www.veganforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1194 ].
38) Why don't you eat meat? [Asking why people don’t do something is a bit upside down, isn’t it? Why don’t you give me a good argument pro eating animal products instead (besides that you obviously like the taste)?]
39) Don’t you think producing millions of synthetic shoes etc. is a bad idea, and will cause pollution? [Agree, and there are better solutions.]
40) If you were really hungry, on a desert island, and there was a rabbit there – wouldn’t you eat it? If there was a rabbit there, there would be plants there as well. Like any child on this planet who were given the choice between trying to kill than animal with their bare hands and eat it afterwards, and eating ie. a carrot, I’d instinctively go for the carrot. Wouldn't you too? Anyway, do we agree that avoiding eating animals is the best solutions when [i]not stranded on a desert island?;)
41) Honestly, what did you feel when you had the first meal after you decided to let go of dairy products?
42) I tried being a veg’n once, but was hungry all the time [You might need to learn a little more about how to get/make food that satisfies you. The transition time isn’t that long. But you can’t just remove the animal products from your old diet – the result would be both boring and unsatisfying.]
43) Plant eaters’ babies are born smaller [That all depends on the diet of the mother. If you are pregnant and really want the baby to be huge when it’s born, we know what nutrients that are needed to promote fetus growth and result in big babies. Let us know if you are pregnant and interested...]
44) Fish must be OK to eat – they haven’t had a life on factory farms? [Neither you or your cat are raised on a factory farm… but does that give me the desire - or right - to kill and eat you?]
45) We need animal products for protein, iron, cholesterol, Omega-3, sinc, calcium etc. [No, we don’t. Try a book! :) ]
46) I'm OK with eating meat from an animal if I know the meat is organic. [It might be OK with you, but is it OK with the animal?]
47) But the animals I eat aren’t important for me! [Maybe you’re not important for them either? They are important for [I]them!]
48) Humans are at the top of the food chain [Why did you choose to believe in that theory?]
49) Each to their own. [This one obviously doesn't include taking the freedom of the ones they choose to eat into consideration]
50) But the animal won't become alive again even if I don't eat this piece of meat! [Maybe you need some sleep? :)]