Things meat eaters say and do

[flying plum]

I used that on my boyfriend once, and he said "Sorry, but we're not cars" :o

we're not baby cows either, but some of us still insist on drinking milk designed for them *l*

amanda

[eclectic_one]

I used that on my boyfriend once, and he said "Sorry, but we're not cars" :o
I know it's an analogy and some people can't understand the fact that it's an example to show a similar concept because of the obvious (and not denied) difference;)

[puffin]

Bit of a patchy story but my vet, the one who tried to help my cat on sunday, the one who tries to save animals had a right bitch at my husband about me being vegan. I dont even know why he mentioned that i was vegan but she went on a rant about how i was slowly dying. Funny i thought we were all slowly dying, maybe us vegans are dying just that little bit quicker. She went on about how we needed dead animals (she didnt use those words but i dont like pretty words for what it is) in our diet to live a healthy life. She then went on and asked if we make our cat vegan (the one who only died 24 hour ago when she spoke to him, rather cruel i thought). Hubby told her that i didnt believe in making my cat eat vegan food and that i knew enough about being vegan and cats to know what was and wasnt right. Grrrr do people really think that vegans dont know how to eat, what we should be eating and how we should look after our companions. The thing is i already told her that my cat ate arden grange food when i went last time, maybe she should think before she opens her mouth and pick a better time to rant on.

[Fyvel]

Bit of a patchy story but my vet, the one who tried to help my cat on sunday, the one who tries to save animals had a right bitch at my husband about me being vegan. I dont even know why he mentioned that i was vegan but she went on a rant about how i was slowly dying. Funny i thought we were all slowly dying, maybe us vegans are dying just that little bit quicker. She went on about how we needed dead animals (she didnt use those words but i dont like pretty words for what it is) in our diet to live a healthy life. She then went on and asked if we make our cat vegan (the one who only died 24 hour ago when she spoke to him, rather cruel i thought). Hubby told her that i didnt believe in making my cat eat vegan food and that i knew enough about being vegan and cats to know what was and wasnt right. Grrrr do people really think that vegans dont know how to eat, what we should be eating and how we should look after our companions. The thing is i already told her that my cat ate arden grange food when i went last time, maybe she should think before she opens her mouth and pick a better time to rant on.


Time to find a new vet, I think :eek:

[nervine]

hen I said I was veggie for 3 years until I learned about eggs, she said "oh don't tell me, I don't want to know!"

That's right, bury your f*cking head in the sand :(

You could reply to stuff like that with: what would you think if you started talking to a kid about the holocaust but he said "oh don't tell me, I don't want to know!" Afterall what's the difference between factoryfarms and concentration camps?

[nervine]

The weird thing is - if I was religious in some way - they would all go out of their way to accomodate that and not offend.

Yeah, fucking hell, that really annoys me. If we would say 'I don't eat meat, I'm a buddhist' when offered meat we would NEVER get any shit.

[nervine]

"And STOP AVOIDING replying when I ask you what is better - wearing biodegradable fur and leather and wool, or encouraging non-biodegradable petroleum and plastic-based synthetic fabrics that ends up killing wildlife and poisonning echosystems.

My boots are made of recycled tires.. Almost everything I wear is made of 100% cotton. Vegans don't encourage non-biodegradable petroleum and plastic-based synthetic fabrics. We just don't wear leather, wool, fur, etc.

[Gorilla]

maybe she should think before she opens her mouth and pick a better time to rant on.
that was really insensitive of your vet puffin, i'm sorry to hear she was so tactless. :(

[eclectic_one]

Puffin, I'm sorry your vet was such a...witch:mad: I am so sorry for your loss and you definitely didn't deserve that extra stress. I think I would try to find another vet personally...what makes her think she's a human nutrition expert and how dare she assume about your treatment of the cat!?

I'm lucky in that I mentioned to my vet that I'm vegan, but I hadn't made my cat vegan. He actually said it would be difficult, but it could be done and that his wife--the other vet in the office--is basically (though not always) veg*n, but he occasionally ate meat. I really don't understand how a vet who is one for animal welfare (not for $ as a few vets I've met) can't see why they should be veg*n, as vets should well understand just how precious animal lives are. (Though after the dreadful things they have to do to animals in most vet schools, they're probably somewhat desensitized:( ) The last vet I had--b4 this one--raised goats for meat and would gleefully talk about the new kids that were born and how soon they'd be in her freezer:mad: [Not in front of clients, but still!]

[Ara]

Puffin your vet sounds awful!! That was so rude of her.

A bit of my tooth broke off yesterday (after eating an ice cube oops lol) and i called my Mum to tell her, she then decided that it was my diet that was the cause of it! That annoyed me, it wasn't as if my tooth just crumbled away or anything, i have very healthy teeth according to my dentist, it would appear that i just crunch ice too much! I'm a bit grossed out by it though but i'm sure my dentist can repair it :)

[eclectic_one]

I think some meat-eaters look for any problem to blame our vegan diets for...seems like it anyway:rolleyes:

[puffin]

Thank you everyone. Yes when i get a new furry friend i will be finding a new vet. She has to much to say for herself and never listens to others. I am fed up with people like that i wont give my money to someone so closed minded.

[eclectic_one]

puffin, I know what you mean about vets (or doctors for that matter). I have changed vets a couple of times in the past few years because of that. One thing I have read up on and realized that I can't go along with is giving shots to my pets every year. After doing my own reading, it is quite obvious that the vast majority of shots last longer than one year (most last at least 3-5 years, maybe even longer) and giving too many shots can have a negative impact (such as autoimmune disorders, lack of immunity, etc). The first vet I switched from told me that my informed opinion was ridiculous, even after I showed her a print-out of both the research and sources (one of which she said, "well, Schultz is an expert in animal immunity, but you should still get yearly shots":confused: ). She kept going on and on, trying to make me feel that I was being a bad dog parent, but I held my ground. Later on, I discovered that even though my vets saw bunnies, they were at least ten years behind current vet practices for bunnies and again they wouldn't listen to my well-researched logic (in this case they were giving antibiotics for a "hairball," when "hairballs" in bunnies are actually gastric mobility problems and antibiotics worsen such problems). I ended up changing vets to the only other one that was local and saw bunnies, but they too would try to "guilt" me into things and seemed totally focused on $ instead of what's best for the animal. Now I'm blessed to have a vet who not only listens to me (he agreed with me that research has shown 3-5 years is plenty often for most shots), but also comes in for emergencies regardless of time of day/night:) I'm not saying I'll always agree with the vet, but having a vet that doesn't treat me like I'm an uninformed idiot is quite lovely:)

[I also changed doctors because one treated me like an idiot when I wanted to switch medications because of a side effect. She told me the drug didn't have that side effect and when I pointed out that I read it in the PDR, she just rolled her eyes at me! Besides, even if a side effect isn't listed doesn't mean it can't happen to you!]

[Purple]

You could reply to stuff like that with: what would you think if you started talking to a kid about the holocaust but he said "oh don't tell me, I don't want to know!" Afterall what's the difference between factoryfarms and concentration camps?

Funnily enough I was at the same cafe (different woman).

My mate: Mmm, bacon!
Me: [silence]
Woman: eugh, no thanks I'm vegetarian
Me: Oh cool, that's really good :)
Woman: Well, I was for about 18 years, but now I eat some fish.
Me: Oh... okay...
Woman: My son said it tastes a lot better than veggie sausages
Me: [really losing interest by now] oh... right
Woman: Maybe you don't remember?
Me: No I don't really remember what it tastes like. I've been veggie for 4 years and vegan for about 4 months.
Woman: Vegan? Oh well, I could *never* do that.


-sigh-

[Yogini]

OK, this is actually a response to our common gripe about pescatarians who call themselves vegetarians. I was faced the other day with a kinda-sorta-almost reasonable excuse for their doing so. Don't throw stuff at me just yet.

I was bitching in my LJ about omnivores who proudly describe themselves as carnivores and give me blank looks when I point out that the bun, lettuce, pickle, etc. on their burger is not meat and they are therefore omnivores. This is because they have no freaking idea what "omnivore" means - they've never heard the word. And I have, on occasion, described myself as a strict vegetarian because I wasn't in the mood to explain what vegan means. Someone commented with "I'm a vegetarian (pescatarian, really, but no one knows what that means)..."

"Hmmm," I said to myself. "If people don't know what the words omnivore or vegan mean, then she's right - they're certainly not going to know the word pescatarian." While we're most certainly right in saying they're most definitely not vegetarian, maybe not all of them feel like having to define pescatarian all the time. And saying "I'm a vegetarian" is a much easier way to ensure they don't end up with slabs of beef on their plates.

I'm not defending them, mind you. I'm just musing.

[Yogini]

One thing I have read up on and realized that I can't go along with is giving shots to my pets every year. After doing my own reading, it is quite obvious that the vast majority of shots last longer than one year (most last at least 3-5 years, maybe even longer) and giving too many shots can have a negative impact (such as autoimmune disorders, lack of immunity, etc).

Another potential problem is injection site cancers.

My father is a vet and he no longer recommends yearly vaccines. He says the research really is pretty clear that they're unnecessary* but the profession is being resistant because, well, vets make more money when they give more shots.

*Yearly vaccines are usually unnecessary, not vaccines period. My cats are going on nine, they were vaccinated regularly for the first three years of their lives, and he believes they're pretty much set now, especially since they're indoor cats. They get rabies vaccines only because they're required by state law.

[harpy]

I'm sure that it's a good idea to change vets in order to get one that you can "relate to" - I wish I had done sooner. The one we go to now is 20 minutes' drive away whereas the old one was just round the corner, but it's worth the hassle.

The current ones also have a much better "bedside manner" so the cats seem to get less upset by their trips there despite the extra travelling time.

[Yoggy]

OK, this is actually a response to our common gripe about pescatarians who call themselves vegetarians. I was faced the other day with a kinda-sorta-almost reasonable excuse for their doing so. Don't throw stuff at me just yet.

I was bitching in my LJ about omnivores who proudly describe themselves as carnivores and give me blank looks when I point out that the bun, lettuce, pickle, etc. on their burger is not meat and they are therefore omnivores. This is because they have no freaking idea what "omnivore" means - they've never heard the word. And I have, on occasion, described myself as a strict vegetarian because I wasn't in the mood to explain what vegan means. Someone commented with "I'm a vegetarian (pescatarian, really, but no one knows what that means)..."

"Hmmm," I said to myself. "If people don't know what the words omnivore or vegan mean, then she's right - they're certainly not going to know the word pescatarian." While we're most certainly right in saying they're most definitely not vegetarian, maybe not all of them feel like having to define pescatarian all the time. And saying "I'm a vegetarian" is a much easier way to ensure they don't end up with slabs of beef on their plates.

I'm not defending them, mind you. I'm just musing.

While you're right that many people don't know what pescatarian means, I personally don't distinguish between a pescatarian and an omnivore - they both eat meat and plants, so they're both the same in my mind. It's the same as I don't distinguish between an omnivore who eats only poultry but not read meat and one who eats all kinds of meat.

I remember when I was an omnivore, I never ate fish because I hated it. So just because I cut one type of meat out of my diet, that didn't mean that I wasn't still an omnivore. I think the person who said she calls herself a vegetarian who also eats fish, should start calling herself an omnivore who doesn't eat poultry or red meat. Just my opinion though.

[Yogini]

I wasn't saying pescatarians aren't omnivores. I was using omnivore as an example of a word, like pescatarian, that most people don't know the meaning of.

[Yoggy]

Oh I know, I wasn't criticising you, I was criticising the other person for calling herself vegetarian when she's pescatarian. It might be easier for her to call herself vegetarian since everyone knows what it means, but if she's not one, she shouldn't call herself one. If no one knows what pescatarian means, then she shouldn't call herself vegetarian, she should call herself a meateater, because that's what she is :) .

[Yogini]

Oh, OK. Sorry. I'm tired.:o

[cheeky_b]

There's so much awful arguments that pro-meat people use. The questions whether I enjoy dairy products and eggs aren't too bad.
The worse is when people want to compromise me or convince that cows need to be milked. Or the ones with what about killing plants.
There are also comments which are so hostile in their content, they're barely even worth reading.

[harpy]

Oh I know, I wasn't criticising you, I was criticising the other person for calling herself vegetarian when she's pescatarian. It might be easier for her to call herself vegetarian since everyone knows what it means, but if she's not one, she shouldn't call herself one. If no one knows what pescatarian means, then she shouldn't call herself vegetarian, she should call herself a meateater, because that's what she is :) .

"Pescetarian"'s not a proper word anyway, in my opinion, so I'm not surprised people don't know what it means. A "fish-and-chipocrite" is a much better name anyway (though perhaps it doesn't work so well outside the UK) ;)

[absentmindedfan]

A "fish-and-chipocrite" is a much better name anyway

That's fab :D totally entering my parlance from now on.

I've always liked Dr Barnard's pesce-pollo-lacto-ovotarians myself

[Smiles]

What annoys me is at work. On a weekly basis I get told how I am 'missing out' and how they would love to give me meat, because 'i'll love it so much'!! and how they would love to hide meat in my food! Luckily they never feed me. But come on, why don't they just leave us alone!