52 Responses to “Should I Be Vegan?”

1. tara on April 10th, 2008 12:46 pm

   You know, I think it’s great you’re promoting health, but I think in the end, it’s important to remember God gave us food through animals. Even if it’s cruel, that’s what was originally planned. In the end, I think that we all should be very grateful that we have the opportunity to have this CHOICE in America, whereas, someone in Africa, is dieing right now because they don’t. That’s my side.

2. tara on April 10th, 2008 12:50 pm

   one more thing, the blog posted before this one has a really good point that I think fits EXACTLY into you’re dilemma. Check it out.

3. thomas on April 10th, 2008 1:37 pm

   I think this article is a testimony to how blessed you are. The fact that one of your biggest struggles is whether to become a vegan/vegetarian shows that your life must be good. Every time I get on the treadmill I have this thought: I am running miles and miles to burn off the extra food that I have eaten, while there are starving people running miles just to find something to eat.

   Anyway, to respond to your question, if your conscience is dictating you to “change your diet”, then by all means make the change. I would probably start with “vegetarian” and move to “vegan”, if the first step goes well.

4. Matt on April 10th, 2008 2:19 pm

   I am in the same boat. But, since you and I have chosen to go quit dairy for a month, maybe we will find out what we are looking for. Great article.

5. Justin on April 10th, 2008 2:39 pm

   I’ve been a vegan for two years now and a vegetarian for five. I made the changes for much the same reasons you are thinking about. I found it much easier to go the vegetarian route first (even while I still struggled with knowing I needed to eventually become a vegan). Friends and family can sometimes be slow to adapt to your lifestyle change, but I’ve found them to mostly be wholly supportive.

   Cheese was also my biggest hurdle. I’ve found nutritional yeast (don’t let the name scare you) to be a great substitute, but it really does fail to live up to a great pizza, or that awesome cheese dip at the Mexican restaurant I frequent, or even cheese whiz and that cheese in a can stuff. That being said, it does get easier and my sinuses and allergies have never been better since cutting out cheese. I’m also sick less often and when I do get sick it’s not as strong. The best deterrent for me is just thinking about the production of cheese every time I crave it.

   Ultimately the decision’s yours to make. You must, as they say, “work out your salvation with fear and trembling.”

   You may be interested in checking out christianveg.com for another resource.

   Finally, here’s my favorite quote about vegetarianism:

   “A man can live and be healthy without killing animals for food; therefore, if he eats meat, he participates in taking animal life merely for the sake of his appetite. And to act so is immoral.”
   Leo Tolstoy

6. Katie on April 10th, 2008 2:46 pm

   Let me start by saying that I am not a vegetarian… but I too have been thinking about this lately because I just read The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Pollan (I forget his first name). I don’t think eating meat is wrong, although many would agree with me. I do think the mistreatment of animals is wrong and as Pollan talks about in his book, even the free range animals are mistreated. It’s tough because I’m with ya…I LOVE cheese, and milk, and eggs, and chicken, etc. But did you know that when animals come into lettuce fields, they are often either caught up in machinary or shot so that they don’t eat the produce? No matter what you eat, some animal had to die in the process. And since it is almost impossible for us to grow all our own food (we would no longer have the resources to sustain ourselves as a species if we all did this)the conclusion I’ve come to is that it is better to just make conscious choices about the food that I buy. I buy food from local markets where the meat is not raised in HUGE feedlots where cattle are crammed into trucks for days at a time. And I try to know what I’m eating… like, I don’t buy fast food burgers and things like that. I understand your ethical dilemma. I would encourage you to read Omnivore’s Dilemma to get educated about the Industrial Food process, and of course, continue praying. It’s very easy for Christians to say things like, “God gave us animals so we could eat them,” and then forget that God also expects us to be stewards of what he gave us. But I don’t think being a vegetarian, or a vegan, is the only way to practice good stewardship. Sorry… this answer is really long… hope it helped I’ll pray for you!!

7. Travis Thompson on April 10th, 2008 3:34 pm

   I am a meet eating man married to a vegitarian woman. It hasn’t been a big problem for us. Maybe because I’m so not-picky and maybe because I know she cooks food that is healthy, but we haven’t had any problems around the vegie/meet issue. She does cook meet for me, but mostly chicken and turkey.

   I’m pretty sure there is some accountability in the free range market, but I’m not sure. It’s definitely something worth researching.

   I think it’s enough to just cut beef out of your diet. Beef is much worse for the environment (it actually takes so much grain etc. to feed a cow that you would be better off, and get mor nutrition, if you just ate the grain) But poultry is much more efficient. It is also much easier to find free range chicken turkey and fish products.

   As for dairy, I think it’s silly to cut that out of the diet because if you get the organic/free range products, there’s no moral dilema. Also, you get a ton of protien from that stuff, which you really need when you cut meet out.

   Just some thoughts… hope that helps.

8. Theresa on April 10th, 2008 4:27 pm

   Let’s look at the facts.

   1.Chuck Norris is a vegetarian. Meaning, he does not eat animals until first he puts them into vegetative state with his fists.

   With that stated, you need to understand than veganism (as opposed to vegetarianism) is a complete lifestyle change. Not only does it rule out meat, fish, and diary but it also includes refined sugar, bleached flour, wool and leather and do not use any products that do not boldly state that they are “animal friendly” (no animals were used in testing). Many cosmetics, like lipstick, use shellfish as the main ingredient.

   It is the straight edge to the normal punk rocker.

   Like anything else you do in life, it is all about balance. Many people use the protein card to fight any vegetarian/vegan debate. But by looking at any nutrition label, you’ll find that protein is in everything - bread, trail mix, cereal…..
   I would refrain from depending on OTC supplements for your vitamins and minerals. The majority that you purchase at the drug store so not even end up dissolving in your system. It’s just s a waste of money.

   A couple of interesting health facts:
   -A vegan diet contains no cholesterol, because cholesterol is found only in animal products.
   -Vegans consume as much as four times the amount of fiber as the average person, and high fiber intake is believed to reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and digestive tract problems.
   -Animal products cause allergic reactions in many people - vegan diets may also be beneficial for those with allergic or autoimmune disorders such as asthma, allergies, and rheumatoid arthritis.

   I hope this helps

   http://www.veganhealth.org/articles/research
   http://www.answers.com/topic/vegan?cat=health

9. Lindsie Cooper on April 10th, 2008 5:52 pm

   Thanks for writing this. I have been a veggie for eleven years and a vegan off and on for about five.

   First off, the biblical card. God didn’t give the go-ahead to eat meat until after the fall, therefore I don’t think God made animals to be eaten, I think, like us, they were created for His enjoyment. There is also no way that God is glorified or worshiped through animal abuse of any kind-nor by our apathy towards the issue.

   The hardest thing, other than cheese, is the social eating side of it. I know I throw people off by being a veggie when I’m asked to share a meal at their home, but being a vegan is also a very difficult thing for others to work with when planning meals.

   It’s a great opportunity to get people thinking, though. Gets them to think about animals and why God made them and their beauty. For sure I have felt God’s blessings through all this; He is blessed by your compassionate heart.

   Ok, the ending. Being a veggie has also made me more concerned with human rights. I don’t ever want to be at a place in life where I’m more concerned about animal’s treatment than human’s. So, it’s been a huge blessing to me to be a veggie.

10. Travis T. on April 10th, 2008 7:10 pm

    A previous comment said that protein is in everything. This may be true, but what really matters is COMPLETE proteins. There are lots of good vegan foods that have complete proteins, but you really need to make sure you’re not just having a whole bunch of non complete proteins. There are some good books on this… I don’t know any off the top of my head.

11. Travis T. on April 10th, 2008 7:15 pm

    ok good book like the kind that I mentioned is called “Diet for a small planet” by Frances Moore Lappe. I’m not sure if it’s still in print… but it’s good.

12. Blake on April 10th, 2008 7:22 pm

    It says in Acts that God made these animals for us to eat. A blanket was dropped from the sky, with all the animals, and under God’s authority, we’re to eat them because He has provided them to us, for that purpose.

    If anyone’s going to say that milking a cow is cruel and punishment, what happens if you DON’T milk a cow? This isn’t punishment people.

    Eat meat. It’s what God made the animals for. If God cared about how animals felt, then he would have given them the oppurtunity to have feelings and given them the oppurtunity to praise Him and be saved by His good works.

13. Andrew on April 10th, 2008 9:11 pm

    In response to Tara’s comment that God gave us animals for food. Does that imply, do you think, that God meant for our country to have the processing facilities–and the problems that arise from mass producing animal products? That’s not rhetorical; I really wonder. And that’s hard for me to say. I was raised Southern Baptist, so bear with me.
    I have some friends of mine that are into the Hallelujah Diet. They drink tons of carrot juice–seriously, their skin is orange–and don’t cook much of anything. Ninety percent of their diet is uncooked veggies. That’s hardcore. They are wonderfully faithful people, true servants of Christ and, yet, they are a little kooky. But in a good way.
    I think the point of this–and, to an extent, your blog post–is that it shows the variety of Christian experience. No, not on the fundamentals, but on areas of personal preference and in areas in which God is speaking to us individually. My dad is a hardcore Southern Baptist, the most in-touch with Jesus person I’ve ever known. And he’s a meat-and-potatoes guy. He’d rather spend his time praying and reading scripture than worrying about animal processing. Some of that is generational, to be sure. Another part of it is his belief system under the larger umbrella of Christian spirituality. We can be different yet worship the same Jesus. I guess that’s what I’m trying to say.
    So, do what Jesus tells you to do. And I’ll pray for His spirit to give you direction…and peace.

14. Nicole on April 11th, 2008 12:25 am

    My favorite quote about vegetarianism:
    “If God didn’t want us to eat animals, he shouldn’t have made them out of meat.”

15. tara on April 11th, 2008 10:27 am

    In response to Andrew, I completely agree with you. Like you said, it is not what you eat that brings you closer to God. Being a vegan or vegatarian won’t bring you any closer to God, and it’s the same for someone who enjoys a nice, juicy tri-tip, which I do. I’ll restate my opinion again, but in a different way. I think that there are more pressing issues that should have our attention and focus rather than this. However, if you are Spirit led to do something, by all means do it. The focus of this argument should be how freaking blessed we are because we HAVE this choice, and the homeless person down our street or child in India does not. And, just like God told Abraham, “I’m blessing you so you can bless others.” That’s all.

16. tara on April 11th, 2008 10:29 am

    (forgot this) “Not by works but by faith.” Btw, Nicole, I freaking love your quote.

17. Keaton on April 11th, 2008 10:49 am

    So what do Christian vegans who agree with Tolstoy

    “A man can live and be healthy without killing animals for food; therefore, if he eats meat, he participates in taking animal life merely for the sake of his appetite. And to act so is immoral.”

    do with the fact that most biblical figures ate meat?

    Was God commanding Peter to do something immoral when he TOLD him 3 times to “Go, Kill, Eat”?

    And why was Peter rebuked for questioning whether to eat meat?

18. Theresa on April 11th, 2008 11:40 am

    For Blake’s comment on the milking of cows- A cow only produces milk (for it’s young calves) as long as it is being used. Much like a human woman, she will stop producing milk when she ceases being milked.

    If you look at other nations’ recommended food pyramids (http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/pdf/10.1111
    /j.1601-5037.2005.00142.x)
    you’ll note that red meat is recommended only a few times per month. I’m not implying that some of the nutrients found in accepted meat products don’t add to protein count and muscle development in humans, but that also does not take into account the intense amount of steroids and hormones that companies pump into the animals to plump them up for more profit. If you ate a fish that you caught or a chicken that you killed and plucked, that’s one story. But a Big Mac? Come on, people.

19. dave on April 11th, 2008 12:31 pm

    A little snippet I had with a vegetarian friend years ago:

    Me (to friend):”So, are you a Vegan, or just a Vegetarian?”

    Friend (with a dead serious look on his face): “Cheese is a reason to live!”

    He offered no other words to clarify his answer, he didn’t need to.

    To this day he is my hero.

    CHEESE!

20. Barbara on April 11th, 2008 3:53 pm

    This may sound simplistic, but isn’t the key issue the condition of our hearts? I mean, God’s gifts (everything from the smallest algae to the amazing complexity of our own bodies) are to be appreciated and cared for. Maybe we all find our own ways to live within those parameters?

21. king on April 11th, 2008 3:59 pm

    I had this on my blog one day. Hilarious.

    “But I have an ethical dilemma with being a vegetarian. I just don’t think it’s right to eat anything that cannot run for its life. Fruit and vegetables are trapped; I just think it’s wrong.”

    -Erwin McManus

    (For the sake of clarification, he does not hate vegans or vegetarians)

22. king on April 11th, 2008 4:00 pm

    you prolly read ’skinny b*tch’, didn’t you? a colleague of mine turned to veggies pretty much immediately…

23. Elizabeth on April 12th, 2008 10:24 pm

    If you haven’t read Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan, I highly recommend it. Pollan has an eye-wide-open take on industrial agriculture, the alternatives, and meat-eating. One of the best sections of the book is Pollan’s rebuttal to a book he read that almost convinced him to become a vegetarian.

24. Kyle on April 13th, 2008 12:41 am

    I love this topic. Sorry in advance for the long post.

    I will start by saying I am God fearing and Christ loving. A response above said along the lines, “If you feel horrible about eating meat, then don’t eat it”. I don’t think our guilt is always right, or always Godly.

    I am an agriculture instructor, who deals with animal ethics, and a desire to be a good steward with God’s gifts to us, everyday.

    I think animal cruelty is horrible! But I also own a dog, and put her in a kennel everyday while I am at work, where she is content! I have this dog for my own benefit. I treat her well, but she is solely for my benefit. That is why I bought her.

    I think we use animals for our own benefit and it is not wrong. I think the vegan/vegitarian feelings are too often out of guilt. A chicken laying eggs is not horrible. Abusing chickens or chickens living in unfit environments is horrible. Eating a beef animal that was not abused is great (Ok, grass fed beef is great so it didn’t use up too much energy from corn), but eating a beef animal that was held on a trailer too long against state regulations is not what I want to support.

    The issues of animal rights cannot be summed up by our guilt, and making blanket vegan or vegitarian statements doesn’t cover all the issues. I know people that raise their own animals in excellent facilities, have them slaughtered (the animal doesn’t feel any pain), and have excellent meat. If I lived where I could have fresh farm eggs out of my own chickens I would, so I know the chickens are content doing their job.

    I just think we get caught up in our emotions, and need to be balanced about the judgements we make, even if the judgements are just towards ourselves.

25. Lee on April 13th, 2008 12:41 pm

    Please spend some time learning about what is truly healthy vs. what current “health trends” are by visiting http://www.westonaprice.org; http://www.whfoods.org
    and/or reading the book What the Bible Says About Healthy Living by Rex Russell, M.D.

26. Lindsie on April 13th, 2008 4:07 pm

    The blanket dropped from the sky is in Acts 10-I highly suggest reading all of the chapter because, once again, there’s more to those sentences than what you first read. I’m not trying to be confrontational, I just love that chapter.

27. Ash on April 13th, 2008 5:08 pm

    Everything in moderation.

28. Lauren on April 13th, 2008 7:49 pm

    I really appreciated reading this blog and everyone’s comments. The veg life is a big issue these days, especially where I live in Los Angeles. I have several Christian and non-Christian friends are vegans and it has prompted me to be more thoughtful about these issues.

    I definitely love meat and dairy. I’ve heard more than once that dairy was the hardest to give up. Right now I do not think I should sacrifice animal products, but I think there is some validity to my friends’ reasonings for choosing veg. Reiterating what Andrew said, it’s kind of an individual choice. I sorta feel like it’s choosing between immersion baptism versus sprinkling. Or wine versus grape juice at communion. Granted, consuming animal products does have an impact outside of oneself. I dunno, there is a lot of good points on either side. I would like to read The Omnivore’s Dilemma.

29. jacob miles on April 13th, 2008 7:56 pm

    I recently read a very interesting article that deals partly with this stuff - here is the link http://www.marshill.org/pdf/theologyOfEcology.pdf. I do think that originally we were veg and so were the animals. Not only that but that where God is taking the story of human history will end up with us and the animals on a renewed earth with everything made right and we’ll all be veggie. If you are wondering what the heck I’m talking about check out Isaiah 11:6-9 and for more detail that article.

30. Matt on April 14th, 2008 5:06 pm

    I’m a vegan. I do it mostly for health reasons, but I suppose the moral and ethical ideology creeps into the issue.

    When you speak about God and what we, as Christians, should be concerning ourselves with I think you need to ask a few questions. First, if you take a strict, hardline approach to biblical verse, and see that meat and fish was consumed, I think you also need to look at where we are as a society now. Obviously we’ve made humongous jumps in the scientific realm, and when I look at what hormones/supplements are pumped into beef, chicken, etc it makes me shutter. Who is to say when you bite into that burger that you are, in fact, eating 100% beef? Free-range is another buzzword tossed around. Its a joke for the most part. Free range just means there are no cages, but it does not designate how much room chickens/pigs have to move around. A chicken might be free range but there might be 20,000 other chickens in such a small area that it cannot move.
    It should also be added that our beef production is indeed affecting the environment. There’s a lot of beef out there!

    I think the big thing here is this–its a personal choice. I can give you facts, and whatever, but really its much in how I hope you chose to be a Christian. It speaks to you. Trust me, I’m a laidback vegan. I don’t judge others. My wife isn’t a vegan. My friends aren’t vegans. It isn’t my place to judge, so hopefully you won’t misconstrue my above statements as militant vegan.

31. KJ on April 14th, 2008 10:05 pm

    Hey there friend. I love this post. Just recently I have dramatically changed my diet for the same reasons, but beyond that, I feel as if God is teaching me about the holiness of food. I began asking questions like, “Is what we call food, what God calls food?” and “Can certain food we eat and how we eat it actually be anti-God and anti-kingdom?” I dont know the answers to those yet, but I have a better idea what they might be. All this to say that you should definitely explore God in food… it might be a great theology. Take care my friend.

32. tower on April 15th, 2008 9:59 am

    If you do this…you’re going to have a very hard time getting enough protein, which is the building block of your body. Lack of protien leads to chronic illness…

    Just a heads up.

    tower

33. tower on April 15th, 2008 10:00 am

    Oh, and I grew up on a farm. Milk cows have a pretty good, easy life. But then again, I tend to go out in the woods, shoot animals, and eat them (deer, for the record, is soooo healty for you)…so my perspective is a bit different than yours.

34. Ashley on April 15th, 2008 10:10 am

    Thank you all so much for your comments. I value your feedback, particularly the resources mentioned. Some I have checked out (at your recommendation) and others I will, so keep them coming.

    Best,
    Ashley

35. Why I Eat Funny « The Sky’s the Limit on April 15th, 2008 1:17 pm

    […] that really got me to thinking about this was a simple blog on Relevant Magazine online, found here. P.P.S. - Do I one day want to become a vegan?  Maybe, maybe not, we’ll see where God and […]

36. Sky on April 15th, 2008 1:24 pm

    Thank you so much for this blog, Ashley! It really got me to thinking, and you really inspired me. I’m beginning to be a vegetarian now, and if you want to know the backstory and reasoning on it feel free to check out my blog entry on it at: http://skywritings.wordpress.com/2008/04/16/why-i-eat-funny/

    Peace in.

37. Millsy on April 15th, 2008 6:34 pm

    Eat meat. By the truckload. And don’t cook it too much. You need the protein and the minerals. Otherwise your only other option is to eat like 2 kilos of mushrooms every day. And Iron. Iron is important. Otherwise you’ll take on a gothic pall to your face. Translucent skin is not that in for me. God told Paul to eat the animals that he saw in his vision. Whatever happened, somehow it ended up that we’re meant to eat meat! It’s an entire food group at the fat end of the pyramid for crying out loud! MEAT! (Makes sure you eat veges to, you need vitamins and fibre).

38. Millsy on April 15th, 2008 6:37 pm

    Oh yeah, and I’m from Australia so we ban chemical and hormone treatment of our animals, so that makes it nice and easy for me to eat meat without fearing I might start growing extra organs or appendages…

39. Amy Seifert on April 16th, 2008 9:12 am

    Oh wow. I understand COMPLEATLY what you are going through and I want you to know that you are doing the right thing by challenging yourself to really think about what happends in the meat, dairy, and egg industry. I was a meat eater all my life and then I too was educated on the ways animals are treated in the industry. To comment on someone’s reponse to you saying God gave us animals to eat- okay… but God actually gave us dominion over these animals and that, dear friend comes with a responsibility. Personally, I don’t know how you can call yourself a Christian and not at leat take into concideration the treatment of, maybe yes a lower creature, but God’s creation none the less. My husband is not a vegetarian, and I am. My child is vegetarian and we’re working on easing into veganism. If your boyfriend loves you, which I’m sure he does- he’ll understand why you feel this way. God had given you this empathy and sympathy for a reason, to ignore it would be to ignore one of God’s many callings in your life.

    And on veganism- I LOVE cheese too! I only buy my eggs from a woman down the road who I have witnessed the way her hens are raised. They are healthy, running aorund, playing with the dogs-very happy. And our dairy comes from a farm not too far from where we live. We drink Soy milk at our house and do limit the little dairy we let in. May I note I live in KANSAS where cattle farming is HUGE!!!!! So, if I can do it, you can. lol…

    Also, the statement, you are what you eat is so true! You don’t want to ingest terror, fear, grief, anger, confusion do you? Or your family?

    It’s a hard road but such a satisfying one. Please don’t be discouraged. God bless you for finding the gift of humanity inside you.

    I’ll pray for you

    -Amy

40. Ann on April 16th, 2008 10:09 am

    I am reading Barbara Kingsolver’s book, “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” and am right in the middle of the chapter describing her decision to eat meat that is locally provided from farmers that she knows, or that her family has “harvested” themselves. Before making the final decision about this lifestyle, I recommend reading the book, particularly this chapter. Just cutting out meat won’t make your eating habits more moral. Don’t forget about the rainforest destroyed for the bananas you eat, the long hours of toil for palty pay that your strawberries cost someone else, the huge amounts of fossil fuels expended in bringing out-of-season fruits and vegetables to the table. So, while being vegetarian/vegan is trendy and certainly there are many benefits, thinking holistically about all of the products we consume is important. I would suggest that you try to integrate moral consideration of a variety of the products you consume before just taking meat off the list. (That’s what I’m trying to do, at least!)

41. Melissa on April 16th, 2008 1:09 pm

    You know there is vegan cheese

42. M-kit22 on April 16th, 2008 2:06 pm

    Hi. Thanks for this blog. I’ve been a veggie for like a decade now and I have to say it gives you huge amounts of physical energy and stamina and makes you feel good about your self. Though it’s no big deal if you’re not. I agree that God gave us animals for food, or else no one would’ve survived any ice ages, right? I once considered avoiding Christianity if they told me vegetarians were not OK w/ God. They didn’t, so I stayed at the youth group and met a few others who didn’t eat meat or only some. I believe if you avoid meat consistently for like 5 years your stress level will be much lower than if you didn’t. But it takes a long time for your insides to adapt that much, so don’t worry! You’ll feel great just keep at it! And remember, if you ever go for Chinese take out, Buddha’s Delight is your friend! Thanks again.

43. Ben on April 17th, 2008 12:33 am

    Ashley,

    Another great read is Omnivore’s Dilemma, though it does have some heavy material (read: statistics, global economics and trade, science) that may bog you down/bore you. Nonetheless it makes you cringe and think more about our decision-making.

44. Shane on April 17th, 2008 8:09 am

    Here’s the thing. If you want to become a vegan, do it, go ahead. I have no problem with Veganism, especially if you just want to do so because you feel that you’d be healthier or feel better or whatever the personal reason.

    I also respect the reasoning behind the “cruelty to animals” thing, but most people who do it for that reason are seriously misinformed or uneducated. The food industry in this country is the most regulated industry in the world. Everyone from the farmers to the truckers to the cellophane wrappers have to meet hundreds of requirements for quality control, safety, everything you could think of - for humans and for animals. For a plant or farm to be shut down or even reprimanded for mistreating animals is INCREDIBLY rare, the standards for this industry are, literally, the most stringent in the WORLD. PETA would like for you to believe that cows and chickens and whatever else are killed for sport and in the cruelest way possible and it just ain’t so. If you don’t like the idea of animals dying, then meat is not for you, there’s no real way around it. They have to die for us to eat them. But don’t believe that animals are tortured or die slow, agonizing deaths at the hands of their evil captors either.

    My family used to raise chickens for Tyson, so I grew up working in chicken houses. The fact is, it’s these peoples’ livelihood and they’re out to get the job done in the quickest, most efficient way possible. This does not include scalding birds alive or breaking their wings and legs. Injured birds are no good to anyone and are culled (removed from the flock), and when an animal needs to be dispatched, it’s done in the fastest, most efficient, and therefore the most painless manner.

    I’m starting to rant, so I’ll stop. But, seriously, don’t buy the shock campaigns. It’s slick marketing and people take it hook, line, and sinker. If you guys want to be vegans, go right ahead - but educate yourselves and do it for the right reasons.

45. JZT on April 17th, 2008 9:13 am

    Tara, I just wanted to respond to your comment where you say “we have the opportunity to have this CHOICE in America, whereas, someone in Africa, is dieing right now because they don’t.” There’s actually a little bit more to that.

    As Travis noted below “it actually takes so much grain etc. to feed a cow that you would be better off, and get mor nutrition, if you just ate the grain”

    In fact the grain would go a lot further if we were consuming it instead of the cows. So if the demand for beef went down then there would be less cow-breeding for beef. That would mean more grain for people. It would also mean a price drop for grain. That would of course make it more available to the poor of Africa or any country.

    So become a vegetarian, and help the poor and hungry.

    Although I also believe in being vegetarian, as others do, for the moral reason of not killing animals.

46. JZT on April 17th, 2008 9:15 am

    One more thing… the idea that you’ll whither away from lack of protein is a myth.

    Thanks for this article and discussion!

47. Brandon on April 18th, 2008 10:07 am

    It was super cool of you Ashley to open yourself up like this. Thank you a lot. It’s really encouraging to see people who are not afraid to be vulnerable. I am sorry ahead of time if I babble but, I have been a vegetarian for about 4 years. It started just for health reasons then for some reason I felt like God was telling me there was something deeper to it. (this was about a year after watching a PETA video eating a hamburger and drinking milk) I found that the easiest way to explain to people why I don’t eat meat is that I believe eating meat is a privilege, not a right. I think when God gave us dominion over the animals it was to take care of them and not to abuse them. Its not a sin to eat meat, just like it’s not a sin to smoke. I don’t eat meat because I don’t want to support an industry that I believe abuses the privilege. If I owned a farm and I knew the animals were getting taken care of then I probably would eat meat everyonce in while. I think when a lot of people eat meat is just food instead of being a gift from God’s creation. Some people don’t even consider it a meal unless there is meat. I don’t call people out to be vegetarians or anything but that people just appreciate God’s creation as his creation and know that He loves them too and to not take advantage of that privilege. Just thought I would throw that in there. Thanks!

48. Dallas Jenkins on April 18th, 2008 12:40 pm

    We don’t just eat meat to “satisfy our appetite.” Meat offers massive amounts of protein, and heck, our teeth were designed to eat meat. I find that most vegans I know are extremely skinny and somewhat weak (think about it–do you know any vegans who could beat the crap out of you?). I know there are exceptions, and I’m not bashing vegans. I’m good friends with a vegan, and I actually really respect the passion for the issue. It’s caused me to look deeper at the issue.

    I just think we need to work harder to expose animal cruelty and support companies who treat animals humanely as opposed to cutting out animal products altogether. Balance is the key, in my opinion.

49. Matt on April 18th, 2008 3:35 pm

    Just directed at the lack of protein comment, that’s a misconception. Some beans and legumes have just as much if not more protein as meat. I don’t know one vegan who takes supplements.

    Also, just because you are vegan doesn’t mean that you take PETA at their word. I think PETA is good for opening the door maybe, and inviting you to do more research, but beyond that I don’t really enjoy their “in your face” methods.

50. John on April 22nd, 2008 12:35 pm

    I can kick any vegeterian’s butt if I just have a hamburger first.

51. j on May 2nd, 2008 2:00 am

    Blake: Animals don’t have feelings? and you don’t have a heart. You really think God gave you a gift and told you it was okay to abuse it? I don’t believe any God ever says abuse is okay.

    tower: obesity also leads to chronic illness and heart disease is the #1 killer in this country… do you know any fat vegetarians or vegans? they can be unhealthy and have an unbalanced diet just like anyone, and still often do, like most people living in the u.s., but getting fat makes life hard for your heart and that’s what’s killing people here. i’d be less concerned about a lack of protein leaving people susceptible to chronic illnesses.

52. Mike on May 2nd, 2008 3:42 pm

    Why not take a stand for the ethical treatment of humans and stop supporting the government? Animals have no souls.

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