SC - Anti meat sympathies

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

Radigan Leoncouer wrote:
>   Being somewhat mew to this list, though having
>  lurked for half a year or more.  I needs must
>  however step forth and voice my outrage of certain
>  posts on this list which voice a  vegan leaning.

Whoa, dude, that's a bit strong! Outrage at someone expressing their 
own personal behavior, behavior that has little effect on you? Have 
other people been attacking you in person or on other lists so that 
you're getting a bit over sensitive?

I haven't seen any messages that attack an omnivorous diet, only a 
few people expressing their preferences not to eat certain foods. 
There's no one in this group who can force you to anything but 
yourself. All anyone can do here is say what they think.

>  Being a omnivore and proud, I enjoy receipes and
>  feasts which offer a sublime blending, of all forms
>  of flesh whether it be animal or vegetable.  Lets
>  not succumb to the rabbit types and allow our list
>  to become host only to those of the
>  bovine..er..vegetative bent.

With Lord Ras on this list, i don't think you have anything to fear :-)

In any event, this is a discussion, not a take-over. People are 
expressing opinions, not demanding that we all think, behave, or eat 
the same way. If we are students of Medieval and Renaissance cuisine, 
which most of us on this list are, then we can easily see that the 
people who created the recipes we use ate a variety of foods. I see 
no "movement" afoot here to restrict this.

Balthazar of Blackmoor wrote:
>Actually, I rather enjoy the debate/discussion from
>both sides.  Both sides bring (often) intelligent and
>revealing information to the table (sometimes
>literally), and both sides are possessed of really
>swell cooks, to be sure.

Thank you for the sensible comments.

>Is vegetarianism a wise diet
>choice?  That's debatable.  I don't know.

A wise diet choice? I don't see how it is debatable. It isa wise 
choice for some people. My opinion is that if it is done 
intelligently and with an understanding of human nutritional needs it 
is perfectly healthy.

My opinion goes a bit further, in that i believe we and the planet 
would be better off if we (modern America and other similar cultures) 
ate less meat. I'm not saying NO meat, but we certainly don't need to 
eat meat at every meal, probably not every day, unless we have some 
kind of medical or genetic condition that requires it, and that is 
not the majority of people - or unless we live in some sort of 
extreme environment, such as around the Arctic circle at wintertime, 
where meat is basically the only available food.

A vegan diet? Well, since it is much more restrictive, the nutrient 
intake is much more limited. To follow a vegan diet requires, IMO, an 
even better understanding of human nutrition. Can a vegan diet be 
healthy? Sure, but i rather doubt many vegans really grasp their own 
bodily needs for certain substances, such as certain B vitamins and 
calcium, among others, to be eating a truly healthful diet. You can 
get calcium from non-animal sources, but there's a B vitamin or 2 
that come only from animal sources, so eating a vegan diet will 
require some supplementation. I've no doubt a person following a 
vegan diet can get a fully nourishing diet, but i rather doubt many 
are.

Let me add, given how i see many people eating in America today, that 
it appears to me that being an omnivore does not guarantee that one 
is eating a nourishing diet. So this is no snipe at the concept of 
veganism. A diet of Cheetos, sodas, and fast food burgers is not too 
nutritious, either.

>Should it
>be tolerated/ treated with respect on this list?
>Absolutely.

Again, a wise comment.

>Opinions vary, and so do diets.  So long
>as no one is proffering misinformation regarding the
>benefits or drawbacks of either side, I see no harm in
>it.
>
>For the record, however, I hold a strictly vegetarian
>lifestyle under suspicion, unless it is a religious
>mandate.

And why is that? My daughter is a vegetarian because she says she 
feels physically better not eating meat. She doesn't mind if other 
people eat meat, she just doesn't like to. No religious mandates 
here, just something she discovered gradually over a period of 
several years.

>Of course, I hold religion under suspicion
>regardless...

:-)

Anahita, omnivore