So called vegetarians..

[raleighnut]

Miss Goodbody is mostly vegetarian, but enjoys the occasional sausage sandwich

I'd heard she enjoyed the occasional fishy finger too.

 

[raleighnut]

After half a dozen pints of old original you've probably already blown it anyway

Possibly with the 'finings' but I also still ate cheeses that had Rennet in too.

 

[petek]

You seldom meet a truly robust vegetarian.
Which isn't to claim that there are no robust vegetarians.
Simply to observe that anyone who bangs on about being a veggie is possibly new to it and not doing it right.
Vegans now.
They tend to bang on about it a LOT.

 

[AndyRM]

Vegans now.
They tend to bang on about it a LOT.

I don't think that's necessarily true. IME the conversation usually goes:

"I'm vegan."

"What's that?"

"I don't consume or use animal products."

"Eh?" Cue repetitive questions about not eating cheese/bacon/daft comments about bugs on fruit. What about honey? Etc.

I'm not saying that there aren't vegans who are tediously evangelical, but they are a minority who are unfortunately more vocal than those who just get on with it. Not helped either by Peta, in the main, but also sensational TV shows that make fun of them. Oh, and Morrisey, who is an absolute wazzock.

 

[petek]

Fair do's. I don't actually know any Vegans.
It's possibly illegal round here. I think there's an old byelaw.

Comment was based on online Vegan 'evangelists'.

 

[AndyRM]

Fair do's. I don't actually know any Vegans.
It's possibly illegal round here. I think there's an old byelaw.

Comment was based on online Vegan 'evangelists'.

Yeah, they are best ignored!

 

[jefmcg]

I find the ethical argument interesting. At what point do animals become "pets" or "cuddly"? e.g. we all kill bacteria on a daily basis. Some of us will kill ants and mosquitoes, but will not eat meat because it's killing animals. I suppose killing mozzies and fleas is considered self-defense?

Honestly, I am not sure what the problem is.

We can't live without killing, breatharians and fruitarians not withstanding. We almost all agree that killing plants to eat is fine, and killing humans to eat is not fine. After that, it's a matter of where you chose to draw the line. It seems close something is to you genetically/evolutionarily/environmentally is as good a criteria as any. I personally would not eat an hominid or indeed any other primate, both for moral and more selfishly disease reasons. I also do not eat any cetaceans. I'm ashamed to admit I once ate something endangered, to avoid a socially awkward situation, but that is something I will try never to do again.

So people draw the line at not eating their fellow mammals, or fellow warm blooded creatures or fellow land animals or fellow animals. We all draw a line somewhere.

It's interesting that people here aren't defending their own lines, but criticising other people lines.

 

[swee'pea99]

I met a fruitarian once. He seemed totally bonkers, but fit as a fiddle.

 

[theclaud]

Not helped either by Peta, in the main, but also sensational TV shows that make fun of them. Oh, and Morrisey, who is an absolute wazzock.

I can't think of anything that is helped by PETA, TBH. And yes, Morrissey is a wazzock, but Piers Morgan is even more of a wazzock.

 

[petek]

You never see a fruit bat wearing spectacles.

 

[psmiffy]

spectacled fruit bat,

 

[petek]

spectacled fruit bat,

The prosecution rests M'lud.

 

[swansonj]

There seems to be a bit of a feeling in this thread that, if you can catch a vegetarian out at anything less than 100% compliance with whatever version of the rules you are working to, you have invalidated their whole stance.

If the motivation is "life is sacred", well, fair enough perhaps. But if the motivation is "life inherently involves cruelty but I want to live a life that minimises the cruelty I inflict" or "life in the western world inevitably damages the environment and heats the planet but I want to reduce the amount of damage I do", then surely there is almost as much virtue in 99% as in100%?

 

[petek]

Life without bacon cannot be much of a life.

 

[AndyRM]

This stuff is pretty good IMO. Nothing like the real thing, but a reasonable alternative.