EnMasse

[voice of the damned]

It occurs to me that the thread "A nice quiet place for vegetarians to chat" is no longer the bucolic hideaway promised in the title, having diverted itself into a debate about the pros and cons of vegetarianism, animal rights, and allied issues.

Which is too bad because, speaking as a cheerful carnivore, I do think that vegetarians, like the rest of us, deserve a nice quiet place to chat. But I also think there are legitimate debates to be had about the social, political, and ethical ramifications of vegetarianis, animal rights, PETA's view of women.

So, I've started this thread for the purpose of moving the debate from ANQPFVTC into a more appropriate venue. I think there are probably already other threads about these topics, but it was easier for me to just type this up than to look for them.

[voice of the damned]

And yes, I realize that there other positions besides "slagging" or "defending" vegetarianism. Thread title not meant to be taken literally.

[ronb]

Eat the rich.

[Sibjyn]

Too rich. Eat them only in moderation or you could wind up with gout.

[Senor Magoo]

I work with colleagues who have a variety of dietary restrictions. A Hindu who doesn't eat beef, two Muslims who don't eat pork, a Jain who's lacto-vegetarian, a secular vegetarian who used to eat meat like it was his last meal, and me, a guy who honestly can't think of any foods I won't eat, without rewatching old episodes of Fear Factor.

We all get along swimmingly, and discuss food all the time, without even so much as a raised eyebrow.

I'll defend the personal choices of anyone, when it comes to food.

Animal rights KooKs and militant vegan types are another story. They're like any other proselytizing religion, really. The end justifies the means and souls must be saved, even if it has to be against their will! Hallelujah!
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[voice of the damned]

I think I'm similar to Magoo in my acquiantance with vegetarians. None that I've known, and I've known quite a few, have ever gotten militant with me about eating choices. And this includes room-mates.

Interestingly, the closest person I know to a militant vegetarian is also a fundamentalist Christian. When I meet up with him in Canada, he makes subtle yet concerted efforts to save my soul, along with my stomach. To no avail in either case.

[6079_Smith_W]

Did you hear the one about the cook at the Seventh Day Adventist treeplanting camp?

[ronb]

Soul, stomach. Potato, potato.

My 12 year-old loves animals and thinks it's crazy that we eat them - she can't separate the family pets from a cow or a pig or a bird. Even knowing that they would eat her if they could doesn't change her feelings.

A few years ago we were vacationing on the gulf coast of Florida. We spent a lovely day on the beach at Fort De Soto Park, which I highly recommend if you're ever in Tampa, and at one point she carefully picked up an overturned crab that was writhing in distress and returned to the ocean. We stopped at the local crab shack for dinner, and she burst into tears when the bucket of crabs came to the table. She was convinced that her mom and I were eating the crab she had saved earlier that day.

[6079_Smith_W]

an ex of mine told me her father used to put his weekly fish catch in the bath tub just to get the mud out of them, She remembers being traumatized that her new friends wound up on the plate every friday evening.

[Maestro]

When I was a child, Sunday afternoon entertainment sometimes included watching my dad kill a couple of chickens. I learned very young where the saying,' running around like a chicken with it's head cut off' came from. I have to say we all thought it was grand entertainment.

I don't eat a lot of meat these days, mostly because of the associated fat. However, I include some sausage in homemade soups, occasional chicken breast or ground beef for supper, and (rarely) a hamburger or some restaurant meal.

As far as eating living things, plants are as alive as animals are. I don't think humans eat anything that wasn't alive once.
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On the wilds of the Drive

[ronb]

I tried Roald Dahl's short story The Sound Machine on the girl - with the screaming roses and so forth. She was unmoved. She's just phylumist, I guess.

[al-Qa'bong]

[cco]

[6079_Smith_W]

The pink slime doesn't bother me at all, because I have made it myself out of fresh chicken. I can puree vegetables out of the garden and make them into a paste that is just as strange-looking. I am disturbed, however, by the things that are added to it and, as you say, the processing conditions. Then again, any chicken meat that comes from a factory has had a thorough bathing in blood and shit.

As an aside, a friend of mine who worked at the packing plants in Winnipeg assures me that before hot dogs and bologna have colour added and are smoked they are not pink paste, but rather grey.

And I suppose cco, your point might also extend to people who don't like their fish cooked with the heads on, or who will or will not eat chicken feet. I remember being fooled at a dim sum restaurant once because they had been wrapped up in little beancurd sheet booties.

[abnormal]

double post

[abnormal]

...

[abnormal]

edited to use smaller version of the pic

[6079_Smith_W]

I think it's a great pic, large or small

[anne cameron]

Some six months or so ago I decided I didn't really enjoy the taste of beef. That surprised me because, when I was farming, I raised beef and quite enjoyed it. But there I was, with my plate of stew, enjoying everything except the taste of the pieces of meat. The dawgs were quite pleased and scoffed it down, no problem. A few nights later it was a hamburger patty I decided tasted very blech...and before long I was avoiding beef entirely. So last night my daughter came over with a plate of spring rolls and some of them had ground meat in them...I enjoyed two of them...and about a half hour later I was so nauseated I was sure I was going to lose every meal I'd had for the past week...and I blame the beef in the spring rolls...

SO..what in hell are they doing to beef that they didn't do before and what are they adding to it?

After all, it couldn't possibly be ME. Could it?

[6079_Smith_W]

So speaking of ground slime, I just came back from Regina with a few hundred grams of steak tartar.

Absolutely delicious.

I also got a new treat I have never tried before - part of a can of salted palm fruit. Looks like shortening mixed with turmeric, and my friend assures me it is wonderful in everything he added it to.

The capper is the address on the can:

Heavy Industrial Area
Sanyo Road, Near Nestle
Ghana W.A.

[The Evil Twin]

Carried over from the "A Nice, Quiet Place for Vegetarians to Chat" thread so as not to derail that thread.

[al-Qa'bong]