I now this is going to sound VERY silly, but it makes sense to me (to vegetarians)

[shart1780]

So, I was thinking the other day about vegetarianism. And then I got to thinking about water. Water has countless little micro organisms swimming around in there, and they're essentially animals I suppose. So why is it ok for vegetarians to drink water? They actually would be killing living animals.

What makes big animals like cows more important than little animals like mosquitos and fleas and micro organisms? Isn't that a little hypocritical?

I know this sounds silly, I laughed at myself when I thought about it, but it really does make sense.

 

[BVS]

and they're essentially animals

Well there's your problem.

 

[DaveC]

Bacteria and viruses and other single-celled organisms are not animals in any sense of the word.

That's why there's a Kingdom Animalia separate from Kingdom Protista and Kingdom Monera.

Hell, bacteria aren't even eukaryotic.

 

[shart1780]

I dunno if they're classified as animals, but they are lving creatures aren't they?

 

[DaveC]

In the very basic sense of the word, yes. But so are plants if you want to get really technical about it.

But it's not the fact that things are living that vegetarians put emphasis on. It's the pain aspect that most emphasize, or at least the vegetarians I know.

No single-celled organism feels pain, due to a lack of a central nervous system. In fact, the majority survive the passage through the body (unless their plasma membranes are unable to withstand the pH levels of gastric fluid) and just pass out the other end.

 

[BVS]

I dunno if they're classified as animals, but they are lving creatures aren't they?

THEY ARE NOT ANIMALS!!!

 

[shart1780]

THEY ARE NOT ANIMALS!!!

I'm not asking if they're animals... I'm saying that using logic maybe it would be wrong to kill smaller organisms.

Either way, I know alot of vegetarians kill insects, and I don't see their excuse for that.

 

[DaveC]

Well then those people are obviously not very strict.

I can't fathom how anybody would go about deliberately killing a bacteria though.

 

[BVS]

I'm not asking if they're animals... I'm saying that using logic maybe it would be wrong to kill smaller organisms.

Either way, I know alot of vegetarians kill insects, and I don't see their excuse for that.

I've never met a vegetarian that said they gave up meat because they wanted all living things saved. That wouldn't make sense.

 

[BVS]

I can't fathom how anybody would go about deliberately killing a bacteria though.

I know it just makes you sick doesn't it.

 

[shart1780]

I've never met a vegetarian that said they gave up meat because they wanted all living things saved. That wouldn't make sense.

Well I don't see why one living thing should be valued more than another (using the logic of a vegetarian of course).

 

[DaveC]

That's not really what I meant, BVS. I meant that I don't know how someone would expect to be able to kill a bacteria in the same way that one kills, say, an ant or a mosquito. Surely nobody expects to be able to take a pin and go around poking the ground to try to stab an amoeba.

Shart, the difference is that a single-celled organism is just nominally alive. Barely. They don't even really do anything besides metabolise their ingested material and divide. Animals on the other hand, feel pain, have complex organ systems, are multi-cellular, and have many uses besides just food.

 

[BVS]

That's not really what I meant, BVS.

I know it was a poor attempt at humor, my blood sugar is low haven't eaten all day.

 

[shart1780]

Well then why is it ok for vegetarians to kill insects?

 

[BVS]

Well then why is it ok for vegetarians to kill insects?

I think it comes down to logic. Mesquitos can possibly spread disease, some spiders could kill you, etc. You drive a car and your grill kills 173 mesquitos a day on average.

If they are just going around killing them for fun then they have issues, but if they're exterminating there house for the protection of their family I don't see the issue.

 

[DaveC]

Sorry, without the intonation of live voice it kinda loses its meaning on first read.

And I do agree with your last point, and that's what I think it comes down to.

I doubt there are many vegetarians who would be particularly insistent on leaving a rabid raccoon or a pissed-off grizzly bear who managed to crawl into their child's bedroom, for the sake of "not harming a living creature".

 

[shart1780]

It's extremely rare where we live for mosquitos to spread disease.

 

[BVS]

It's extremely rare where we live for mosquitos to spread disease.

Do you live in an entirely sterile environment?

 

[BAW]

It's extremely rare where we live for mosquitos to spread disease.

Really?

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/surv&controlCaseCount04_detailed.htm

 

[arw]

Not all vegetarians are vegetarians over animal rights. I've been a vegetarian since I was 14 years old...I'm 31 now. I decided then that eating animal flesh had to be about the most disgusting thing ever and I haven't had meat since. I don't have a problem with dairy or eggs. I wear leather too. It has nothing to do with any sort of animal rights issues to me. I just think it's really nasty to kill an animal, cut it up, and eat it

 

[Harry Vest]

What I say to all Vegetarian Facist types is this...Jesus fished and ate fish - if it was alright with him then it's alright with me.

 

[melon]

I dunno if they're classified as animals, but they are lving creatures aren't they?

They're not animals, but you probably didn't kill all of them either. A lot of those single-celled organisms take residence in your intestines.

Melon

 

[dandy]

the core of my reason for going veggie is about animal rights in a sense, but more about over health concerns for both the animals and myself. my biggest concern with the meat industry in our economy is the way the animals are pumped up with growth horomones--meat is manufactured. i also think that keeping the animals in overcrowded conditions stresses the animals out, which releases toxins into the animals' blood stream, which eventually are ingested by humans. this can't be good for us.

i will eat organic meat on occasion, but i refuse to touch overprocessed, manufactured supermarket meat.

and no, i don't feel guilty about killing mosquitos or spiders if they are invading my space.

 

[melon]

What I say to all Vegetarian Facist types is this...Jesus fished and ate fish - if it was alright with him then it's alright with me.

Well, I'm amused by a passage in Acts, where God tells Peter to eat meat, and he doesn't want to. Very weird.

Anyway, there's only one essential nutrient that vegetables cannot make, and that's Vitamin B12, which is essential for proper nerve function. I think that's often why the joke is that vegetarians are high strung. That's ultimately why it isn't "natural" to be a vegetarian, but hey...we have vitamin supplements. If people want to be vegetarians, that's fine by me, as long as they don't insist that everyone stop eating meat.

Melon

 

[AvsGirl41]

I find the super-strict vegans to be quite amusing.

"I don't eat eggs because that means I'm killing a baby chicken."
"I don't drink milk because it's stealing it from the baby cow."

My sister once patiently explained to a vegan about how chickens and dairy cows "work." They just stared dumbly and then said "Oh well, I really do it because its *healthier.*"

To each their own.

 

[I'm Ready]

iv been a vegitarion since i was 5 and i eat eggs and dairy, just wont eat like chicken cow fish or anything like that

and i think that bacteria is in all food and i couldt feel bad for singled celled bacteria like i could for a cow

 

[arw]

I find the super-strict vegans to be quite amusing.

my friends sister is the super-strict vegan. Her grocery bill is outrageous each week because she'll only buy organic 100% vegan food. She can't ever go out to a restaurant and eat because no matter where she goes it's not good enough for her. Even the vegetarian places aren't good enough because they have dairy on the menu. It's just too much to worry about!

 

[AvsGirl41]

my friends sister is the super-strict vegan. Her grocery bill is outrageous each week because she'll only buy organic 100% vegan food. She can't ever go out to a restaurant and eat because no matter where she goes it's not good enough for her. Even the vegetarian places aren't good enough because they have dairy on the menu. It's just too much to worry about!

Ha ha, give her something else and tell her what agony the cow is in because it isn't being milked. "You're hurting the cow!! The cow is in pain because no one milked it!!"

 

[zoney!]

What irkes me:

Think about all the PLANTS you are killing. I mean, uprooting all those poor carrots and yanking all those poor cabbages from high up in those cabbage trees.

THIS is MURDER.

Save the fruits and veggies!

 

[beegee]

i actually worked with a vegan once who didn't speak to me for weeks when i killed a spider. believe it or not, people like that really are out there.