Carnivores – why?

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Replies

  • amivox
    amivox Posts: 441 Member
    Dear Vegetarians:

    Hate to break it to you... but plants are living things too!

    Oh good lord.....this is the best you can do?


    ^^ Is THIS the best YOU can do?

    First, pick a tomato. Then, run down a wild boar, wrestle it to the ground, and fight it to the death. Now, let's compare those two experiences.

    So you would prefer to feed on the reproductive organs of a helpless plant rather than allow a creature to fight or its life?

    Are you deliberately trying not to understand my point?

    Are you deliberately trying to evade the point that plants are living things as well? So it is no less humane to kill an animal than harvest plants.

    You forget that it takes at least 2 pounds of plant food to create a single pound of meat (some estimates are much higher). Therefore, if your heart bleeds for plants, you are causing double the 'pain' due to your food choice. But truly, I doubt if you would put the 'suffering' of plants on the order you do of animals, that you aren't being at all serious. I cut my teeth on this argument as a young vegetarian 40 years ago, so you aren't being as original as you may think you are being.

    I am fully conscious of my place in the world as an omnivore so my heart does not bleed for the food chain. But, new studies in the physiology of plants have come out in the last 40 years that may change your views on sentience and how it relates to the plant world. If your vegetarian/veganism is based on the moral argument that it is cruel to feed on living, sentient creatures, then logic dictates that you must expand this to plant life as well.

    Really? Could you give me cite to at least ONE of these many studies? Since plants don't have nervous systems, I really want to see this. I've only read two pages of this but already I have seen the usual dumb arguments.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/22/science/22angi.html?_r=3&em

    Here is the article in the NYT that was part of the earlier part of the discussion.

    The New York Times is not a scientific journal and is frequently full of drivel. Kindly refer me to a STUDY that shows plants feel pain.

    http://www.pnas.org/content/105/29/10033.full.pdf+html?sid=f78311f9-74dc-4ef7-a8a6-0993bb8ae907

    I read the abstract of this article. It has NOTHING to do with plants feeling pain. It concerns adoptive evolutionary strategies, nothing more.

    What do you think pain is other than our body telling us to react to negative stimuli?

    If you really think this way, then you must presume that atoms and molecules feel pain because they react to negative stimuli. A neutron will react to an electron. Does this mean we should eat nothing? You know what? WE SHOULDN"T EVEN BREATHE, man. The air is made up of particles that react negatively to my human presence. I disperse them! When I breathe in oxygen my body negatively affects itand causes it to become carbon dioxide. yeesh... Plants don't have a nervous system or a brain. They don't feel pain in the sense that a mammal or a bird does.
  • shelbynicole32
    shelbynicole32 Posts: 179 Member
    Are people really having this argument of vegetarian vs carnivores?..:ohwell: I thought the point of this forum was for the meat eaters to point out why they choose to eat meat istead of bashing each other for actually doing it...

    Cant we just eat what makes us happy and get on with our lives instead of criticizing the others lifestyle choice?
    Everyone has their own reasons for why the do and do not do things so just respect it. :flowerforyou:

    No you cannot eat what makes you happy, any more than you can do drugs because it makes you happy. We live in a nanny state. The state tells us via Obamacare and other such horrors that when you get sick because you ate the wrong diet, or smoked or did drugs, that I have to chip in to pay for your treatment.

    If we had the perfect libertarian state where we took care of ourselves and were responsible for our own actions, then yes, you could eat what you wanted.

    Well obviously not you, your username clearly defnes why you would reply back.. :::negativly::: i might add.
    Lighten up, people can do what they want. free world, may not be legal, but they still do it.
  • kayemme
    kayemme Posts: 1,782 Member
    that's not always the case, but the american palate has been conditioned for a certain salty quality and it takes time to get out of that habit. at least that was the case for me. i never eat meat substitutes. i occasionally eat meat, but i prefer vegetables.

    with me, anyway, i thought i didn't like vegetables because i had only had them from cans or boxes. what an eye opener when i first tasted beautiful, fresh broccoli! that was many years ago now, and i can't imagine going back. same with brussels sprouts: roasted with garlic and olive oil, you really can't beat 'em.

    The reason we eat fake meat is so that we can feel a sense of normalcy in this omniverous majority. What the hell are we supposed to eat at a family barbecue? Vegetables? NO! We want to have the same things, but in our own way. If it wasn't called a veggie burger and was instead called a vegetable-soy-patty would that make you happy? Or instead of calling them "chick'n" nuggets, calling them processed vegetables shaped into a nugget like object? I never understood this point. Its not meat, so its not like we are killing an animal to eat it. I didn't stop eating meat because I didn't like how it tasted. I loved how it tasted, but eating meat is a choice, and its a choice I didn't want to make anymore. I don't not eat meat because of taste. I still want to be able to eat similar faire to my family. If they are having spaghetti with meatballs, its nice to have something to substitute for the meatballs that is similar, but meat free. Another thing is tofurkey instead of lunch meat. Its not meat, but it makes it easy for me to make a sandwich. I eat meat substitutes mostly so I can eat the same things as my family without having to actually eat meat.
    [/quote]

    re: bbq >>hell yes! you're clearly circling the wrong cookouts!! ;) we make amazing black bean burgers, grilled mushrooms, barbecued corn, roasted garlic, cold quinoa salads with snap peas, ginger... falafel, hummus, pita.. omgosh, we have the most amazing meatlsss barbecues!!

    and we make it all from scratch. if ever you're in rhode island, i'd be happy to host one for you.

    try some of your sandwiches & salads without meat at all for a little while. you'll start to find different kinds of textures and flavors mixing together that you never even imagined before!

    i'm not sayin' to give up "fake meats" all at one time, but you'll find that when you lead, your family will follow... seriously. anyone who comes over to my house is always amazed (and full) by the time they leave.

    peace out!

    edited to fix quote
  • sammi402
    sammi402 Posts: 232 Member
    Because I can is my answer.

    My question to you is.
    "You don't put ANY meat in your mouth...ANY at all"?
    I mean ANY kind of meat at all!!!


    only on sundays...:wink:
  • VegesaurusRex
    VegesaurusRex Posts: 1,018
    No, I am trying to get to the bottom of a flawed argument that leads followers to deem themselves morally superior. I find it interesting that you would leave rather than actually attempt to logically work out the discussion and defend your stance.

    I cannot answer for the person you were quoting. But personally, I do not feel morally superior in any way. I do not eat meat because it makes ME feel better about MYSELF, not feel that I am better than anyone else.

    (Caps for emphasis not because I am shouting!!)

    Edited to fix quote

    I don't feel morally superior, either, so I don't know where this person got that from. I just don't eat meat because it is what makes me happy and ok with my food decisions. I don't think I am better than anyone. I know I have plenty of other things that people would probably find morally objective about me.

    I am not going to lie. I do feel morally superior. And healthier.

    Glad you feel healthier than someone you have never met. I find your discussion style rather aggressive and judgemental. Is this going to be an exchange of ideas or you just sniping comments?

    I am happy to exchange idea. In the realm of vegetarianism, ideas on diet are based on studies, like the China Study, the Framingham Study, the German Vegetarian study and about a thousand more. Anything unsupported by science is mere opinion.

    Now I also assumed that when you said you wanted a discussion, you wanted an honest discussion. Honestly I feel morally superior to meat eaters. I could lie and be politically correct, and I will if it makes you feel more comfortable, but I can eat and survive without killing a sentient feeling being. I am superior.

    I know that is going to convince no one, but at least I am being honest. What SHOULD convince you are the hundreds of studies done on diets that demonstrate that meat is implicated in chronic diseases and shorter life span. Humans are a vegetarian species. We are not meant to eat meat. There is ample evidence for that.

    When did humans become a vegetarian species? I seem to remember reading books about the hunter-gatherers of prehistory. Do you think that prehistoric man would have gone through the danger of hunting large game if they could get everything they needed from plants?


    Difference between herbovore, carnivore and human:

    Anatomically and physiologically, people are herbivores.

    Facial Muscles
    Carnivore: Reduced to allow wide mouth gape
    Herbivore: Well-developed
    Human: Well-developed

    Jaw Type
    Carnivore: Angle not expanded
    Herbivore: Expanded angle
    Human: Expanded angle

    Jaw Joint Location
    Carnivore: On same plane as molar teeth
    Herbivore: Above the plane of the molars
    Human: Above the plane of the molars

    Jaw Motion
    Carnivore: Shearing; minimal side-to-side motion
    Herbivore: No shear; good side-to-side, front-to-back
    Human: No shear; good side-to-side, front-to-back

    Major Jaw Muscles
    Carnivore: Temporalis
    Herbivore: Masseter and pterygoids
    Human: Masseter and pterygoids

    Mouth Opening vs. Head Size
    Carnivore: Large
    Herbivore: Small
    Human: Small

    Teeth (Incisors)
    Carnivore: Short and pointed
    Herbivore: Broad, flattened and spade shaped
    Human: Broad, flattened and spade shaped

    Teeth (Canines)
    Carnivore: Long, sharp and curved
    Herbivore: Dull and short or long (for defense), or none
    Human: Short and blunted

    Teeth (Molars)
    Carnivore: Sharp, jagged and blade shaped
    Herbivore: Flattened with cusps vs complex surface
    Human: Flattened with nodular cusps

    Chewing
    Carnivore: None; swallows food whole
    Herbivore: Extensive chewing necessary
    Human: Extensive chewing necessary

    Saliva
    Carnivore: No digestive enzymes
    Herbivore: Carbohydrate digesting enzymes
    Human: Carbohydrate digesting enzymes

    Stomach
    Carnivore: Simple
    Herbivore: Simple or multiple chambers
    Human: Simple

    Stomach Acidity
    Carnivore: Less than or equal to pH 1 with food in stomach
    Herbivore: pH 4 to 5 with food in stomach
    Human: pH 4 to 5 with food in stomach

    Stomach Capacity
    Carnivore: 60% to 70% of total volume of digestive tract
    Herbivore: Less than 30% of total volume of digestive tract
    Human: 21% to 27% of total volume of digestive tract

    Length of Small Intestine
    Carnivore: 3 to 6 times body length
    Herbivore: 10 to more than 12 times body length
    Human: 10 to 11 times body length

    Colon
    Carnivore: Simple, short and smooth
    Herbivore: Long, complex; may be sacculated
    Human: Long, sacculated

    Liver
    Carnivore: Can detoxify vitamin A
    Herbivore: Cannot detoxify vitamin A
    Human: Cannot detoxify vitamin A

    Kidneys
    Carnivore: Extremely concentrated urine
    Herbivore: Moderately concentrated urine
    Human: Moderately concentrated urine

    Nails
    Carnivore: Sharp claws
    Herbivore: Flattened nails or blunt hooves
    Human: Flattened nails


    Anatomically and physiologically, people are herbivores.


    When we kill the animals to eat them, they end up killing us because their flesh, which contains cholesterol and saturated fat, was never intended for human beings." --William C. Roberts, M.D., editor of The American Journal of Cardiology
  • doorki
    doorki Posts: 2,576 Member
    Dear Vegetarians:

    Hate to break it to you... but plants are living things too!

    Oh good lord.....this is the best you can do?


    ^^ Is THIS the best YOU can do?

    First, pick a tomato. Then, run down a wild boar, wrestle it to the ground, and fight it to the death. Now, let's compare those two experiences.

    So you would prefer to feed on the reproductive organs of a helpless plant rather than allow a creature to fight or its life?

    Are you deliberately trying not to understand my point?

    Are you deliberately trying to evade the point that plants are living things as well? So it is no less humane to kill an animal than harvest plants.

    You forget that it takes at least 2 pounds of plant food to create a single pound of meat (some estimates are much higher). Therefore, if your heart bleeds for plants, you are causing double the 'pain' due to your food choice. But truly, I doubt if you would put the 'suffering' of plants on the order you do of animals, that you aren't being at all serious. I cut my teeth on this argument as a young vegetarian 40 years ago, so you aren't being as original as you may think you are being.

    I am fully conscious of my place in the world as an omnivore so my heart does not bleed for the food chain. But, new studies in the physiology of plants have come out in the last 40 years that may change your views on sentience and how it relates to the plant world. If your vegetarian/veganism is based on the moral argument that it is cruel to feed on living, sentient creatures, then logic dictates that you must expand this to plant life as well.

    Really? Could you give me cite to at least ONE of these many studies? Since plants don't have nervous systems, I really want to see this. I've only read two pages of this but already I have seen the usual dumb arguments.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/22/science/22angi.html?_r=3&em

    Here is the article in the NYT that was part of the earlier part of the discussion.

    The New York Times is not a scientific journal and is frequently full of drivel. Kindly refer me to a STUDY that shows plants feel pain.

    http://www.pnas.org/content/105/29/10033.full.pdf+html?sid=f78311f9-74dc-4ef7-a8a6-0993bb8ae907

    I read the abstract of this article. It has NOTHING to do with plants feeling pain. It concerns adoptive evolutionary strategies, nothing more.

    What do you think pain is other than our body telling us to react to negative stimuli?

    If you really think this way, then you must presume that atoms and molecules feel pain because they react to negative stimuli. A neutron will react to an electron. Does this mean we should eat nothing? You know what? WE SHOULDN"T EVEN BREATHE, man. The air is made up of particles that react negatively to my human presence. I disperse them! yeesh... Plants don't have a nervous system or a brain. They don't feel pain in the sense that a mammal or a bird does.

    I have no problem with my place in this world so I am fine with it. Plants operate to defend themselves, much like birds, fish, mammals and insects. Where is the line drawn?
  • VegesaurusRex
    VegesaurusRex Posts: 1,018
    Dear Vegetarians:

    Hate to break it to you... but plants are living things too!

    Oh good lord.....this is the best you can do?


    ^^ Is THIS the best YOU can do?

    First, pick a tomato. Then, run down a wild boar, wrestle it to the ground, and fight it to the death. Now, let's compare those two experiences.

    So you would prefer to feed on the reproductive organs of a helpless plant rather than allow a creature to fight or its life?

    Are you deliberately trying not to understand my point?

    Are you deliberately trying to evade the point that plants are living things as well? So it is no less humane to kill an animal than harvest plants.

    You forget that it takes at least 2 pounds of plant food to create a single pound of meat (some estimates are much higher). Therefore, if your heart bleeds for plants, you are causing double the 'pain' due to your food choice. But truly, I doubt if you would put the 'suffering' of plants on the order you do of animals, that you aren't being at all serious. I cut my teeth on this argument as a young vegetarian 40 years ago, so you aren't being as original as you may think you are being.

    I am fully conscious of my place in the world as an omnivore so my heart does not bleed for the food chain. But, new studies in the physiology of plants have come out in the last 40 years that may change your views on sentience and how it relates to the plant world. If your vegetarian/veganism is based on the moral argument that it is cruel to feed on living, sentient creatures, then logic dictates that you must expand this to plant life as well.

    Really? Could you give me cite to at least ONE of these many studies? Since plants don't have nervous systems, I really want to see this. I've only read two pages of this but already I have seen the usual dumb arguments.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/22/science/22angi.html?_r=3&em

    Here is the article in the NYT that was part of the earlier part of the discussion.

    The New York Times is not a scientific journal and is frequently full of drivel. Kindly refer me to a STUDY that shows plants feel pain.

    http://www.pnas.org/content/105/29/10033.full.pdf+html?sid=f78311f9-74dc-4ef7-a8a6-0993bb8ae907

    I read the abstract of this article. It has NOTHING to do with plants feeling pain. It concerns adoptive evolutionary strategies, nothing more.

    What do you think pain is other than our body telling us to react to negative stimuli?

    If you really think this way, then you must presume that atoms and molecules feel pain because they react to negative stimuli. A neutron will react to an electron. Does this mean we should eat nothing? You know what? WE SHOULDN"T EVEN BREATHE, man. The air is made up of particles that react negatively to my human presence. I disperse them! yeesh... Plants don't have a nervous system or a brain. They don't feel pain in the sense that a mammal or a bird does.

    I have no problem with my place in this world so I am fine with it. Plants operate to defend themselves, much like birds, fish, mammals and insects. Where is the line drawn?

    With a nervous system.
  • VegesaurusRex
    VegesaurusRex Posts: 1,018
    Be back later, guys. I have something to do.
  • doorki
    doorki Posts: 2,576 Member
    No, I am trying to get to the bottom of a flawed argument that leads followers to deem themselves morally superior. I find it interesting that you would leave rather than actually attempt to logically work out the discussion and defend your stance.

    I cannot answer for the person you were quoting. But personally, I do not feel morally superior in any way. I do not eat meat because it makes ME feel better about MYSELF, not feel that I am better than anyone else.

    (Caps for emphasis not because I am shouting!!)

    Edited to fix quote

    I don't feel morally superior, either, so I don't know where this person got that from. I just don't eat meat because it is what makes me happy and ok with my food decisions. I don't think I am better than anyone. I know I have plenty of other things that people would probably find morally objective about me.

    I am not going to lie. I do feel morally superior. And healthier.

    Glad you feel healthier than someone you have never met. I find your discussion style rather aggressive and judgemental. Is this going to be an exchange of ideas or you just sniping comments?

    I am happy to exchange idea. In the realm of vegetarianism, ideas on diet are based on studies, like the China Study, the Framingham Study, the German Vegetarian study and about a thousand more. Anything unsupported by science is mere opinion.

    Now I also assumed that when you said you wanted a discussion, you wanted an honest discussion. Honestly I feel morally superior to meat eaters. I could lie and be politically correct, and I will if it makes you feel more comfortable, but I can eat and survive without killing a sentient feeling being. I am superior.

    I know that is going to convince no one, but at least I am being honest. What SHOULD convince you are the hundreds of studies done on diets that demonstrate that meat is implicated in chronic diseases and shorter life span. Humans are a vegetarian species. We are not meant to eat meat. There is ample evidence for that.

    When did humans become a vegetarian species? I seem to remember reading books about the hunter-gatherers of prehistory. Do you think that prehistoric man would have gone through the danger of hunting large game if they could get everything they needed from plants?


    Difference between herbovore, carnivore and human:

    Anatomically and physiologically, people are herbivores.

    Facial Muscles
    Carnivore: Reduced to allow wide mouth gape
    Herbivore: Well-developed
    Human: Well-developed

    Jaw Type
    Carnivore: Angle not expanded
    Herbivore: Expanded angle
    Human: Expanded angle

    Jaw Joint Location
    Carnivore: On same plane as molar teeth
    Herbivore: Above the plane of the molars
    Human: Above the plane of the molars

    Jaw Motion
    Carnivore: Shearing; minimal side-to-side motion
    Herbivore: No shear; good side-to-side, front-to-back
    Human: No shear; good side-to-side, front-to-back

    Major Jaw Muscles
    Carnivore: Temporalis
    Herbivore: Masseter and pterygoids
    Human: Masseter and pterygoids

    Mouth Opening vs. Head Size
    Carnivore: Large
    Herbivore: Small
    Human: Small

    Teeth (Incisors)
    Carnivore: Short and pointed
    Herbivore: Broad, flattened and spade shaped
    Human: Broad, flattened and spade shaped

    Teeth (Canines)
    Carnivore: Long, sharp and curved
    Herbivore: Dull and short or long (for defense), or none
    Human: Short and blunted

    Teeth (Molars)
    Carnivore: Sharp, jagged and blade shaped
    Herbivore: Flattened with cusps vs complex surface
    Human: Flattened with nodular cusps

    Chewing
    Carnivore: None; swallows food whole
    Herbivore: Extensive chewing necessary
    Human: Extensive chewing necessary

    Saliva
    Carnivore: No digestive enzymes
    Herbivore: Carbohydrate digesting enzymes
    Human: Carbohydrate digesting enzymes

    Stomach
    Carnivore: Simple
    Herbivore: Simple or multiple chambers
    Human: Simple

    Stomach Acidity
    Carnivore: Less than or equal to pH 1 with food in stomach
    Herbivore: pH 4 to 5 with food in stomach
    Human: pH 4 to 5 with food in stomach

    Stomach Capacity
    Carnivore: 60% to 70% of total volume of digestive tract
    Herbivore: Less than 30% of total volume of digestive tract
    Human: 21% to 27% of total volume of digestive tract

    Length of Small Intestine
    Carnivore: 3 to 6 times body length
    Herbivore: 10 to more than 12 times body length
    Human: 10 to 11 times body length

    Colon
    Carnivore: Simple, short and smooth
    Herbivore: Long, complex; may be sacculated
    Human: Long, sacculated

    Liver
    Carnivore: Can detoxify vitamin A
    Herbivore: Cannot detoxify vitamin A
    Human: Cannot detoxify vitamin A

    Kidneys
    Carnivore: Extremely concentrated urine
    Herbivore: Moderately concentrated urine
    Human: Moderately concentrated urine

    Nails
    Carnivore: Sharp claws
    Herbivore: Flattened nails or blunt hooves
    Human: Flattened nails


    Anatomically and physiologically, people are herbivores.


    When we kill the animals to eat them, they end up killing us because their flesh, which contains cholesterol and saturated fat, was never intended for human beings." --William C. Roberts, M.D., editor of The American Journal of Cardiology

    basically, all you have pointed to is that humans have the ability to eat plants, much like an omnivore. But you did not answer my question about when humans became vegetarian and why would prehistoric humans take such a risk hunting large game?
  • doorki
    doorki Posts: 2,576 Member
    Dear Vegetarians:

    Hate to break it to you... but plants are living things too!

    Oh good lord.....this is the best you can do?


    ^^ Is THIS the best YOU can do?

    First, pick a tomato. Then, run down a wild boar, wrestle it to the ground, and fight it to the death. Now, let's compare those two experiences.

    So you would prefer to feed on the reproductive organs of a helpless plant rather than allow a creature to fight or its life?

    Are you deliberately trying not to understand my point?

    Are you deliberately trying to evade the point that plants are living things as well? So it is no less humane to kill an animal than harvest plants.

    You forget that it takes at least 2 pounds of plant food to create a single pound of meat (some estimates are much higher). Therefore, if your heart bleeds for plants, you are causing double the 'pain' due to your food choice. But truly, I doubt if you would put the 'suffering' of plants on the order you do of animals, that you aren't being at all serious. I cut my teeth on this argument as a young vegetarian 40 years ago, so you aren't being as original as you may think you are being.

    I am fully conscious of my place in the world as an omnivore so my heart does not bleed for the food chain. But, new studies in the physiology of plants have come out in the last 40 years that may change your views on sentience and how it relates to the plant world. If your vegetarian/veganism is based on the moral argument that it is cruel to feed on living, sentient creatures, then logic dictates that you must expand this to plant life as well.

    Really? Could you give me cite to at least ONE of these many studies? Since plants don't have nervous systems, I really want to see this. I've only read two pages of this but already I have seen the usual dumb arguments.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/22/science/22angi.html?_r=3&em

    Here is the article in the NYT that was part of the earlier part of the discussion.

    The New York Times is not a scientific journal and is frequently full of drivel. Kindly refer me to a STUDY that shows plants feel pain.

    http://www.pnas.org/content/105/29/10033.full.pdf+html?sid=f78311f9-74dc-4ef7-a8a6-0993bb8ae907

    I read the abstract of this article. It has NOTHING to do with plants feeling pain. It concerns adoptive evolutionary strategies, nothing more.

    What do you think pain is other than our body telling us to react to negative stimuli?

    If you really think this way, then you must presume that atoms and molecules feel pain because they react to negative stimuli. A neutron will react to an electron. Does this mean we should eat nothing? You know what? WE SHOULDN"T EVEN BREATHE, man. The air is made up of particles that react negatively to my human presence. I disperse them! yeesh... Plants don't have a nervous system or a brain. They don't feel pain in the sense that a mammal or a bird does.

    I have no problem with my place in this world so I am fine with it. Plants operate to defend themselves, much like birds, fish, mammals and insects. Where is the line drawn?

    With a nervous system.

    That seems rather Speciest of you. So, to you, anything that does not perceive the world as you do is fair game. Interesting.
  • amivox
    amivox Posts: 441 Member
    No, I am trying to get to the bottom of a flawed argument that leads followers to deem themselves morally superior. I find it interesting that you would leave rather than actually attempt to logically work out the discussion and defend your stance.

    I cannot answer for the person you were quoting. But personally, I do not feel morally superior in any way. I do not eat meat because it makes ME feel better about MYSELF, not feel that I am better than anyone else.

    (Caps for emphasis not because I am shouting!!)

    Edited to fix quote

    I don't feel morally superior, either, so I don't know where this person got that from. I just don't eat meat because it is what makes me happy and ok with my food decisions. I don't think I am better than anyone. I know I have plenty of other things that people would probably find morally objective about me.

    I am not going to lie. I do feel morally superior. And healthier.

    Glad you feel healthier than someone you have never met. I find your discussion style rather aggressive and judgemental. Is this going to be an exchange of ideas or you just sniping comments?

    I am happy to exchange idea. In the realm of vegetarianism, ideas on diet are based on studies, like the China Study, the Framingham Study, the German Vegetarian study and about a thousand more. Anything unsupported by science is mere opinion.

    Now I also assumed that when you said you wanted a discussion, you wanted an honest discussion. Honestly I feel morally superior to meat eaters. I could lie and be politically correct, and I will if it makes you feel more comfortable, but I can eat and survive without killing a sentient feeling being. I am superior.

    I know that is going to convince no one, but at least I am being honest. What SHOULD convince you are the hundreds of studies done on diets that demonstrate that meat is implicated in chronic diseases and shorter life span. Humans are a vegetarian species. We are not meant to eat meat. There is ample evidence for that.

    When did humans become a vegetarian species? I seem to remember reading books about the hunter-gatherers of prehistory. Do you think that prehistoric man would have gone through the danger of hunting large game if they could get everything they needed from plants?


    Difference between herbovore, carnivore and human:

    Anatomically and physiologically, people are herbivores.

    Facial Muscles
    Carnivore: Reduced to allow wide mouth gape
    Herbivore: Well-developed
    Human: Well-developed

    Jaw Type
    Carnivore: Angle not expanded
    Herbivore: Expanded angle
    Human: Expanded angle

    Jaw Joint Location
    Carnivore: On same plane as molar teeth
    Herbivore: Above the plane of the molars
    Human: Above the plane of the molars

    Jaw Motion
    Carnivore: Shearing; minimal side-to-side motion
    Herbivore: No shear; good side-to-side, front-to-back
    Human: No shear; good side-to-side, front-to-back

    Major Jaw Muscles
    Carnivore: Temporalis
    Herbivore: Masseter and pterygoids
    Human: Masseter and pterygoids

    Mouth Opening vs. Head Size
    Carnivore: Large
    Herbivore: Small
    Human: Small

    Teeth (Incisors)
    Carnivore: Short and pointed
    Herbivore: Broad, flattened and spade shaped
    Human: Broad, flattened and spade shaped

    Teeth (Canines)
    Carnivore: Long, sharp and curved
    Herbivore: Dull and short or long (for defense), or none
    Human: Short and blunted

    Teeth (Molars)
    Carnivore: Sharp, jagged and blade shaped
    Herbivore: Flattened with cusps vs complex surface
    Human: Flattened with nodular cusps

    Chewing
    Carnivore: None; swallows food whole
    Herbivore: Extensive chewing necessary
    Human: Extensive chewing necessary

    Saliva
    Carnivore: No digestive enzymes
    Herbivore: Carbohydrate digesting enzymes
    Human: Carbohydrate digesting enzymes

    Stomach
    Carnivore: Simple
    Herbivore: Simple or multiple chambers
    Human: Simple

    Stomach Acidity
    Carnivore: Less than or equal to pH 1 with food in stomach
    Herbivore: pH 4 to 5 with food in stomach
    Human: pH 4 to 5 with food in stomach

    Stomach Capacity
    Carnivore: 60% to 70% of total volume of digestive tract
    Herbivore: Less than 30% of total volume of digestive tract
    Human: 21% to 27% of total volume of digestive tract

    Length of Small Intestine
    Carnivore: 3 to 6 times body length
    Herbivore: 10 to more than 12 times body length
    Human: 10 to 11 times body length

    Colon
    Carnivore: Simple, short and smooth
    Herbivore: Long, complex; may be sacculated
    Human: Long, sacculated

    Liver
    Carnivore: Can detoxify vitamin A
    Herbivore: Cannot detoxify vitamin A
    Human: Cannot detoxify vitamin A

    Kidneys
    Carnivore: Extremely concentrated urine
    Herbivore: Moderately concentrated urine
    Human: Moderately concentrated urine

    Nails
    Carnivore: Sharp claws
    Herbivore: Flattened nails or blunt hooves
    Human: Flattened nails


    Anatomically and physiologically, people are herbivores.


    When we kill the animals to eat them, they end up killing us because their flesh, which contains cholesterol and saturated fat, was never intended for human beings." --William C. Roberts, M.D., editor of The American Journal of Cardiology

    THIS, this, so much THIS! <3
  • _VoV
    _VoV Posts: 1,494 Member
    Dear Vegetarians:

    Hate to break it to you... but plants are living things too!

    Oh good lord.....this is the best you can do?


    ^^ Is THIS the best YOU can do?

    First, pick a tomato. Then, run down a wild boar, wrestle it to the ground, and fight it to the death. Now, let's compare those two experiences.

    So you would prefer to feed on the reproductive organs of a helpless plant rather than allow a creature to fight or its life?

    Are you deliberately trying not to understand my point?

    Are you deliberately trying to evade the point that plants are living things as well? So it is no less humane to kill an animal than harvest plants.

    You forget that it takes at least 2 pounds of plant food to create a single pound of meat (some estimates are much higher). Therefore, if your heart bleeds for plants, you are causing double the 'pain' due to your food choice. But truly, I doubt if you would put the 'suffering' of plants on the order you do of animals, that you aren't being at all serious. I cut my teeth on this argument as a young vegetarian 40 years ago, so you aren't being as original as you may think you are being.

    I am fully conscious of my place in the world as an omnivore so my heart does not bleed for the food chain. But, new studies in the physiology of plants have come out in the last 40 years that may change your views on sentience and how it relates to the plant world. If your vegetarian/veganism is based on the moral argument that it is cruel to feed on living, sentient creatures, then logic dictates that you must expand this to plant life as well.

    Really? Could you give me cite to at least ONE of these many studies? Since plants don't have nervous systems, I really want to see this. I've only read two pages of this but already I have seen the usual dumb arguments.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/22/science/22angi.html?_r=3&em

    Here is the article in the NYT that was part of the earlier part of the discussion.

    The New York Times is not a scientific journal and is frequently full of drivel. Kindly refer me to a STUDY that shows plants feel pain.

    http://www.pnas.org/content/105/29/10033.full.pdf+html?sid=f78311f9-74dc-4ef7-a8a6-0993bb8ae907

    I read the abstract of this article. It has NOTHING to do with plants feeling pain. It concerns adoptive evolutionary strategies, nothing more.

    What do you think pain is other than our body telling us to react to negative stimuli?

    If you really think this way, then you must presume that atoms and molecules feel pain because they react to negative stimuli. A neutron will react to an electron. Does this mean we should eat nothing? You know what? WE SHOULDN"T EVEN BREATHE, man. The air is made up of particles that react negatively to my human presence. I disperse them! yeesh... Plants don't have a nervous system or a brain. They don't feel pain in the sense that a mammal or a bird does.

    I have no problem with my place in this world so I am fine with it. Plants operate to defend themselves, much like birds, fish, mammals and insects. Where is the line drawn?

    With a nervous system.

    That seems rather Speciest of you. So, to you, anything that does not perceive the world as you do is fair game. Interesting.

    When you make statements like this, it's very difficult to take this discussion very seriously.
  • amivox
    amivox Posts: 441 Member
    Dear Vegetarians:

    Hate to break it to you... but plants are living things too!

    Oh good lord.....this is the best you can do?


    ^^ Is THIS the best YOU can do?

    First, pick a tomato. Then, run down a wild boar, wrestle it to the ground, and fight it to the death. Now, let's compare those two experiences.

    So you would prefer to feed on the reproductive organs of a helpless plant rather than allow a creature to fight or its life?

    Are you deliberately trying not to understand my point?

    Are you deliberately trying to evade the point that plants are living things as well? So it is no less humane to kill an animal than harvest plants.

    You forget that it takes at least 2 pounds of plant food to create a single pound of meat (some estimates are much higher). Therefore, if your heart bleeds for plants, you are causing double the 'pain' due to your food choice. But truly, I doubt if you would put the 'suffering' of plants on the order you do of animals, that you aren't being at all serious. I cut my teeth on this argument as a young vegetarian 40 years ago, so you aren't being as original as you may think you are being.

    I am fully conscious of my place in the world as an omnivore so my heart does not bleed for the food chain. But, new studies in the physiology of plants have come out in the last 40 years that may change your views on sentience and how it relates to the plant world. If your vegetarian/veganism is based on the moral argument that it is cruel to feed on living, sentient creatures, then logic dictates that you must expand this to plant life as well.

    Really? Could you give me cite to at least ONE of these many studies? Since plants don't have nervous systems, I really want to see this. I've only read two pages of this but already I have seen the usual dumb arguments.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/22/science/22angi.html?_r=3&em

    Here is the article in the NYT that was part of the earlier part of the discussion.

    The New York Times is not a scientific journal and is frequently full of drivel. Kindly refer me to a STUDY that shows plants feel pain.

    http://www.pnas.org/content/105/29/10033.full.pdf+html?sid=f78311f9-74dc-4ef7-a8a6-0993bb8ae907

    I read the abstract of this article. It has NOTHING to do with plants feeling pain. It concerns adoptive evolutionary strategies, nothing more.

    What do you think pain is other than our body telling us to react to negative stimuli?

    If you really think this way, then you must presume that atoms and molecules feel pain because they react to negative stimuli. A neutron will react to an electron. Does this mean we should eat nothing? You know what? WE SHOULDN"T EVEN BREATHE, man. The air is made up of particles that react negatively to my human presence. I disperse them! yeesh... Plants don't have a nervous system or a brain. They don't feel pain in the sense that a mammal or a bird does.

    I have no problem with my place in this world so I am fine with it. Plants operate to defend themselves, much like birds, fish, mammals and insects. Where is the line drawn?

    Pretty sure for anyone sane, the line is drawn at plants.
  • _VoV
    _VoV Posts: 1,494 Member
    To summarize, it looks like people here eat meat because of:

    1. Taste
    2. Convenience
    3. High protein content
    4. Habit

    Nothing new, really.
  • SunKissed1989
    SunKissed1989 Posts: 1,314 Member
    I eat meat mostly because I like the taste of meat. There are other reasons too, but I do love the taste of meat...mmm, meat *licks lips* :tongue:

    anyway...yeah, that's why I eat meat:smile:
  • amivox
    amivox Posts: 441 Member
    Dear Vegetarians:

    Hate to break it to you... but plants are living things too!

    Oh good lord.....this is the best you can do?


    ^^ Is THIS the best YOU can do?

    First, pick a tomato. Then, run down a wild boar, wrestle it to the ground, and fight it to the death. Now, let's compare those two experiences.

    So you would prefer to feed on the reproductive organs of a helpless plant rather than allow a creature to fight or its life?

    Are you deliberately trying not to understand my point?

    Are you deliberately trying to evade the point that plants are living things as well? So it is no less humane to kill an animal than harvest plants.

    You forget that it takes at least 2 pounds of plant food to create a single pound of meat (some estimates are much higher). Therefore, if your heart bleeds for plants, you are causing double the 'pain' due to your food choice. But truly, I doubt if you would put the 'suffering' of plants on the order you do of animals, that you aren't being at all serious. I cut my teeth on this argument as a young vegetarian 40 years ago, so you aren't being as original as you may think you are being.

    I am fully conscious of my place in the world as an omnivore so my heart does not bleed for the food chain. But, new studies in the physiology of plants have come out in the last 40 years that may change your views on sentience and how it relates to the plant world. If your vegetarian/veganism is based on the moral argument that it is cruel to feed on living, sentient creatures, then logic dictates that you must expand this to plant life as well.

    Really? Could you give me cite to at least ONE of these many studies? Since plants don't have nervous systems, I really want to see this. I've only read two pages of this but already I have seen the usual dumb arguments.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/22/science/22angi.html?_r=3&em

    Here is the article in the NYT that was part of the earlier part of the discussion.

    The New York Times is not a scientific journal and is frequently full of drivel. Kindly refer me to a STUDY that shows plants feel pain.

    http://www.pnas.org/content/105/29/10033.full.pdf+html?sid=f78311f9-74dc-4ef7-a8a6-0993bb8ae907

    I read the abstract of this article. It has NOTHING to do with plants feeling pain. It concerns adoptive evolutionary strategies, nothing more.

    What do you think pain is other than our body telling us to react to negative stimuli?

    If you really think this way, then you must presume that atoms and molecules feel pain because they react to negative stimuli. A neutron will react to an electron. Does this mean we should eat nothing? You know what? WE SHOULDN"T EVEN BREATHE, man. The air is made up of particles that react negatively to my human presence. I disperse them! yeesh... Plants don't have a nervous system or a brain. They don't feel pain in the sense that a mammal or a bird does.

    I have no problem with my place in this world so I am fine with it. Plants operate to defend themselves, much like birds, fish, mammals and insects. Where is the line drawn?

    With a nervous system.

    That seems rather Speciest of you. So, to you, anything that does not perceive the world as you do is fair game. Interesting.

    When you make statements like this, it's very difficult to take this discussion very seriously.

    Holy crap, I think I just died laughing.
  • kayemme
    kayemme Posts: 1,782 Member
    To summarize, it looks like people here eat meat because of:

    1. Taste
    2. Convenience
    3. High protein content
    4. Habit

    Nothing new, really.

    you forgot "entitlement" or the classic "because we can" attitude. it's not very inventive, but it sure is persistent.
  • _VoV
    _VoV Posts: 1,494 Member
    Dear Vegetarians:

    Hate to break it to you... but plants are living things too!

    Oh good lord.....this is the best you can do?


    ^^ Is THIS the best YOU can do?

    First, pick a tomato. Then, run down a wild boar, wrestle it to the ground, and fight it to the death. Now, let's compare those two experiences.

    So you would prefer to feed on the reproductive organs of a helpless plant rather than allow a creature to fight or its life?

    Are you deliberately trying not to understand my point?

    Are you deliberately trying to evade the point that plants are living things as well? So it is no less humane to kill an animal than harvest plants.

    You forget that it takes at least 2 pounds of plant food to create a single pound of meat (some estimates are much higher). Therefore, if your heart bleeds for plants, you are causing double the 'pain' due to your food choice. But truly, I doubt if you would put the 'suffering' of plants on the order you do of animals, that you aren't being at all serious. I cut my teeth on this argument as a young vegetarian 40 years ago, so you aren't being as original as you may think you are being.

    I am fully conscious of my place in the world as an omnivore so my heart does not bleed for the food chain. But, new studies in the physiology of plants have come out in the last 40 years that may change your views on sentience and how it relates to the plant world. If your vegetarian/veganism is based on the moral argument that it is cruel to feed on living, sentient creatures, then logic dictates that you must expand this to plant life as well.

    Really? Could you give me cite to at least ONE of these many studies? Since plants don't have nervous systems, I really want to see this. I've only read two pages of this but already I have seen the usual dumb arguments.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/22/science/22angi.html?_r=3&em

    Here is the article in the NYT that was part of the earlier part of the discussion.

    The New York Times is not a scientific journal and is frequently full of drivel. Kindly refer me to a STUDY that shows plants feel pain.

    http://www.pnas.org/content/105/29/10033.full.pdf+html?sid=f78311f9-74dc-4ef7-a8a6-0993bb8ae907

    I read the abstract of this article. It has NOTHING to do with plants feeling pain. It concerns adoptive evolutionary strategies, nothing more.

    What do you think pain is other than our body telling us to react to negative stimuli?

    If you really think this way, then you must presume that atoms and molecules feel pain because they react to negative stimuli. A neutron will react to an electron. Does this mean we should eat nothing? You know what? WE SHOULDN"T EVEN BREATHE, man. The air is made up of particles that react negatively to my human presence. I disperse them! yeesh... Plants don't have a nervous system or a brain. They don't feel pain in the sense that a mammal or a bird does.

    I have no problem with my place in this world so I am fine with it. Plants operate to defend themselves, much like birds, fish, mammals and insects. Where is the line drawn?

    With a nervous system.

    That seems rather Speciest of you. So, to you, anything that does not perceive the world as you do is fair game. Interesting.

    When you make statements like this, it's very difficult to take this discussion very seriously.

    Holy crap, I think I just died laughing.

    ^^One less meateater on the planet then, I guess.
  • amivox
    amivox Posts: 441 Member
    Dear Vegetarians:

    Hate to break it to you... but plants are living things too!

    Oh good lord.....this is the best you can do?


    ^^ Is THIS the best YOU can do?

    First, pick a tomato. Then, run down a wild boar, wrestle it to the ground, and fight it to the death. Now, let's compare those two experiences.

    So you would prefer to feed on the reproductive organs of a helpless plant rather than allow a creature to fight or its life?

    Are you deliberately trying not to understand my point?

    Are you deliberately trying to evade the point that plants are living things as well? So it is no less humane to kill an animal than harvest plants.

    You forget that it takes at least 2 pounds of plant food to create a single pound of meat (some estimates are much higher). Therefore, if your heart bleeds for plants, you are causing double the 'pain' due to your food choice. But truly, I doubt if you would put the 'suffering' of plants on the order you do of animals, that you aren't being at all serious. I cut my teeth on this argument as a young vegetarian 40 years ago, so you aren't being as original as you may think you are being.

    I am fully conscious of my place in the world as an omnivore so my heart does not bleed for the food chain. But, new studies in the physiology of plants have come out in the last 40 years that may change your views on sentience and how it relates to the plant world. If your vegetarian/veganism is based on the moral argument that it is cruel to feed on living, sentient creatures, then logic dictates that you must expand this to plant life as well.

    Really? Could you give me cite to at least ONE of these many studies? Since plants don't have nervous systems, I really want to see this. I've only read two pages of this but already I have seen the usual dumb arguments.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/22/science/22angi.html?_r=3&em

    Here is the article in the NYT that was part of the earlier part of the discussion.

    The New York Times is not a scientific journal and is frequently full of drivel. Kindly refer me to a STUDY that shows plants feel pain.

    http://www.pnas.org/content/105/29/10033.full.pdf+html?sid=f78311f9-74dc-4ef7-a8a6-0993bb8ae907

    I read the abstract of this article. It has NOTHING to do with plants feeling pain. It concerns adoptive evolutionary strategies, nothing more.

    What do you think pain is other than our body telling us to react to negative stimuli?

    If you really think this way, then you must presume that atoms and molecules feel pain because they react to negative stimuli. A neutron will react to an electron. Does this mean we should eat nothing? You know what? WE SHOULDN"T EVEN BREATHE, man. The air is made up of particles that react negatively to my human presence. I disperse them! yeesh... Plants don't have a nervous system or a brain. They don't feel pain in the sense that a mammal or a bird does.

    I have no problem with my place in this world so I am fine with it. Plants operate to defend themselves, much like birds, fish, mammals and insects. Where is the line drawn?

    With a nervous system.

    That seems rather Speciest of you. So, to you, anything that does not perceive the world as you do is fair game. Interesting.

    When you make statements like this, it's very difficult to take this discussion very seriously.

    Holy crap, I think I just died laughing.

    ^^One less meateater on the planet then, I guess.

    I don't eat meat. I was laughing because you.. nvmd.

    Your Head ______ The funniness of your statement ''''''''''''''''''''''''''
  • _VoV
    _VoV Posts: 1,494 Member
    To summarize, it looks like people here eat meat because of:

    1. Taste
    2. Convenience
    3. High protein content
    4. Habit

    Nothing new, really.

    you forgot "entitlement" or the classic "because we can" attitude. it's not very inventive, but it sure is persistent.

    Thank you. Yes. All these reasons are self-serving.
  • doorki
    doorki Posts: 2,576 Member
    Dear Vegetarians:

    Hate to break it to you... but plants are living things too!

    Oh good lord.....this is the best you can do?


    ^^ Is THIS the best YOU can do?

    First, pick a tomato. Then, run down a wild boar, wrestle it to the ground, and fight it to the death. Now, let's compare those two experiences.

    So you would prefer to feed on the reproductive organs of a helpless plant rather than allow a creature to fight or its life?

    Are you deliberately trying not to understand my point?

    Are you deliberately trying to evade the point that plants are living things as well? So it is no less humane to kill an animal than harvest plants.

    You forget that it takes at least 2 pounds of plant food to create a single pound of meat (some estimates are much higher). Therefore, if your heart bleeds for plants, you are causing double the 'pain' due to your food choice. But truly, I doubt if you would put the 'suffering' of plants on the order you do of animals, that you aren't being at all serious. I cut my teeth on this argument as a young vegetarian 40 years ago, so you aren't being as original as you may think you are being.

    I am fully conscious of my place in the world as an omnivore so my heart does not bleed for the food chain. But, new studies in the physiology of plants have come out in the last 40 years that may change your views on sentience and how it relates to the plant world. If your vegetarian/veganism is based on the moral argument that it is cruel to feed on living, sentient creatures, then logic dictates that you must expand this to plant life as well.

    Really? Could you give me cite to at least ONE of these many studies? Since plants don't have nervous systems, I really want to see this. I've only read two pages of this but already I have seen the usual dumb arguments.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/22/science/22angi.html?_r=3&em

    Here is the article in the NYT that was part of the earlier part of the discussion.

    The New York Times is not a scientific journal and is frequently full of drivel. Kindly refer me to a STUDY that shows plants feel pain.

    http://www.pnas.org/content/105/29/10033.full.pdf+html?sid=f78311f9-74dc-4ef7-a8a6-0993bb8ae907

    I read the abstract of this article. It has NOTHING to do with plants feeling pain. It concerns adoptive evolutionary strategies, nothing more.

    What do you think pain is other than our body telling us to react to negative stimuli?

    If you really think this way, then you must presume that atoms and molecules feel pain because they react to negative stimuli. A neutron will react to an electron. Does this mean we should eat nothing? You know what? WE SHOULDN"T EVEN BREATHE, man. The air is made up of particles that react negatively to my human presence. I disperse them! yeesh... Plants don't have a nervous system or a brain. They don't feel pain in the sense that a mammal or a bird does.

    I have no problem with my place in this world so I am fine with it. Plants operate to defend themselves, much like birds, fish, mammals and insects. Where is the line drawn?

    With a nervous system.

    That seems rather Speciest of you. So, to you, anything that does not perceive the world as you do is fair game. Interesting.

    When you make statements like this, it's very difficult to take this discussion very seriously.

    Why? Is it not accurate that if a plant fights to survive by seeking sustenance and defending itself from predation that it does have a right to live?
  • doorki
    doorki Posts: 2,576 Member
    To summarize, it looks like people here eat meat because of:

    1. Taste
    2. Convenience
    3. High protein content
    4. Habit

    Nothing new, really.

    you forgot "entitlement" or the classic "because we can" attitude. it's not very inventive, but it sure is persistent.

    Thank you. Yes. All these reasons are self-serving.

    There is that sense of superiority again.
  • amivox
    amivox Posts: 441 Member
    Dear Vegetarians:

    Hate to break it to you... but plants are living things too!

    Oh good lord.....this is the best you can do?


    ^^ Is THIS the best YOU can do?

    First, pick a tomato. Then, run down a wild boar, wrestle it to the ground, and fight it to the death. Now, let's compare those two experiences.

    So you would prefer to feed on the reproductive organs of a helpless plant rather than allow a creature to fight or its life?

    Are you deliberately trying not to understand my point?

    Are you deliberately trying to evade the point that plants are living things as well? So it is no less humane to kill an animal than harvest plants.

    You forget that it takes at least 2 pounds of plant food to create a single pound of meat (some estimates are much higher). Therefore, if your heart bleeds for plants, you are causing double the 'pain' due to your food choice. But truly, I doubt if you would put the 'suffering' of plants on the order you do of animals, that you aren't being at all serious. I cut my teeth on this argument as a young vegetarian 40 years ago, so you aren't being as original as you may think you are being.

    I am fully conscious of my place in the world as an omnivore so my heart does not bleed for the food chain. But, new studies in the physiology of plants have come out in the last 40 years that may change your views on sentience and how it relates to the plant world. If your vegetarian/veganism is based on the moral argument that it is cruel to feed on living, sentient creatures, then logic dictates that you must expand this to plant life as well.

    Really? Could you give me cite to at least ONE of these many studies? Since plants don't have nervous systems, I really want to see this. I've only read two pages of this but already I have seen the usual dumb arguments.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/22/science/22angi.html?_r=3&em

    Here is the article in the NYT that was part of the earlier part of the discussion.

    The New York Times is not a scientific journal and is frequently full of drivel. Kindly refer me to a STUDY that shows plants feel pain.

    http://www.pnas.org/content/105/29/10033.full.pdf+html?sid=f78311f9-74dc-4ef7-a8a6-0993bb8ae907

    I read the abstract of this article. It has NOTHING to do with plants feeling pain. It concerns adoptive evolutionary strategies, nothing more.

    What do you think pain is other than our body telling us to react to negative stimuli?

    If you really think this way, then you must presume that atoms and molecules feel pain because they react to negative stimuli. A neutron will react to an electron. Does this mean we should eat nothing? You know what? WE SHOULDN"T EVEN BREATHE, man. The air is made up of particles that react negatively to my human presence. I disperse them! yeesh... Plants don't have a nervous system or a brain. They don't feel pain in the sense that a mammal or a bird does.

    I have no problem with my place in this world so I am fine with it. Plants operate to defend themselves, much like birds, fish, mammals and insects. Where is the line drawn?

    With a nervous system.

    That seems rather Speciest of you. So, to you, anything that does not perceive the world as you do is fair game. Interesting.

    When you make statements like this, it's very difficult to take this discussion very seriously.

    Why? Is it not accurate that if a plant fights to survive by seeking sustenance and defending itself from predation that it does have a right to live?

    ok, so if you have mold growing in your house or on your food, you just leave it, right? Because the mold has a right to live...
  • _VoV
    _VoV Posts: 1,494 Member
    Dear Vegetarians:

    Hate to break it to you... but plants are living things too!

    Oh good lord.....this is the best you can do?


    ^^ Is THIS the best YOU can do?

    First, pick a tomato. Then, run down a wild boar, wrestle it to the ground, and fight it to the death. Now, let's compare those two experiences.

    So you would prefer to feed on the reproductive organs of a helpless plant rather than allow a creature to fight or its life?

    Are you deliberately trying not to understand my point?

    Are you deliberately trying to evade the point that plants are living things as well? So it is no less humane to kill an animal than harvest plants.

    You forget that it takes at least 2 pounds of plant food to create a single pound of meat (some estimates are much higher). Therefore, if your heart bleeds for plants, you are causing double the 'pain' due to your food choice. But truly, I doubt if you would put the 'suffering' of plants on the order you do of animals, that you aren't being at all serious. I cut my teeth on this argument as a young vegetarian 40 years ago, so you aren't being as original as you may think you are being.

    I am fully conscious of my place in the world as an omnivore so my heart does not bleed for the food chain. But, new studies in the physiology of plants have come out in the last 40 years that may change your views on sentience and how it relates to the plant world. If your vegetarian/veganism is based on the moral argument that it is cruel to feed on living, sentient creatures, then logic dictates that you must expand this to plant life as well.

    Really? Could you give me cite to at least ONE of these many studies? Since plants don't have nervous systems, I really want to see this. I've only read two pages of this but already I have seen the usual dumb arguments.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/22/science/22angi.html?_r=3&em

    Here is the article in the NYT that was part of the earlier part of the discussion.

    The New York Times is not a scientific journal and is frequently full of drivel. Kindly refer me to a STUDY that shows plants feel pain.

    http://www.pnas.org/content/105/29/10033.full.pdf+html?sid=f78311f9-74dc-4ef7-a8a6-0993bb8ae907

    I read the abstract of this article. It has NOTHING to do with plants feeling pain. It concerns adoptive evolutionary strategies, nothing more.

    What do you think pain is other than our body telling us to react to negative stimuli?

    If you really think this way, then you must presume that atoms and molecules feel pain because they react to negative stimuli. A neutron will react to an electron. Does this mean we should eat nothing? You know what? WE SHOULDN"T EVEN BREATHE, man. The air is made up of particles that react negatively to my human presence. I disperse them! yeesh... Plants don't have a nervous system or a brain. They don't feel pain in the sense that a mammal or a bird does.

    I have no problem with my place in this world so I am fine with it. Plants operate to defend themselves, much like birds, fish, mammals and insects. Where is the line drawn?

    With a nervous system.

    That seems rather Speciest of you. So, to you, anything that does not perceive the world as you do is fair game. Interesting.

    When you make statements like this, it's very difficult to take this discussion very seriously.

    Why? Is it not accurate that if a plant fights to survive by seeking sustenance and defending itself from predation that it does have a right to live?

    I'm sorry, but again--every pound of meat means an animal has processed at least two pounds of plants for you. Address that point.
  • doorki
    doorki Posts: 2,576 Member
    Dear Vegetarians:

    Hate to break it to you... but plants are living things too!

    Oh good lord.....this is the best you can do?


    ^^ Is THIS the best YOU can do?

    First, pick a tomato. Then, run down a wild boar, wrestle it to the ground, and fight it to the death. Now, let's compare those two experiences.

    So you would prefer to feed on the reproductive organs of a helpless plant rather than allow a creature to fight or its life?

    Are you deliberately trying not to understand my point?

    Are you deliberately trying to evade the point that plants are living things as well? So it is no less humane to kill an animal than harvest plants.

    You forget that it takes at least 2 pounds of plant food to create a single pound of meat (some estimates are much higher). Therefore, if your heart bleeds for plants, you are causing double the 'pain' due to your food choice. But truly, I doubt if you would put the 'suffering' of plants on the order you do of animals, that you aren't being at all serious. I cut my teeth on this argument as a young vegetarian 40 years ago, so you aren't being as original as you may think you are being.

    I am fully conscious of my place in the world as an omnivore so my heart does not bleed for the food chain. But, new studies in the physiology of plants have come out in the last 40 years that may change your views on sentience and how it relates to the plant world. If your vegetarian/veganism is based on the moral argument that it is cruel to feed on living, sentient creatures, then logic dictates that you must expand this to plant life as well.

    Really? Could you give me cite to at least ONE of these many studies? Since plants don't have nervous systems, I really want to see this. I've only read two pages of this but already I have seen the usual dumb arguments.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/22/science/22angi.html?_r=3&em

    Here is the article in the NYT that was part of the earlier part of the discussion.

    The New York Times is not a scientific journal and is frequently full of drivel. Kindly refer me to a STUDY that shows plants feel pain.

    http://www.pnas.org/content/105/29/10033.full.pdf+html?sid=f78311f9-74dc-4ef7-a8a6-0993bb8ae907

    I read the abstract of this article. It has NOTHING to do with plants feeling pain. It concerns adoptive evolutionary strategies, nothing more.

    What do you think pain is other than our body telling us to react to negative stimuli?

    If you really think this way, then you must presume that atoms and molecules feel pain because they react to negative stimuli. A neutron will react to an electron. Does this mean we should eat nothing? You know what? WE SHOULDN"T EVEN BREATHE, man. The air is made up of particles that react negatively to my human presence. I disperse them! yeesh... Plants don't have a nervous system or a brain. They don't feel pain in the sense that a mammal or a bird does.

    I have no problem with my place in this world so I am fine with it. Plants operate to defend themselves, much like birds, fish, mammals and insects. Where is the line drawn?

    Pretty sure for anyone sane, the line is drawn at plants.

    Let's explore this, then. Why is the line drawn at plants? Is it because they are the lowest on the food chain or is there another reason?
  • doorki
    doorki Posts: 2,576 Member
    Dear Vegetarians:

    Hate to break it to you... but plants are living things too!

    Oh good lord.....this is the best you can do?


    ^^ Is THIS the best YOU can do?

    First, pick a tomato. Then, run down a wild boar, wrestle it to the ground, and fight it to the death. Now, let's compare those two experiences.

    So you would prefer to feed on the reproductive organs of a helpless plant rather than allow a creature to fight or its life?

    Are you deliberately trying not to understand my point?

    Are you deliberately trying to evade the point that plants are living things as well? So it is no less humane to kill an animal than harvest plants.

    You forget that it takes at least 2 pounds of plant food to create a single pound of meat (some estimates are much higher). Therefore, if your heart bleeds for plants, you are causing double the 'pain' due to your food choice. But truly, I doubt if you would put the 'suffering' of plants on the order you do of animals, that you aren't being at all serious. I cut my teeth on this argument as a young vegetarian 40 years ago, so you aren't being as original as you may think you are being.

    I am fully conscious of my place in the world as an omnivore so my heart does not bleed for the food chain. But, new studies in the physiology of plants have come out in the last 40 years that may change your views on sentience and how it relates to the plant world. If your vegetarian/veganism is based on the moral argument that it is cruel to feed on living, sentient creatures, then logic dictates that you must expand this to plant life as well.

    Really? Could you give me cite to at least ONE of these many studies? Since plants don't have nervous systems, I really want to see this. I've only read two pages of this but already I have seen the usual dumb arguments.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/22/science/22angi.html?_r=3&em

    Here is the article in the NYT that was part of the earlier part of the discussion.

    The New York Times is not a scientific journal and is frequently full of drivel. Kindly refer me to a STUDY that shows plants feel pain.

    http://www.pnas.org/content/105/29/10033.full.pdf+html?sid=f78311f9-74dc-4ef7-a8a6-0993bb8ae907

    I read the abstract of this article. It has NOTHING to do with plants feeling pain. It concerns adoptive evolutionary strategies, nothing more.

    What do you think pain is other than our body telling us to react to negative stimuli?

    If you really think this way, then you must presume that atoms and molecules feel pain because they react to negative stimuli. A neutron will react to an electron. Does this mean we should eat nothing? You know what? WE SHOULDN"T EVEN BREATHE, man. The air is made up of particles that react negatively to my human presence. I disperse them! yeesh... Plants don't have a nervous system or a brain. They don't feel pain in the sense that a mammal or a bird does.

    I have no problem with my place in this world so I am fine with it. Plants operate to defend themselves, much like birds, fish, mammals and insects. Where is the line drawn?

    With a nervous system.

    That seems rather Speciest of you. So, to you, anything that does not perceive the world as you do is fair game. Interesting.

    When you make statements like this, it's very difficult to take this discussion very seriously.

    Why? Is it not accurate that if a plant fights to survive by seeking sustenance and defending itself from predation that it does have a right to live?

    I'm sorry, but again--every pound of meat means an animal has processed at least two pounds of plants for you. Address that point.

    I addressed it earlier. I am not the one who has a problem being in the food chain. Things die to feed other things.
  • zcomsto
    zcomsto Posts: 11
    Because killing and eating humans is illegal (immoral maybe?). We SETTLE for animals...
  • _VoV
    _VoV Posts: 1,494 Member
    To summarize, it looks like people here eat meat because of:

    1. Taste
    2. Convenience
    3. High protein content
    4. Habit

    Nothing new, really.

    you forgot "entitlement" or the classic "because we can" attitude. it's not very inventive, but it sure is persistent.

    Thank you. Yes. All these reasons are self-serving.

    There is that sense of superiority again.

    In what way do these reasons (AS LISTED) serve something beyond the individual's interests?
  • doorki
    doorki Posts: 2,576 Member
    Dear Vegetarians:

    Hate to break it to you... but plants are living things too!

    Oh good lord.....this is the best you can do?


    ^^ Is THIS the best YOU can do?

    First, pick a tomato. Then, run down a wild boar, wrestle it to the ground, and fight it to the death. Now, let's compare those two experiences.

    So you would prefer to feed on the reproductive organs of a helpless plant rather than allow a creature to fight or its life?

    Are you deliberately trying not to understand my point?

    Are you deliberately trying to evade the point that plants are living things as well? So it is no less humane to kill an animal than harvest plants.

    You forget that it takes at least 2 pounds of plant food to create a single pound of meat (some estimates are much higher). Therefore, if your heart bleeds for plants, you are causing double the 'pain' due to your food choice. But truly, I doubt if you would put the 'suffering' of plants on the order you do of animals, that you aren't being at all serious. I cut my teeth on this argument as a young vegetarian 40 years ago, so you aren't being as original as you may think you are being.

    I am fully conscious of my place in the world as an omnivore so my heart does not bleed for the food chain. But, new studies in the physiology of plants have come out in the last 40 years that may change your views on sentience and how it relates to the plant world. If your vegetarian/veganism is based on the moral argument that it is cruel to feed on living, sentient creatures, then logic dictates that you must expand this to plant life as well.

    Really? Could you give me cite to at least ONE of these many studies? Since plants don't have nervous systems, I really want to see this. I've only read two pages of this but already I have seen the usual dumb arguments.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/22/science/22angi.html?_r=3&em

    Here is the article in the NYT that was part of the earlier part of the discussion.

    The New York Times is not a scientific journal and is frequently full of drivel. Kindly refer me to a STUDY that shows plants feel pain.

    http://www.pnas.org/content/105/29/10033.full.pdf+html?sid=f78311f9-74dc-4ef7-a8a6-0993bb8ae907

    I read the abstract of this article. It has NOTHING to do with plants feeling pain. It concerns adoptive evolutionary strategies, nothing more.

    What do you think pain is other than our body telling us to react to negative stimuli?

    If you really think this way, then you must presume that atoms and molecules feel pain because they react to negative stimuli. A neutron will react to an electron. Does this mean we should eat nothing? You know what? WE SHOULDN"T EVEN BREATHE, man. The air is made up of particles that react negatively to my human presence. I disperse them! yeesh... Plants don't have a nervous system or a brain. They don't feel pain in the sense that a mammal or a bird does.

    I have no problem with my place in this world so I am fine with it. Plants operate to defend themselves, much like birds, fish, mammals and insects. Where is the line drawn?

    With a nervous system.

    That seems rather Speciest of you. So, to you, anything that does not perceive the world as you do is fair game. Interesting.

    When you make statements like this, it's very difficult to take this discussion very seriously.

    Why? Is it not accurate that if a plant fights to survive by seeking sustenance and defending itself from predation that it does have a right to live?

    ok, so if you have mold growing in your house or on your food, you just leave it, right? Because the mold has a right to live...

    No, I kill it. But I am not the one who has a moral problem with killing lesser creatures. Mold has to die because it could adversely effect my habitat and my progeny.
  • doorki
    doorki Posts: 2,576 Member
    To summarize, it looks like people here eat meat because of:

    1. Taste
    2. Convenience
    3. High protein content
    4. Habit

    Nothing new, really.

    you forgot "entitlement" or the classic "because we can" attitude. it's not very inventive, but it sure is persistent.

    Thank you. Yes. All these reasons are self-serving.

    There is that sense of superiority again.

    In what way do these reasons (AS LISTED) serve something beyond the individual's interests?

    Read this whole quote block and then try to tell me honestly that you were not placing negatives on those reasons in both your context and your intent.

    ETA: Your being vegan/vegetarian serves your desire to feel good about yourself. Humans are self serving creatures.