11-18-2011, 11:34 PM
Since the back-and-forth, quote/reply quote/reply thing gets tedious sometimes, I will just give some thoughts.
1) Herbivorous species like rabbits, antelope, deer, etc. need predators in order to maintain a healthy population. With many species, humans have played and continued to play the role of predator. This bothers many sensitive people, but I don't see anything inherently negative about it. In fact, I see it as positive in that humans are playing an important role in maintaining the health of those species. The situation is similar with domesticated animals. Animal-lovers don't want to see cows slaughtered, but if cows weren't slaughtered there would be no cows, or many fewer -- humans would stop keeping them, and they have died out in the wild.
2) There has been much research about the importance of nutrient-rich foods (meaning animal products, especially often-neglected items like kidneys, etc.) in an optimal diet. I'm not an expert in this area but I believe that, just as vegetarians and vegans can and do point to research that supports their diet choices, so can people who eat meat and other animal products point to research that supports theirs. One source I'm somewhat familiar with is Sally Fallon of the Weston A. Price Institute. Mostly I know about them because of their strong advocacy for fresh (raw) milk, which I'm also in favor of, because we have a Jersey cow.
3) The idea that we should consider ecosystem health and long-term sustainability in our food choices doesn't seem at all ridiculous to me. And yes, petroleum plays into that. Grass-based animal husbandry is actually one of the most sustainable and fewest-input-requiring methods of food production available to us.
4) A lot of the arguments against eating meat seem to come down to "it's obvious that it's good to eat plants but not good to eat meat." I don't really know how to respond to those arguments other than to say, "it's not obvious to me."
5) The various ideas put forward to suggest that Ra implied that we shouldn't eat meat (plant vs animal individuation, 4D diet, etc.) are also not compelling to me.
6) The idea that it's a worthy goal to try to convince meat-eaters to stop eating meat reminds me of Ra's quote about those attempting to "improve" society: "Thus those most active in attempting to remake or alter the society are those working from feelings of being correct personally or of having answers which will put power in a more correct configuration."
1) Herbivorous species like rabbits, antelope, deer, etc. need predators in order to maintain a healthy population. With many species, humans have played and continued to play the role of predator. This bothers many sensitive people, but I don't see anything inherently negative about it. In fact, I see it as positive in that humans are playing an important role in maintaining the health of those species. The situation is similar with domesticated animals. Animal-lovers don't want to see cows slaughtered, but if cows weren't slaughtered there would be no cows, or many fewer -- humans would stop keeping them, and they have died out in the wild.
2) There has been much research about the importance of nutrient-rich foods (meaning animal products, especially often-neglected items like kidneys, etc.) in an optimal diet. I'm not an expert in this area but I believe that, just as vegetarians and vegans can and do point to research that supports their diet choices, so can people who eat meat and other animal products point to research that supports theirs. One source I'm somewhat familiar with is Sally Fallon of the Weston A. Price Institute. Mostly I know about them because of their strong advocacy for fresh (raw) milk, which I'm also in favor of, because we have a Jersey cow.
3) The idea that we should consider ecosystem health and long-term sustainability in our food choices doesn't seem at all ridiculous to me. And yes, petroleum plays into that. Grass-based animal husbandry is actually one of the most sustainable and fewest-input-requiring methods of food production available to us.
4) A lot of the arguments against eating meat seem to come down to "it's obvious that it's good to eat plants but not good to eat meat." I don't really know how to respond to those arguments other than to say, "it's not obvious to me."
5) The various ideas put forward to suggest that Ra implied that we shouldn't eat meat (plant vs animal individuation, 4D diet, etc.) are also not compelling to me.
6) The idea that it's a worthy goal to try to convince meat-eaters to stop eating meat reminds me of Ra's quote about those attempting to "improve" society: "Thus those most active in attempting to remake or alter the society are those working from feelings of being correct personally or of having answers which will put power in a more correct configuration."
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