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Lisa, which "animals" do you mean...?

Alexandra, thank you for resurrecting this thread, and I wanted to let you know I am thinking about this.

I don't feel that eating animals is an affront to nature, as our cycle of life on this planet is rather based on it. We are omnivores: look at our teeth, our guts, our enzymes.

My big issue is how the meat animals are kept. After reading Diet for a New America, i was shocked and saddened. That was about 15 years ago. And one would think that I would only purchase free range, organically raised animals. I am ashamed to say I don't. The only major change i made was to never eat veal, which felt right to me.

So am still thinking about all this.

I so agree with you about veal. I will not eat babies therefore I also will not eat lamb.

Being completely vegetarian is hard for me although I am getting to a point where I can't bear to eat meat. It just feels wrong but I am concerned about losing protein. Mostly I stick to fish and turkey.

If this is becoming a real issuie with you, then you can always supplement with a protein shake in the morning,and maybe even one in the afternoon. THe majority of protein in these shakes caomes from soy and whey, al thoug some are made with milk - but I don't see any animals coming to harm from milking.

And if you are willing to est milk products - you've still got all your xheese products open to you.

eggs come back to the theological question - is it a baby chicken?

the eggs you buy in stores are unfertilized eggs, so i don't think that counts.

I understand what you mean about the horrors of eating veal, but I have to say, if people were aware of the sheer horror of the meat industry nowadays, the mass-production and the cruelty involved - veal would be the least of their problems.

There are so many good and excellent-quality meat subsitutes on the market nowadays, that gaining the right amount of protein for one's diet is not impossible.
I'm doing just that.
I am gradually cutting meat out altogether, and replacing it with a medically-balanced substitute....


And the harm done to animals by consuming milk is that cows are kept pregnant all the time, and very often, the calves are aborted, so that the cow can then be re-impregnated....It's the only way mammals can produce milk....

I actually bought two of those "sensitive touch" plants - and promptly killed them I really tried to water them properly but I did *something* wrong. They were so cool while they were alive, too. I think I'll order another one and try again ...

Alexandra - if you say these plants aren't bad to eat because they are acting "instinctively", how is that any different than a fish that instinctively eats things that move (even fish hooks)? They're not "thinking" either, in a sentient way. They are instinctively gobbling things that cross their field of vision.

I am all for eating very mindfully, eating free range chicken, not drinking milk as an adult. I just think we should treat all life (including plants) with the same care, and eat things in a way that appreciates their life.

After all, dust mites are animals and we kill tons of them when we wash our linens ...

Here's a simple animal - the sponge Not the one we use to wash dishes, but the actual animal that object is based on. Wikipedia has a page on them (of course) -

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I never knew this - or I guess I should say I never came to this conclusion. It seems obvious once it is pointed out.

However, I do not have a problem with eating meat (of course I am not a Buddhist either).

But it does make me want to look more closely at the treatment of animals that I had always assumed were never being harmed.

Right I agree completely Michelle, we should all be familiar with how the food we eat is made. I think a lot of us are too "far" from the source and don't realize how chickens are raised, how cows are raised etc. We should try to consume food that is raised ethically, whatever that food is.