A Meat-Eater Defends Herself

I was just reading a blog post about the abuses at the Willet Dairy in New York. Of course there were plenty of comments from meat-eaters defending the dairy. Here is one from "Karen" (http://www.farmanddairy.com/news/got-ethics-us-dairy-industry-yes-we-do/14169.html):

"Get a life, if I want to eat meat, drink milk, have an egg for breakfast, it is my choice."

Yes, legally you have that choice. But morally it is not just your choice. What if some aliens came to Earth and decided to kill and eat your children just because they liked the taste? (They had plenty of other food they could eat.) Would that be just a matter of personal choice for those aliens?

So why is it any different when you decide to kill and eat a sentient being or enslave them in order to steal their eggs? You sound a lot like the slave owners in the South 150 years ago.

"Do you really believe this country can feed its self on veggies and fruit alone. Not hardly, and how long will it take before the environmentalists cry foul for the misuse of the land?"

The land can actually feed many more people when used for vegetables, fruits, grains, legumes, seeds and nuts rather than when it is used to feed animals. That is because it takes multiple pounds of plant protein to produce one pound of animal protein. Meat-eating in the wealthier nations causes the loss of rain forest for grazing land and also to grow soy beans which are mainly used to feed animals.

"So I think it is time the animal activists check their emotions at the door and let consumers have the freedom of choice and stop with the lies."

Well excuse me for having some emotions about the 10 billion land animals killed every year in the United States just because people like how they taste. I also didn't see any lies in the original article. De-horning and tail docking are done routinely to cows without any pain medication. I won't even talk about what dairy farmers themselves call the "rape rack", the fate of male calves, the short lifespan of farmed animals, etc.

Feb 4th ABC New Story on Losing Weight

By now nearly everyone knows that two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese. ABC News did a story the other night on weight loss and basically concluded that the only choices were two expensive weight-loss drugs with some nasty side effects. If you watch the ads during ABC News you will know that they must get a lot of their funding from drug companies so I guess their conclusion is not surprising. But it is not correct.

They should have pointed out that you can change your diet to eat fewer calorie-dense foods. Meat, eggs, and dairy all contain lots of calories but no fiber at all. This means that when you have eaten your day's calorie limit of those foods your stomach is not full and you are still hungry … so you overeat. The same also applies to highly processed foods made from white flour and sugar.

If you change your diet to eat fruits, vegetables, whole grains, seeds and nuts then you will fill your stomach before you have eaten too many calories. Combine this with just a little exercise such as walking a mile or two every day and you will lose weight.

I switched to a healthy vegan diet about 5 years ago and before I knew it I had lost 35 pounds without even trying. Since then I eat all that I want and have maintained my weight of 150 pounds (I am 6 feet tall).

Sure, switching to a whole-food vegan diet is not easy for everyone but it is a healthy choice that is good for you, the environment, and the animals. ABC News should have at least mentioned this alternative!