h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Being a vegetarian definitely has its uses. I had a very diverse group of co-students at Uni and never had to worry about whether what I was feeding my visitors was kosher/halal/Lent-appropriate/etc. That kind of thing always tends to revolve around meat, so leaving it out of the equation entirely solves the problem!

The really fascinating thing about eggs, though, is that they're relatively low in calories - about 75 for a large egg. That means it only takes 75 calories to make a chick! That's about the same amount the average man uses to watch TV for an hour.

And chicks confined in an eggshell move about as much as that, too.

Something I wonder about those who don't eat cuddlies for their personal moral reasons, but do eat eggs and dairy (I have neighbours who don't cuddlies or dairy, but do eat eggs) is . . .


Where do they think the eggs and diary come from? What do they think happens to the hens and cows when they grow old? What do they think happens to male calves born to a heifer?


But then, that brings me back to the whole 'I eat fish and crustaceans but not mammals or birds so I'm a vegetarian' thing. I guess people just decide where they're going to draw their own personal line/put on their own personal blinders.

I know I do.

"Something I wonder about those who don't eat cuddlies for their personal moral reasons"

Are those their words, or yours? Rays, in particular, are very touchy-feely when they get to know you - and trout, well, they are so cuddly you can catch them by tickling, but I'm guessing you mean land mammals.

I don't mean anything.

I'm quite happy to prepare and eat pretty much anything (my next go at seal flipper pie will be much better than my first)

I was thinking of the 'won't eat anything I can cuddle at the petting zoo' comment earlier.

I've held rabbits and goats and calves and sheep and pigs and guinea pigs at petting zoos and I would have no problem eating same. I regularly eat elk and bison. I'm quite partial to moose.

I feel fortunate that I have the choice. Most people are two busy asking 'what the hell can we eat?' while we have the luxury of asking 'where shall we have lunch.'

I don't think the 'won't eat anything I can cuddle at the petting zoo' comment was made by a vegetarian either. When you start explaining other people's behaviour for them, it's quite likely you'll get it wrong.

And you're right; most people are too busy asking "what the hell can we eat" to go on the Atkins diet or the South Beach diet - when they don't starve, most of the people in the world often live off carbohydrates.

Okay, here's my experience of known 'vegetarians' in my recent history:

The no mammals or birds but yes fish and crustaceans proudly vegetarian teaching assistant I mentioned before. The closest I ever heard to an explanation of why she'd made the choices she had was 'yuk' directed at a nice piece of dry-cured sausage.

The proudly vegetarian, home-schooling neighbours who want to raise chickens for eggs. I've never asked nor been told why they've made this choice for themselves, their children, and their dog.

My nephew, who spent a year as a vegetarian because his buddies said he couldn't do it. When the year was up, he went back to being an omnivore.

There is also an internationally known pop singer from around here who is a very outspoken vegetarian. I assume that her reasons are summed up in her very public claims that 'Meat Stinks!'

And, to close:

http://www.urbanjunglecomic.com/?p=1055

That's not exactly a large enough sample to be statistically significant.

I don't scrutinize everyone I know closely enough to know whether they are vegetarians or not, but I know at least four people who are (or use it as a handy label). And I've never heard one of them say they won't eat things that are cuddly, but that they will eat slimy things.

Some have environmental reasons, some have reasons of what tastes good to them, some probably have reasons of habit, or what they can afford, or whatever. And all these reasons determine which things they eat or don't like to eat. The only thing they have in common is that they get lectures for being "inconsistent" by people who presume to know what their motivation is.

Of the four (families) I mentioned, only the fish and shrimp vegetarian and the 'Meat Stinks!' singer annoy me at all. My nephew had a completely rational reason for his choice -- to show up his buddies. And the family next door, based on what I know of them -- which is quite a lot -- we're good friends and neighbours -- they're decision is certainly environmental, and it is a decision which I agree with. In fact, I try not to eat much meat myself -- I'm just eclectic in the species I'm willing to consume.

I try to avoid beef because it is a terribly damaging invasive species here -- hence my choice of elk and bison, both of which are ranched sustainably locally. Which leads to another prime motive in my choices: I try desperately to buy locally. I would far rather buy something from a local farmer which didn't have a fancy 'organic' label on it than to buy something 'organic' which had been shipped half way around the planet. For me, 'local' is a far more important consideration than any other.

'The only thing they have in common is that they get lectures for being "inconsistent" by people who presume to know what their motivation is.'

I forgot to clarify something. The no mammals or birds vegetarian annoyed me (I say the following because I knew her quite well: we'd been working closely together for a number of years) because she quite clearly took a tone of moral superiority over lowly omnivores like me. Her inconsistency was just icing on the cake.

I didn't mean you when I said that, anhaga.

But it's true. The vegetarians I know *are* constantly asked to justify themselves by otherwise rational people. Yet it's always "fanatical veggies and vegans" we hear about.

Anyway, it's too late for a conversation like this. I'm already starting to drool about things it would take too long to cook.

'The vegetarians I know *are* constantly asked to justify themselves by otherwise rational people.'


There's no reason they should have to, in my opinion. I guess that's why I've never even thought of asking why my neighbours are.

I think I've mentioned elsewhere that I have Jewish neighbours, Hindu neighbours, Muslim neighbours, Catholic neighbours, vegetarian neighbours, neighbours with major food allergies, etc.

It's routine when planing a get together around here to ask 'are there any dietary considerations?'

I wouldn't have it any other way.

No, of course there's no reason they should have to.

It does seem to make people aggressive when you say you don't eat meat.

The strangest response I've had - from someone who was commenting on my lunch, which I'd made myself and which didn't affect them in any way - was "You're a vegetarian? Hitler was a vegetarian! You Nazi!"

And thus did this thread, against expectations, achieve a Godwin factor of only 74. Who'd have guessed?

On a more frivolous note

'Vegetarianism, the born again christian of foods. Eat me or die horribly".

I'm quite content to die horribly I hunt vermin, I eat meat. My choice

Nadgers, I agree with norti.

Hate it when that happens

I was brought up knowing you weren't allowed to eat meat on Fridays, but that fish was OK. In fact the names of the days of the week in the Irish language are instructive:

Moon Day, Mars Day, First Fast, Day between Fasts, Fast Day, Saturn Day, Lord's Day.

The Wednesday fast was discontinued centuries ago but the Friday fast tradition was alive well into the 1970s.

In the middle ages, Barnacle Geese were thought to hatch out of barnacles rather than from eggs, so they counted as fish and could be eaten on Fridays.

Of course, the fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday were especially strict - one meal, two "collations" which are large snacks, and no meat or luxury items.

anhaga



Would that be Chrissie Hynde who went nutbar on Radio 4's PM a few years ago?

Transcript:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/reports/archive/interview/interviewoftheweektranshynde.shtml

I'm glad to see they transcribed it as 'Interview of the Week. A shame you can't get the increasing hysterical nature of her speaking from it. It was whne she said the following that I realised she'd started to lose it in the interview.

"How are you calling it rubbish when you’re eating rotting carcasses and you’re feeding that to your children and you’re saying that a vegetarian is eating rubbish because we don’t want to participate in a slaughter?"

My favourite quote from the crazier end of vegetarianism was Morrissey's "FISH SCREAM WHEN THEY DIE!" to Wossy a few years ago.