Comment

Comment by GodlessBoy on December 29, 2009 at 4:15pm

hello there, I'm quite happy to find a group of atheist who happen to be vegetarians/vegans!

Comment by jalub carrey on December 28, 2009 at 1:51am

it's difficult living in Asia as a vegetarian. Koreans are always eating meat!

Comment by S S Tragus on December 20, 2009 at 12:43pm

Though presented by a company making and selling vegan food products, specifically meat analogues, the data presented in the linked-to page is drawn from reputable sources.

Comment by S S Tragus on December 17, 2009 at 10:03am

I wrote a post last night on my vegan blog and received a couple of interesting little comments from Bob and bob (hmm, same person?). Sound either like a devout young Christian who thinks he finds justification for vegetarianism in the bible (the closest to biblical endorsement I can think of is the statement in Genesis about having given every seed-bearing thing that grows from the ground for us to eat), or he's simply a troll.

Comment by S S Tragus on December 13, 2009 at 2:47pm

To Charlie, the token omnivore: there is a great deal of scientific evidence, if you care to examine it, that humans have much more in common physiologically--teeth, digestive fluids, stomach, intestines, nails--with other herbivorous animals than with carnivorous or even omnivorous ones. Cross-cultural studies have also shown that many diseases, especially the diseases of affluence such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer, are far less prevalent among largely herbivorous populations and increasingly pervasive in highly carnivorous populations.

I find many people use religion as a basis and support for their use of animals for food, clothing, etc.. God put animals on earth specifically for us, the argument goes, so that we could eat them or use their fur and skin for our clothing, or use them in scientific experiments or all manner of household products.

If we move away from the ideological and superstitious to the rational and scientific in other areas of our lives, it behooves us to also look at our diet and how we relate to and make use of our natural environment and our fellow species, in a rational and scientific way.

As with anything else in the scientific realm, we have much to learn, and there are no clear-cut answers, but shouldn't stop us from the continual pursuit of knowledge and from acting on some things we have already learned. As far as veg*nism goes, even if people are unconvinced that humans are naturally herbivorous, or fail to see an ethical basis for veg*nism, there are enough other benefits, including our health, individual and collective, and our environment, to make the switch.

Comment by Dennis Paul Renner on December 10, 2009 at 12:20pm

Most Americans like to think of themselves as environmentalists or at least conservationists. But are they?

What we are hoping to save by acting as conservationists, and environmentalists is nothing less than our life support systems on this planet. First and foremost in importance is fresh water. For many on the planet a source of fresh water is all ready a major problem. Second farmland destruction, topsoil erosion enough arable land has been destroyed by modern agricultural, practices to equal the size of China and India combined. Third our atmosphere, global warming and major climate change threatens every habitat on the planet. The major problem behind these issues is our combined diet of animal products and there production.

Most Americans like to think of themselves as environmentalists but if they are eating animal products they are not environmentalists or conservationists. They are adding to a problem of un-sustainability. By eating animal products your are part of the global problem. By going vegan you are part of the global solution. It’s just that simple.

Comment by Sydni Moser on December 9, 2009 at 10:48pm

Al Gore Speaks Out On Animal Agriculture

Al Gore has finally admitted that meat and animal products are significant contributors to global warming. He now says he has cut back considerably on his meat consumption - his new healthier appearance could be a reflection of his improved diet. In his new book, "Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis," he includes a two page photo of a feedlot operation with hundreds of cows. Gore states, “Most of the methane from agricultural operations comes from livestock and livestock waste.” He goes on to say that, “it takes more than seven pounds of plant protein to produce one pound of beef, and more than 6,000 gallons of water.”

A World Watch study we told you about a few weeks ago concluded that animal agriculture is the source of more than half of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions. If you haven't reviewed that report yet, we highly recommend it. LINK to Livestock and Climate Change

Comment by Dennis Paul Renner on November 28, 2009 at 5:04pm

Think About It.
I hear complaints from some about veganism and vegetarianism. Meat eaters seem as defensive about their diets as Christians and Muslims are about their religions. Perhaps the same kind of false assumptions and faith is being applied.

Lots of meat eaters claim that it is there right to eat meat. That eating meat is a personal choice. Eating meat is exercising their freedom. It tastes good so there fore they should eat it.

Well just like religion has lost all it battles when confronted by science so has the argument that meat or animal products are good for human consumption, They have lost in the legitimate scientific research studies. I am not just talking recent scientific studies either. Researchers back in the early 1800s found the same results. One such researcher Dr. George Macilwain became a vegetarian after finding that animal grease, fat and alcohol as being leading causes of cancer.
Both Socrates and Plato wrote in favor of a plant-based diet. Quote from Plato” We shall eat animals at our own peril.” It has been obvious for centuries that those who ate large amounts of meat and animal products suffered more diseases.

Lets look at Americans today. 82% of Americans are at risk of heart disease, 65% are over weight 31% are obese and suffer high levels of diabetes, joint problems, and numerous types of cancers.

Over 700,000 Americans die each year of heart disease and millions more suffer related problems. Creating a giant market for the pharmaceutical industry.
Nearly 600,000 Americans die of cancers each and millions more suffer from the pain of chemo and radiation treatments that often cause secondary cancers to start. The cost of these diseases are bringing our health care system to its knees.

At the root of all this suffering and death is American’s high consumption of animal products. The science is in if you want to reduce your risk of these diseases reduce or cut these food out of your diet. A vegetarian reduces their risk of heart disease and cancer by an average of 50%. A vegan reduces their risk of heart disease and cancer by an average of 86%. Yet the greed of the food industries still markets these dangerous animal products as necessary nutrients.

Lets examine the argument,” It’s my body and my personal right to eat meat if I want to.”
Is eating meat or animal products personal? The obvious answer to this question is no. The decision to eat animal products affects everyone on the planet. Your personal choice to do something harmful to the planet and a majority of your country men all deciding to do the same thing has a dramatic effect on this planet and our life support systems. Raising millions of animals for slaughter wastes 90% percent of the calories farmed to feed them while 60 million people starve to death on this planet. Raising millions of animals for food produces more green house gases than transportation and industry combined. Raising millions of animals for slaughter is producing billions of tons of sewage waste that is polluting our rivers streams and fresh water aquifers. Every pound of meat uses a gallon of petroleum. The animal products industry has a huge carbon footprint. And for a world in a fresh water crisis the animal food industry is the largest waster of fresh water there is.

So you see eating meat is based on false assumptions and faith. When you choose to eat animal product you are not only affecting your own health but the health of every one you love. Your decision to eat meat affects everyone on the planet and it affects the health of our planet. Eating meat is not personal it is a selfish choice in a world that cannot sustain such choices.

Atheists pride them selves as self disciplined thinkers. Is it any wonder that so many of our greatest atheist minds have chosen to be vegan or vegetarian? Perhaps as a meat-eating atheist you should re-examine your dietary choices and see if they are logical or rational behavior. Dennis Renner

"The time will come when men such as I will look upon the murder of animals as they now look on the murder of men."
Leonardo da Vinci, artist and scientist

"Our task must be to free ourselves . . . by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty."
"Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances of survival for life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet."
Albert Einstein, physicist, Nobel Prize 1921

Comment by Dennis Paul Renner on November 28, 2009 at 10:23am

I do love animals but my reasons for being vegan are more to a scientific viewpoint. The fact is that with the world’s water crisis and human over population we all live in a world that is moving toward unsustainable resources. By going vegan each person saves tremendously on water usage and reduces their carbon footprint. I have a blog on the subject if you would like to learn more. http://h2oshortage.blogspot.com/

Comment by Charlie Quaid on November 24, 2009 at 12:07am

I'm gonna be your token atheist omnivore - I don't choose be vegan or vegetarian, I don't care if you do; I choose to acknowledge that I am what we humans have evolved to be - omnivores.

What I do object to is the attempt by some vegans and vegetarians to move us, one small step after another, towards a future where eating meat will be considered a crime.

And I'm going to point out that the solution to sustainability is to manage our population - before all else, period.

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