Asymmetrical Information

There are three vegetarians in my family who insist that the faux-chicken nuggets or faux-ribs or faux-hamburgers taste the same as the real thing. To that I remind them that they haven't eaten the real thing in over a decade, so how the hell would they know?

I don't mind eating vegetarian when I'm with them. I love vegetables. They taste good. Why make them try to taste like meat?

They persist in offering me "riblets".

*shudder*

Had to make an official visit once to an institution that is, among other things, strictly vegetarian. Walked through the kitchen and was surprised at the strong meat smell. They had a gunboat on one stove where they were disolving thousands of bullion cubes to flavor the rest of their food.
I begged off a lunch invitation and drove down the road to a prime rib house.

You should try goose. It's even tastier than turkey.

One ex-vegetarian friend of mine used to get really excited about tofurkeys (doesn't that sound like a mangled expletive?) for both the vegetarian aspect and because the makers supposedly bought a turkey for every tofurkey sold.

Then she figured out that this just increased demand for turkeys (she said), which would prompt turkey farmers to...well, farm more turkeys.

I could've told her to go free-range or to go hunt down a turkey herself (bow and arrow?) to give the turkey a fair chance, but I forgot. :)

PS Did you know you're in Newsweek? Dec 2, 2002 edition, in an editorial. Ran across it while waiting at the doctor's office.

The sellers claimed they bought *and freed* the turkey, that is...

That gummy crap is seitan, sounds like "Satan".

Wild turkeys survive quite nicely in the wild, and breed pretty well too. They are fast, and smart, and tough. Hunting wild turkey is a real challenge. I've done it a few times, and it's just not that much fun. I swear the damned things laugh at you as they run off through the brush.

And the idea of taking a wild turkey with a bow makes ME laugh. That's just not gonna happen.

The domestic turkey is a whole 'nother bird.

"Those hemp shoes pack a surprising wallop..."

Yeah, violent vegans. Sorta like violent anti-war protesters. If they attack you then give 'em a whiff of mace or a womp or two with the expanding baton and they scurry off to Mommy. If there's a bunch and things look bleak then just shoot a few and the rest will suddenly remember more pressing engagements.

The problem with people who advocate respect for all life is that they can't resort to the last resort when they lose an arguement. Trying to attack someone who's interested in self defense is a really good way to spend your holidays in the hospital.

James

I suppose a consistent ethical philosophy could be framed around eating only things turkey intelligence or below. I guess we'd call it "turkan" or somesuch.

Not really a vegetarian, just someone who minimizes the consumption of protein from what used to be animal muscle: why not call yourself a "carneminist," or should that be a "minicarnist," or perhaps a "faunaminist"?

I think Tim Blair had the best idea (yes, him again)...a kowombaroo.

Actually, you can kill a wild turkey with a bow, but it's incredibly difficult (probably you're getting the only dumb one in the area).

Anyway, I love eating vegetables, and I love eating good meat. I'm pretty sure they're morally in the same categories since just about all the veggies I eat (less the wild mushrooms [I know, they're not veggies] and the fresh greens I gather in the spring) all of them are "farm-raised", force-fed and -watered, covered in either man-made or animal-made fertilizers, forcibly uprooted or plucked unwilling from the plant, have their generative organs untimely plucked, etc, etc, etc.

How do you know carrots don't scream when they're ripped out of the ground? It doesn't appear to me on the face of it that we treat animals any less well than we do veggies. You can eat in whatever manner you wish, so far as I'm concerned, just leave off the phony moralizing. (Not you, of course, Dear Megan. Like my real friends, you just eat veggie. I appreciate that.)

Obviously I am late to stumble onto this sight, but very disturbed so I must comment....

Vegetarians that do not eat meat because of their compassion towards animals (along with Vegans) do not eat meat for that reason - they choose to show compassion to all creatures that have feelings and have a central nervous system and feel PAIN. To make fun of this is extremely insensitive..... to choose your own WANTS (not needs, because people to not need to eat meat - research that one) over the murder of these living creatures because of your socialized taste buds is selfish..... and then to make fun of those who happen to FEEL - is plain cruel...three things vegetarians and vegans at least strive NOT to be. As for your tofurky comments, again the goal here is NOT TO EAT ANIMALS.... some people struggle more with the foods they like to eat, yet they don't want to be responsible for murder.... they can't help the way they were raised to like the taste of meat just like you can't..... but they are doing their best to avoid pain and suffering of people and animals.

You have the choice to continue to make excuses why not to become vegan or vegetarian, and you can continue to eat "real" meat because it tastes like "real" meat and "fake" meat just doesn't taste the same, and you can continue to miss the bigger picture..... or, maybe you should research these ideas... everyone has the ability to expand their levels of compassion and grow..... good luck

As I've been reading these comments it seems like there has been alot of judgements made.
I consider myself a vegetarian, but I eat turkey once every one or two weeks. Sue me... I didn't eat any meat for over 10 years, and it was hard on my body. I find it difficult to be a healthy vegetarian, and I know very few people who are.
My point is, maybe instead of critisizing each other we should focus more on education. Education on healthy living, slaughter houses, why we do or do not need meat in our diet. Both sides have thier points but who can hear them if we are all busy yelling from our self righteous, arrogant, royal thrones.

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