Why do people choose to be vegans?

[cassie]

The part (one of many) that I don't understand is that if a person refuses to use honey for the reasons you mentioned, they should, by the same logic, also not consume crops pollinated by bees, either. While wild bees can and do pollinate crops, by far most of the bees doing the pollination are domestic bees. The beekeeper gets his income by renting the bees to farmers for pollination. He also gets income from sales of the honey that the bees make in the course of pollination. So if honey sales are expoiting the bees, so is using the bees for pollination. The same bees owned by the same beekeepers are used for both.

 

[BusyBlonde]

I have a co-worker who is vegan because he believes it will prevent cancer. He says that he believes cancer develops from the ingestion of animal proteins, so he does not ingest any animal proteins. For him, it's not an issue of the quality of life for animals. He still wears leather.

 

[cassie]

I have a co-worker who is vegan because he believes it will prevent cancer. He says that he believes cancer develops from the ingestion of animal proteins, so he does not ingest any animal proteins. For him, it's not an issue of the quality of life for animals. He still wears leather.

Hmm. I once had an Alpine dairy goat that died of cancer. I'm pretty sure she was a vegan.....

 

[Bunnylady]

Quote: I can't begin to count the number of rabbits I have had that died of cancer. I know they were vegans - or at any rate, they had an appropriate diet.

 

[BusyBlonde]

Well, my thought is WE are animal protein, LOL. I don't agree with his opinion, but I'm not a vegan, either. I've grown up around farm animals most all my life, and know than every species I've ever had can get cancer. But what he believes, and how he eats, doesn't affect me. It does make it difficult for him at our company meetings and gatherings!

 

[RaintheRooster]

I have seen docked tails. As far as I know that practice is being phased out. Doesn't help the cleanliness issue one bit and makes the cow's life miserable. The growth hormones may be getting phased out, too. They may be profitable on the short run but not on the long run. Several dairymen who used them for a while told me they quit because the income from the extra milk is quickly eaten up by the cost of the extra feed, cost of extra replacements, labor costs of administering the drug, and costs of the drug itself.

People who won't use honey for ethical reason should not consume almonds or other crops pollinated by bees either. The bees that pollinate crops are mostly domestic bees that are owned, bred, raised and managed like other livestock.

As far as I can tell vegansim is an emotional issue, not a logical one. None of our closest relatives, not monkeys, nor apes, nor lemurs, subsist on a wholly vegan diet. They all consume at least some animal protein.

About the bees- My father keeps some bees and I help out too. The bees really don't care about crowding, as long as there is enough food. They will, however, naturally move out if it is too crowded and live as wild bees. They are very capable of producing their own food and honey. This is just me saying something as a person who manages a single hive, but the real honey tastes a lot better. I don't see how bees can be forced to be overcrowded. I think honey is fine, but okay, it's their choice, I won't say anything against it. I'm not a vegetarian/vegan myself.

 

[rufus]

Don't worry about vegans. They make their own decisions. When they get tired of it or realize nobody cares what they eat, they may come around. It is a personal issue. Just make sure there are enough veggies on the table. They may come up with some sanctimonious attitudes at the dinner table, but just tell them to can it. The dinner table is no place to preach.

Count yourself lucky they are into the vegan lifestyle and not some other things like drugs.

By the way, I see as a result of some court cases, horse slaughter will resume in the US. The USDA had been prohibited from providing meat inspections for horse slaughter. MMMM! Horse meat. I loved it.

 

[RaintheRooster]

Don't worry about vegans. They make their own decisions. When they get tired of it or realize nobody cares what they eat, they may come around. It is a personal issue. Just make sure there are enough veggies on the table. They may come up with some sanctimonious attitudes at the dinner table, but just tell them to can it. The dinner table is no place to preach.

Count yourself lucky they are into the vegan lifestyle and not some other things like drugs.

By the way, I see as a result of some court cases, horse slaughter will resume in the US. The USDA had been prohibited from providing meat inspections for horse slaughter. MMMM! Horse meat. I loved it.

Okay, I see how people can eat horse meat, but I own two horses... and I would feel terrible eating it... But it's just me.

 

[rufus]

Maybe you are not hungry enough. Try it, you will like it.

 

[RaintheRooster]

Maybe you are not hungry enough. Try it, you will like it.

It might taste good, but I wouldn't enjoy it. My horses are too happy. I know that the things where they say, 'Horse meat is bad, foals watch their moms get killed,' etc. ect. aren't really true, but I'll just stick with my beef, ham, eggs and bread, I guess.