[MD] vegetarianism

[Laird Bedore]

Hi gav,

I've been lurking for quite some time and figured this thread may be the 
most innocuous (hah!) to bring an introduction, and so I say hello!

Analyzing vegetarianism in the MOQ doesn't work well in isolation. There 
are certainly a whole lot of value patterns interacting and 
intersecting. I just want to throw some curveballs in here and see what 
comes out.

First off, we are biologically omnivores, even if we lean more toward 
herbivoric anatomy. We CAN do either, or both. Isn't it moral for us to 
take advantage of our biological capabilities in a way that best fits 
our environment? Say if you're living in a lush forest, eating plants is 
quite practical. If you're living on a desert island, eating fish is 
practical. If eating the plants causes decimation of the forests, I 
suppose there would be a movement toward eating meat to preserve the 
plant life. If eating animals causes species extinction (wasn't there a 
study mentioned about seafood recently?), I expect we'll see a movement 
away from using that species as a food source, and possibly an increase 
in plant consumption.

Biologically-speaking, is there a moral difference between eating 
animals versus plants? Aren't both biological patterns themselves? Do we 
treat animals as "higher" level biological patterns due to a sense of 
relation to them? Either way we exchange death of something else for 
sustaining our own life, as does every herbivore, carnivore, and omnivore.

Images of India come to mind - the poor starving in the streets, while 
cows are walking around right in front of them! At a biological level, 
there's quite a moral imbalance there, perpetrated by a higher social 
pattern of value (religious belief). That one gets me thinking in 
circles quickly, and reminds me not to take life for granted.

Personally, I eat what my body craves. I've found my cravings are a good 
litmus test of my nutrient balance. Sometimes I want meat, sometimes I 
want spinach and almonds and pumpernickel bread. My doctor is always a 
little puzzled why my cholesterol is low, my blood pressure good, and my 
nutrient balance in check. Eating what I crave seems to do the trick for 
me. No complaints!

-Laird

gav wrote:
> it seems the general gist is that eating meat or not
> is  a personal choice, and that both choices can be
> ethical.
>
> seems like no-one agrees with bob on this one. so
> where does that leave the MOQ?
>
>