Vegetarianism
Vegetarianism is the practice of not consuming the flesh of any animal (including sea animals) with or without also eschewing other animal derivatives, such as dairy products or eggs. Some vegetarians choose to also refrain from wearing clothing that has concerned the death of animals, such as leather, silk and fur. Veganism excludes all animal products from diet and attire, whether or not their manufacture has involved the actual death of an animal (dairy, eggs, honey, wool, silk and down feathers). Vegetarians have varied motivations including religious, cultural, ethical, environmental, social, economic, and health concerns.
posted by loseword at 10:45 PM
1 Comments:
Hi,
Nice post describing vegetarians and vegans!
I just wanted to add a point to the veganism discussion. It's true that no animal theoretically has to die to produce dairy and eggs, but in reality, in order to make it economically feasible, animals are routinely killed when their production wanes.
In the case of eggs, the male chicks are of no use to the industry, so they are killed as soon as they hatch. (My vet toured a hatchery as part of his training and witnessed workers throwing away live male baby chicks into trashcans. There are no laws concerning the slaughter of birds in the U.S.). The hens are usually killed after about 2 years of egg production.
The dairy industry relies on impregnating the cows, and a typical dairy cow will live 4-5 years before she is killed, giving birth to 4-5 calfs. The male calfs will end up as veal, and are killed either within days or weeks of being born. Some of the females born go to meat, others may become dairy cows.
For people ethically opposed to killing animals, it seems to make more sense to give up eggs before beef.
Post a Comment
<< Home