Hoping to formalize the page a bit better and organize it. In time I suppose. : )

On a side note. If we gave potatoes feelings. We’d ban the cooking of potatoes wouldn’t we.

Sort of reminds me of the whole AI-Sentient robot debate. Similar scenarios.

But anyways, as I did not fully read the article yet I will find the time to do so. : )

I agree that it would be more challenging to prepare a nutritious diet without consuming any meat, but this is where the importance of finding a balance comes in. Some vegetarians consume milk, eggs, or seafood. Others use supplements. I’m sure Lizzy (above) is more knowledgeable about this subject. For now, I’m slowly converting myself to become a part-time vegetarian: I’m reducing meat intake (especially beef) while increasing vegetables, complex carbohydrates, etc. I don’t foresee myself entirely abandoning meat in the short-run.

Overpopulation is a problem for many things Wouldn’t it be rather subjective to define what a “healthy share” is? One might argue that a healthy share is achieved when global hunger is eliminated, when children in impoverished countries have enough food to survive and live a normal life. One might also argue that a healthy share is achieved when the obesity epidemic that’s sweeping much of the developed world is eliminated, when heart disease and stroke are no longer the leading causes of death.

This is jumping on a tangent, but I think North Americans would benefit from some caloric restriction.

These are substantial sources of protein, which can be obtained in other ways, but not as readily or easily.

Besides, most people, especially in places like the US, have the option of buying grass-fed, free-range, etc. Which is fine. But making the entire industry free-range and grass-fed and what not is no small undertaking. It would, frankly, cost billions of dollars.

And even if that worked in the US, who’s to say it would happen in other places? Do you think China would follow suit? They would probably continue doing what they’re doing now, however ethical or not it is.

haha no wonder: it says “your comment is awaiting moderation”. This is one of the reasons why I don’t do commenting.

I will bet this message will be deleted too.

That said, and the ethical issues of killing animals for human consumption aside, I think there definitely are ways to raise beef or dairy cattle and other animals in ways that do not harm the environment and that may in fact be beneficial for it. The problem is that raising animals by these holistic, non-industrialized, in-tune-with-nature methods requires knowing an awful lot about the land, requires looking at the quantity/productivity bottom line from a different perspective, and requires the reintegration of species that have been long separated and unable to work symbiotically since the advent of industrial agriculture and the introduction of monocultures, feed lots and battery cages. For the consumer today, this means that it can be really, really hard if not impossible to find animal protein that was raised in an ecologically-neutral or ecologically-positive manner. And that, again, is without even considering the ethics of killing for food.

I think it’s important to also remember that a lot of plant-based foods available today are far from being ecologically-neutral.

I highly recommend checking out the films Food Inc., Fresh, and The Age of Stupid, as well as the books Fast Food Nation and Mad Cowboy.