Time for a rethink …

Posted on by Ark

 

And if you have Netflix, I highly recommend you watch The Game Changers.

It blew me away.

Here’s the preview ….

64 thoughts on “Time for a rethink …”

  1. Dammit … I’m effectively vegetarian anyway (other than eggs, cheese …) but on very infrequent occasions enjoy a small steak.

    And no, I don’t feel at all guilty when I do—God gave us animals to eat, no? And didn’t He blow smoke in the faces of people who rejected Him? So there—my steaks and burgers have official approval from the highest sources.

    And who really wants to look like those lumpy … freaks? Brrrrr. (Not that I’d ever tell ’em that—one admires achievement, even if one thinks—quietly—EEEEEEK!) I saw a tattooed lady in a sideshow once and never felt anything but pity—and now they’re mainstream, no longer freaks. Honestly, I just can’t keep up …

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    2. There are enough vegan meat substitutes to more than adequately cover this argument, and I doubt you would know the difference for most of them. And I say this based on experience.
      However, total honesty obliges me to say that I have never found a mince substitute I can stomach, which was initially a pain as bolognese was my favorite meal.
      Now I substitute the meat with mushrooms and a couple of vegan burgers.
      That said, for most other products I’ve found there is almost no issues regarding minor taste difference.

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      1. It’s the texture companies like Beyond Meat have been trying to nail, and by all accounts, they have. I agree that substitutes are available, but there seems to be some wall stopping people opting for those alternatives. Perhaps it’s the word “vegan”? Dunno. But these cultured meats promise to give people an equal (morally fantastic) alternative.

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        1. Won’t cultured meat still have the downside health problems that are illustrated in the video?

          If you at least dabble with a few vegan products – Fry’s make excellent burgers, and pies, you will then be able to offer a valid critique.
          maybe you will hate them?
          But you might also consider they aren’t too bad at all?

          What’s a few R$ in the long run?

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          2. Seriously, if you get the opportunity to watch the full movie it really is worth it.
            You will appreciate how the dairy and meat industries underwrite many of studies that state how such animal products are good for you.
            We never think about such things even though we are fully aware that such practices are in place by the fossil fuel industry and at one time the tobacco industry.

            And of course this is apart from the ethical issues.
            A strapping Aussie bloke is featured who once he got out the Forces moved to Africa to help protect the Rhino. It was soon after he became involved that he went vegan. His reasons are not only ethical but fully in line with current environmental concerns.

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          5. Look at Ubi’s first comment:

            I tried an Impossible Burger at my local sports bar. It was the best veggie-burger I’ve had, and if I had to give up meat totally, I could eat them every so often and probably be OK.

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        2. ‘cultured meats’ … that suggest that it’s either the exact same thing but grown in a beaker, or comes from well educated cows.

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        1. Haha. I’ve no complaints. A year ago I was starting the struggles at 56, but was able to remain unmedicated. Veganism could damn near out the blue pill out of business, methinks

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          1. While I may have other health issues – hair loss, failing eyesight, ear wax enough to grow potatoes and athlete’s foot up to my knees – the Little Blue Pill has, to date, never been a concern (Touch wood- excuse the pun!).

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          3. For me it was ethics, not health, but after watching this movie I am grateful for any health benefits that may have accrued.
            It wasn’t very hard for me, but now it is!

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    3. The movie explores this aspect as well.
      One of the lighter moments, and you can probably guess the reaction of the three male volunteers who were tested for erection frequency while sleeping after abstaining from meat for just one meal!

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      1. And the percentages were off the chart conclusive. I have felt so much better this past year than ever before, really. It’s amazing the meat industry has pulled this off for so long. Eating meat is worse than smoking I bet.

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        1. As the video points out, similar arguments are punted for the benefits of meat eating as were once claimed for smoking.

          And anyone who is in agreement with climate change needs to seriously explore the ramifications of animal farming.
          It should certainly give one pause for thought.

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          1. The animal is the middle man. The nutrition is in what they are eating. It’s true. I liked the way that was presented.

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    4. Vegetarianism? I tried it myself, several times. But never made a fetish or it, or a religion … and now am still a semi-vegeist. An occasional steak, sometimes, and that’s it (other than the chicken loins The Spouse fries for me every night).

      So for a couple of decades we’ve had chicken salads as the main meal (the whole meal) every night.

      AND my breakfast for Gods alone know how many years has been two fried eggs on cheese on toast. Still awaiting the heart attack … but I understand that eggs are legal again? Boring? Not in the least—

      Boring? Not for us … when a young pup I used to get looked at askance for liking meat ‘rare’. Rare in those days was a hint of pink deep within—these days all meat seems raw with just a hint of browning on the outside; to each his own … yeuch!

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  5. Do you post any vegan recipes, Ark? I’m not able to go meatless where I live, but the few vegan recipes I’ve tried have been pretty good. If I say I’m eating something vegan, I sometimes get to hear lectures on meat. If I tell them that I’m cooking something new, they dig in and can’t stop bitching about how good it is.

    Even if I had full control over my diet, I’d probably not be full vegan. That said, I’m interested in eating a lot less meat and animal products.

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      1. My introduction to cooking vegan stuff was from Amethyst Fawn. Although she posted her own recipes, the main selling point was just that it was good food. And Google recommends garbage recipes to me no matter what I look for.

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        1. Fair enough.
          In truth, I have no specific vegan recipes, I (or the wife) merely cook all the usual stuff and omit the meat.
          So when my crew eat a roast,for example, I will partake of all the veggies and most of the trimmings and substitute the ”main course” (and the gravy) with a vegan pie or pasty.
          Bolognese the same story.

          I stopped drinking milk ages ago so that was no issue and anything that requires milk I’ll use a substitute such as Coconut ”milk”.
          I usually have mushrooms, avo, fruit or toast for breakfast, invariably a large salad or sandwiches for lunch ( I am now growing a number of vegetables for the table which makes it even better) and whatever’s going for dinner.

          I’m not that adventurous, to be honest; a real cheap date!
          It’s rarely an issue these days even though the rest of the family are carnivores …. bloody heathens that they are, they are generally used to my diet.

          🙂

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    2. Sirius:

      then just don’t eat the damned things! Wolfing dead animals is no more compulsory than dead wheats and oats and such. Just do it—don’t make a Big Deal of it or you’ll get all the usual yada yada yada and folks may stop their kids playing with your little weirdoes …

      The secret is in not (R) NOT making a Big Thing of it. Just do it. Or don’t do it …

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      1. Really Argus? It’s that easy? Good thing you’re here to let everyone know how to live their life better. You could make a religion out of that.

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        2. And yes, it is that easy. Just the same as I stopped drinking—no fuss, no feathers; just don’t do it.

          (Unless addicted, of course—I have to admit it, I’m hooked on eating …)

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        3. Argus’s flippancy aside – what do you expect from a curmudgeonly old dog? 🙂 – he does have a point.
          It’s much like giving up cigarettes. You just have to make the decision, only not eating meat has no withdrawal symptoms.
          I’d been having conscience issues over eating meat for a while but I tended to suppress the feelings (right about the time I tucked into a nice roast!)
          Then, one evening, our boxer dog laid her head on my lap while I was sitting at my desk and I looked at her and made the decision there and then. I marched into the kitchen, announced my decision to my crew and that was that. I then hopped on the internet and looked for locally manufactured prepacked vegan products,, (pies, burgers, schnitzels and wothaveyou,) found what looked reasonable and the next morning we went shopping.
          There are milk and dairy substitutes readily available and the price difference for most is nominal( I had stopped drinking milk in coffee and teas etc ages ago).
          No big deal, no fuss, and all sorted in a few clicks.

          I have not regretted my decision for one second. I take B12 and have not suffered any negative side effects either.

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  6. I’ve never been a dedicated vegan OR meat eater, and I find as we get older the less meat is a part of our diet. Not consciously, but it just happens. And we work as hard as we always did, maybe even a bit harder. Who knows.

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  7. To each his own, but I’ll continue to enjoy my eggs, cheese, ice cream, milkshakes, seafood and leather goods. As for health benefits:

    “On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero.”~The Narrator, “Fight Club”

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    1. Similar style of arguments are sometimes put forward by climate change deniers or even Christians when attempting to refute atheism.

      For what it’s worth, there are plant-based substitutes for each food in your list ( maybe not seafood) and it would be a reasonable bet you’d struggle to tell the difference.

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      1. For me it boils down to personal autonomy. Follow whatever beliefs and diet you fancy so long as you grant others the same opportunity to follow theirs. I only get antsy when people become dogmatic about their beliefs — religious, political or otherwise — and insist others be forced follow them as well.

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        1. It isn’t a question of dogmatism, but rather a question of indoctrination – namely what we have been force-fed (excuse the pun) to believe about anything and what drives that indoctrination.
          You may believe you are acting with absolute autonomy but in reality much of what you(we) believe is merely an extension of societal/corporate belief that is foisted on us.
          You know the claims of Christianity are all nonsense and you can provide ample evidence to demonstrate why.
          The same with climate change deniers and their excuses.
          Why would you then believe the arguments promoting meat and dairy as asserted by vested interest groups are any different?

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          1. That’s a fine supposition, but I doubt societal pressure ever influenced my culinary decisions because I’ve never much liked meat (other than fish) and eliminated it from my diet decades ago. And I doubt corporate marketing influences any of my decisions because I own no TV, seldom listen to the radio or read newspapers, and actively block all web-based advertising.

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        2. Why the big deal? If ya wanna eat seaweed, go ahead (I do …) and who gives a damn who gives a damn?

          Or does pubic opinion really matter that much, to you?

          (No. Not a typo …)

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      2. How can anyone deny ‘climate change’? Blasted climate has been constant change (!) for gillions of years … move along, move along, nothing to see here …

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  8. A wise person once said to me— “Eat as close to the ground as you can~!”

    I know that a lot of mere mortals might think this is to be taken literally and you are to drop your food onto the lawn and gobble it up from there—and good lick to you—but although incredibly subtle it means “the more middlepers you cut out, the better”. Just ask Ark … but I would still rather eat the sheep than the grass …

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