Now, I'm all for the humane treatment of animals but there does come a point where it can go too far.
Take This site for example. As FAQs go I this one is among the most bigoted and patronising and unscientific as I have ever encountered.
Check out these amazing "facts" from that FAQ:
According to whom? Dr Ducky McQuackman, PhD in Stupidity? I wonder how scientific this research was.Cancer [From drinking milk]? Maybe.
*Ducky walks into cancer ward*
"'Scuse me, do you people drink milk?"
"Yes"
"LOOK! SEE! CAUSE AND EFFECT! LET'S GET THIS IMMEDIATELY SENT OFF TO THE JOURNAL OF RETARDEDNESS!!
Pus, as far as I'm aware, only tends to appear when an open wound gets infected. I haven't really looked any further into it but I don't sense a correlation between my drinking (or not drinking) of milk and a wound getting infected.Pus
Uhm...don't I need blood? Last time I saw blood coming out of my body I had slashed my finger open. I'm pretty sure milk wasn't involved in the equasion.blood
That's called being gross and not wiping your mouth after you drank milk messily. Or perhaps not rinsing your mouth out after you brushed your teeth.and that slimy white residue that you get in the corners of your mouth?
I would like to actually see this research. Personally, I think L. Ron Hubbard puts forward a stronger case...But my doctor told me to drink milk to prevent osteoporosis!
Tell your doctor to put away the Dr. John’s miracle elixirs and bone up on the latest research. Your head’s going to spin when you read this one: Medical studies indicate that rather than preventing the disease, milk may actually cause osteoporosis.
O RLY? I think the stats say it all. The number one cause of allergy is dust/rhinitis. Asthma, to you and me. Even if they had written properly and said 'number one cause of food allergies', it would appear that the slant is on seafood and nuts rather than milk. Even then, check out what some of the other 'most-common' causes of food allergy are. peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, soy. Gee, might they be the very things that these unscientific and word-twisting jesters are trying to plug?But my kids love milk and ice cream!
Really? What is it exactly that they love? The pus content? The bloated, gassy feeling? The zits? Or could it be the allergies? Cow’s milk is the number one cause of allergies, according to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology.
Ehm, surely your diet gets boring then? Nuts and peanuts are, as a rule, ridiculously high in fat. Check the label on your average pack of dry roasted. I put it to you that a hunk of cheese of equal mass to the peanuts you're eating will contain the same or less fat.But I depend on dairy products as my main source of protein!
Protein deficiency is almost unheard of, unless you live in a famine-stricken country or you’re Kate Moss. You can get all the protein that a human body needs from legumes (beans, peas, and peanuts), vegetables, nuts, seeds, yeast, and tofu.
Oh yeah. And I would rather eat my own colostomy bag than tofu or yeast extract. I imagine it would be tastier, too.
Now, as I said I am for the humane treatment of animals, both wild and captive. I don't agree with animal testing or with animal circuses, or even zoos in particular, and I believe that farm animals in captivity should be kept in good conditions and not abused. On the other hand, farm animals are bred to be slaughtered and, to be fair, none of it goes to waste and they are killed in a humane way. I don't deny the existence of factory farms, nor do I agree with them, however I would argue that the Jewish/Muslim ceremonial way is a tad more brutal.
Now, here's some empirical evidence.
Human beings have teeth specifically designed with meat eating in mind.
Humans have been eating meat since...well, since before homo sapiens evolved. Why is it now that anyone seems to think it isn't right?
While a vegetarian who eats dairy can get by fine, many vegans tend to be anaemic and have other possible risks, eg calcium deficiency. Admittedly, they cut their risk of diabetes and obesity, etc, but then so would simply eating less.
Veggie replacement produce is ridiculously expensive. AND CONTAINS MORE FAT THAN THE MEAT IT IS REPLACING! Usually doesn't taste as good, either, though I will confess there ARE some exceptions to that latter rule. Bachelors Beanfeast bolognese style mince is particularly good. Still prohibitively expensive, though.
What am I getting at here? Firstly, my girlfriend is vegetarian (which is how I know about veggie replacements). She cooked me a fucking steak (a real one, from a cow) last week and it was one of the best damn steaks I've ever tasted. She doesn't wear leather. She DOES eat cheese, eggs and drink milk. My point is that she adheres to her own code while not forcing it upon those around her. She respects that others don't think or feel the same as her. But these people are ridiculously patronising and can't resist making those of us who don't have a moral qualm with eating bits from another animal guilty. I'd love to see them go up to an aboriginal or especially an inuit-eskimo tribe and get them to stop eating meat. They'd survive for about four seconds.
My point is that, why can't I be allowed to enjoy my steaks without being pressured by all these vegan eco-weenies? Morally speaking I feel much as they about a lot of issues. The difference is, I don't see how my changing my diet will make a blind bit of difference. That cow will still be slaughtered. Its hide will still be tanned for leather. It's ass will still make burgers. It's legs will still make beef. It's back will still make steaks. Its ribs will still be found at every Chinese restaurant in the world. Its fats and bones will still make gelatine. What's left will still be mashed up and made into McDonalds burgers. The difference is, someone other than me will eat that particular one. If your morality (or, indeed, your dislike for meat products' taste) forces your hand to stick to veggie dishes, then as I say, good for you. But sites/groups like this 'milk gone wild', with their unscientific bullshit, and indeed the more radical arm of the PETA can just fuck off because, at the end of the day, what else will I put on my cereal?
Discuss.
