I hear these statements periodically about health problems purportedly associated with being a vegetarian but I am not sure where they come from. I was a vegetarian (but not vegan) for 15 years straight, ate fish for a few years, and now am vegetarian again. I couldn't be healthier, nor could my many vegetarian friends. I always wonder if people who make these statements have ever been vegetarian.
The original poster did not imply that everyone should become vegetarian, nor do I feel that way. I think the point was that we should all try to reduce the behaviors in our own lives that we as ecologists or conservation biologists know are contributing significantly to the world's ills. Do we need to have three meat meals a day when we know that chicken and pigs are some of the world's biggest polluters or that cattle rangeland is responsible for a large proportion of the deforestation in Brazil? Can we try to ride our bike, walk, or take public transportation to work one day a week instead of driving five days a week? Can we make the extra effort to recycle our junk mail instead of throwing it in the garbage? I have chosen to live in Asia for the time being and I have a lot of guilt about all of the flying I have to do now to see my family and friends. I need to think of ways that I can offset the environmental implications of that choice. What Malcolm said should make a lot of sense to all of us. If each of us picks an action (or two)that benefits the environment and does it well , we will be making a positive contribution. Nancy Quoting Bill Silvert <[email protected]>: > I agree with Malcolm's posting that strict vegetarianism has its own > problems, but the basic idea of eating lower on the food chain certainly has > > some benefits. This is particularly true where fish are concerned - most of > the land animals killed for food are herbivores, but the most prized fish > tend to be carnivores. This has raised a lot of concern. > > However I think that we should encourage people to think about the problem > and make suggestions, even though we may disagree with some of them. > Arrogant putdowns like the one below don't encourage people with ideas to > speak out, and some of them may even have good ideas that should not be > suppressed. > > Bill Silvert > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Benjamin Lee" <[email protected]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: Wednesday, September 09, 2009 5:26 AM > Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Are ecologists the problem? > > > Maybe ESA could conduct a poll of members that live in highly populated > desert areas that by definition are unsustainable like Tempe, Arizona. Or > maybe vegans and vegetarians should not brag about themselves over the > ECOLOG listserv. >
