From: Barbara Lamar (altamiratexas@earthlink.net)
Date: Wed Jun 13 2001 - 09:48:44 MDT
I wrote:
<this reason alone it seems dishonest to me for a person to claim they're
vegan because they don't believe in killing animals. >
Paul wrote:
< Why am I being dishonest? I do everything possible to _reduce_ the number
of animal deaths, but I would be the first to admit that any human has a
massive impact on the natural ecosystem. (That's why some extreme vegans go
to such extreme lengths as only wearing T-shirts that are made from non-GM
cotton etc.) >
I shouldn't have used the word dishonest, since it implies deliberately
lying or distorting the truth. The point I was clumisly trying to make is
that, at least with presently available technology, it's impossible for a
human to live without killing animals. To claim that one is not responsible
for animal deaths because one doesn't directly consume animal products or
use products tested on animals is false.
One can certainly honestly say that one is attempting to minimize their
impact on the natural ecosystem. Too often, though, I see people driving
their cars long distances to attend Save the Earth types of rallies,
purchasing agricultural products that have been produced at great cost to
the natural ecosystem [including trucking ag produce thousands of miles],
flushing their shit [along with toxic cleaning products, drain cleaner and
who knows what else] into rivers and other sources of drinking water.
I think it's a mistake to equate abstaining from the consumption of animals
products with conserving the natural ecosystem. To see this, one has only to
look at some of the ecological damage caused by excessive populations of
deer when their natural nonhuman predators are banished and human hunting is
outlawed. And of course there's agriculture, which, of all human activities,
is probably the most destructive.
I remember being disturbed by what I was taught in church when I was a kid.
If one consistently practiced what was taught there, one would soon be dead.
I feel the same way about the stuff preached by vegans.
Barbara
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