Comments CountBlah has made

  • What a world of vegans would look like...

    I guess people don't discuss this because it is so unlikely that everyone would stop consuming animal products, whether it be meat or dairy. However, one should try to envision what would indeed happen if everyone went vegan. There would be no use for the domesticated livestock we have developed for the sole purpose of consumption and the only ethical practice would be to kill all that remained. You see, domestic livestock left to roam causes severe environmental damage. They are invasives. And then there is the matter of how certain domestics would be able to survive in the wild at all.
    Pigs revert to feral quite rapidly, but that is not true of all animals raised for consumption. It would be unethical to let these animals fend for themselves. But back to the wild pigs. While wild boar are commonplace in certain areas, wild pigs have wrecked havoc in many areas where they do not belong, killing other animals and plants as well as posing a threat to humans.
    I know there are some that see the next life for domestic livestock as pets. Excuse me, but there is already a real problem with irresponsible pet owners. If you thought animals suffered awaiting for slaughter, just wait until you see how people neglect and abuse them as pets.
    Think I am heading down a slippery slope? Tune into any version of Animal Cops.
    Okay, back to reality. Not everyone is going to be a vegan, so it is time to stop preaching it. There are several dietary options that can prove less ecologically intrusive than eating factory farmed meat. I had been a vegan for three months in the early ninties in a podunk town. Not easy. Didn't have the kind of dietary variety one should have. Yes, it is much easier for one to go vegan today. However, if a person has certain dietary restrictions (as I do, due to interstitial cystitis), it can be down right impossible. Choosing sustainable, organic, and free range meat and dairy products is a step in the right direction. And oh, by the way, vegans are not exempt from buying organic. However, despite being a more conscious consumer about animal products, it is still a good idea to cut back on meat consumption. For your health and the health of the planet. Opting for ecological fish is also important. Refer to the NOAA or Monterey Bay Acquarium Web site for a list (noaa.gov or http://www.mbayaq.org/cr/seafoodwatch.asp). There is another eco meat to consider: insects. Entomophagy has been a big part of the diet of mankind throughout the ages, yet we have gotten away from the notion. Not only are you eating a sustainable source of lean protein, you are helping to alleviate the devastation caused by certain insects. Hey, if you can eat a lobster, you can certainly eat crickets. So, it may be time to add some crunchy arthropods to your diet. Then let's see how many preachy vegans start to cry out the sentient being remark. Of course, they are. As long as something has a nervous system, no matter how simple, it is sentient. But that doesn't mean that they can't be lunch.On The all-powerful talk-show host ends her vegan cleanse posted 1 year, 5 months ago 30 Responses

  • This is why...

    the true environmentalist does not have kids, or at least limits their procreation to one child. There is no way around the fact that having kids puts a strain on the environment. Umbra's column before this one was on how reusable cloth diapers are not significantly better than their disposable counterpart. In that article, she mentioned some of the other ways where increasing the size of one's family will inevitably put added strain on the ecosystem, as having kids means using more resources. Sure, I can take the moral high ground on this as I am not able to have children due to reproductive health issues that lead to my hysterectomy (which I had at a young age). I guess I also have the privelege of taking the highground on not having use for female hygene products that fill our landfills. Yes, it is a convenient truth for me, until you realize the constant pain I have endured due to illness caused from PCBs in the groundwater of the place where I grew up. But the thing is, if I would have been able to give birth, I would have chose not to.
    The population crisis appears to be the environmental elephant in the room. No one wants to discuss it because it is truly the most inconvenient truth of all. But what makes it worse is that society pressures people to have children. If you choose to remain childless (and shudder to think that you choose to remain single and childless), you are ostracized by society, or at least in the U.S. It is time we take a different approach. There was a time for "Maybe One" (referring to the book written on the subject by Bill McKibben), but now is the time for "maybe none." People have to reexamine their reasons for having children. Please do not have children for any of the following:

    1. To keep your marriage together. Trust me, this doesn't work. I have a friend who thought she could avoid the truth about her marriage if she had a baby. BIG MISTAKE!
    2. Societal pressures. Whether it is because a doctor advises you that this will help your reproductive health (I got a lot of that, but these arguments have been scientifically refuted by the Endometriosis Association) or if it is your only way to get health care coverage or other benefits, just don't do it. These are the wrong reasons for having kids. Do not bear children for cheap commodities. Do not bear children because your other middle class friends are having kids. Get past the pressure and start speaking up if you truly do not want children. It is your responsibility to do so!
    3. Do not have children because you want to have a clone of you that might be able to acheive what you have not. I see too many parents who fall into this category. They live vicariously through their kids, often making their children miserable. This is vanity, and it is a deadly sin. It is certainly deadly where the planet is concerned.
    4. Do not fall for any religious garbage about procreation. The texts this argument is based on were written when the earth's population was around 150 million, not over 6 billion! Be fruitful and multiply no longer applies. It is time to stock up on your favorite method of birth control and turn the other cheek when your religious leader tries to make you feel bad about not wanting to contribute to the population crisis.

    And now to sit back and wait for the complaints.On Umbra on car seat recycling posted 1 year, 5 months ago 8 Responses