A friend of mine who is on the Paleo Diet asked me a series of questions regarding Veganism, this is the first.
Question: Assuming grains and lentils are bad for you as they are essentially sugar, which causes an insulin spike, are you happy to eat them?
I will answer the question directly but I will also discuss whether the Paleo Diet proves that killing animals is morally justifiable as this is really the subtext.
On average vegans live between 3 and 9 years longer than the rest of society and have reduced incidents of disease. Now that’s pretty good in my book. So yes, I will still eat my grains, legumes and a healthy all round vegan diet.
But let’s assume that the Paleo Diet is as good, if not better than Veganism. Considering things like general happiness, family genetics, social inequality and our environment also play a significant role, we can’t morally justify the pain and suffering inflicted on animals just in the hope that we might live a couple more years. Drinking alcohol, staying up late, working too hard, stress, using microwaves are all bad for us but most of us still do them. Not to mention all the hormones and preservatives that people consume through meat and other products. When there are so many factors to a healthy life, how someone can base their morality on just one factor isn’t logical. Living healthily is a balancing of risks.
The fact of the matter is that we can live long healthy lives as Vegans, and it is therefore unnecessary to take an animal’s life. Even if it was true that we are designed to eat a Paleo diet (which there is evidence to the contrary), we actually don’t need to. To base morals purely on evolution is ridiculous. Evolution doesn’t have morals, we do. For example, it is generally accepted that men have an evolutionary trait (or a predisposition) to be more aggressive. Does this make it morally right for me to physically hurt others? No. We defy our evolutionary instincts in a range of areas for the sake of our morals.
Put simply, eating meat is speciesist. For example, if we learnt that eating a human heart cured all disease and enabled you to live longer, could we begin tearing out people’s hearts? No. But we would if it was an animal. Why? I would argue that there is no moral distinction between humans and other sentient beings. Morals are only meaningful if applied logically and consistently. Even the law says we have a moral obligation to not inflict unnecessary suffering on animals, yet we do it everyday.
In the end Veganism is the morally right thing to do, it reduces suffering, saves lives and is the most significant change any one person can make to help the environment (reducing your footprint by 40%). On the other hand, The Paleo Diet is extremely destructive to the environment and to the lives of other sentient beings.
Is there really a choice?
Of course there is a choice, you can pick Veganism, Paleo, or a bunch of other types of diets. That's the beauty of free will. yes, we have to deal with the consequences, such as eating high carb will likely cause your weight to increase!
ReplyDeleteand we also have to weight in whether or not, animals are our equals or are here to be used for food. Personally this is a tough and very touchy area, but in the end, it comes down to ones personal beliefs and morals...
I equate it to how people choose to view "their" god and what name they call him/her (for those that believe that) by. Islam calls him by one name, the Christians call him by another, but in the end, God is God and our naming him one thing or another has no effect on his omnipotent and omniscient being.
Thus it is the same for food. One diet is good for one person and morally right... and Paleo is my choice based on what makes sense for me.
Where I have an issue is anyone on any side that has a sort of "religious burr" up there backside and thinks their opinion is the right one and other people should just listen to their logic. THAT, is not right nor helpful.
So yes, everyone has a choice, and the right to it! just as you or anyone else has a right to yours. Thanks and be safe all!
We are omnivores, we thrive best on a mixed diet of plants and animals. There is no two ways about that. There is an argument against abusing animals from both vegans and meat-eaters alike... sure. Naturally we would be hunting animals for food, naturally we tend to have a taste for meat because it is exceptionally densely nutritious and helped us evolve this far.
ReplyDeleteNow will society, in the state it is in today, change to become vegan and stop the harm of animals entirely? No. Does a few going vegan change the way the animal raising/slaughter is dealt with? No. The only way we can change the way animals are raised so that it is humane and purposeful (contributing to our health and allowing them to have a full happy life in the process) is by investing in you're local farms and buying the best possible animal products you can afford.
Bottom line; you can't change our nature from omnivorous beings, so lets treat our animals to a happy full life mimicking nature in their food and environment as much as humanly possible.