I've noticed that many of my veg. aquaintances are very outspoken about the morality of their dietary habits, but fail to comment of the fact that they often live in energy inefficient houses, drive energy inefficient cars, live in wetlands, have sewer lines that dump into wetlands, own many products with microchips (a big polluter in manufacture), wouldn't think twice about importing exotic foodstuffs from other part of the planet, etc., I think you get my drift.

The hypocrisy frustrates me. I call this conspicuous sacrifice because v*nism is a high profile lifesyle for those who chose to make it so, played up to the level that it is an insult to meat-eaters who make less visible efforts in other areas.

Who is making the greater contribution to the welfare of all creatures on he planet: the vegan who drives his Land Cruiser to Trader Joe's to buy organic milk and Tofu to put in his $4,000 30 cu ft refridgerator in his Mission style home in Pasadena, or the apartment dweller who eats chicken and eggs, and maybe some ribs on the 4th of July, takes the train to work and rides his bike to the grocery store? I know this is a bit idealized, but again I think you get my drift. Any comments?

I'll bet more often than not, the driver of your average Land Cruiser is a meat eater, but yes there is some hypocrisy. It's hard to think about everything all of the time. It'd be nice if the government handed out ration books with distruction coupons and when you used yours up, well, you'd just have to walk and eat out of the dumpster. ;)

great idea!

i think everybody should just do what they can -- i think every little bit helps. but ppl tend to get the attitude of 'im better than you b/c..' im sorry but vegans aren't necessarily 'better' than vegetarians....we should all be supportive of each other --- even if the person eats meat but lives in a way that benefits the earth we should give that person kudos - ya know?? any time my meat eater friends choose pleather over leather im sure to give them the props they deserve :) ---- ok im done for now

I try to do my best for the environment, I recycle, try not to waste paper and choose the choose the hand dryer over paper towels. I got asked if I was an environmentalist in the bathroom one day just because I was using the hand dryer. It's pretty sad that simply choosing air over paper strikes people as "different".

Not all veg*ns care about animals or the planet. Some of us would actually prefer living on a different planet, had we the option...

Someday, Mars. Someday...

That's ok, the rate global climate change is going, Earth will be like Mars soon enough...

Maybe that's been my plan all along! Bwa ha ha!

Er, I mean, that would suck.

i think everybody should just do what they can -- i think every little bit helps. but ppl tend to get the attitude of 'im better than you b/c..' im sorry but vegans aren't necessarily 'better' than vegetarians....we should all be supportive of each other --- even if the person eats meat but lives in a way that benefits the earth we should give that person kudos - ya know?? any time my meat eater friends choose pleather over leather im sure to give them the props they deserve :) ---- ok im done for now

i agree with ya..everyone should do what they can..cause every bit helps...and we should support each other.

peace and love

jenn

Most of us don't really "do all we can." I don't, because it's very difficult. I think we tend to do as much as we can without enduring too much discomfort, and call that "as much as I can."

I'm not doing everything I can, or need, to do.

I initially went vegetarian due to environmental concerns, and my husband and I have made living sustainably a really important priority. We're not perfect, but we do lots of things to minimize our impact on the earth--including being vegan (me) and minimally LO (him)-- much more than anybody else I know.

I can't think of any veg*ns like you described in your opening scenerio. Lots of omnivores though.

Becoming vegetarian is just another step on my own personal path to becoming "deep green". To be honest, I'm probably still only a mild sickly shade of green at the moment, but at least I'm trying. Soon though. Soon!

I suspect not that many people are vegetarian for expressly environmental reasons. In my (admittedly limited) experience, including polling this community, animal cruelty/exploitation issues are by far the most popular reason for vegetarianism. so why should we be surprised that not all vegetarians are dedicated environmentalists?

I consider myself an environmentalist, and the environmental aspect is important to me, but even for me, it was animal cruelty that got my butt up off the couch and doing something about my meat consumption, not water pollution.

Becoming vegetarian is just another step on my own personal path to becoming "deep green". To be honest, I'm probably still only a mild sickly shade of green at the moment, but at least I'm trying. Soon though. Soon!
:lol: btw i love your avatar.it always makes me hungry.


i get your point nigel. i think there are probably some vegans and vegetarians who fit your description and many who don't ...some do all they can, some don't. i know i could do more...i have my vices and creature comforts and some days i do really great others not...as my vegan friend once said. we're all hypocrites on some level or another...i thnk for me, a big thing is trying not to judge other people for their choices in life. that's a tall order.

I've noticed that many of my veg. aquaintances are very outspoken about the morality of their dietary habits, but fail to comment of the fact that they often live in energy inefficient houses, drive energy inefficient cars, live in wetlands, have sewer lines that dump into wetlands, own many products with microchips (a big polluter in manufacture), wouldn't think twice about importing exotic foodstuffs from other part of the planet, etc., I think you get my drift.

The hypocrisy frustrates me. I call this conspicuous sacrifice because v*nism is a high profile lifesyle for those who chose to make it so, played up to the level that it is an insult to meat-eaters who make less visible efforts in other areas.

Who is making the greater contribution to the welfare of all creatures on he planet: the vegan who drives his Land Cruiser to Trader Joe's to buy organic milk and Tofu to put in his $4,000 30 cu ft refridgerator in his Mission style home in Pasadena, or the apartment dweller who eats chicken and eggs, and maybe some ribs on the 4th of July, takes the train to work and rides his bike to the grocery store? I know this is a bit idealized, but again I think you get my drift. Any comments?


Thanks for all of your comments. My emphasis is not on the value or morality of being a veg*n - I think most of the folks in this group see something there. But I truly feel that I see, especially among wealthier veg*ns who have a lot of choice in their lives, that they drive SUVs, live in big houses, and live within environmentally sensitive areas (mountains, creeks, bays, etc.).

My point wasn't that veg*ns don't do anything more for the global good than abstain from eating meat. It was the fact that there are many folks who showcase their dietary habits as the sole position for their morality. Nothing else matters.

This came clearer to me this weekend as my family drove through Death Valley, CA. We saw numerous 4WD SUV vehicles with bumper stickers supporting, sometimes in derrogatoryways, veg. lifestyles (including some PETA stickers and some general "save the environment" type stickers).

If someone wants to be a veg*n, for whatever reason, then good for that person. If that person wishes to condemn another for his lifestyle, however, the condemnor needs to be prepared to legitimize his whole way of life, not just the conspicuous parts. I fail to see this when I read PETA bumper stickers on vehicles that get, at best, 15 MPG. These are the folks that frustrate me, and to whom I refer in my original post.

It's not easy...bein' green...
It seems you blend in with so many other ord'nary things...