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Road-kill chef says he's vegetarian!!

3K views 32 replies 26 participants last post by  bethanie 
#1 ·
#4 ·
Seems a bit closed minded to just deem him a '****' or disbute that his way of eating is unethical in any way. He doesnt go out and purposely kill animals. He uses what's there and to me theres nothing wrong with that. If anything from an enviomental perspective he's probably 10 times more ethical than most vegans, if you think how many miles fruits and vegetables often travel these days for our consumption. As for calling himself vegetarian, it's just a label, one he chooses and to him obvioussly feels accurate. If thats the case i don't have a problem with it, each to their own. I actually have a great deal of respect for the guy, if he wants to eat something that's going to be otherwise wasted, so what? I wouldn't stop him. Admittedly i wouldnt want to eat his cooking because meat to me is just disgusting. But thats just for me. Everyone has the right to choose whats right for them and he's doing that and and the same time being ethical.

Oh and for the record I'm a vegan and for primarily ethical reasons.
 
#10 ·
I have a friend who actually goes by the same principles. I think it's awesome because it means people are thinking for themselves, it isn't meat is either good or bad but it's about considering why meat is good and bad, and if you come to the conclusion it's the killing of animals and not the eating of animals then it's ethically correct for you to eat road kill or animals that would otherwise be wasted.

Like I said, I think this way of eating is fantastic. I wouldn't do it but I don't condem it, it's certainly better than eating meat that's been bread for killing.

I think it's good to see, and if he wants to call himself vegetarian - let him. From what I gather from the artical I would much rather he was called vegetarian and I was associated with him by being a vegetarian and not the "eat-meat-except-for-fish-gelitine-and-sometimes-chicken-vegetarians" that I see so much of these days.
 
#13 ·
Sorry, but he's quite obviously not a vegetarian. And using animals that may have been pushed into traffic by human encroachment (not to mention all the implications of human created vehicles) just encourages further human behavior that increases abuse of the environment.

Besides -- roadkill feeds lot of other species, like crows for instance. I'd be more impressed if he simply moved the carcasses to a safer location off the road where more animals could benefit from the unnatural death. He certainly doesn't need to be eating it himself.
 
#16 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by forthebirds View Post

Sorry, but he's quite obviously not a vegetarian. And using animals that may have been pushed into traffic by human encroachment (not to mention all the implications of human created vehicles) just encourages further human behavior that increases abuse of the environment.

Besides -- roadkill feeds lot of other species, like crows for instance. I'd be more impressed if he simply moved the carcasses to a safer location off the road where more animals could benefit from the unnatural death. He certainly doesn't need to be eating it himself.
I'm in agreement about roadkill going to waste. In it's natural enviornment it will be recycled by animal and organisms and less of it will go to waste that this guy tossing the bones in the trash. His behavior is even more bizarre than supporting factory farming.
 
#18 ·
I sent him an email requesting he didnt call himself a vegetarian and his reply was long winded stating if he wishes to twist concept and labels thats up to him. I must admit, reading it all he sounded a bit barking to be honest.

My argument about it is twofold, One he shouldnt be called a vegetarian and the other is humans have enought choice of food stuff without robbing natural scavengers such as carrion birds etc,.
 
#20 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by poppyseed View Post

I sent him an email requesting he didnt call himself a vegetarian and his reply was long winded stating if he wishes to twist concept and labels thats up to him. I must admit, reading it all he sounded a bit barking to be honest.

My argument about it is twofold, One he shouldnt be called a vegetarian and the other is humans have enought choice of food stuff without robbing natural scavengers such as carrion birds etc,.
Why shouldn't he label himself a vegetarian if he chooses to do so? I'm guessing you label yourself a vegetarian/vegan or whatever. So if he personally feels thats what he is, why shouldn't he do it too? Or is this a 'i'm better than you because i'm a real vegetarian' thing? Why can't people just quit being so pathetic and stop labeling people and feeling all superior just because they choose not to consume products other people do or because they're true to the 'label'. Because tbh who cares anyway?!
 
#21 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by vheogl View Post

Why shouldn't he label himself a vegetarian if he chooses to do so? I'm guessing you label yourself a vegetarian/vegan or whatever. So if he personally feels thats what he is, why shouldn't he do it too? Or is this a 'i'm better than you because i'm a real vegetarian' thing? Why can't people just quit being so pathetic and stop labeling people and feeling all superior just because they choose not to consume products other people do or because they're true to the 'label'. Because tbh who cares anyway?!
A lot of people here are sensitive about this because when people who eat fish or chicken call themselves vegetarians, other people assume all vegetarians eat fish and chicken. Sometimes this results in being told that "Yes, there will be vegetarian food at this gathering" and then being handed a tuna sandwich. It is just a label, but the definition of the word clearly states "no meat" and you are misusing it if you say otherwise.
 
#22 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by vheogl View Post

Why shouldn't he label himself a vegetarian if he chooses to do so? I'm guessing you label yourself a vegetarian/vegan or whatever. So if he personally feels thats what he is, why shouldn't he do it too? Or is this a 'i'm better than you because i'm a real vegetarian' thing? Why can't people just quit being so pathetic and stop labeling people and feeling all superior just because they choose not to consume products other people do or because they're true to the 'label'. Because tbh who cares anyway?!
Personally, I don't have some fancy explanation why I object to it, I just think it's dumb. I also think it would be dumb if someone insisted that a strawberry was an avocado or that cars should be called Huxtables, and that would have nothing to do with feeling superior or whatever.
 
#24 ·
Hmmm... I'm not sure what to call him, but he certainly follows the spirit of ethical vegetarianism. In this case, I'm not that concerned with labels.

One can argue that he is denying natural scavengers of a food source... this may be true, but I don't see how this is really that different from a vegan's garden occupying space that some animal might have used to forage for food. We have to eat something, and the cool thing is, he's not killing animals for his food.

My only concern is that the meat he eats might not be sanitary. I think road-killed animals are a bit more likely to have been diseased; healthy animals are generally more alert and faster than ill ones, and are better able to avoid cars. True scavengers can handle such material, but I don't know about humans...
 
#25 ·
I think this guy is cool. Definitely not a vegetarian, and probably shouldn't call himself one, but I wouldn't jump on him for that. The concept of foraging for food seems to be gaining popularity lately, especially in the UK, and I'm happy to see more people speaking up for it and offering tips. I'm not enthusiastic about him using roadkill, I wouldn't eat meat however it was sourced, and I do share Tom's concerns about it being fit for human consumption. I find the argument about him potentially depriving natural scavengers of food a bit silly; he can't scourge the entire countryside and pick every single carcass, for one.

But at the end of the day, his effort is indeed benefiting the environment as well as the factory farmed animals he doesn't eat.
 
#26 ·
He's obviously not a vegetarian but I don't mind that he calls himself one. People might recoil at the thought of eating roadkill. But how is that so different from what's on their plate? There are obviously health and sanitation issues but sometimes it doesn't take much for people to make the connection.

And if you're going to eat meat I guess this is the most ethical way of doing it.
 
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