DAILY DIARY – DEBUNK THE JUNK, APRIL 9, 2004
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Vegetarian: a person who eats no meat, and sometimes no animal products (as milk or eggs), esp., one who advocates a diet of only vegetables, fruits, grains and nuts as the proper one for all people for reasons of health or because of principles opposing the killing of animals – Webster’s New World College Dictionary
Vegan: a vegetarian who eats no animal products – Webster’s <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />New World College Dictionary
Day 9: I don’t eat anything with a face…..but I use dead animals every day.
I started this somewhat unorthodox project because I have had it with all the individuals who use junk science to acquire grant money, as well as chest thumping trial lawyers looking for the big score. And don’t even get me started on animal rights groups, politically correct people, and so-called “green” sensibilities. But for doctors, scientists and even filmmakers who purposely engage in junk science to gain wealth and/or power, I think it’s time to kick these people to the curb.
At first glance, Spurlock’s film Super Size Me appears to be just another anti-corporate, anti-government propaganda film but while doing a little research I found even uglier roots connected to this misguided, over hyped project. Once I found out about the “vegan” connection through Spurlock’s girlfriend, and perused the so-called “facts” at the web site for the film, such as “In the U.S. we eat more than 1,000,000 animals an hour.” (no citation as to source), this all made much more sense to me. Once you understand the definition of the words vegetarian and vegan it becomes perfectly clear how hypocritical this dietary belief can be. I’m not talking about people who have health reasons for going vegetarian, I’m referring to the people who engage in this dietary choice based on “principles opposing the killing of animals. Fact is, unless these people are living in caves and eating wild roots and berries, they are using dead animals every day. And in my mind I can find absolutely no justification for such righteous behavior trumpeting their “ethical” eating behavior while still benefiting from the use of products which rely heavily on the use of rendered or dead animals.
Regardless of the veracity of the claim at SuperSizeMe.com that we consume approximately 1,000,000 animals per hour, I can guarantee do more than just consume animal products. According to Sondra Wallace, who started the educational program Barn Tours in 1990 (www.barntours.com), we use every part of our livestock animals nowadays, providing raw materials for everything from wood items to the most futuristic concept car. The truth is animal by-products play a major part in our technological revolution, and I can assure you that if we actually fall into the trap of believing this philosophical mumbo jumbo about eating animals our lives will change radically, and not for the better.
Some of you may be familiar with the constant harassment of fast food restaurants by groups like People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and even an occasional fire bombing by groups like the Animal Liberation Front (ALF)—their primary agendas being the elimination of the use of animals for food among other things. For some reason these people have decided they have the right to tell the rest of us what we can and cannot eat. In this instance, a very small portion of the population (not even 1 percent) wants control over the food choices of everyone else on the planet. Personally, I’m not that interested in being politically correct to stand by or give credence to the philosophy of animal rights, especially when the leaders and their followers engage in deception and even federal crimes in pursuit of their goals. How about you?