Ohh, wait... I don't think people that are vegan are gentler or less violent. I worded that badly.
I have read... stuff... that purports veganism to offer a shift in consciousness. So I just wondered. Well, you'd hope that a shift in consciousness corresponded to less violence, right?
I think if there is a link it's a spurious one... being vegan means you think more about whatever it is that made you vegan, even if it was weightloss, anything. Meat eaters also are good thinkers, of course. Not all though.
Ah, I'm still wording that badly.
hmmm...I've never heard that being vegan made people more become a less violent bunch. However, I do agree that there are a lot of very spiritual people who are vegans--one who comes to mind is Ghandi. The Dalai Lama is also a very spiritual person, whom I would say is definitely NOT violent in anyway--but he is not a vegan. he partakes in meat meals often.
That said, I've also known (not personally--but through the media) of vegans who were incredibly cruel and murderers--so that blows that idea out of the water. Genghis Khan was one such vegan, as well as Adolf Hitler, Charles Manson and Pol Pot.
Personally, I don't believe that people who are NOT vegan are anymore inclined to be violent then vegans. But, who knows? Has there been a study about this? I think violent acts from a person come from many various issues--least of which is their diet, (good or bad) but I would also agree that a vegan diet is *generally* a healthier way to live. But, again--this also depends upon the person/their situation.
But, an interesting thought there, Think! If anyone can point to any online studies on this, I'd be interested in reading it.
Great list there. It's quite fascinating really. Leaves a lot for debate. I would actually agree with you.
My wife and I were vegan for around four years, well before I returned to my spiritual activities after a lengthy hiatus. We got bored trying to keep it interesting enough to not bail out, and eventually failed. We became lacto-ovo vegetarians for a few years. Now I call us "lacto-ovo-pisca-pollo" vegetarians. We don't eat red meat, but we also backed off the beans as well. There is a woman in our area who writes an ecology column for a local paper, and is a sustainable organic farmer and a non-GMO champion. I shared tarot reading duties with her at a recent psychic fair. She told me emphatically "We NEED meat!" I'm not sure about meat meat, but certainly high-quality protein.
Haha, nice title. Yep, I've been vegan, lacto-ovo, pescetarian and other things too over the years. That's really interesting that your neighbour(ish) has that view. I'd be interested in reading more about that. I'm doing postgrad research on sustainablility issues (mainly water shortages, but also air pollution and other issues, consumption) and I am concerned for the future planet. By 2050 66% of the world will have a struggle with obtaining clean water. But healthwise, maybe your friend is correct. Legumes can be toxic too. There is scaremongering surrounding soya. But then soya is fed to the animals too, so...
Barleywine, I LOVE the title of you & your wife being "lacto-ovo-pisca-pollo" vegetarians.
I use to be a very picky eater and one of the things I avoided the most was meat. I was also very anemic then too! Though I'm not at that point any longer-- I also realize some people cannot eat meat for health reasons as well. My daughter being one of them. She is a big meat lover--but sadly has a lot of issues in the digestion of meat. She still tries to eat it now and again--and she almost always ends up ill again after doing so.
Funny how it works that way and funnier yet that mother and daughter can be such complete opposites in that way! She, sadly, is also having issues with being anemic as a result. Its a constant battle for her.
and, I'd say both of us are quite spiritual as well.
Also, thought of another meat eater who was very spiritual too and not what I'd call violent. Jesus Christ.
I'm sorry for implying that meat eaters aren't spiritual. That was really not my intention if it did come across like that.
That's a shame about your daughter. My niece has a condition called FPIES and she's allergic to almost everything. She had 5 safe foods at one point: lamb, beef, potatoes, carrots and broccoli. Very scary. So my sister started this healing gut thing (I forget the name) comprising bones stewed all day with meet, potatoes and carrots. She had that every meal for a year. Now she has 19 foods, but her diet is based around the lamb broth (it's the most calorific).
Thankfully I am not anaemic. I actually feel amazing on a plant based diet, even if I force myself to eat a teaspoon of Marmite (yuck) for the vitamins.
I second that...and also, yes, I too would need to see some kind of science study proving that it is true that vegans are less violent. I was a vegan for a few years, but I found it unsustainable in the end, as well as deleterious to my health.
While being a vegan, I did not find myself to be any more spiritually enlightened than previously, or afterwards.
I have a niece who is a raw food diet person (and so is obviously vegan). I find her to be extremely pushy about her diet, as well as very arrogant about it, very holier-than-thou. She is very unpleasant to others about it. I *could* presume it is her diet that makes her that way, but I understand that it is not the food, but rather her character/nature/expression that makes her that way. The diet just makes a good saber to rattle, in fulfilling her natural tendencies.
So I would then deduce that violent people will be violent, regardless of what they eat, and that peaceful people will be peaceful, regardless of what they eat. It is not the nature of the food that is at issue, in my view. It is the nature of the person that is the crux of the matter.
Thanks. I don't either feel more enlightened or more spiritual now than before, nor did I in past attempts at veganism. Yeah I really dislike that about being vegan. It's one of the reasons I don't tell people. People judge vegans and vegans judge non-vegans. Urgh, please. Not eating animal products doesn't make one a superior being. I am also not especially healthy - I mean I can eat chips and bourbon biscuits and Skittles, so, I do! Ha.
The literature contains descriptions of Christ eating fish. But is there ever a description of him eating meat? I know my Bible pretty well from days of yore and I can't think of one...I guess lamb at Passover? But it's never explicitly stated, methinks.
My hubby and I have gradually eaten less and less and less meat. We are pretty much pescetarians now, but occasionally have a bit of chicken. Beef very, VERY rarely.
I stopped eating all pork about seven years ago when I found out more about how intelligent pigs are, and how horrifically they are treated. (All of the factory farms are horrific, but the huge industrial pig farms are the worst of the worst, in my understanding.)
For us, the most important thing really is the humane treatment of the animals, followed by ecological/sustainability concerns. We watched "Cowspiracy" and it hit us pretty hard.
I think some people really do physiologically need meat more than others, and if they are eating meat that has been humanely, sustainably farmed, I am fine with that. Respect and honor for the animal are key, in my mind.
This is pretty much my reasoning. I know too much now. I saw a video.... I won't go into details... by Peta, called 'Meet Your Meat' (for uni project). I would probably die of malnutrition before changing back to omni after that. Each to their own though, I know people that have watched Cowspiracy, Forks Over Knives, Earthlings, with a burger in the hand. I don't consider myself better than them at all.
I actually do think that veganism is going to grow. Because of the range of foods now, you can pretty much find anything in a veganised form now. Celeb culture, a proof that body building even, can be achieved. And the growing population. I'm not being prescriptive there... I cook meat for my family and friends, I don't mind at all.
