thanks especially for pointing out, however briefly, the thing that goes uncommented on most of the time- vegans and vegeterians talk a lot about ethic, but few care that the methods used to create their food are the same harmful industrialized ones that create the meat and other animal product that they so self-righteously reject.

i have been concerned with food ethics since before the "fast food nation" era, and continue to stay well informed. i do not eat a lot of meat but have never been comfortable with labels like "vegetarian," although much of the time i am technically vegetarian or even vegan.

it helps to comtemplate the fact that humans are not just a drain or a parasite on the earth, but that we are a part of an ecosystem (or, to put it more accurately, many ecosystems.) if we did cease eating animals, and indeed "using" animals...well, our world would look much different, but not in the ways that many assume. animals, plants, and other organisms all "use" humans, as well. michael pollan is an excellent author concerning these subjects and should be more widely read indeed. he provides many other leads on reading material/food for thought, as well, for any who are truly interested in eating and living ethically.

yes, we have thrown off the balance of nature terribly, but there is no progress in villainizing animal products or pet ownership or anything of the like. mindfulness is good when eating and at all other times as well. self hatred, verbal abuse, and intellectual dishonesty/shortsightedness won't get us far at all.

daymiou asked:

"And simply as a logistical matter, humans are already overpopulated enough, so if we didn't kill any animals, would there even be enough plants to sustain life on Earth...How exactly would worldwide veganism work?"

The American Dietetic Association reports that throughout history, the human race has lived on "vegetarian or near vegetarian diets," and meat has traditionally been a luxury. Studies show the healthiest human populations on the globe live almost entirely on plant foods--useful data, given our skyrocketing healthcare costs. Nathan Pritikin, author of The Pritikin Plan, recommended not more than three ounces of animal protein per day; three ounces per week for his patients who had already suffered a heart attack.

A report on the energy crisis in Scientific American warned: "The trends in meat consumption and energy consumption are on a collision course." Nor can fish provide any help here. There are signs that the fishing industry (which is quite energy-intensive) has already overfished the oceans in several areas. And fish could never play a major role in the worlds diet anyway: the entire global fish catch of the world, if divided among all the world's inhabitants would amount to only a few ounces of fish per person per week.

Obviously, then, the idea of providing the entire world with a Western-style diet is quite absurd. But what about satisfying today's demand for meat--which provides only a fraction of the population with a Western-style diet? If the world population triples in the next 100 years, and meat consumption continues, then meat production would have to triple as well. Instead of 3.7 billion acres of cropland and 7.5 billion acres of grazing land, we would require 11.1 billion acres of cropland and 22.5 billion acres of grazing land.

But this is slightly larger than the total land area of the six inhabited continents! We are desperately short of forests, water and energy already. On a vegetarian or vegan diet, however, the world could easily support a population several times its present size. The world's cattle alone consume enough to feed over 8.7 billion humans.

for writing about this misleading book. I accidentally bought the audiobook online, believing their marketing that it was about weight-loss advice for young women. If I had known it was a pro-vegan manifesto, I never would have.

I thought this book was a real eye-opener- the only people who care that they were "duped" into reading a pro-vegan book are those who feel guilty about eating meat and animal products but are too self-centered and scared to give up their lives of mindless self-indulgence. The author of this article is reacting like anyone who feels their comfort zone slipping away- much like smokers. Give it up!

Very interesting term. This book made me think of it:

Orthorexia - obsession with healthy or righteous eating.

http://www.eatingdisordershelpguide.com/orthorexia.html

I meant to reply to Treeple's anonymous responder, not Treeple him/herself.

Processed, prepackaged foods are probably the worst thing to happen to humanity as a whole and the US in particular. In addition to fueling our obesity epidemic, it is also negatively affecting our taste for real, wholesome foods.

I've noticed that every person who ate pre-packaged low-fat and "diet" foods only succeeded in getting fatter. We would all be better off eating healthy, satisfying, well balanced meals free from trans fats, high fructose corn syrup and made in the home.

Every day we are being "marketed at." In this "consumer age" you are just being stupid if you are blithely ignorant of marketing bias. At least the good aspects of this book outweigh the bad. It's not the worst thing in the world to be exposed to the horror that is industrial farming, or to the reality of where our food comes from. All too often we don't know anything about how most things come to us. The reader should be aware of the author's credentials and viewpoint. I think both are obvious in this case.

So. Think for yourself and make up your own mind. I don't buy the excuse that dieters are more apt to end up as prey. If that's the case, they deserve to be preyed upon.

There is one sentence in the review that says vegans often come across as sanctimonious and that many nutritionists regard veganism as an extreme way of eating. Doesn't sound like much of a flamin op-ed anti-vegan screed to me.

In case the critics of Skinny Bitch have not noticed cancer, heart disease, obesity are epidemic in our Western societies and animal fat, according to TheChinaStudy.com, is the cause. Our nearest animal relative, the ape, with 99.4% of human DNA, is largely vegan. 60 Minutes recently featured a segment on the great apes. One male ape, vegan, according to 60 Minutes, "serviced" eleven female apes, daily! No Viagra required. I am sure those "bitches" did not complain. robert ashley martin, san francisco, ca