creative ideas for my veganism project??

[windcatcher 0]

So here's another post from a college student needing help from fellow skydivers on a class project: please continue to read if you only feel you can contribute, otherwise I may be wasting your precious time when you could be reading other stupid posts...but since this isn't stupid, proceed with caution.
My group for interpersonal comm. class is doing a project on groups that are misunderstood and we chose vegans. My job is to get the audience interacting with us as we talk to them about veganism....anybody got any creative suggestions?
What about something like getting different foods and having them pretend to cook them, then running up and dramatizing the whole thing?? (Like if they're about ready to crack an egg, my group members can try to rescue the egg and explain why we shouldn't eat it)
I'm stuck, lemme know what ya think...and BTW, this post is in no way implying anything negative about vegans.IF you are a vegan, please do enlighten me about the subject.
Thanks!
Sarah

Mother to the cutest little thing in the world...

[gravityizsexy 0]

I would've chosen aeronautical engineer's.... don't really
know much about vegans... is it like a religion or something?
or just a way of life? hrmmmm.... you got me curious now?

"'Someday is not a day in my week'"

[windcatcher 0]

still researching it, it's probably more a way of eating ( abstaining from any products derived from animals)but can also be a philosophy of life I believe, ranging from not wearing anything made of leather, wool or silk, to being active against animal cruelty...

Mother to the cutest little thing in the world...

[gravityizsexy 0]

sucks... what's the rewards??? guaranteed spot in heaven
or something like that? that'd be nice... when's your
essay have to be done by?

"'Someday is not a day in my week'"

[windcatcher 0]

yeah, I'm sure there are some rewards, I could never be a vegan though, I grew up on my dad's gourmet blackened steaks...and oh, some people do the veganism thing for health reasons, which I don't disapprove of.
My group is meeting tomorrow and I have to report back then....

Mother to the cutest little thing in the world...

[gravityizsexy 0]

yah, me neither... I love seafood way too much, and my
meats. I kinda actually feel bad for vegans. They're
missing out on the feelgood of life. veganism kinda
seems restricting... I guess they don't see it that way.
Although I wonder how they do percieve their way of life.
hrmmm..... intresting.

"'Someday is not a day in my week'"

[freeflybella 0]

ok, ok...

Hi . . . My name is Shani . . . and I'm "vegan".

May I help in some way?


(If you have to talk to your 'interactive' audience about veganism - won't you have to 'defend' or at least explain veganism?

If so, won't you have to understand 'why' some/most people are vegan?

One major misperception about veganism is that we/they care WAY TOO much about insignificant things. Your example of having vegans 'rescue eggs' you're about to cook seems to emphasize the stereotype - rather than educate about the realities.

Personally 'eggs-schmeggs'. It starts WAY before that on the farm for me and my own activism.

I'd love to talk/pm about the subject - if you search the forum, you'll see many posts about veganism/vegetarianism on dz.com. I'm surprised I don't see the P.E.T.A {people eating tasty animals} posters yet!!!

But if you're sure you could never be vegan - I'm interested to know how you'll communicate their cause!
Shani

Action expresses priority. - Mahatma Ghandi

[freeflybella 0]

Don't feel bad for me!
Feel bad for them.

Action expresses priority. - Mahatma Ghandi

[windcatcher 0]

yeah, you're right Shani, I do need to educate them...I just want something fun to get them to interact with us as a group...
guess I'll ask around, but thanks for your insights

Mother to the cutest little thing in the world...

[freeflybella 0]

PM already sent to Sarah - but general apology needed:

Ever read back over a post and cringe? Sorry for sounding bitchy. Alot.

I actually think the idea is a great one - it gives you a chance to learn about and discuss the many varied reasons for becoming veg. And you're right, keeping it on the "lighter side and 'fun'" goes way further than "intense and fanatical" in opening people up for conversation.

Good luck!

Action expresses priority. - Mahatma Ghandi

[DJL 235]

Quote

Don't feel bad for me!

Feel bad for them.

Yeah and feel bad for the
shrews and voles too!!

Quote

It starts WAY before that on the farm for me and my own activism.

So, instead of just being against something, why don't you support free-range ranching with the only thing that really walks, money. Instead of saying, "don't do this" tell us how it can be done.

"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher

[smiles 0]

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My group for interpersonal comm. class is doing a project on groups that are misunderstood and we chose vegans.

I have no reason to believe vegans are misunderstood- this will be a tough project as firstly vegans are uneducated, not misunderstood.

Simply, diet should be based on genetic requirements -- to complement one's individual chemical make-up.

Hey,
there is no secret to healthy eating---the answer lies not in the type of diet itself, but frequently the avoidance of what is generally conceived as being junk food - which can be part of an omnivorous and vegetarian lifestyle. At the same time, someone's diet should be based on genetic requirements -- to complement one's individual chemical make-up, but should not be based on dogmas or agendas.

--One of the misconceptions perpetuated by some sources is that eating meat promotes cardiovascular
disease, while vegetarian diets prevent it. We all know that the body cannot exist without cholesterol, and that dietary cholesterol has little or no effect on serum cholesterol, so that leaves oxidation of fat and simple sugars (once converted in the liver) as contributing factors with atherosclerosis. However, this effect is not meat, nor vegan / vegetarian-specific, and neither are antioxidants, which can be animal and/or vegetarian-based.

--Contrary to vegan-based reviews or commentaries, people following a strict vegetarian diet are not
healthier than their omnivorous counterparts. In fact, on average, they suffer from as many, or more
medical complaints as compared to non-vegetarian individuals, who include meat or eggs in their diet.

--There is absolutely no question that the average person does best health-wise by consuming a mixed
diet that is as fresh, and hopefully as unprocessed as possible.

--There are only animal, but no vegetarian sources of Vitamin B12. Vitamin B12 liver stores in adults may last for several years before becoming depleted as a result of switching to a strict vegan or vegetarian diet, however Vitamin B12 deficiency in vegetarian children is much more serious since symptoms do not always become obvious or acute until some damage has resulted. So while it is recommended to supplement extra amounts of Vitamin B12 with vegetarian adults, it is mandatory with vegetarian children. Both, Vitamin B12 and Vitamin B6 (along with folic acid and others) are also able to lower homocysteine levels which tend to be on the high side with many vegetarians, so these vitamins will have a favorably affect on a vegetarian's cardiovascular system also.

The decision to supplement additional iron (particularly with vegetarian women), or protein whereby low protein and/or iron frequently
also suggest low sodium levels. Using normal amounts of table salt generally resolves that situation in the average individual, however in low aldosterone types, where using salt alone won't bring up sodium levels, supplementing choline or even licorice may have to be considered.

When iron levels test below normal, then manganese supplementation is frequently indicated as well, being the associated mineral of iron, which may help with low blood sugar / hypoglycemic symptoms, or low estrogenic-types of PMS. This tends to develop when high potassium intake - being more prevalent with vegetarianism - gradually depletes manganese levels in the body.

Why do vegetarian diets worsen cholesterol or triglyceride profiles in some people?
A high potassium / manganese ratio is generally also responsible for total cholesterol levels to rise
following the switch to a vegetarian lifestyle, while lower sodium can be the cause for the LDL fraction to go up. Likewise, a rise in zinc is common when switching to vegetarianism, being partly supported by a decrease in iron (high zinc / iron ratio), which may result in raised total triglyceride levels.
...........................and on and on.

SMiles

[Zep 0]

I'm not against any person being a vegiterian
thats thier right of choice

but I can't be sorry for THEM as without us meateaters thier would be no THEM

Gone fishing

[DJL 235]

So you're saying that in order to destoy THEM, we must destroy ourselves? I agree. I'll whip up a batch of cool-aide. HA! WE'll show THEM!!

"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher

[Nightingale 0]

call PETA. They'll send you all kinds of cool info for your project.

www.peta.org

Vegans aren't into "rescuing eggs" they disagree with the way the chickens are treated.


From Peta:
Whether you’re a staunch animal rights advocate, an activist who’s just getting started, or a complete skeptic, you can use these answers to help clarify your understanding of the animal rights movement. The responses presented here are by no means the only answers to these frequently asked questions. They are simply intended to provoke you to think about common assumptions and to serve as a resource as you formulate your own opinions.

“What do you mean by ‘animal rights’?”
People who support animal rights believe that animals are not ours to use for food, clothing, entertainment, experimentation, or any other purpose and that animals deserve consideration of their best interests regardless of whether they are cute, useful to humans, or endangered and regardless of whether any human cares about them at all (just as a mentally challenged human has rights even if he or she is not cute or useful and even if everyone dislikes him or her).

“What is the difference between ‘animal rights’ and ‘animal welfare’?”
Animal welfare theories accept that animals have interests but allow those interests to be traded away as long as the human benefits are thought to justify the sacrifice, while animal rights theories say that animals, like humans, have interests that cannot be sacrificed or traded away to benefit others. However, the animal rights movement does not hold that rights are absolute—an animal’s rights, just like those of humans, must be limited and can certainly conflict.

Supporters of the animal rights movement believe that animals are not ours to use for food, clothing, entertainment, or experimentation, while supporters of the animal welfare movement believe that animals can be used for those purposes as long as “humane” guidelines are followed.

“What rights should animals have?”
Animals should have the right to equal consideration of their interests. For instance, a dog most certainly has an interest in not having pain inflicted on him or her unnecessarily. We are, therefore, obliged to take that interest into consideration and to respect the dog’s right not to have pain unnecessarily inflicted upon him or her. However, animals don’t always have the same rights as humans because their interests are not always the same as ours, and some rights would be irrelevant to animals. For instance, a dog doesn’t have an interest in voting and, therefore, doesn’t have the right to vote because that right would be as meaningless to a dog as it is to a child.

“Where do you draw the line?”
The renowned humanitarian Albert Schweitzer, who accomplished so much for both humans and animals in his lifetime, would take time to stoop and move a worm from hot pavement to cool earth. Aware of the problems and responsibilities that an expanded ethic brings, he said, “A man is really ethical only when he obeys the constraint laid on him to aid all life which he is able to help .… He does not ask how far this or that life deserves sympathy … nor how far it is capable of feeling.” We can’t stop all suffering, but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t stop any. In today’s world of virtually unlimited choices, there are plenty of kind, gentle ways for us to feed, clothe, entertain, and educate ourselves that do not involve killing animals.

“What about plants?”
There is currently no reason to believe that plants experience pain because they are devoid of central nervous systems, nerve endings, and brains. It is theorized that animals are able to feel pain so that they can use it for self-protection purposes. For example, if you touch something hot and feel pain, you will learn from the pain that you should not touch that item in the future. Since plants cannot move from place to place and do not need to learn to avoid certain things, this sensation would be superfluous. From a physiological standpoint, plants are completely different from mammals. Unlike animals’ body parts, many perennial plants, fruits, and vegetables can be harvested over and over again without dying.

If you are concerned about the impact of vegetable agriculture on the environment, you should know that a vegetarian diet is better for the environment than a meat-based one, since the vast majority of grains and legumes raised today are used as feed for cattle. Rather than eating animals, such as cows, who must consume 16 pounds of vegetation in order to convert them into 1 pound of flesh, you can save many more plants’ lives (and destroy less land) by eating vegetables directly.

“It’s fine for you to believe in animal rights, but why do you try to tell other people what to do?”
Everybody is entitled to his or her own opinion, but freedom of thought is not the same thing as freedom of action. You are free to believe whatever you want as long as you don’t hurt others. You may believe that animals should be killed, that black people should be enslaved, or that women should be beaten, but you don’t always have the right to put your beliefs into practice. The very nature of reform movements is to tell others what to do—don’t use humans as slaves, don’t sexually harass women, etc.—and all movements initially encounter opposition from people who want to continue to take part in the criticized behavior.

“Animals don’t reason, don’t understand rights, and don’t always respect our rights, so why should we apply our ideas of morality to them?”
An animal’s inability to understand and adhere to our rules is as irrelevant as a child’s or a person with a developmental disability’s inability to do so. Animals are not always able to choose to change their behaviors, but adult human beings have the intelligence and ability to choose between behaviors that hurt others and behaviors that do not hurt others. When given the choice, it makes sense to choose compassion.

“Where does the animal rights movement stand on abortion?”
There are people on both sides of the abortion issue in the animal rights movement, just as there are people on both sides of animal rights issues in the pro-life movement. And just as the pro-life movement has no official position on animal rights, the animal rights movement has no official position on abortion.

“It’s almost impossible to avoid using all animal products; if you’re still causing animal suffering without realizing it, what's the point?”
It is impossible to live without causing some harm. We’ve all accidentally stepped on ants or breathed in gnats, but that doesn’t mean that we should intentionally cause unnecessary harm. You might accidentally hit someone with your car, but that is no reason to run someone over on purpose.

“What about all the customs, traditions, and jobs that depend on using animals?”
The invention of the automobile, the abolition of slavery, and the end of World War II also necessitated restructuring and job retraining. Making changes to customs, traditions, and jobs is part of social progress—not a reason to deter it.

“Don’t animal rights activists commit ‘terrorist’ acts?”
The animal rights movement is nonviolent. One of the central beliefs shared by most animal rights activists is the belief that we should not harm any animal—human or otherwise. However, all large movements have factions that believe in the use of force.

“How can you justify the millions of dollars of property damage caused by the Animal Liberation Front (ALF)?”
Throughout history, some people have felt the need to break the law to fight injustice. The Underground Railroad and the French Resistance are examples of movements in which people broke the law in order to answer to a higher morality. The ALF, which is simply the name adopted by people who act illegally in behalf of animal rights, breaks inanimate objects such as stereotaxic devices and decapitators in order to save lives. ALF members burn empty buildings in which animals are tortured and killed. ALF “raids” have given us proof of horrific cruelty that would not have otherwise been discovered or believed and have resulted in criminal charges’ being filed against laboratories for violations of the Animal Welfare Act. Often, ALF raids have been followed by widespread scientific condemnation of the practices occurring in the targeted labs, and some abusive laboratories have been permanently shut down as a result.

“How can you justify spending your time helping animals when there are so many people who need help?”
There are very serious problems in the world that deserve our attention, and cruelty to animals is one of them. We should try to alleviate suffering wherever we can. Helping animals is not any more or less important than helping human beings—they are both important. Animal suffering and human suffering are interconnected.

“Most animals used for food, fur, or experiments are bred for that purpose, so what's wrong with using them?”
Being bred for a certain purpose does not change an animal’s biological capacity to feel pain and fear.

“If using animals is unethical, why does the Bible say that we have dominion over animals?”
Dominion is not the same as tyranny. The Queen of England has “dominion” over her subjects, but that doesn’t mean that she can eat them, wear them, or experiment on them. If we have dominion over animals, surely it is to protect them, not to use them for our own ends. There is nothing in the Bible that would justify our modern-day practices, which desecrate the environment, destroy entire species of wildlife, and inflict torment and death on billions of animals every year. The Bible imparts a reverence for life, and a loving God could not help but be appalled by the way that animals are treated today.

“Wasn’t Hitler in favor of animal rights?”
Although the Nazis claimed to pass an anti-vivisection bill, they did not. In fact, they were required by law to perform experiments on animals before carrying them out on humans. Experiments on humans did not replace animal experiments; on the contrary, animal experiments made them possible. In The Dark Face of Science, John Vyvyan summed it up correctly, “The experiments made on prisoners were many and diverse, but they had one thing in common: All were in continuation of, or complementary to experiments on animals. In every instance, this antecedent scientific literature is mentioned in the evidence; and at Buchenwald and Auschwitz concentration camps, human and animal experiments were carried out simultaneously as parts of a single programme.”

However, even if this weren’t the case, the merits of an idea cannot be determined by the character of its proponents. If Hitler believed in evolution, would that mean that we should not believe in evolution? What if Gandhi also believed in evolution? How would we reconcile the two? An idea must be judged on its own merits.

For more information on this topic, we recommend the book Hitler: Neither Vegetarian nor Animal Lover by Rynn Berry, available here.

“Animals in cages on factory farms or in laboratories don’t suffer that much because they’ve never known anything else, right?”
Wrong! Animals on factory farms and in laboratories are prevented from acting on even the most basic instinctual behaviors, which causes tremendous suffering. Even animals who have been caged since birth feel the need to move around, groom themselves, stretch their limbs or wings, and exercise. Herd animals and flock animals become distressed when they are forced to live in isolation or when they are put in groups that are too large for them to be able to recognize other members. In addition, all confined animals suffer from intense boredom—some so severely that it can lead to self-mutilation or other self-destructive behavior.

“If animal exploitation were wrong, wouldn't it be illegal?”
Legality is no guarantee of morality. Who does and who doesn’t have legal rights is determined merely by the opinions of today’s legislators. The law changes as public opinion or political motivations change, but ethics are not as arbitrary. Child labor, human slavery, and the oppression of women were all legal in the U.S. at one time, but that does not mean that they were ever ethical.

“Have you ever been to a slaughterhouse or vivisection laboratory?”
No, but enough people have filmed and written about what goes on in these places to paint a very detailed picture. You do not need to experience the abuse of animals close up to be able to criticize it any more than you need to personally experience rape or child abuse to criticize those. No one will ever be witness to all the suffering in the world, but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t try to stop it.


“Animals are not as intelligent or as advanced as humans, so why can't we use them?”
Possessing superior intelligence does not entitle one human to abuse another human, so why should it entitle humans to abuse nonhumans? There are animals who are unquestionably more intelligent, creative, aware, communicative, and able to use language than some humans, as is the case when a chimpanzee is compared to a human infant or a person with a severe developmental disability. Should the more intelligent animals have rights and the less intelligent humans be denied rights?

“What's wrong with factory farms or fur farms? Aren't animals worse off in the wild, where they die of starvation, disease, or predation? At least the animals on factory farms and fur farms are fed and protected.”
A similar argument was used to support the claim that black people were better off as slaves on plantations than as free men and women. The same could also be said of people in prison, yet prison is considered to be one of society’s harshest punishments. Animals on factory farms suffer so much that it is inconceivable that they could be worse off in the wild. The wild isn’t “wild” to the animals who live there—it’s their home. There, they have their freedom and can engage in their natural activities. The fact that they might suffer in the wild is no reason to ensure that they suffer in captivity.

[freeflybella 0]

Quote

So, instead of just being against something, why don't you support free-range ranching with the only thing that really walks, money. Instead of saying, "don't do this" tell us how it can be done.

I do support free-range farms (in theory) over factory farms.

I don't give them money because I don't consume their products.

And it's not up to me to tell anyone how to do anything. I'll share my beliefs and thoughts with anyone - if it moves you to learn, great! If what you learn moves you to act, great!

*to Smiles, I would say there are equal percentages of uneducated vegetarians as there are uneducated carnivores. For some, vegetarianism is just another fad diet. For some, eating meat is a mindless act they were never taught to question.

I would never tell someone not to let their actions follow their heart/spirit.

Action expresses priority. - Mahatma Ghandi

[Zep 0]

I don not want to get into an argument.

I am 100% against factory (intensive) farming

I will keep on eating meat because if I do not the world will be a poorer place.

Work it out

Gone fishing

[peregrinerose 0]

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Vegans aren't into "rescuing eggs" they disagree with the way the chickens are treated.

So as long as I raise my own grain fed and spoiled rotten chickens who have free run of my farm when I have one, I can eat all the eggs that I want to? And The chickens too since they live full and happy chickenish lives under these conditions?

Or did I misread that quote? It's monday, not firing on all thrusters yet

Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

[Nightingale 0]

they would still probaly disagree with you, because they don't believe animals should be held in captivity, so they would still dislike your treatment of your chickens.

[Zep 0]

Well I guess the old quote is right

"You can please some of the people some of the time
But you can't please all of the people all of the time"

Anon

Gone fishing

[peregrinerose 0]

So chickens running all over a farm with no predators, plenty of food, shelter, water, clean conditions, isn't good enough for peta? Hmmm.

What about pet animals in captivity? I have 2 dogs, 3 cats, guinea pig, rabbit, and fish. And beef marinating in the fridge now that I think about it. I'm peta's worst nightmare

Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

[freeflybella 0]

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So as long as I raise my own grain fed and spoiled rotten chickens who have free run of my farm when I have one, I can eat all the eggs that I want to?

Have you done any research at all into what you're asking or are you being rhetorical for a reason?

Action expresses priority. - Mahatma Ghandi

[Zep 0]

Here are a couple of critters that ain't gonna be sacrificed


there well out of the reach of uncle SAM

Gone fishing

[QuickDraw 0]

How about the liberal approach... a bacon-cosh ?

Teach em that meat really can harm you.

-- Hope you don't die. --

I'm fucking winning

[peregrinerose 0]

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Have you done any research at all into what you're asking or are you being rhetorical for a reason?

I was questioning Nightingale's statement that it is the 'captivity' part that peta is against when it comes to eggs. Using that logic, if my hypothetical chickens aren't really captive or cooped up, etc, why wouldn't the eggs be acceptable to eat?

Admittedly, I don't have this set up yet, but plan on a small farm in the not so distant future. At that time plan on raising my own chickens for eggs (and beef cow too, and fresh chicken... but it's only the egg thing I'm curious about).

Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda