3 ms·

Without modern agriculture + nutrition, I don’t think you could survive without eating meat (if I’m wrong, feel free to ignore the rest of this). That means you

Without modern agriculture + nutrition, I don’t think you could survive without eating meat (if I’m wrong, feel free to ignore the rest of this). That means you have to murder an animal to live and don’t really get a choice in the matter. This why we are inherently murderous. Sure, these days we pay other people to do it, but when you pick up a burger; that cow was murdered — hopefully humanly.

olyjohn 4y ago
Hmm. I don't agree that all killing is murder.
- steve_adams_86 4y ago
  Certainly not. Some is merciful and – in the case of dignified deaths – by old and modern laws, totally consensual as well. Sometimes death is appropriate even if it’s not what was hoped for. It’s not an easy distinction to make by any means, but it’s a distinction that humans have believed to exist for millennia at least.
steve_adams_86 4y ago
People can live without eating animals (at least without seeking them out; getting small animals in your food is practically inevitable). However you’re right, it’s very difficult and impractical without modern agriculture. Apart from a good understanding of macros and vitamin B12, there’s not much else a vegan needs from modernity. B12 should be present in all foods too, but in modernity it’s simply too clean to get enough without supplementing. Even livestock are supplemented with it in feed lots where they aren’t exposed to much outdoor microbe-laden plant matter and water. I’m not sure how well a vegan would do if they just ate plants from a relatively “clean” field without washing the food too much; maybe they’d actually be just fine. Bizarrely enough, even meat eaters can be somewhat low in B12 in the USA. It’s a vitamin that’s generally not in excess in a lot of diets, omnivore or otherwise.

3 ms·

Without modern agriculture + nutrition, I don’t think you could survive without eating meat (if I’m wrong, feel free to ignore the rest of this). That means you

by withinboredom 4y ago

olyjohn 4y ago
Hmm. I don't agree that all killing is murder.
- steve_adams_86 4y ago
  Certainly not. Some is merciful and – in the case of dignified deaths – by old and modern laws, totally consensual as well. Sometimes death is appropriate even if it’s not what was hoped for. It’s not an easy distinction to make by any means, but it’s a distinction that humans have believed to exist for millennia at least.
steve_adams_86 4y ago
People can live without eating animals (at least without seeking them out; getting small animals in your food is practically inevitable). However you’re right, it’s very difficult and impractical without modern agriculture. Apart from a good understanding of macros and vitamin B12, there’s not much else a vegan needs from modernity. B12 should be present in all foods too, but in modernity it’s simply too clean to get enough without supplementing. Even livestock are supplemented with it in feed lots where they aren’t exposed to much outdoor microbe-laden plant matter and water. I’m not sure how well a vegan would do if they just ate plants from a relatively “clean” field without washing the food too much; maybe they’d actually be just fine. Bizarrely enough, even meat eaters can be somewhat low in B12 in the USA. It’s a vitamin that’s generally not in excess in a lot of diets, omnivore or otherwise.