Food for Thought by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau

Musings on vegetarianism, veganism, meat-eating, non-violence, the use and abuse of animals in our society, and the joy (and sadness) that comes with being awake to and aware of the misery animals endure at the hands of humans - and how we have the power to stop it.

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

New Podcast Episode: Drawing the Line


I've decided to begin posting the titles and summaries of the podcast episodes here on the Food for Thought blog. Though discussions of the podcast do take place at the Compassionate Cooks Community Message Board, nothin' wrong with spreadin' the love.

Topic for September 2nd: Drawing the Line: Exploring Possible Gray Areas in Ethical Veganism
Summary: What if I had my own hens and ate her eggs? What if I had my own cow or goat and drank her milk? What about honey? Is it considered "vegan"? These are some of the questions people ask as they begin to consider the ethical issues of consuming animal products. Though I don't pretend to have the one definitive answer, I am happy to share my thoughts. This episode is dedicated to Studley.

You may listen to this episode (as well as any of the almost 90 episodes already produced!) at www.vegetarianfoodforthought.com or through iTunes.

Enjoy...and discuss...

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posted by Compassionate Cook @ 5:25 PM  

4 Comments:

  • At 1:44 AM , Blogger Vincent5 said...

    OK although I have not listened to the pod I will say it is rather simple. I would not eat the eggs or drink the milk unless it was of an essential consequence. You see vegetarians understand the difference, right?

     

  • At 12:55 PM , Blogger Lisa J. said...

    I usually answer these questions with: I would not be raising animals for eggs or milk anyway!

    Colleen, I just finished reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. Have you read this? Any thoughts??

     

  • At 12:46 PM , Blogger Aeolus said...

    Thank you for the "Drawing the Line" podcast. Your attitude toward eggs makes perfect sense to me. I like the fact that you are not dogmatic and that it's not about bodily purity; rather, your guiding principle is the well-being and non-exploitation of animals -- or, as you say, "I try to reduce suffering as much as I can."

    But when we apply that principle to the question of honey, it's not clear that eating honey is wrong. I am no expert here, but as far as I know, scientific evidence indicates that mammals and birds almost certainly can feel pain, that fish, reptiles, and amphibians probably can, but that invertebrates, with the exception of cephalopods, probably cannot. If insects are not sentient, then it would seem that taking honey from a hive is no worse than taking apples from a tree. One might want to abstain from honey "just in case" bees are sentient -- either because perhaps they can feel pain or because perhaps even without feeling pain they may be able to feel frustrated or unhappy. Personally, I don't have a sweet tooth and so have no desire to eat honey, but I wouldn't make a big deal of eating honey from a "vegan" point of view.

     

  • At 10:19 PM , Blogger Lisa J. said...

    I'm about to embark on a "confessions of a vegan" comment response, so be warned!

    I admit that I do eat honey on occassion. Not as a blatant act of proving that I don't care, but because I also subscribe to the yoga dietary beliefs and realize that there are times I have to choose "do I or don't I?"

    Very simply stated, a "yogic diet" is lacto-vegetarian, which advocates eating honey as a natural alternative to processed cane sugar. There are many yogis & gurus who admit that these dietary guidelines were set long before confinement farming of dairy and mass production of honey, and so acknowledge the cruelty inherent in the modern system and advocate a totally vegan diet.

    *I personally am as vegan as I can realistically be: no animal products at all.

    So, why do I still eat honey? I only do it outside of my home and only if there is no other alternative (for example if a friend has gone out of her way to bake something she thinks is "vegan" but might still include honey because she wasn't aware that this is a non-vegan ingredient). In my home I use agave nectar as a less-sweet alternative to honey.

    I'm no scientist, but I do think there is a difference in insects compared to mammals/fish/birds as far as brain function, but that doesn't change the fact that honey bees are a vital and living part of the ecosystem. If I can take a step back from causing harm to any living animal, then I will even if it doesn't seem as obvious as avoiding harm to cows/chickens/pigs/etc. I admit that I do feel less guilty about eating a little honey now & then then I do about the fact that my saxophone has leather key pads for which there are no non-animal alternatives...

    Sorry that this comment took so much space, but hopefully this helped you understand the perspective of one vegan, aeolus!

     

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