1.First, the issue is not death, it's cruelty. As a veterinary student I have euthanased animals and it is justifiable if you can't find them a home. Also, I'm a 24yo male and i've been vegan for 5 years. I bodybuild and I play basketball. I got an ENTER score of 97. So i'm perfectly healthy.
2. In strict biological terms, plant material is 'alive' also. So yes. I agree. However if by 'alive' you are referring to meat animals, then I disagree.
3. I generally agree, but this does not mean animals don't have some rights. Also, elephants do bury and mourn their dead. Further, you should probably work on your spelling.
4. ummmmmm.....ok
5. When speaking about animal cruelty i'm referring to their interactions with humans. Generally, animal cruelty issues are related to animals that have been domesticated and are therefore the responsibility of humans. They are not wild animals.
6. And how do you define 'natural'? People have practiced vegetarianism and veganism for thousands of years. Also, Animal rights is not necessarily synonymous with being vegetarian or vegan.
1. I am not saying your lifestyle is unhealthy. Meerly that life can only exist consuming other life.(edited to add: I know plenty of vegetarians that are in great shape, that say they've never felt better. hopefully, someday ill join you guys, but not now... just love cheeseburgers too much.)
2. You are changing the definition of alive to include only organisms with "conciousness". (and yes, my spelling sucks, you'll have to deal with it
) You and every other living thing on this planet share a common ancestor at some point in the evolutionary chain. Saying that mammels are more important than evergreen trees is 100% species ego. Why shouldn't we think we are more important? We happen to be us. Unfortunatly, nature is indifferent towards man. In the big "cosmic" picture, your life is worth no more than a blade of grass. Because, however, we find ourselves at the top of the food chain, we get to pick whats important and whats not, and those organisms really have no say in it. By disagreeing with the word "alive" all you are doing is changing the criteria of what it means to be alive to what suits your opinion, and then placing that label on organisms you see fit. Alive is alive, and if you share a common ancestor, then how could you be more alive than it? If you are able to quantify what it means to be alive, then one could fundamentally argue that you would have to be more or less alive than myself. From amoeba's, to grasshoppers and bears. Alive is alive.
3. Elephants do have instinctive "graveyards" but do not bury their dead. While they may "mourn the loss," they do not imagine what the future would be with the deceased in it. They don't imagine the future at all.
4. Enough people in this world are already starving without diet restrictions. Combined with the economy and jobmarket, the realistic phasing out of meat from our civilization in any short term span is just not possible.
5. I agree with you 100% on domestic animal cruelty. I assumed from your vegan post that you were arguing dietary restrictions. That was a mistake on my part and I apoligize. (even though I cant spell it)
