Many things made me become a vegetarian, among them, the higher food
yield as a solution to world hunger. ~~ John Denver

To be a vegetarian is to disagree -- to disagree with the course of
things today. Starvation, world hunger, cruelty, waste, wars -- we
must make a statement against these things. Vegetarianism is my
statment. And I think it's a strong one. ~~ Isaac Bashevis Singer

It seems disingenuous for the intellectual elite of the first world to
dwell on the subject of too many babies being born in the second- and
third-world nations while virtually ignoring the over-population of
cattle and the realities of a food chain that robs the poor of
sustenance to feed the rich a steady diet of grain-fed meat. ~~ Jeremy
Rifkin

The fact is that there is enough food in the world for everyone. But
tragically, much of the world's food and land resources are tied up in
producing beef and other livestock -- food for the well off -- while
millions of children and adults suffer from malnutrition and
starvation. ~~ Dr.Walden Bello

Our food system takes abundant grain, which people can't afford, and
shrinks it into meat, which better-off people will pay for. ~~ Frances
Moore Lappe

The American fast food diet and the meat eating habits of the wealthy
around the world support a world food system that diverts food
resources from the hungry. A diet higher in whole grains and legumes
and lower in beef and other meat is not just healthier for ourselves
but also contributes to changing the world system that feeds some
people and leaves others hungry. ~~ Dr.Walden Bello

There can be no question that more hunger can be alleviated with a
given quantity of grain by completely eliminating animals [from the
food production process]. [ ... ] Thus, a given quantity of grain
eaten directly will feed 5 times as many people as it will if it is
first fed to livestock and then is eaten indirectly by humans in the
form of livestock products... ~~ M. E. Ensminger, Ph.D., former
Department of Animal Science Chairman at Washington State University

A meat-fed world now appears a chimera. World grain production has
grown more slowly than population since 1984, and farmers lack new
methods for repeating the gains of the 'green revolution.' Supporting
the world's current population of 5.4 billion people on an
American-style diet would require two-and-a-half times as much grain
as the world's farmers produce for all purposes. A future world of 8
billion to 14 billion people eating the American ration of 220 grams
of grain-fed meat a day can be nothing but a flight of fancy. ~~ Alan
B. Durning and Holly Brough, Worldwatch Institute, Washington, D.C.

The world's environment can no longer handle beef. ~~ Jeremy Rifkin

The impact of countless hooves and mouths over the years has done more
to alter the type of vegetation and land forms of the West than all
the water projects, strip mines, power plants, freeways, and
subdivsion developments combined. ~~ Philip Fradkin

A reduction in beef and other meat consumption is the most potent
single act you can take to halt the destruction of our environment and
preserve our natural resources. Our choices do matter. What's
healthiest for each of us personally is also healthiest for the life
support system of our precious, but wounded planet. ~~ John Robbins

About a third of the world grain harvest -- the staples of the human
feeding base -- is fed to animals to produce eggs, milk, and meat for
American-style diets. Wouldn't feeding that grain directly to people
solve the problem? If everyone were willing to eat an essentially
vegetarian diet, that additional grain would allow perhaps a billion
more people to be fed. ~~ Paul R. Ehrlich and Anne H. Ehrlich

Family farmers are victims of public policy that gives preference to
feeding animals over feeding people. This has encouraged the cheap
grain policy of this nation and has made the Beef Cartel the biggest
hog at the trough. ~~ Howard Lyman

"Jumpy is the name of my eldest son's tree frog. He is misnamed, in that he
does not jump. He barely moves, preferring to bask under a heat lamp,
awaiting his next live cricket. Even with lunch skittering about the cage,
Jumpy barely bats an eye. Eventually the cricket crawls by his mouth and is
eaten. A sweet, slow, easy life, right?
"Yet some people would claim we are oppressing Jumpy. That he is debased and
wronged, being owned by my son. That's nonsense: He's better off on the
dresser. No predators. No fear his crickets won't show up on time.

"Whether you consider Jumpy fortunate or oppressed is a good barometer of
where you come down on the general animal rights debate. Most people, secure
in their personhood and assured of the value of humanity, are willing to use
animals for human purposes -- to eat meat, wear leather, and keep pets.

"Yet a small but very vocal minority tries to mask a sneering disregard for
humanity with a concern for animals so extreme it would look exaggerated in
a silent movie. Accompanying this disdain for people is a self-righteous
delusion that they alone are saving the planet with their steady diet of
self-denial. They believe each time you eat a soy burger, Earth gives you a
big, grinning thumbs-up."

http://www.reason.com/0402/co.ns.a.shtml

Once I puked in my mouth but fought to keep it from coming out of my
mouth... then I swallowed it.

> "Jumpy is the name of my eldest son's tree frog. He is misnamed, in that he
> does not jump. He barely moves, preferring to bask under a heat lamp,
> awaiting his next live cricket. Even with lunch skittering about the cage,
> Jumpy barely bats an eye. Eventually the cricket crawls by his mouth and is
> eaten. A sweet, slow, easy life, right?
> "Yet some people would claim we are oppressing Jumpy. That he is debased and
> wronged, being owned by my son. That's nonsense: He's better off on the
> dresser. No predators. No fear his crickets won't show up on time.
>
> "Whether you consider Jumpy fortunate or oppressed is a good barometer of
> where you come down on the general animal rights debate. Most people, secure
> in their personhood and assured of the value of humanity, are willing to use
> animals for human purposes -- to eat meat, wear leather, and keep pets.
>
> "Yet a small but very vocal minority tries to mask a sneering disregard for
> humanity with a concern for animals so extreme it would look exaggerated in
> a silent movie. Accompanying this disdain for people is a self-righteous
> delusion that they alone are saving the planet with their steady diet of
> self-denial. They believe each time you eat a soy burger, Earth gives you a
> big, grinning thumbs-up."
>
> http://www.reason.com/0402/co.ns.a.shtml

"Ping Pong Penis" > wrote in message
...
> Once I puked in my mouth but fought to keep it from coming out of my
> mouth... then I swallowed it.

Had you eaten a cricket?

> > "Jumpy is the name of my eldest son's tree frog. He is misnamed, in that
he
> > does not jump. He barely moves, preferring to bask under a heat lamp,
> > awaiting his next live cricket. Even with lunch skittering about the
cage,
> > Jumpy barely bats an eye. Eventually the cricket crawls by his mouth and
is
> > eaten. A sweet, slow, easy life, right?
> > "Yet some people would claim we are oppressing Jumpy. That he is debased
and
> > wronged, being owned by my son. That's nonsense: He's better off on the
> > dresser. No predators. No fear his crickets won't show up on time.
> >
> > "Whether you consider Jumpy fortunate or oppressed is a good barometer
of
> > where you come down on the general animal rights debate. Most people,
secure
> > in their personhood and assured of the value of humanity, are willing to
use
> > animals for human purposes -- to eat meat, wear leather, and keep pets.
> >
> > "Yet a small but very vocal minority tries to mask a sneering disregard
for
> > humanity with a concern for animals so extreme it would look exaggerated
in
> > a silent movie. Accompanying this disdain for people is a self-righteous
> > delusion that they alone are saving the planet with their steady diet of
> > self-denial. They believe each time you eat a soy burger, Earth gives
you a
> > big, grinning thumbs-up."
> >
> > http://www.reason.com/0402/co.ns.a.shtml