47
votes
What can be said when people argue that "plants suffer too"?
My favourite reply:
So you have compassion for plants?
You'd better go vegan, then, since it takes a lot more plants to feed to animals to feed to humans than it takes to feed humans directly with ...
- 11.7k
29
votes
Accepted
Do any major religions promote or require a vegetarian diet?
Jainism:
Jainism preaches vegetarianism and Jains follow an almost-vegan diet (but eat yogurt and curd cheese). Jain monks leave the rest of the food if they see a strand of hair in their plate ...
- 957
25
votes
Accepted
How can I communicate ideas about vegetarianism or veganism to others without appearing like I am imposing it on them?
There is no universal answer to this question, since everyone communicates differently. I can only share some tips that worked for me, and might work for other people.
Don't get known as "the ...
- 2,315
18
votes
What can be said when people argue that "plants suffer too"?
In addition to Zanna's answer, I would - depending on the situation - mention the uncertainty about the correctness of that statement. While with animals we can be pretty much sure about this, because ...
- 6,109
18
votes
Accepted
What percentage of farm animals are mistreated in some way?
Chickens
Egg-laying hens
An estimated 95% of all eggs in the United States are produced in conventional cage systems, sometimes called battery cages. [They] typically provide each laying hen an ...
16
votes
Accepted
How can I ask my guests to eat vegan when I host them?
The host generally makes the rules for an event, so a condition like that is entirely appropriate. If they have dietary/medical needs that they feel cannot be met by vegan means, you might want to ...
- 717
15
votes
Which one promotes the most deforestation: raising crops or animal husbandry?
A relevant point is that raising animals for food requires feeding them plants. Since only around 10% of the energy input (the percentage used for growth) at one trophic level of a food chain can be ...
- 11.7k
14
votes
Accepted
How can I convince my workplace to offer a better vegan menu?
Get your co-workers' support. Are there other people at your workplace who would like to eat vegan, even just from time to time? If there are, enlist them to help you out. If not, try inviting them ...
- 11.7k
13
votes
Do any major religions promote or require a vegetarian diet?
Not a religion, but a philosophy, the Taoist
I didn't know until today when I got this answer Reasons for being vegetarian or vegan other than ethical reasons?
As stated in Wikipedia
Taoist ...
- 1,076
11
votes
Do any major religions promote or require a vegetarian diet?
Vegetarianism and religion are strongly linked in a number of
religions that originated in ancient India (Hinduism, Jainism and
Buddhism). In Jainism vegetarianism is mandatory for everyone, in
...
- 1,364
11
votes
Accepted
What specific ethical concerns are there about the use of sheep's wool?
Like most livestock, wool sheep are tail-docked, castrated, and have their ears clipped.
Sheep are also selectively bred to favor the ones with the most skin-folds/highest wool production, which ...
- 606
10
votes
How can I communicate ideas about vegetarianism or veganism to others without appearing like I am imposing it on them?
Let them bring the topic to you
I always say that I'm a vegan if eating out, meat or animal ethics are mentioned, and I always explain why if asked. Otherwise I never bring up the topic directly. ...
- 11.7k
10
votes
What are the personality traits of those most and least likely to go vegetarian?
This is clearly hard to answer, as it is very broad, but there are relevant sources on the matter.
Intelligence - vegetarians may be more intelligent than average - according to this study that ...
- 3,691
10
votes
What health reasons might prevent people from becoming vegan?
There are many medical conditions that call for dietary restrictions.
For example:
irritable bowel syndrome
allergies
migraines
gluten sensitivity
When a person has a combination of medical ...
- 331
10
votes
Accepted
How can commitment to veganism and vegetarianism be encouraged?
There are so many different ways to help encourage sticking to veganism, but I'm going to focus on a few that I find to be the most successful to stress. (Age group from 20-30).
Cooking
Feels Good
...
- 561
10
votes
Accepted
Would we be overrun by cows and pigs if we stopped slaughtering them?
This situation is unlikely to happen. If the meat industry is to be phased out, it is likely to occur gradually.
Large scale management of freed/former farm animals could indeed present some ...
- 11.7k
9
votes
What specific ethical concerns are there about the use of sheep's wool?
According to sheep101.info, sheep have a natural life expectancy of 10 to 12 years. Despite this, a sheep's wool production begins to decline after 7 years. Therefore, farmers can produce more wool by ...
- 688
9
votes
Are there studies that have determined the main reasons people stop being vegetarian?
Those statistics may be misleading. Some people only practice vegetarianism for particular times such as fasting for religious reasons or financial reasons. Many of my non-vegetarian family members ...
- 1,542
9
votes
Accepted
Is it true that some plants kill and eat animals?
Are you asking if meat-eating plants exist? They certainly do. Would vegetarians or vegans eat carnivorous plants? That's a good question. Probably not, because their cultivation would require ...
- 1,589
8
votes
Do any major religions promote or require a vegetarian diet?
One Christian denomination that promotes vegetarianism is the Seventh-Day Adventist church. According to the LA Times, studies have found that Seventh-Day Adventists live up to ten years longer on ...
- 354
8
votes
Do any major religions promote or require a vegetarian diet?
Jains are vegetarian. Their diet also excludes various vegetables such as potatoes, eggplants (aubergines), onions and garlic. Some Jains also exclude all root vegetables from their diet.
They are ...
- 2,351
8
votes
How can I communicate ideas about vegetarianism or veganism to others without appearing like I am imposing it on them?
Patiently and enthusiastically answer all questions
"How do you get your protein?"
"Do you just eat salads all the time?"
"Don't you miss meat?"
We have heard these questions a million times and ...
- 1,484
8
votes
What can be said when people argue that "plants suffer too"?
I've become so fed up with people saying this to me that I usually just remind them the definition of veganism.
A vegan is a person who does not eat or use animal products. Nowhere does it say "a ...
- 561
8
votes
Accepted
Which ethical arguments for veg*nism empirically work the most often?
This book is a whole book of that sort of with with empirical studies to back up the text: "Veganomics: The Surprising Science on What Motivates Vegetarians, from the Breakfast Table to the Bedroom, ...
- 962
7
votes
What can be said when people argue that "plants suffer too"?
Well, you've got to eat something. Could one not simply argue that consuming plants is the lesser (of many) evils?
We know that animals are conscious to some degree, have nervous systems, and ...
- 1,542
7
votes
In what ways can an individual influence the availability of vegan food in shops and restaurants?
We had this colleague who never wanted to go to a restaurant with us because she was Vegan... Someone told her to bring her own food and still come with us and she did. Whenever a restaurant refused ...
- 282
7
votes
How can I convince my workplace to offer a better vegan menu?
I know this is an issue most vegans will face sooner or later, but this isn't about veganism, honestly. It is purely about accommodating different needs.
Do you think they would be more understanding ...
- 1,882
7
votes
Accepted
How can I prove to people that going vegan reduces animal slaughter?
As a disclaimer, I am not sure you can prove anything to someone who is close minded and it is self evident that animal slaughter rates are linked to consumption of animal products.
With that said, ...
- 421
6
votes
Accepted
In what ways can an individual influence the availability of vegan food in shops and restaurants?
One method is to ask for veg* options, even if you know they will say "no". By the number of requests the managers of the restaurants will understand that there's a demand for veg options and will ...
- 5,759
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