27
votes
Reasons for being vegetarian or vegan other than ethical reasons?
Vegetarians and vegans suffer lower rates of some forms of cancer.
A 2012 analysis of all the best studies done to date concluded vegetarians have significantly lower cancer rates. For example, the ...
- 2,420
22
votes
Accepted
Why is egg commonly allowed in vegetarian food?
In Europe and the Americas people who consider themselves vegetarians in general only avoid foods that are the direct result of an animal's death, such as meat.
This does not technically apply to ...
- 11.9k
17
votes
Accepted
Can birds suffer?
Yes. This article from 2005 summarises the scientific knowledge on birds feeling pain.
It's worth taking a moment to define pain, as there is often confusion about this. The definition of pain from ...
- 2,384
17
votes
Reasons for being vegetarian or vegan other than ethical reasons?
Environmental is pretty huge. Includes CO2 emissions and antibiotic-resistance superbugs (and superbugs caused by C02 emissions for that matter). You could call that ethics but it is broader than ...
- 1,464
17
votes
Accepted
Plants show intelligent behaviour, is this sufficient for moral consideration?
The 'intelligent' behaviour that plants exhibit is not evidence for the capacity to suffer. Very simple organisms can show some kind of intelligence in their behaviour, and some think plants might ...
- 2,384
12
votes
Reasons for being vegetarian or vegan other than ethical reasons?
Personally, I'm vegetarian by default. I dislike the taste and texture of meat and most meat products, and I am incredibly privileged to be in a position where I can eat only what I like. I don't ...
- 441
11
votes
Why is egg commonly allowed in vegetarian food?
Not all vegetarians do eat eggs. It's common that western vegetarians eat eggs but asian vegetarians do not. Airlines cater for this with their meals, offering both western (VGML) and asian (AVML) ...
- 2,420
10
votes
Reasons for being vegetarian or vegan other than ethical reasons?
Political.
Given that historically the land (and lives) of many indigenous peoples was taken for grazing. My main reason for not eating animals is ethical, but almost as importantly it is important ...
- 1,354
10
votes
Reasons for being vegetarian or vegan other than ethical reasons?
Genuine Disinterest/Unappetising
I've seen people say they don't like the taste of meat, but most of these people have actually tasted meat. I've been a vegetarian all my life and have never eaten ...
- 390
10
votes
Plants show intelligent behaviour, is this sufficient for moral consideration?
Plants don't have feelings as we know them
So a scientist infests one plant with a bug, and finds out that another, non-infested plant has "communicated" with the first plant and starts bracing ...
- 2,275
8
votes
Would a vegetarian or vegan eat an animal killed by accident?
This is the kind of tiring hypothetical omnivores throw at vegans just to troll us, but I find it is usually better to answer them seriously, so:
Why it's probably better not to eat the pig
If I do ...
- 11.9k
7
votes
Reasons for being vegetarian or vegan other than ethical reasons?
Inheritance from a family Member
I know many people who are vegetarian primarily because some of their close family member is vegetarian. This goes for me as well. I never had meat since I was 3 ...
- 695
7
votes
Reasons for being vegetarian or vegan other than ethical reasons?
The main reasons in Western cultures (apart from ethics) are Health, Environment, and Economic. Many people are vegetarian for one or several of these reasons and it varies vastly between people. The ...
- 1,532
7
votes
Reasons for being vegetarian or vegan other than ethical reasons?
Self-cultivation.
I chose this word rather than religious practice because Taoism is not generally considered religion but rather a philosophy.
This is what led me to be vegan in the first place, ...
- 1,172
7
votes
Accepted
Why is keeping backyard hens inconsistent with veganism?
One of the philosophies vegans use is that it's wrong to use animals. This relates to other ethical philosophies that advocate treating people as ends in themselves and not as means to our own ends.
...
- 11.9k
6
votes
Do bivalves such as oysters feel pain or fear?
It's highly unlikely, due to them not having any brain or central nervous system. All they have is a small nerve network and two ganglia near their esophagus.
The whole nervous system is basically ...
- 2,400
6
votes
Any major philosophy or ideology that promotes veganism?
I'm not sure what you mean by "promote", but one can argue that utilitarianism is an ideology that justifies veganism/vegetarianism.
For example, it is well established that being vegetarian reduces ...
- 161
5
votes
Reasons for being vegetarian or vegan other than ethical reasons?
Avoiding animal products which may not meet criteria of your religion. Some people's religions allow the eating of meat or other animal products, but have restrictions on it. (As opposed to lifetimes' ...
- 342
5
votes
Any major philosophy or ideology that promotes veganism?
Yes, there are some anarchist movements with deep links with veganism and animal liberation.
The term veganarchism was popularized in 1995 thanks to the pamphlet Animal Liberation and Social ...
- 1,864
5
votes
Is smoking consistent with vegan principles?
For veganism, I can think of three possible issues with smoking cigarettes:
The cigarettes might contain animal-derived ingredients.
The cigarette manufacturer might test the cigarettes on animals.
...
- 1,249
5
votes
Accepted
Does this quote by plant biologist Olivier Van Aken imply that plants can feel pain?
It is important to consider the context of this quote from Dr. Van Aken. It was presented in a university press release, and press releases tend to use language that is non-scientific or even ...
- 7,118
5
votes
In the Vegan Society's definition, what does practicable mean?
How does the Vegan Society define "practicable"?
(You know, from the definition: "Veganism is a way of living which seeks to exclude, as far as is possible and practicable, all forms of ...
- 745
4
votes
What are the strongest arguments against vegetarianism?
"Noone should be vegetarian"
I think this thesis is hardly defendable. There are no obvious downsides about veganism and vegetarianism for society, animals, or the environment. Fake arguments often ...
- 2,275
4
votes
Reasons for being vegetarian or vegan other than ethical reasons?
Because it fits into ones sense of self-image (inward or outward), or you feel you have something to prove. This might sound cynical, like a description of manipulative/egoist/hipster behaviour on the ...
- 860
4
votes
Is it consistent with a vegan philosophy to buy and wear secondhand leather products?
Technically, no (source):
Veganism [..] the practice of abstaining from the use of animal
products, particularly in diet
Using artificial leather can be a good replacement to obey vegan ...
- 3,631
4
votes
Reasons for being vegetarian or vegan other than ethical reasons?
Allergies
Most people who have allergies are allergic to things like milk, nuts, gluten etc. However, some people - like my mother - are allergic to meat. She is a vegetarian not by choice, but ...
4
votes
Why is keeping backyard hens inconsistent with veganism?
@Zanna makes some good points and considers that:
"It may be the case that the kept hens have been rescued and would not
be safe in the wild, and in such a scenario there might seem to be no
...
- 506
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible