vegan

Bit unexpected with everything going with the national park service, but welcome. Appears the decision might have been made by the contractor?

The U.S. government is preparing to breed billions of flies and dump them out of airplanes over Mexico and southern Texas to fight a flesh-eating maggot.

That sounds like the plot of a horror movie, but it is part of the government's plans for protecting the U.S. from a bug that could devastate its beef industry, decimate wildlife and even kill household pets. This weird science has worked well before.

Carnists would rather breed the next plague and cover the planet in flies than stop torturing and murdering animals. It's a great plot for a horror movie except in real life.

Legumes are the best! Let's share some easy meals. I eat pasta with canned baby broad beans once a week. Here's the recipe:

BABY BROAD BEANS SAUCE
Pasta sauce or spread
Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp neutral oil
• 2 onions
• 1 smoked tofu, diced
• 1 jar of broad beans
• 2 tablespoons of tahini
• 1 dash of soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon vegetable stock powder
• Optional: 1 teaspoon cumin
• Optional: More vegetables, like strips of white cabbage, diced carrots or green bush beans

Instructions:

1. Add oil, fry the onion well, add the smoked tofu. Add broad beans including the water and bring to boil.
2. Maybe add more vegetables.
3. Stir in the tahini, soy sauce and vegetable stock powder and you're done.
4. You can blend everything into a paste or simply mash a few beans with a fork or masher to make the sauce even creamier. Then serve as a pasta sauce or even as a sandwich spread.

Shared with Broccoli

New Vegan, here and I have a serious hole in my first two weeks into giving up genocide. I need something that fills the niche of nabs, Lance peanut butter and toast"chee" crackers.

I'm a mechanic with a strict schedule, and I will need a snack of that calibur at 7:30am mid-way through my morning workday, lest I get hunger pains, distracted by it, and a little bit pissy over the entire situation.

Chips, for me are the only thing I don't really consider any sort of solution to my hunger. I need calories so I can go-go-go. Chips are kinda hollow to me as utility goes. Nuts with some raisins would be a solid solution.

Anyway, snack thread. Preferably room temperature and camping snacks. Nuts are easily on the board, what else?

Mrs and I tried lab grown fois gras quail, apparently the first in Australia. Amazing to be able to buy this in a restaurant, after hearing about it year after year.

It was certainly meaty, a flavour you simply don't get with any meat-free chicken, really pungent and distinct (not that I've ever had dead quail).

A place called Bottarga in Brighton, Melbourne. Wasn't cheap, but I'd pay top dollar to support the transition.

Animals should not be going through the abuse for what any of us would have. Why should not any care to have the healthiest way, which could be learned, that would be without contribution to any of that? Many continue on for their preferences even with it possibly being shown as inconsistent with their values or their thinking. That is unfortunately too common, though it was not in my own experience. Being vegan is not hard, there are easy ways to become vegan, I know about this. This Mango Chickpea Salad is refreshing, crunchy and perfect for summer.
Recipe:-https://www.jcookingodyssey.com/mango-chickpea-salad/

About half a week ago, I became self aware of my state as a piece of shit regarding the animal populations of Earth and their wellbeing. It was sparked by a video of animal abuse I saw online that I refuse to describe beyond serial-killer-level psychological torture to a poor, defenseless being.

I realize, there's a set, and a mic, and props. This ain't the first time, this has fucking followers and people will mimic it. We're this shit as a species?! Where is the bottom? Is there one?!

I generally consider myself a fairly strong willed person, and my former diet wasn't too dissimilar from dishes I could make vegan, so, I figure, why not? I saw Blue Planet 3. I know we're fucking up. I had a few holdout food items but, pizza is my favorite food, and I believe replicating it will be fun. There's apparently a few vegan roux recipes with some ways to mimic cheese flavor for mac and cheese. I'm into it.

Anyway, do share any tips with me that you wish you'd known when you started out. What's a good brownie recipe?

There can be thought for change in living for the sake of abused animals, the great harm to the earth, the greater use of resources, and even a better healthy way possible for any of us that is not costly, with not using animal products still. There are ways not really hard to do that, with finding alternatives that will really be liked. I know some things I really like very much and will stay this way gladly.

My current working strategy is a ham hock and chicken stock. I would like to switch to something that doesn’t involve dead animals.

(As a side note - I’ve noticed that if I leave my beans soaking for a little longer, they seem to bubble and ferment. Could I possibly make alcohol this way?)

Whole food plant-based eating is indeed healthy, and I have had this way nearly a decade, though I have been vegan longer. I notice the benefits. Animal agriculture is contributing more to problems in the world including loss of environments and extinctions of species. Why need animals kept abusively and slaughtered for what we would still have from them?

I didn't. What the fuck!

My problem: chicken drumsticks are very cheap - like five bucks for enough I can divide up and make three meals out of. I marinate them in different hot sauces, then I can wrap them in foil and put them in the oven. For extra dopamine I eat them with blue cheese sauce.

The other cheap options are things like velveeta with canned chicken or fish, or chef Boyardee ravioli.

I don’t like eating meat or dairy for the clear ethical reasons and would like to go vegan. I was vegan for about a year or so, but I also have the kind of ARFID where I will let myself starve if there are not those kinds of “high dopamine” foods available.

I’d like some kind of close, cheap, easy approximation. When I was vegan, I had the financial resources to buy a lot of prepared food that met that quick/stimulating need, but I no longer have those resources to do so.

The closest to making something like that work for me is soy curl + coconut milk + curry seasonings. I don’t have the capacity to eat vegetables most days - this is not healthy, but I also physically cannot force myself to do so.

I know lentils are good and don’t require soaking, but I cannot get them to taste good. Indian restaurants make them perfect, but I can’t do it myself.

Studies are not showing animals do not feel pain, but to the contrary, any being used do. Rather than deal with the cognitive dissonance it is better for even just mental health to decide to avoid the contribution to suffering with just choosing nothing taken from animals for what to have or to eat. And the extinction rate of species is related to food choices, that alone gives very great reason to not use products from animals anymore. Of course there is the healthiest way without products from animals when avoiding processed stuff that gets added in things, I have tasty meals with this way.
https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/population_and_sustainability/food/ Really it is about finding other things as alternatives to eat which you really love having, especially any that are healthy. Treat yourself to those often. You can then pretty much forget those things that you saw good reason to give up. I have gone through a number of changes that included this way, it's been working really well.

For years, a powerful ‘Big Ag’ trade group served up information on activists to the FBI. Records reveal a decade-long effort to see the animal rights movement labeled a “bioterrorism” threat.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/45813091

Live-animal markets are a natural laboratory for viruses to evolve and spark deadly outbreaks, yet scientists lack support to study the risks they pose.

This is a group chat for the private message app Signal. I want to foster a community of privacy conscious vegans and just engage in casual and serious discussions. All fun! (Also to plot war) Usernames are now a thing on signal, and hiding your personal phone number is the default setting on Signal as well.

Come and join and say hi!

https://signal.group/#CjQKIO7dYi6nILZIookBisOLRj4Aer3kYLrOk490Nw1810Q_EhBouUBD6COdD56uw__dZoSo

So according to the ethics of veganism it's about valuing sentient life and animal consent.

So I pose a few questions.

1. Is it justified to buy animal based dog and cat food?

2. Is it justifiable to force a dog or cat to be vegan?

If 1 is justifiable then the claim that it's unethical for humans to eat meat is untrue since feeding your pets meat requires more animals to be raised for slaughter.

If 2 is true then it violates animal consent because there are zero dogs or cats that prefer vegan food to meat and infact are naturally omnivorous in the case of dogs or pure carnivores in the case of cats.

So the logical conclusion would be owning meat eating pets in impossible while being vegan.

Then it leads to the ethics of what happened to the breeds of cats and dogs no longer able to be pets.

What has worked best in your experience when you just want to answer the question and survive the interaction without it turning into an all-out war (but you also don't want to lie about what your reasoning for being vegan is just to comfort the other person and fit in, as this feels to me wrong/harmful and disrespectful to the animal movement to mischaracterize what its purpose is)?

I am still trialing this, and haven't experimented with all these responses to the question, but here is what I am thinking may carry the least likelihood of triggering an argument or defensive, hostile, mocking comments etc. And then for fun (as well as clarification of the kinds of responses I am avoiding for this purpose), we can also talk about what responses which we know are going to provoke people. Please list what your go-to answers to this question are, it can help a lot.

Least likely to cause an argument:

"All the reasons." / "Many reasons".

"It just felt right for me."/"It felt like the right thing to do." (Not sure I'm too happy about this one as far as watering down the movement, and its non-specificity, but it's ok - I tried it before [1st version] and person just looked at me strangely and didn't say anything, convo moved on.)

"For the animals."

"For the 'Big 3' reasons: the animals, the planet, and my personal health."

Somewhat likely to cause an argument:

"I couldn't find a good enough justification not to be."

"Because I love/respect animals/animals are cool individuals."

"I learned about the cruelty involved in using animals for food, clothing, etc."

"Because I'm a pacifist."/"Because I'm against violence/I believe in peace, love, respect, ahimsa, etc."

"Because I find what humans are doing to other animals cruel and unnecessary."

"I'm not into the animal industry, it seems rather extreme."

"Because it's the future."

"Because animals are sentient beings."

"Because I believe animals deserve rights e.g. to self-preservation, freedom, autonomy, the pursuit of happiness, etc."

Most likely to cause an argument (these are examples of the kinds of responses that I'm especially wanting to avoid in certain situations and searching for less-inflammatory/provocative, less-blunt alternatives for):

"Why wouldn't I be?"/"It's a moral obligation."

"Because animals didn't consent."

"Non-human animals are non-human persons." ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personhood#Non-human_animals )

"Non-human animals are someones, not somethings".

"Because animals are here with us, not for us."/"Because animals are ends in and of themselves, not means to our ends."/"Because the value of an animal is intrinsic, not extrinsic/instrumental"./"I realized we have no right to own and take advantage of another living (sentient) being for our own ends."

"I believe in justice and progress for all sentient beings and the liberation of marginalized groups of individuals."

"I'm ideologically opposed to the institution of systemic animal commodification/domination/objectification/exploitation."

"Because I'm against slavery/injustice/oppression/etc."

"For the same reason you're against eating dogs or humans, but extended consistently."/"For the same reason you're against dog-fighting."/"For the same reason I'm against racism".

"Because meat is murder and dairy is rape (Note: this refers to artificial insemination)".

"I don't like funding/contributing to/participating in holocausts/mass-murder/genocides/speciecides of other species."

"Because I'm not a savage."

"Because I'm not a speciesist".

"Why aren't you?"/"It's not about why I'm vegan. It's about why do you exploit & consume & use the lives and bodies of non-human animals?"

Joke answers (can be effective to soften the conversation and avoid talking about it seriously, but may belie the true intentions of veganism):

"I have a vendetta against plants and I'm on a mission to kill as many plants as possible... oh wait, I'm actually sparing more of them by being vegan than by supporting animal agriculture. That sucks."

"I asked an animal what their preference was and they told me they'd rather not be eaten or used for products."

"I'm avoiding being judged negatively by our descendants when we live in a vegan society."

"I'm part of the evil woke vegan agenda."

"I'm funded by Bill Gates."

Disclaimers:

I know many would say "There is only one reason to be vegan, because veganism is a justice stance about animals - it's not a diet and it's not about health, environment, or any other side-benefit of animal-free living." - Though I don't think it's necessarily a problem to acknowledge those other benefits in addition to focusing on animals. And yes, when I ask about how to answer the question of why one is vegan, I am referring to the definition of veganism that is an ethical philosophy for animals or animal rights, but there are actually a lot of different ways to answer this question truthfully, and you can come at it from many angles. For example, you don't need to list every reason, you can just state one, and it would still be true - as long as it's actually related to the animals from an ethical perspective (I don't want to promote misconceptions about what veganism is). And the particular way in which you describe it - including the exact wording you use - can certainly elicit different responses.

I am totally fine with people who are in social situations answering this question (Why they are vegan) in a way that WILL likely trigger an argument or resistance from the other person, if you're fine with doing that - and it can be a good opportunity for activism, advocacy, misinformation-correcting, etc.

Also, I understand that if stating the truth in a particular way causes an emotional response, defensiveness or counter-arguments, mean comments/mockery/ridicule/bullying, or makes the person become outraged/pearl-clutching and strawman you and accuse you of things you didn't actually say or mean, it's largely on them and isn't your fault. But as unreasonable as people can be, we have to work around them and coexist with them while living in society, and I still would like to be able to, in certain situations where I'm not in the mood for an argument/debate or tense/heated discussion (especially since I do care a lot about the topic), answer the question, which comes up a lot, in a peaceful and amicable manner that basically defuses/avoids the potential conflict and allows us to get on with the social interaction normally.

If it prompts further questioning or curiosity (even in an honest, good-faith manner), that still actually isn't the most ideal (unless I want to talk about it, or I think they're a reasonable person who will understand), since it can lead to opportunities for running into the same problems if the conversation continues and e.g. we reach a point of disagreement, but it doesn't necessarily have to and can in some cases be a rewarding dialogue or simply last for a few more lines and then segue into something else seamlessly.

I also know it's not possible to avoid upsetting/offending people 100% of the time, and some people will inevitably get triggered by your response to the question (whatever it is), or even from the get-go just from knowing you're vegan and taking the chance to express their opinions on the matter or their objection to veganism and justification for not being vegan, concern trolling, mean-spirited teasing, etc. But the goal of finding the "Golden Answer" to this question which I'm searching for, is to reduce the likelihood of negative responses as much as realistically possible, and yet without betraying my true values and beliefs about animals etc (and what veganism is about).

P.S. Since there isn't an AskAVegan server on Lemmy that I know of, and the vegan community here is pretty small and often gets non-vegans commenting in it, I'm just specifying I'd rather only vegans reply to this if that's okay.