Blackfish documentary on CNN - anyone else watch it?

[kandrathe]

... but you are discussing with me and not with them.

And you also said, "...but it is pretty much accepted a vegetarian lifestyle is a lot more eco-friendly than a comparable meat eating lifestyle."

... you are discussing it with me, the omnivorous research crazy skeptic, not them, the complacent bean curd chewing sheeple.

But, yah, most people just want to do their thing (drink beer, eat a meat-lovers pizza, drive a hummer, watch the game a big screen TV) and not be bothered with the guilt of ruining the planet. Just like they want to go to Seaworld, or the circus, and be entertained by the wild animals held in captivity without having the guilt of driving wild animals into extinction due to loss of habitat, or through human exploitation.

So, again, just because "it's accepted" doesn't mean it is valid. It can be, just as anyone who is careful about the way in which their food, clothes, car, job, transport, house insulation, heating, air conditioning, electricity use, can do much to conserve -- without resorting to deprivation, or vegetarianism. We can draw all kinds of anecdotal, or stereotyped prejudicial claims, but without any evidence, we're just gabbing.

There is much of "it's accepted" or "it's normal" in our society towards which I chafe; Why does everyone have to clog the roads at the same time? Why do we think educating people must be done with them sitting at desks in classrooms? Why do we think working 30, or 40, or 50, or 60 hours per week is the right amount? Why the stupid work costumes, like suits and ties? Why do we want people to retire at a fixed age? Why do we all live in these separate box like dwellings? I could go on and on...

So, it's not just novel ideas, such as "vegetarianism is best" toward which I'm skeptical. I'm skeptical of the very fabric of all our societal norms.

My younger sister is very close to me, and she's a vegetarian, atheist, scientist. Her son's idea of teen rebellion was to be a meat eater, and he joined the local Jewish congregation (mind you we're from a long lineage of Scandinavian protestants) with his friends. So, anyway, it seems the alfalfa sprouts are always greener in some one else's bowl. Or, maybe its just that we can make salads, but we can't make people eat them.