a favor...

August 25, 2003

Hello to all!

This is my first post, and let me start off by saying that I really

admire all of you vegetarians and vegans. I imagine that it must be

a difficult lifestyle to have, but a very rewarding one as well.

As you can guess, I¡¯m not vegan, nor vegetarian. I¡¯m doing some

research on the vegan lifestyle, and was hoping that the members of

this group could give me some useful answers. I¡¯m writing a paper,

and trying to be as unbiased as I can possibly be, so that my

readers can get a ¡°real¡± perspective of being vegan.

I have just a few questions. I¡¯ve been reading up on animal

rights, as well as animal derived ingredient lists. I must say,

that all the information is interesting. I have a question about

owning pets, though. As we all know, pet cats and dogs have become

quite domesticated over the years. For the members who own a cat or

dog: do you also give your pets a vegan diet? Or is it okay for

them to eat meat? They way I figure, a cat would normally have to

catch its own prey, which is a natural part of the food chain

process. But, I also know that all meat is probably slaughtered in

a method that is inhumane. Is it cruel for humans to slaughter

animals to feed other animals? I¡¯m a little confused on this

point. Also, if you do own a cat or dog, do you only keep it

indoors, or let it also roam around outside? And, is spaying and

neutering a pet considered inhumane?

Secondly, what are vegan¡¯s opinions of owning other pets like

birds, fish, and rabbits? I would imagine that these animals in a

¡°pet¡± situation, would be deprived of their freedom, and this

could be considered denying them their rights. Or, do vegans assume

that birds, fish, and other pets are ¡°loved¡± and that their life

in a home is better than that in the ¡°wild¡±.

Lastly, I have a question about eggs. I grew up on a farm, and we

had chickens. I do believe that chickens are treated inhumanely in

order to get them to increase egg production. Here¡¯s my question:

If, as a vegan, you owned a chicken, would you eat their eggs?

Certainly, you would treat them humanely. I can understand that an

egg is a chicken fetus, but is it possible to let all eggs be

fertilized into chickens? This again raises my question of spaying

or neutering. I remember on the farm, chickens produce an amazing

number of eggs, and if you wanted to fertilize all of them, it would

take quite a few roosters. So, do all eggs have the ¡°right¡± to

become chickens?

Let me thank all of you who help me answer these questions. I must

admit, since starting this article, it has certainly raised my

awareness about all sorts of issues. I hope that my questions aren¡¯

t inappropriate, and if I offended anyone, let me take the chance to

apologize.

Thank you again,

Christina

August 26, 2003

Wow. I'll see how I can help you.

OK, pet guardianship (as opposed to owner). I lived with my cat for seven

years before I went veg; I don't think I could make such a drastic change

for a 10-year-old cat (she adopted me when she was three). She does like

some of my vegan treats--she goes bonkers when I bring out the Tofutti

Cuties or Soy Delicious. Once in a while, I'll let her taste it. I buy

different meat-based cat food, simply because cats are carnivores. As for

the indoor/outdoor thing, my cat stays indoors. She's pretty skittish and

seems happy to look out the window of my apartment. There are numerous

reasons to keep cats indoors: other animals who might want to fight your

critter, obnoxious neighborhood kids who think nothing of tormenting

someone's cat for " fun, " evil scumbags who pick up cats and dogs wandering

the streets and sell them to vivisection scum. Keep kitty indoors and only

take the dog out on a leash or to a dog park.

I am very much against keeping birds and fish. As Gill said in " Finding

Nemo, " " Fish weren't meant to live in a box. " Birds need social interaction

with other birds, which is hard to get in a cage. Dogs socialize with their

humans and other animals in the home; cats are mostly solitary. Dogs and

cats used to be working animals who were domesticated to do various

tasks--cats were instrumental in ridding barns of vermin, for example--and

eventually became companions. Birds, fish, rabbits, small animals were

never domesticated for human needs.

If you eat eggs from your own farm, that's not vegan, but since you can

ensure the well-being of the hens, I can't see a problem with it. From my

limited understanding, the eggs are not fetuses unless the hen has been

mated. They are just eggs that were never fertilized, I guess like a

mammals, and are discarded. I'm no biologist, so I can't say for sure.

Hope this helps.

Danielle

Sure there's a light at the end of the tunnel...I just hope it isn't an

oncoming train!

----Original Message Follows----

" Christina " <christina752

a favor...

Mon, 25 Aug 2003 10:11:12 -0000