Comments on: Quick Thoughts on Dietary Choices

By: Bernard Brown

Bernard Brown — Sat, 17 Feb 2007 15:46:18 +0000

I like the theme running through the post and these comments in favor a thoughtful approach to animal products consumption even if one doesn’t cut them out completely. At the risk of annoying promotion, check out http://www.pbjcampaign.org, a site about approaching the environmental and animal welfare effects of animal product consumption one meal at a time.

Cheers,
Bernard Brown

By: beth

beth — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 22:31:33 +0000

It’s not exactly true that humans have evolved to drink milk. There is a mutation that allows some of us to digest lactose; Many Europeans have this gene, but most people (for example Asians) don’t. Wikipedia has a sketchy map: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:LacIntol-World2.png

It’s also worth noticing that milk is a complex chemical concoction (as all foods are) and that the gene in question (which is a recent mutation[1]) makes it possible to digest milk, but doesn’t necessarily make it the healthiest thing to eat.

My suspicion - I don’t have citations to back this up - is that milk and meat have historically helped humans out by being a survival food, but that they don’t make good staples in our diet; we’re better off eating mostly plants, with meat and milk an occasional thing. [2]

By the way, I’m saying this as an omnivore who loves milk, cream, and especially cheese. No offense meant to dairyphiles; I’m one too.

[1] http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/10/science/10cnd-evolve.html?ex=1323406800&en=6576a01a1bb4ce31&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss
[2] Check out the section on the 1977 Dietary Goals: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/28/magazine/28nutritionism.t.html?ei=5090&en=a18a7f35515014c7&ex=1327640400&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=all

By: kari

kari — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 01:21:26 +0000

jesse - I’d love to hear any thoughts you have about the miracle health benefits of raw (unpasturized) milk. apparently it can cure eczema, asthma, and even hep c. I can’t get it in NJ (until I cultivate some black market raw milk farmers) so might be planning a raw milk pit stop on my next trip to albany and/or pgh.

(http://www.realmilk.com/where.html)

AND: right on with your points. I respect my vegan friends and their commitment to nonviolent food, but I am personally more concerned about the environmental costs of factory farming (both animals and plants) andof long-distance transportation, as well as the social impacts of an industrialized food system. I used to say I’m a lazy omnivore because I don’t really like to cook meat (because it’s so much harder than cooking veggies, honestly, not b/c I can’t stomach the fact that it’s flesh) but this year I’m going to say instead that I’m a conscientious omnivore.

By: jwsharrard

jwsharrard — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 03:36:02 +0000

Dairy cows can easily live for 20 years in the right environment–no hormones, living on pasture. I visited a small farm where the milk produced is used to make farmstead cheese and the average age of their cows was in the teens. Mass-production dairy cows are taken out of the rotation after 2-3 years because their output drops thereafter, though smaller farmers don’t necessarily feel compelled to cull their herds in that manner.

Beef steers, on the other hand, are slaughtered usually at less than 2 years of age.

By: edenz

edenz — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 21:32:49 +0000

I agree with you on that aspect of veganism - although I feel compelled to point out that dairy cows have a much shorter lifespan than non-dairy cows b/c of constantly lactating. So it is theoretically possible to feel that consuming dairy is harmful to cows.

There is however a worse reason to go vegan than avoiding animal products b/c you don’t want to possibly harm an animal - doing ‘b/c that’s what all my friends do’. A reason actually given by a vegan I’m aquainted with (only one out of many vegan - I’m not suggesting this is common!).