Yeah, a couple of years ago when my boyfriend and I were both vegetarian, his doctor told him he needed to go on Lipitor. That's it, no discussion of his diet at all - just an order to take medication. We looked at the possible side effects of the drug and it was like, hmm... go vegan, which we've been discussing…

Thanks! Yes, my grandmother read Kipling to us, and I also recall when they made Rikki-Tikki-Tavi into the cartoon. It made quite an impression on me.

I could put up with all of it, if only I could have a seat with room to cross my legs.

Sort of unintentionally hilarious that her latest rehab place still advertises their success rate in commercials in the program.

Think about this: could a veg ever become president? Yeah, I don't think so. Whenever a candidate is accused of being too liberal or weak, the first thing he does is go out and get photographed chomping on a hamburger.

I am a vegan, but was vegetarian for years because I was ignorant of what the egg and dairy industries did.

But, you know, we're all implicated. You cannot escape animal products entirely in this country, because they're so pervasive. The worst thing about this debate is that people let, as our president is fond of…

A boyfriend of mine got jerked around by a landlord in college, so when he moved out he took the back off the stove, put an open jar of mayonnaise in there, and closed it back up.

Seriously? I had no idea that was a thing, but somehow...not surprising.

My current strategy for dealing with the phenomenon you describe, with which I can wholeheartedly identify, is to break it down thus:
1. The livestock industry is cruel, harming the planet, and depriving humans of needed resources.
2. Humans do not need animal protein to thrive.

Then when people say, for instance,…

Yeah, doctors are the worst when it comes to diet. They don't want to bother to learn about veg diets so they just tell people who are experiencing what could be diet-related symptoms that they have to eat meat. And then those people repeat their doctor's words endlessly like they're actually based on something…

You rightly construe the oppression of women to include not just your own personal experiences, but the crimes committed against women all over the globe. And yet you confine "meat culture" to my own experiences, and you cherry pick the experience you believe to sound the most trivial (server eye rolling), at that.

W…

Thank you, sister.

I could not agree with you more. As I told another commenter with a similar issue, if I'm in a social setting and someone who is not a close friend asks me, as they invariably do, why I am not eating the meat that is being offered, I usually just come out and say that I prefer not to discuss it, because it usually…

Dan, you are SO high-fiving a million angels right now. I agree absolutely, and I'm definitely stealing "ethical dissonance" for the next time some meat-eater tries to goad me into a confrontation in which he's already cast himself as the defensive victim.

I appreciate that you've put so much thought into your comment, and I agree with much of what you've said. However, we do not need animal protein to thrive - because we ARE omnivorous. Also, the implied argument about what's "natural" for us to eat is essentially not a useful one, since we are civilized, and no…

I spent a few years in Lancaster. So beautiful.

The MOST delicious? For me, Crossroads Kitchen is amazing, but $$$. Gracias Madre is also delicious. If you're not familiar, check them out.

Thanks again for your support.

Well, there's a conundrum. If you're interested in this issue, I think the UN's report is a really definitive study, and done by people who are normally charged with promoting global livestock practices. Called Livestock's Long Shadow.

Thanks for your thoughtful comment, and I think you've hit the nail on the head. It's a defensive reaction that people have, yes. Which is fine, as long as you then examine why you're having that reaction and what the consequences of your choices are. Sometimes it actually does happen...but in my circles, not so…

I think people are usually aware that they can't define a whole group just by the members of it that they happen to despise. But when it comes to vegs, it's totally socially acceptable to completely lose your manners.