um... that's "Humane"... I, personally, am against the Human Farming Association ("It's made of people! Soylent Green is made of people!")

But they put out this really cool book, "To Serve Man".

You and I share a similar view on animals I think. I too have been looking for some group I can support, a groups that believes in treating animals properly but, at the same time, realizing they are animals.

I wholeheartedly share your view on PETA. I call them Pinheads Endorsing Terrorism and Arson.

I'm not too proud of my hometown right now. Two of the TV stations here are going to be running PETA's TV ad.

I hate pimping the link here, Dean, and if you want to delete this comment, that's fine. I'm just hoping that this gets a little bit of airplay in the 'sphere.

Not a big fan of PETA, but I do want to note that there is nothing wrong with a vegetarian diet.

I was happiest, healthiest, and looked my best when I was married. My ex-wife was a vegetarian, and, to destroy a phrase from Pulp Fiction, that pretty much made me a vegetarian. I ate a great mix of vegetables, fruits, grains, and protein in the form of legumes and soy products, and I was healthy as hell.

A vegetarian diet can absolutely and utterly be a healthy thing.

As for unnatural--well, probably not. But good manners and monogamy aren't precisely natural, either, and that doesn't make them any less desirable.

Zombyboy:

"A vegetarian diet can absolutely and utterly be a healthy thing."

I agree; you'll get no argument from me. While I'm not about to subsist on an entirely meat diet just to spite PETA (though their general sillyness tempts me), my personal preference is for the balanced diet (lots of greens, some carbohydrates- bread, pasta, etc., and some meat) mainly because I do so enjoy the taste of meat:)

Regarding the typo: Fixed. Gah. Although human farming does sound like it would be interesting. ;-)

As for the problems with vegetarianism: Beyond Vegetarianism is a group I used to be close to, and you'll get a lot of the other side there, including from some vehement ex-vegetarians and some who are still vegetarians but realize this isn't healthy for everybody. And believe me, before you start with the "well if you only do it RIGHT...." answer, go read. These people cover it all. Some people just can't eat vegetarian diets long-term without getting sick, even though they derive short-term benefits.

Although by the way if vegetarianism IS working for you, that's fine, but you'd be surprised how many people ignore the health problems that a meatless diet causes them, and don't even realize it's because they're not eating meat...

What I was rather surpised about was the number of Vegetarians that force that diet upon thier pets. And you never hear PETA complaining about that!

Actually, I stand corrected, PETA apprently does put out warnings against doing that. My mistake.

Interesting, Kurt. So I wonder what they recommend feeding cats and dogs?

Chuckle, they don't actually come right out and recommend any specific diet that I can see. What they seem to me to be doing is to recommend specific recipes and commercial pet foods if you do decide to put your pet on a veg diet. And generally assume that you do in fact want to. But what public statements and FAQs I've been able to locate online from PETA spokesman, generally stress that you have to be very careful when putting your pet on a veg diet and to consult a veternarian. Which was enough for me to give PETA the benefit of the doubt and retract the statement.

Where they seem to me to be doing a great disservice to pets and vegan pet owners is to downplay to amount of effort required in monitoring your pet's health and condition while it is on a veg diet. From what I am able to gather, not actually being a veternarian, is that it is as difficult to control a pet's health on a veg diet as it is to control a human's health when put on any extreme diet (such as a very low calorie diet). The average owner won't be able to do it sufficiently without professional supervision. In fact, the vet equivalent of the AMA officially recommends against veg diets for pets, in large part I suspect, for that reason.

Still, it would have been very interesting to see a PETA generated list of recommended bird and mouse species suitable for cat consumption :)

This conversation reminds me of a letter written to our local paper wherein a man was completely offended that Yellowstone Park officials allowed a wolf to take down an elk in full view of the road and in front of his teenaged daughter. (I live not too far from Yellowstone). Fortunately, the readers that wrote in in reply were much kinder than I would have been- they politely explained that wolves do, in fact, eat other animals. And yes, all the animals there are actually wild and nothing is staged for anyone's benefit. Including his daughter, who certainly has seen much worse happening to humans on TV.

Oh come off it, Dani, you right-wing extremist. We all know you glory in the wanton destruction of cute furry animals.

No, not wanton. Wanted. As in the deep freeze downstairs is getting a bit empty and that damn wolf cut my husband's chances for the late season elk hunt, dammit!

Like the wolf, the lion, and the eagle, I, too, am a beast of prey, as Spengler said. I enjoy eating the flesh of slain animals.