Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy the age of vegetarianism

Cricket, I think that the major difference in conclusions is dependent (at least for high IQ people) on whether or not they adopt beliefs as follows:

a) all creatures which are sentient possess something which could be termed a "soul"

b) creatures with souls (see a) should be granted more-or-less equivalent rights

c) all creatures which are sentient are "animals"

d) human beings are/are not somehow different from animals



I think that it is the combination of these factors and parsing their meaning that leads to such radically different decisions in whether or not to consume meat or other animal products, and to what degree.


For example, if you believe that human beings are essentially just super-bright omnivorous animals, then that leads to a rationale in which the consumption of meat is a fairly acceptable decision, environmental considerations aside.

If you believe that all sentient creatures have souls and are equally endowed with rights as a result, then that path leads most clearly to veganism.

KWIM? Like you, as a Taoist, I have no real 'need'--nevermind desire-- to proselytize or convert others to my way of thinking... ergo, I live with a pair of meat-loving omnivores, and I myself am more-or-less not a mammal-eating person. I do think that some of this boils down to maturity and black-and-white thinking, though, and perhaps not so much to raw intellect-- older vegetarians and vegans tend to not be so judgmental about "meat is murder" and more accepting of others' very different conclusions. On the other hand, I do think that there is a risk of feeling "more enlightened" than those who are meat-eating, and that strikes me as incorrect/immature as well. Just because a person arrives a different conclusion, it doesn't follow that they lacked the same data that you used, or that they were "less able" to process it a particular way. I've known meat-eaters that feel that way, too, though-- it's not just vegans.

It's a matter of individual beliefs, really.