Eat My Shorts 3

I’m back with a few more links for y’all.

Success!:

I’m glad to announce that the Bring Frank N. Foode to Life campaign was more than successful. Not only did they raise enough for their initial goal of producing Frank plush, they also raised the funds to produce a GE papaya friend for Frank. So who is gonna buy me a papaya plush as a gift? No, seriously.

A Vegan Skeptics Guide:

As Ive mentioned before, I’m an avid podcast listener. Probably my favorite podcast is the Skeptics Guide to the Universe. I discovered it a number years ago upon getting my first mp3 player and while looking for science news to keep me occupied at work. I quickly listened through the entire back catalog of shows and have kept up to date with it ever since. So I was glad to hear on the latest episode that Steven Yenzer, a vegan skeptic from the United States, wrote in with the following email,

As a vegan skeptic, I often find myself in arguments with omnivores who seem to rely almost exclusively on logical fallacies to justify their diets. Examples include: – ‘Humans have been eating meat for tens of thousands of years…’ (Argument from antiquity) – ‘Lions hunt and kill animals. Humans are no different It’s natural to eat meat.’ (Naturalistic fallacy) One I hear a lot though, is the question of ‘Well what would we do with all the animals that already exist? Should we just kill them? Stop them from reproducing?’ Of course, this has nothing to do with the question of whether it’s ethically acceptable to raise and kill animals for food. It may be an unsolved problem, but it doesn’t justify a continuation of that policy. So is this just a red herring? Non-sequitur? The latter also appears a lot, as in ‘Harvesting vegetables kills insects!’ and ‘Vegetables are bad for the environment, too!’ Thanks!

The hosts discussed the email and had a small debate over the ethics of using animals for food. One of the hosts who is a pecsatarian wrote her own follow up to the episode to address some point she felt were missed. I have had many of the same experiences as Steven here whenever veganism or animal rights comes up even among rationalists. If I hear one more person ask about the restaurant at the end of the universe I’ll scream. Not much really came out of the discussion on the podcast but I recommend listening to it and responding to the follow up.

More Anti-Vax Nonsense?:

Gary Francione, prominent abolitionist vegan author , apparently doesn’t believe in vaccination according to a new post from Speaking of Research, a staunchly pro-animal research organization. If the video represents his actual words, rather than something taken far out of context, then this is very concerning. Anti-vaccination nonsense is already widespread amount many animal activists to the point that some refuse vaccination not only for themselves but for their companion animals. The last thing we need is for a prominent figure in the movement to fan the flames of irrationality. I’ve discussed the importance of a science-based approach to vaccination here and elsewhere.

If you know when and where the speech in the post took place or know where to access full video then please let me know.

Cranking It Out:

The Pythgorean Crank is back with a post of Quick Cranks with a number of items including one on death by Durian.

Kick the Kale:

Kale is great, though Im no where near convinced that it is anywhere close to as good as some other vegans tell it. In a recent post The VeganRD Ginny Messina writes about why you might want to curb your kale chip habit, “We vegans love our cruciferous veggies—kale, collards, broccoli, and bok choy—in part because they are excellent sources of calcium. But, they are quite a bit lower in potassium than other greens like spinach and chard.” Before you freak out too much she goes on to say that she is, “not suggesting that you stop eating kale (vegan sacrilege!). It’s just a good idea to remember the rule of variety when it comes to fruits and vegetables.”

7 Responses to “Eat My Shorts 3”

  1. Sandris Ādminis Says:

    Hi!
    Great to find another vegan enjoying SGU, which is probably also my favorite podcast. I was also quite thrilled when few episodes ago Jay (or Bob?) suggested, that the greatest (or something like that) next achievement for science would be getting rid of animal experiments. Sadly afterwards the issue was watered down by Steve.
    It’s also a sad surprise about Francione’s views on vaccination. As far as I know, in most issues he’s quite a rational guy (although adhering to jain teachings), but this is weird. Hopefully he’s not gonna speak about tjhat anymore.
    Another sad thing – why is SGU’s Rebecca not yet a vegan? Although she splendidly rebuts the common crap, she’s still describing the issue as a dietary stance, which seems narrow minded to me.
    Keep blogging!
    Sandris
    from a skeptical vegan / animal rights collective in Riga, Latvia

  2. Jen Meister Says:

    Just wanted to let you know I’m enjoying these round-up posts… thanks!

  3. 19peace80 Says:

    I lost a lot of respect for Francione when he repeated the ridiculous (and easily discredited) myth that pit bulls were once bred as “nanny dogs” to look after children.

  4. 19peace80 Says:

    I have. And I thank you for being one of the few brave voices in our movement to look at the messy truth instead of just repeating what the big charities say.

  5. Carlos Says:

    Check out the “Humans Vaccine Project” of PCRM.

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