Category Archives: Vegetarianism / Veganism

A vegetarian eats only plant foods, with or without the addition of dairy products, eggs, and honey. A vegan doesn’t eat any animal products and avoids the use of animal products for any other purposes; the exact definition is debated.

Is the Gospel of Thomas Vegetarian?

Posted on February 20, 2012 by

Blessed is a lion that a man eats, because that lion will become human. Cursed is a man that a lion eats, because that lion will become human. (Gospel of Thomas 7) The Gospel of Thomas, discovered at Nag Hammadi, … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Nonviolence, Vegetarianism / Veganism | Leave a comment

Increased Support for the “Livestock and Climate Change” hypothesis

Posted on February 3, 2012 by

Livestock is not just an important factor, but the key factor driving climate change.  Robert Goodland and Jeff Anhang put forward this idea in their 2009 WorldWatch article “Livestock and Climate Change,” and it is now receiving increased support and … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate change, Vegetarianism / Veganism | 3 Comments

The Fish Stories in the New Testament

Posted on January 31, 2012 by

One of the big problems that people have with the idea that Jesus was a vegetarian is the “fish stories” in the New Testament — stories in which Jesus distributes fish as food to people, or in one case actually … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals and ethics, Christianity, Ebionites, Historical Jesus, Vegetarianism / Veganism | Comments Off

The Commoditization of Paula Deen

Posted on January 17, 2012 by

Photo: Bev Sykes Doubtless you have already heard the latest news story, so thick with irony that it is its own satire. Paula Deen, the “queen of butter,” not only announces that she has Type 2 Diabetes, but — wait! … Continue reading →

Posted in Nutrition, Vegetarianism / Veganism | Comments Off

The Abolition of Slavery and Veganism

Posted on January 8, 2012 by

Can we compare the abolitionists in the animal rights movement, who will settle for nothing less than the abolition of all animal exploitation, with the abolitionists in the anti-slavery movement of the 18th and 19th centuries?  Absolutely!  But I would … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals and ethics, History, Vegetarianism / Veganism | Comments Off

Will we see change in our lifetime?

Posted on November 30, 2011 by

Change [in the direction of veganism] will come. This I believe. But (for those who live in sophisticated urban centers with large populations of enlightened vegans this will be harder to accept): we shouldn’t plan to see much of it … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecological Economics, Politics, or the lack thereof, Vegetarianism / Veganism | Comments Off

Plenty of Something (review)

Posted on November 26, 2011 by

Plenitude: The New Economics of True Wealth, by Juliet Schor (New York: Penguin Press, 2010). (Also published in paperback as True Wealth.) Plenitude argues for an “ecological economics” which turns a lot of what we think about wealth upside down.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecological Economics, Limits to Growth, Vegetarianism / Veganism | Comments Off

Is Economic Growth Over?

Posted on November 18, 2011 by

Review of The End of Growth: Adapting to Our New Economic Reality by Richard Heinberg My rating: 4 of 5 stars (as a Goodreads review) This is a tough book to review because basically, it depends on the audience. Generally, … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecological Economics, Limits to Growth, Vegetarianism / Veganism | Comments Off

Climate Change: are we doomed unless the world goes vegan?

Posted on September 28, 2011 by

In a recent e-mail interchange including both vegans and non-vegan recipients, one of the questions raised was whether we (the vegans) thought that the world was doomed unless the world goes vegan. This sounded like a rhetorical question, as if … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate change, Ecological Economics, Vegetarianism / Veganism | Comments Off

Methane — a bigger problem than we thought?

Posted on September 25, 2011 by

We have a “Post-Carbon Institute” to address our reliance on fossil fuels.  But there is no “Post-Methane Institute.” Methane, the second largest human-caused contributor to global warming, often doesn’t get any respect.  The constant focus on “carbon” leads people to … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate change, Ecological Economics, Vegetarianism / Veganism | 1 Comment