Lice is (not) nice
So, as a non-meat eater, I certainly have a great amount of respect for vegans, and the level of commitment required with such a lifestyle, even if I do not personally subscribe to some of the beliefs.
But I was thinking today, and I know that most vegans object to food coloring made out of mashed up bugs (and who wouldn't? that's totally gross), but I have a hard time completely sympathizing with the principle behind that. I would never actively pursue the eating of a bug (unless perhaps I was attempting to win big money on "Fear Factor;" unlikely as the show's been cancelled), and I don't even like killing one that's crawling around the floor (I try to just shoo them out the door, the guys may think you're being a bit dandy but the girls will be impressed with your endearingly docile nature. count on it.) but I've always been under the impression that we involuntarily inhale miscropscopic bugs every day. Of course there is a difference between voluntarily and involuntarily doing it, but still. I've even heard that in an average lifetime, most people accidentally eat a couple of spiders in their sleep, although that could have been told to me by some kid on the playground who was trying to gross me out. What an asshole.
Also, sometimes bugs can be a real problem. A termite infestation in a private residence, perhaps. I know termites can really ruin a house (just watch "Arachnophobia;" they aren't termites, but it's a pretty cool movie). I'm not trying to be facetious, but is this something that amounts to a real crisis of conscience for a vegan? Also, lice of the various areas. Certainly a case of us versus them. I've never had either of these maladies (knock on wood! cruelty-free wood!), so I've never really had to think about it until now.* But now I am. So there.
*Technically, I don't have to think about it now, either, but I feel like I just can't ignore it any longer.
But I was thinking today, and I know that most vegans object to food coloring made out of mashed up bugs (and who wouldn't? that's totally gross), but I have a hard time completely sympathizing with the principle behind that. I would never actively pursue the eating of a bug (unless perhaps I was attempting to win big money on "Fear Factor;" unlikely as the show's been cancelled), and I don't even like killing one that's crawling around the floor (I try to just shoo them out the door, the guys may think you're being a bit dandy but the girls will be impressed with your endearingly docile nature. count on it.) but I've always been under the impression that we involuntarily inhale miscropscopic bugs every day. Of course there is a difference between voluntarily and involuntarily doing it, but still. I've even heard that in an average lifetime, most people accidentally eat a couple of spiders in their sleep, although that could have been told to me by some kid on the playground who was trying to gross me out. What an asshole.
Also, sometimes bugs can be a real problem. A termite infestation in a private residence, perhaps. I know termites can really ruin a house (just watch "Arachnophobia;" they aren't termites, but it's a pretty cool movie). I'm not trying to be facetious, but is this something that amounts to a real crisis of conscience for a vegan? Also, lice of the various areas. Certainly a case of us versus them. I've never had either of these maladies (knock on wood! cruelty-free wood!), so I've never really had to think about it until now.* But now I am. So there.
*Technically, I don't have to think about it now, either, but I feel like I just can't ignore it any longer.