Is this the face of death? In a word, yes. Behind the eyes of this simple-looking old man is a brain filled with hatred. And hatred for whom? Carnivores. But he does not simply hate human carnivores, but carnivores of all types.

In fact, his desire is to plot the extinction of every carnivores in the world. In an article published in the New York Times, this dangerous man attempts to explain that the world would be a better place without carnivores. Say what you will about unvegans, but we certainly do not wish for the extinction of animals. If anything, our support of the meat industry ensures that certain bovine and foul species continue to live and breed.

Yet this man who desires the extinction of all carnivores claims to hate suffering. He says, “If I had been in a position to design and create a world, I would have tried to arrange for all conscious individuals to be able to survive without tormenting and killing other conscious individuals.” Well, sure, that does sound great. While we’re at it, let’s design plants that don’t require the death of other species to survive. In fact, let’s design plants that aren’t actually alive so we can eat them without causing them any pain. And most importantly, can we design these plants to actually taste good? Like meat?

He actually says, “Suppose that we could arrange the gradual extinction of carnivorous species, replacing them with new herbivorous ones.” Yes, let’s kill off all of these animals, that sounds humane. Let’s intervene with evolution more than we have already done so. And in doing so, we can also kiss the ecosystem of the entire planet goodbye. Because with no carnivores to keep populations in check, the world would soon become a desert wasteland. Already, there are food shortages around the planet. If every species on the planet was left to continually populate, every bit of food on the planet would be converted to dung shortly, leaving one big poopy and decimated planet.

Something so easy to forget is the fact that although carnivores cause pain to individuals, they actually improve the herd by weaning out the weak. Herbivores left unchecked would devolve into lazy grass-eating freaks. Well, until they die of starvation.

He does, in fact, bring up these very points, stating the harsh truth that, “Instead of being killed quickly by predators, the members of species that once were prey would die slowly, painfully, and in greater numbers from starvation and disease.” Fortunately, as he makes these counterpoints, he proves he is not a complete madman. A madman, yes, but at least one who thinks.

Of course, we all think it would be great to end suffering. Actually I have an idea. Let’s introduce a drug into the diets of all herbivores that prevents them from feeling pain. They’ll still need fear, to know that they have to run away from predators and continue evolution, but at least they won’t feel pain. That sounds like a good utopia to me.

And although McMahan’s plan might sound good in theory to him, let’s remember that Communism sounded great in theory to a lot of people once. Unfortunately, in practice it is simply unfeasible. And really just doesn’t taste good.

(via New York Times)

In an article in the New York Times, Natalie Angier has challenged some of the basic principles that vegetarians like to cling to. Namely, that plants are a gift to humanity to be eaten, while animals don’t want to be eaten. She is hardly the first person to tell the world about this, but doing it in the New York Times certainly helps it reach more people than the average plant research paper.

The truth is that no living thing wants to die, which means they certainly don’t want to be eaten. One easy way you can prove that plants don’t want to be eaten is by how bad they taste. No, seriously, they are gross, but there’s more. Just because they are stuck in the ground, doesn’t mean they are waiting to be eaten. In fact, according to Monika Hilker of the Institute of Biology at the Free University of Berlin, “…[plants] respond to tactile cues, they recognize different wavelengths of light, they listen to chemical signals, they can even talk [with chemical signals]…”

These plants are constantly battling insects with chemical reactions. Make no mistake, these plants want only to live and Angier has helped show people these truths. Of course, the average vegan will ignore articles like this, but no living thing, be it plant or animal, wants to be a meal. To eat, something must die.

For helping share this information with the world, Natalie Angier, you are a true Unvegan Hero!

(via New York Times)