Spyke

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Settle a debate: would eating a Venus fly trap be considered vegan?

Vegan here. Interesting question! I think you're going to get a different answer depending on the vegan you talk to. Personally, this is the definition of veganism I subscribe to:

"Veganism is a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude—as far as is possible and practicable—all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of animals, humans and the environment. In dietary terms it denotes the practice of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals."

By that definition, for me, it is not vegan. If the VFT has been grown by humans, and fed insects, then that is non-vegan, because there was a lot of animal suffering that went into growing that VFT. Furthermore, VFTs are not required for sustaining the human body, so the only reason to do this is for human pleasure or something.

Edit to add: if the VFT was found in nature, I probably still wouldn't consume it, because 1) I don't even know if VFTs are edible 2) if they are, I've got better food with me that probably caused less animal suffering, and are less morally ambiguous.

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[meme] Pedestrians shouldn't be relegated to the sidelines

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My opinion:

Trucks used pragmatically for farming or legit hauling stuff is perfectly fine.

Cars used in true rural areas are also fine, because by definition, they haven't been developed yet, so there's pretty much no other way to get there.

But in populated areas (not just "cities" but also suburbs and other areas that are not truly rural and extremely spread out), spaces should be designed for walkability, and have good mass transit options. If a neighborhood is being built, put a small grocery store right next to it, so all those people can get groceries without driving. And put a bus stop near it, so they can get to other areas of town they actually need to go.

Cars aren't going away entirely. They serve a specific purpose. But they're overused.

world

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14-year-old gang raped, cut into pieces while alive and burned in furnace.

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Psychopaths exist across cultures and ethnic groups and at an estimated frequency of about 1 percent of the population for males and 0.3–0.7 percent for females. Some researchers challenge these numbers, citing bias toward male manifestations in diagnostic instruments and methods.

Source: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/201906/why-female-psychopaths-are-different-breed

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*Permanently Deleted*

Grain bowl. Mix one or more from each of these categories into a bowl:

  1. Some sort of grain (white rice, brown rice, quinoa, barley, buckwheat, farro, etc)
  2. Some sort of legume or protein (lentils, beans, peas, chickpeas, tofu, etc)
  3. Greens (kale, spinach, lettuce, etc)
  4. Other veggies (carrots, beets, onion, peppers, tomatoes, okra, etc)
  5. Sauce (salad dressing, hummus, bbq, red pepper sauce, miso dressing sauce)

Most of these ingredients are dirt cheap, and packed with nutrients and fiber and other goodness.

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What's something you used to do/see/say but don't anymore because you don't feel it's right?

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Thank you for that image. "big portion" is a bit vague, and this does clarify it. To me, 11% is quite a lot of that pie, when you think about:

  • Electricity is becoming greener every day due to solar and wind being cheaper than oil and gas
  • Transportation is getting greener via EVs
  • Industry is getting a focus from people trying to create green concrete and steel

Here's another chart that breaks down that agriculture portion. My understanding is methane is mostly due to cow farts, and nitrous oxide is mostly due to animal urine and fertilizers.

We need to make impacts in all of these sectors, if we're going to fix climate change.

Re: meat tax, we could start by just not subsidizing meat and dairy.

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Settle a debate: would eating a Venus fly trap be considered vegan?

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Those scenarios fall under the "as far as possible and practical" clause. Plants and fungi need insects to pollinate them, and microorganisms for nutrients. Veganism isn't a death-cult, so we have to eat something. Therefore, those insects and microorganisms are necessary.

Ditto for immune system and hand sanitizer. They are necessary parts of being human.

Another common one to ask about is animals killed in the process of farming, such as field mice that are caught in machinery. I also recognize those as necessary in the current system, but I do grow some of my own food as a small way to minimize those things, and I believe that if more people cared, we could eliminate that problem. But it's not something in my power, so I must classify it under the "as far as possible and practical" clause.

Another is animals that die as a result of roads. My answer to that one is /c/fuckcars