Hulk get angry

AlterNet has a couple interesting articles online right now - one, by Richard Heinberg, asks whether or not we've finally hit Peak Oil.

The one of interest to this blog, is the Top 10 Reasons to go Veggie article.
Now, the article itself isn't anything to write home about - vegetarianism is healthier for you, it is a great solution to the global food crisis, prevents cruelty to animals etc. But, what really makes this article interesting are the reader comments which you'll see below the story. They'll make you want to catch some Gamma Rays and bash some heads together:

Fun comment #1: Every vegan I know is physically weak, unattractive, with sallow skin and apparent mental slowness. Whenever people mention veganism in conversation, the topic almost immediately turns to how unhealthy and unattractive the vegans are. The vegans, for their part, claim that all their ill health is due to their "de-toxing" from meat.

Fun comment #2: So let me get this straight. Everybody should just stop eating meat. Nevermind the loss of millions and millions of jobs from workers in that industry (not to mention the restaurant industry, trucking industry, and grocery store industry). Nevermind the sudden explosion of demand that would be put on grain farmers. Nevermind that we would still have to do something with all those animals. If you're a vegetarian, then you should adopt a cow or two to give them a home in a post meat-eating world. This article is a joke. And I'm sorry but I'm not going to be made to feel guilty about the environment just because I like to eat meat

Okay, so you've gone all Hulk and screamed at your computer monitor, and then you start to realize that they are just confrontational idiots in their basement somewhere, and you try to get your Zen on... like lego IronMan here, doing a bit of meditating...


Fun comment #3: If I was still in college I would probably go vegan... if it meant I'd get laid! It worked when I campaigned diligently to free Tibet for like, 2 weeks. Boo Ya!

Yeah - these guys are morons. Light some incense, get your yoga mat out, chill...

Actually, one of the few comments I like is one where the writer says that most of our fellow North Americans can't really process the intellectual argument that vegetarians make (go veggie due to social justice etc), and therefore it is incumbent upon us to concentrate on a more visceral level - taste.
If you want to truly sell vegetarianism to the American public, stop wasting your time with lists of reasons that appeal to the intellectual side of the American brain and concentrate on selling the taste. My girlfriend is an AMAZING vegetarian chef and because of her creations I literally do not miss meat when we sit down to dinner. Americans don't like to be preached to, but they LOVE to eat. So remember: sell the sizzle, not the steak!

Zen IronMan from Kung Fu Rodeo.

Vegans & light bulbs

CBC Radio's Sunday Edition had a feature today (May 11) on Vegan Humour. It was actually pretty good, and pretty soon you'll be able to listen to it on this page (again, you'll be downloading the May 11 show, and the vegan episode is in the first hour).


They talked about Let's Get Baked with Mat and Dave (their more often updated My Space page is here).

They played this song, which I guess was a hit in lefty & green Seattle a little time back (it sounded funnier on radio than it reads). They also played some stuff from Steven the Vegan, and told a pretty funny "How many... light bulb" joke:


How many vegans does it take to screw in a light bulb?

Two - one to twist the bulb, and one to read the list of ingredients.


DOCUMENTARY: WHY DID THE VEGAN CROSS THE ROAD Duration: 00:13:56

In the world of right-thinking, high-minded environmentalists, chowing down on your sizzling bacon is the culinary equivalent of driving an SUV. A United Nations report says livestock farming is responsible for 40 percent more global warming than all planes, cars, trucks, and other forms of transportation in the world combined. This is no laughing matter. Meat-guzzling North Americans have a lot to feel guilty about. Even most vegetarians are on the hook - since almost all eggs, cheese, come from livestock.

But vegans? Well, they can feel pretty righteous. Vegans are the most veggie of all vegetarians. They eat no animal products whatsoever - no meat, no fish, no dairy products, not even honey. Bees, after all, are living, buzzing, feeling creatures. And by and large, vegans are a healthy lot. They eat lots of beans and fruits and grains and vegetables. They don't feel threatened by bird flu or mad cow disease.

But funny? There are those who say that the very term "vegan humour" is an oxymoron. And, for sure its, it's hard to imagine how quinoa pudding, baked bean souffle or lentil muffins produce much joie de vivre, let alone hilarity. But some in the vegan world are trying to introduce a lighter touch into a community sometimes mocked for its self-importance and grimness. Heather Barrett went looking for them. Her documentary is called Why Did the Vegan Cross the Road?