Why do paleo/primal folks and vegans hate each other? page 11

[aix_sponsa]

This makes me wonder how my vegan "New Age" mother-in-law will react to my husband and I eating MORE meat now that we're primal. Last time we visited her (she lives 1300 miles away in New Mexico), I mentioned to my husband that I might like to run down to Wal-Mart to get some shrimp to cook up for us. She scoffed at the very idea of this and said to me with the most condescending tone, "Don't you know how many fish are killed for that package of shrimp? And to waste all that gas driving to Wal-Mart?" Urgh... made me so mad.

The next day, I killed a very large female black widow making a nest 4 feet from her front door (because she has pets that go in and out; otherwise I'm live-and-let-live). I mentioned to her that I killed a potentially dangerous black widow on her porch, and she gave me the most horrified open-mouthed look like I had just stabbed her beloved DOG to death, gave a little whimper, and walked away.

Sigh.

Jenny

[avocadogirl]

Zoebird- you are a wealth of information about yoga. This is fantastic information about the history of Vedic practices. I've never been to an ashram but I've done a dozen or so intensive weekend yoga retreats at local studios, all of which served grain-heavy vegan fare.

Lewis- are you a researcher? Your analytic breakdown of this discussion is so thoughtful. I really don't know much about Atkins, but I would not have guessed that Atkins would only call for 10% meat.

Aix- I'm sorry your MIL is so preachy. It's hard to deal with and I generally live and let live. She sounds pretty dramatic, so probably best to just ignore her exasperated huffs.

[Rusty]

Being new to Paleo/Primal from a SAD perspective, I have always thought that vegans/vegetarians where preaching their "religion". I have vegan cousins (in-laws), who don't live very healthy (that contends that a diet coke and a bag of potato chips is a vegan meal, not a GOOD vegan meal). A huge portion of their food is some overtly processed tofu/fake foods, not veggies.

But, live and let live (for the time they have left). Although I am not one to normally subscribe to Darwin and his theories, when the Zombie Apocalypse begins, vegans/vegetarians will be the first ones eaten. Survival of the fittest, you know?

[keithpowers]

Compartmentalizing the two groups is a clever trick. In the overall scheme of things, the labels serve as a way to classify and segregate humanity. Eventually, some people might wake up and realize we're all human, and stop worrying about dietary choice as a defining characteristic.

[JoanieL]

Last time we visited her (she lives 1300 miles away in New Mexico), I mentioned to my husband that I might like to run down to Wal-Mart to get some shrimp to cook up for us. She scoffed at the very idea of this and said to me with the most condescending tone, "Don't you know how many fish are killed for that package of shrimp? And to waste all that gas driving to Wal-Mart?"

Yes, because shrimp often become teachers, parents, healers, builders, etc., and contribute to society in meaningful ways.

[Uncephalized]

UGH.. he must be sooo constipated!! No wonder he makes mischief.

Sorry to dig up one post from pages ago, but have you ever actually eaten a whole bunch of bananas (or other starchy, fibrous food) in one day? It leads to the exact opposite of constipation.

A ton of starch + a bunch of fiber = 2-3 daily bowel explosions, generally speaking.

[Rasputina]

Perhaps "hate" is too strong a word, but it seems to me that there is a great deal of passionate friction between the paleo and vegan communities. Clearly, there are differences in philosophy and practice, namely one group eats meat and the other does not.

But when you compare what paleo and vegans actually eat on a daily basis, it's actually quite similar. I, for one, eat roughly 75% fruits and vegetables, most of them raw. Maybe I'm oversimplifying, but it seems to me that my diet is *mostly* vegan. Certainly when you compare paleo and vegan to the standard American diet they have more similarities than differences.

So where is the love? Why is there so much bickering between the paleos and vegans?

I think on a real-life, face-to-face basis, paleos and vegans get along quite well! As a former vegan, who has many vegan pals, it seems like we agree on many things, including the compassionate treatment of animals, organic produce, and supporting local farmers. I think a lot of the "bickering" is done on internet forums. It would help if some paleos didn't insist on posting nonsense about "brainless" or "weak" vegans. Sure, some vegans go out of their way to insult paleo. Let them be childish, we don't have to stoop to their level.

[zoebird]

avocado:

the sad thing is, this information is easily available. It's easy to learn about vegetarianism in the tradition, and it's context and history. If it were absolutely necessary to be vegetarian to practice yoga, then 70% of india would be SOL, and more than 80% of Nepal. The remaining 20% are mostly buddhist, so I guess they'd be SOL too.

Which makes no sense whatsoever.

End of the day, it's fine to choose to be vegetarian because of your spiritual practices. It's also ok to choose not to.

[RitaRose]

The next day, I killed a very large female black widow making a nest 4 feet from her front door (because she has pets that go in and out; otherwise I'm live-and-let-live). I mentioned to her that I killed a potentially dangerous black widow on her porch, and she gave me the most horrified open-mouthed look like I had just stabbed her beloved DOG to death, gave a little whimper, and walked away.

I'm guessing she's never been bit by a black widow. She might change her mind about how wonderful they are.

[RobinNM]

This makes me wonder how my vegan "New Age" mother-in-law will react to my husband and I eating MORE meat now that we're primal. Last time we visited her (she lives 1300 miles away in New Mexico), I mentioned to my husband that I might like to run down to Wal-Mart to get some shrimp to cook up for us. She scoffed at the very idea of this and said to me with the most condescending tone, "Don't you know how many fish are killed for that package of shrimp? And to waste all that gas driving to Wal-Mart?" Urgh... made me so mad.

The next day, I killed a very large female black widow making a nest 4 feet from her front door (because she has pets that go in and out; otherwise I'm live-and-let-live). I mentioned to her that I killed a potentially dangerous black widow on her porch, and she gave me the most horrified open-mouthed look like I had just stabbed her beloved DOG to death, gave a little whimper, and walked away.

Sigh.

Jenny

I would just like to say that not all of us in New Mexico feel that way. I had Charlotte setting up housekeeping behind a screen door that doesn't get closed any more and she and her two freakishly large egg sacs got dispatched to the great spider web in the sky, and then two weeks later, her sister Charlene had set up housekeeping in the opposite corner and followed behind her. Live and let live...not so much.