Any Vegetarians/Vegans here?

[bennyboy]

Conversely, if I could kill a person peacefully in his sleep for the purpose of eating him, would the lack of suffering in his death make it okay to kill them?

I support the legalization of cannibalism with consent.

Why consent? Animals lack the capacity to consent. Why should I extend extra priviliges to human animals, given that I've found one I think looks delicious, and that I'm willing to take efforts toward a comfortable execution?

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Allergies to nuts are not a 'rare genetic disease' dumbass

Who said they were, dumbass?

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I did consult a nutritionist and several doctors. I don't have some weird rare genetic disease. I have a nut allergy and an aversion to food... even food I like. Have you ever sat at the dinner table and stared at your food, knowing perfectly well it's delicious, but you can't put it down your throat without your gag reflex threatening to make you vomit? That happens to me almost every day, sometimes several times. Yes, I'm emotional about it. The TEN years I was a vegetarian was part of the cause of my aversion (which is sort of like food PTSD) because I was so nervous about eating. Do you realize how much stuff is processed with nuts? I went into anaphylaxis nine times when I was a veg (only three times in the sixteen years since I started eating meat). I have to look at every label, every package, ask a million questions, and my poor roommate has to alter the way she processes food in our kitchen to accommodate me. Guess what food is rarely processed with nuts. Yeah, guess. I'll wait.

If you recall, I supported your right to choose, and stood against the right of others to pressure you. Re your most recent comment, let me say two things:
1) Your problem isn't so much with many foods, it's more with crappy industrial food production. And given said methods, a vegetarian diet probably does little to save lives anyway. It seems you need a nice rural setting where you can have full control of your food production (like a nice big garden and/or livestock). I do agree it's much more likely that meat will not have been processed with nuts, though.

As a picky vegetarian, I really do understand your discomfort: I cannot comfortably eat in almost any restaurant, because I'm worried about "veggie" burgers being fried on a greasy grill, or about ingredients other people don't consider (like gelatin or shortening) being present without the servers knowing about it.

2) The psychological component you are talking about is not really relevant to a discussion of morality of vegetarianism. To me, it's more a comment on two things: the hypocrisy of those who insist you see things as they do, and the poor state of an otherwise advanced system of food production when it comes to serving the needs of anyone outside the herd.

ETA: bennyboy, you know nothing short of what I've told you about my dietary needs. Googling wouldn't even touch the surface, so eff off. (I really like you, but you are WAY off base on this.)

It's true that I don't know more than what you've told me. That's why I conjectured that your psychological issues were due to peer pressure. Now, it seems clear that they are due to a mistrust of food producers, and to a fear of death or injury when you eat. Your psychology is perfectly understandable given your experiences. That being said, you do not have a nutritional issue with vegetarianism-- and I doubt anybody does, since there are plenty of non-nut vegetarian sources of protein. I would suggest that the "right" way to ensure people's safety AND to allow them moral options if they choose them, is to establish a better control over industrial food production, or for communities or individuals to localize their food production. But that would be troublesome.