Live data from Hacker News

Vegan takeaway orders quadruple over past two years

bighospitality.co.uk

181–190 of 319 posts

Re: Vegan takeaway orders quadruple over past two years

#181
post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do the animals experience more suffering than if they lived in the wild? Is industrial slaughter more or less traumatic than death in the wild? Are there any benefits animals experience living in captivity vs living in the wild? Is there anything positive about more such animals getting to live in the first place due to demand for meat?

Those are good questions, but about a different topic (except the last one). The choice here is not between raising animals for eating in factories as opposed to raising them in the wild. It's between raising them in factories versus not bringing them to life at all. Wild animal suffering is a different beast altogether. Your last question is on the point though. Do the animals raised for meat have lives worth living…

Is it better for a being to not exist entirely than suffer? If so, then would this imply that if animals suffer even more in the wild that they should be wiped out?

Re: Vegan takeaway orders quadruple over past two years

#182
post #172
post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"The question really comes down to whether or not you consider the opportunity to experience life, even a particularly difficult life, as a blessing." A life born of slavery, torture, and slaughter is not a life worth living. An animal doesn't really have the idea of a bloodline or legacy (just the primal urge to reproduce). The rationalization that a life of suffering is somehow doing the animal a favor is just asin…

Personally, I would accept any form of life before I chose not to exist at all, because I view life itself as a blessing. I understand that this isn't a philosophy that I share with everybody but you should still be respectful of it. Just how shitty of a life do you need to have to not be worth living? People who spend their lives in prison don't usually kill themselves. You can read stories about people captured as…

Really? Personally, if I died and there was a deity that gave me a choice to either be reincarnated into a slave that would be tortured from birth to death only to be eaten by my slavers at the end or the deity would go back in time to make it so my parents never met, I'd wholeheartedly choose the latter.

Re: Vegan takeaway orders quadruple over past two years

#183
post #172
post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"The question really comes down to whether or not you consider the opportunity to experience life, even a particularly difficult life, as a blessing." A life born of slavery, torture, and slaughter is not a life worth living. An animal doesn't really have the idea of a bloodline or legacy (just the primal urge to reproduce). The rationalization that a life of suffering is somehow doing the animal a favor is just asin…

Personally, I would accept any form of life before I chose not to exist at all, because I view life itself as a blessing. I understand that this isn't a philosophy that I share with everybody but you should still be respectful of it. Just how shitty of a life do you need to have to not be worth living? People who spend their lives in prison don't usually kill themselves. You can read stories about people captured as…

So by extension, don't you have an ethical obligation to have as many children as possible regardless of the quality of life you can provide them?

At least they'll have a life that they wouldn't have had otherwise.

Re: Vegan takeaway orders quadruple over past two years

#184
I recently adopted a vegan diet and have made good progress with weight loss. I attribute this to veganism providing me with a very simple rule that allows me to instantly reject a large number of the junk food options that cross my path, which I previously would have eaten thoughtlessly.

I miss cheese on pizza, but have otherwise not found myself lacking in tasty and nutritious options

Re: Vegan takeaway orders quadruple over past two years

#185
post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It is just not practical for me to go full-veg, where I live I would need to cook one hour a day for it, Why does eating meat mean you can cook less?

Meat is remarkably easy to cook: apply heat to meat, done. Vegetables take preparation, require more-complex treatment, need to be managed well (I have no problem eating a quick meal of just a steak or chicken breast; I really would hate eating a quick meal of only carrots or just onions). Meat's convenient in a way that vegetables aren't.

This is the opposite of reality in my experience. Most vegetables can be quickly steamed, boiled, stir fried etc. Legumes or tubers take longer, but require little active participation.

Meat on the other hand is greatly benefited by things like marination, mechanical tenderizing, monitoring temperature as it cooks. You can whip up a steak pretty quick, but probably not any faster than you could stir fry some veggies.

Re: Vegan takeaway orders quadruple over past two years

#186
post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personally, I would accept any form of life before I chose not to exist at all, because I view life itself as a blessing. I understand that this isn't a philosophy that I share with everybody but you should still be respectful of it. Just how shitty of a life do you need to have to not be worth living? People who spend their lives in prison don't usually kill themselves. You can read stories about people captured as…

Really? Personally, if I died and there was a deity that gave me a choice to either be reincarnated into a slave that would be tortured from birth to death only to be eaten by my slavers at the end or the deity would go back in time to make it so my parents never met, I'd wholeheartedly choose the latter.

I'm not much of a philsopher, but if you're at all interested in the other side of thinking I would suggest Viktor Frankl. He was a jewish person in a nazi concentration camp and he make a much stronger argument than I can for this point of view.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Frankl

> After enduring the suffering in these camps, Frankl concluded that even in the most absurd, painful, and dehumanized situation, life has potential meaning and that, therefore, even suffering is meaningful.

Re: Vegan takeaway orders quadruple over past two years

#187
post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"The most intolerant wins," dynamic may explain much of it. The availability of vegan food may have grown because it is a complimentary good which lets groups that include vegans eat there. Previously, groups that included vegans either ended up in vegan restaurants, or didn't eat together at all. Other purity urges could seem to have the same property.

Except there's a stubborn minority on the other end - people who want a meat offering. There are a good number of people who actually want to eat meat, and there are a few who don't want to go places without it. I feel like this will somewhat bound the growth of restaurants with only these options, though those with veggie alternatives can still grow. Not every one is okay with just rabbit food, though.

> Except there's a stubborn minority on the other end - people who want a meat offering.

That's a given, and vegans have an important role in the society to counterbalance it.

> There are a good number of people who actually want to eat meat, and there are a few who don't want to go places without it.

On the other hand, (I hope) the majority actually just wants to eat delicious dishes without big negative externalities.

> Not every one is okay with just rabbit food, though.

Here, I'm not sure whether you're referring to what rabbits eat (grass), what restaurants stuck in the past offer to vegans (what's left of meat menus and salads when you leave out animal products), or a prejudice toward any vegan food.

Re: Vegan takeaway orders quadruple over past two years

#188
post #44
post #16

After 15 years of not eating meat, the past 1-2 years have been a golden era of vegetarian options in the grocery store, restaurants, and fast food. Based on anecdotes and my social circles, the number of people completely avoiding meat hasn't changed. But omnivores adopting a semi-veg lifestyle has increased. If I had to pick one thing, I'd say environmental concerns are the main reason my omnivore friends and colle…

For me that's a mix of ethical and environmental concerns. I agree that there is a point in the belief that it is unethical to kill animals. That's not the most unethical thing that is happening in the world, there are a lot of things to argue about, but in general, I agree that in an ideal world, we should not do that. The environmental concerns, I only buy half-heartedly. I don't really believe that land-owners wil…

Regardless of your food selection, I’d encourage you to try bulk cooking if you haven’t before. Cook 4-5 days worth of food on Sunday, takes about 2 hours. You can eat dinner afterwards and package up a plate for every weeknight. When you get home from work during the week, turn on oven, put meal in immediately, take a shower or browse HN for 20 minutes, and you’re g2g. If you start to feel more handy with a frying pan you can store each part of your meal separately in the fridge and reheat a full dish in 5-10 minutes. Microwaves and toaster ovens will also shorten the wait time.

Side note: in my time in kitchens, I learned that the art of storing/reheating food is just as important as from-scratch preparation.

I understand parent is not motivated to learn it, but I encourage them to rethink it, and I leave this message for everyone else. Personally, cooking has been an incredibly fulfilling and freeing life skill to acquire.

Re: Vegan takeaway orders quadruple over past two years

#189
post #183
post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personally, I would accept any form of life before I chose not to exist at all, because I view life itself as a blessing. I understand that this isn't a philosophy that I share with everybody but you should still be respectful of it. Just how shitty of a life do you need to have to not be worth living? People who spend their lives in prison don't usually kill themselves. You can read stories about people captured as…

So by extension, don't you have an ethical obligation to have as many children as possible regardless of the quality of life you can provide them? At least they'll have a life that they wouldn't have had otherwise.

I bet you $10 they are a forced-birther.

Under His Eye. Blessed be the fruit.

Re: Vegan takeaway orders quadruple over past two years

#190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To me, it's less about new products and more about people's tastes. People are eating very different things now because of new popularity in some cuisines (Indian, Thai, and Mexican come to mind) and the popularity of "superfoods" (Avocado, Acai berry... ever notice there are never any animal-based superfoods?).

> ever notice there are never any animal-based superfoods? This must be a marketing gimmick; eating animals is very nutritious—it's just not sufficient. However, this is the same as Avacado/acai berry/whatever. I have heard milk referred to as a superfood quite a bit.

> I have heard milk referred to as a superfood quite a bit.

Might have something to do with the billions spent on marketing meat and dairy. Pretty big industries with pretty big financial contributions to our wonderful politicians, for decades now.

Post reply on HN