Ethical Omnivore: Is It Possible?

Is it the moral dietary solution you've been waiting for or just happy words in front of not-so-happy things?
Links and Sources:

Chicago Vegan Food and Drink Fest:

Melanie Murphy explaining her Ethical Omnivorism:

Source of many quotes:

Details of Whole Foods Sustainable/Ethical Meat:

40% of the world's coal is from strip mining:

Quote by chicken spokesman on free range chickens:

Adventist II Review (all those health stats about vegans):

Iron, Vitamin C, and Absorption study:

Michael Pollan plant intelligence:

[anabolicamaranth]

I've got some organic, free range, humanely raised Golden Retriever meat.

[onceuponanexploration]

I'm an ethical cannibal. My meat is educated, loved and kept cold in the morgue. Ethical cannibal.

[roryclark]

Hey Mic, You are literally saving lives by educating the public. I'm also a health educator and I will continue to advertise your videos. Keep up the good work.

[q..q]

I don't care if an animal lived cage-free, hormone-free, antibiotic-free, etc. I don't care if the farmer gave it daily massages, hugs and kisses. Every animal that is bred into existence because there is a demand for its meat, secretions, skin, etc. will ultimately be put to death. It is always cruel.

[VoodooStyx]

I used to be what I called 'freerangetarian', which I guess is the same as ethical omnivore. I would try to avoid foods with questionable animal products, and would only buy meat, dairy and eggs labelled free range.
One day I found an article on what the actual standards for getting your food labelled as free range were, and the minimum requirements were below what I thought was acceptable.
I did a bunch of research, trying to find a local ethical butcher, and couldn't find a single farm that didn't do at least one thing I considered humane (for me it was usually the fact that, no matter how nicely the animal was raised, it was still trucked for days on end with no food and water to a slaughterhouse).
I did what most ethical omnivores won't do - I refused to eat any animal products that didn't fit my idea of an ethical way of treating animals. And that meant becoming vegan.

[Kidblinks]

Sigh. People will do anything to continue to remain ignorant just to eat meat and dairy.

[ijmwpiano]

Even if the meat eaters out there stopped watching, the content of your videos still helps vegans.

[janavanrooyen]

I was previously one of those vegans that became an "ethical omnivore" after having first gone vegan for health reasons, with the idea that it would somehow be a more natural and thereby a more healthy dietary option. After a short while I realised just how difficult it was to say no to eggs/dairy etc. when visiting someone or being out for dinner, when I already ate those items at home. Questioning the quality of animal foods when out was way more challenging than ever just simply stating that I was vegan. When I finally woke up to the thruth that a vegan diet (and of course lifestyle) in fact was the most wholesome way of life and by far the most ethical, I could do no better that to go back to veganism. Having been an ethical omnivore I know that the line on ethics can get very blurry, and that when you really do take the time to think about it with an open mind you most likely come to the realisation that the most ethical way of living is in fact living vegan.

[michelle]

Great video! You're so right about not actually reducing animal product intake like you think you do. Before going vegan, I was vegetarian with the intention of being vegan one day, but in the meantime I "rarely eat dairy and eggs anyway". Looking back now, it was not as reduced as I thought. Sure, I never cooked with animal products at home, but when I went out to eat, I didn't look for places with vegan options, I just at the vegetarian options. Going to friends' houses or other social events, I didn't avoid the pizza and baked goods and cheese platters. When visiting my bf's family, I ate egg and cheese sandwiches everyday. It just didn't happen like I thought and now I notice how often it is presented to me and how much I used to jump at the opportunities to eat it because "well I eat it so little I can enjoy it right now". I'm so happy and proud to now be living a guilt free ethical (and healthy) lifestyle.

[rsalehi]

SAD eaters are so habituated that if they don't have animal products in their meals, they feel DEPRIVED and somehow CHEATED. That's how SAD it is.

[walterbyrd]

I prefer unapologetic meat eaters to ethical omnivores.

At least the unapologetic are honest with themselves.

[haircafekevin]

Only way to be an ethical omnivore is if the only meat you eat is roadkill, provided you don't deliberately kill the animals with your car.

[funkymunky]

People love to find new and exciting ways to do the wrong things... And on and on we go...

[TheSwordbirdsPage]

a year or so ago i started consciously thinking about what each animal i was eating was. visualizing the eyes of a calf i saw at a fair, the mothering hens i used to keep as pets, etc. it started off as an odd "respect" thing for the animal, but it didn't take long to start feeling nauseous every time i ate meat. (which is why i'm no longer eating it)

my point though is that you can't truly respect the animal and continue to eat it with a clear conscious, it's impossible.

[vietnamanimalaidandrescue]

It's odd that "Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollen was actually what got my wheels turning towards veganism. He brought up questions about animal feed, the monoculture crops, killing wild animals, etc. that brought me to conclusions that led me to more vegan oriented literature and abolitionism. I got his questions, but did not get his conclusions, so in many ways I owe him a lot even if he is a twisted weirdo now. At least I followed through on his questions about meat eating and made my way to veganism where I am very happy to be hanging out for the past 4 years.

[rsalehi]

Ethical omnivores are CRUELLY KIND to animals.

[charlenedormady]

The iron argument makes me laugh! I'm a pregnant & breastfeeding vegan and just got my blood tests back. My iron is higher then it ever was as a meat eater.

[CarlB_]

Great video. The term ethical omnivore is just an astute marketing ploy aimed at salving the troubled consciences of meat-eaters.

[analogueapples]

Ethical omnivores who want to buy local food can never be sure if the food that animals eat is local, unless they grow their own animals or know the farmer personally and ask question, but even then eating out is complicated because those local animals probably eat not that local food.

[VeganRevolution]

No it's not possible unless it's otherwise not practicable to be Vegan.
Also - FIRST!