I live in a pretty bike-friendly place for the US, but if I took an entire lane on my own, even though that is legal and in fact required when there isn’t a bike lane about two out of three drivers would come as close to me as possible before hitting their horns.

I know plenty about the issue. I have ridden motorbikes too, so I know what an effective helmet is like. A bicycle helmet is nearly useless in a high speed impact. They don’t protect the neck, or fit tightly enough to prevent brain damage. At low speeds I will happily take my lumps. Not that I have had a bike accident in traffic yet, or a head injury on a bike ever. I have some experience with how to bail and roll when it goes pear shaped.

Also, I know how to ride. I take an entire lane when I need the room, and only allow people to overtake when it is safe. I never undertake, and don’t filter between two lanes. I take the pavement for roundabouts where it seems judicious. I leave myself more room at junctions, and go as soon as the junction clears to get a good head start. I never run lights.

And funnily enough, I have never felt that I was doing anything in any way dangerous, or even risky. Because responsible riding really ISN’T dangerous. Okay, I live in a land of courteous drivers and low speed limits, so I have it better than some, but still. Ride right and you won’t have problems.

Okay, lycra shorts are ridiculous on most people, and those full-body suits are even worse, but not wearing a helmet is just crazy. I ride a bike too, and I wear regular clothes, but the point of a helmet is not to go faster or show how much money you’re willing to spend on doofy bike stuff — it’s to keep your skull from cracking open like a fucking egg.
I say this only because I want you to not get killed in a stupid, pointless way, and also because I like being obnoxious about stuff.

So yeah, some people literally can’t live a healthy life (or would find it “difficult”) without eating meat. But that’s a really, really small number of people and has nothing to do with the ethics of factory farming.

…Everybody knows, a turkey and some misteltoe…..

Lyrics need work.

OTOH, I have never dropped a bratwurst.

Actually, that was when I decided to be a vegetarian, so on balance I’m probably a pussy.

For what it’s worth, video didn’t bother me; I grew up rural. I was cleaning fish I’d caught by myself before you were even agonising over this ethically.

Whoa. Simmer down there, big guy. You mention vegetarianism and of a sudden everybody’s Grizzly Adams.

If you really want a pissing contest, then I’d say I was probably cleaning fish I’d caught my own self on my grandpa’s farm in Kansas before you were even born. So there. Do I win?

Brussel sprouts? You…you…Frenchman!

That is all.

Okay, so answer me this: I can’t eat dairy or eggs because I can’t digest them. I can’t derive enough protein from vegetable sources to actually thrive on them — people with a more severe form of the medical condition I have often have to be intubated to keep from starving to death; my digestion is really inefficient, on top of being fairly cranky. I can’t even digest some vegetable sources of protein. Quinoa, for instance, is very high in protein, but gives me some of the worst stomach cramps imaginable. So I basically need to eat meat, if I don’t want to wind up with pellagra.

Is that still all right with you, or are you overgeneralising about the necessity of carnivourousness? Would you like to GFY now, or later?

For what it’s worth, video didn’t bother me; I grew up rural. I was cleaning fish I’d caught by myself before you were even agonising over this ethically.

If they’re right, you have become my favoritest website.

It doesn’t really matter if the perception of vegetarianism is inaccurate, or based on the attitudes of a few noisy people, it is still important. I think the whole issue of vegetarianism has to be made part of a wider debate about how we treat our food sources, and the sustainability of food production. If the aim is ethical eating, lets acknowledge the complexity of the issues, and the validity of other peoples decisions.

We have to make thinking about where your food comes from into a normal thing for normal people to do. Screaming “meat is murder” as some do, is counter-productive to that aim. Also, it is far too myopic. My reason for not eating fast food is about what it does to people, societies, economies, animals, and the land itself. The reasons for eating ethically are very very broad. Animal welfare is only a small part of it. Human welfare is a much bigger chunk.