Are those who kill and eat animals more manly?
And.. Are those who choose not to do that more feminine?
Does having empathy and caring about others make you a pussy? Or does having empathy and caring about others make you stronger?
I just read an interesting article that I think is important for people to consider, cause a lot of those who argue the most for animal products are men who think it's manly to hunt and murder other sentient beings.
And that.. Somehow they think our Paleo ancestors were these highly predatory people who lived significantly off of hunting when the fossil evidence actually shows they ate almost entirely plants and only rarely ever ate animal products.
So.. There's definitely a perception or image out there that hunting and killing makes you more manly, but I would argue that.. What's more manly is having some compassion and caring about others and not hunting or killing sentient beings unless you absolutely have to for survival.
Which is a far cry from what we see every day at fast food places across the world, very few people actually hunt themselves. Most of these people just pay someone else to slaughter an innocent animal that was bred and raised and enslaved for that purpose.
In the end I think it comes down to necessity, why kill another sentient being if you don't "need" to?
And how many of these people killing animals REALLY need to for survival? Humans are smart, are you telling me they really couldn't find another alternative with overwhelming plant options out there that are cheaper and less demanding to farm?
To take advantage of and exploit the weak, is not strong or couragous in my opinion. It's the opposite.
I think it's strong and beautiful and brave to stick up for those being unjustly oppressed or bullied or targeted.
To me.. True strength is compassion and vulneribility and showing that you're actually a human being and not some robot or automaton or a cold blooded ruthless killer.
Here's an excerpt I appreciate from the article and the main points/arguments plus the link to the article will be linked below.
"5. Vegan Men Are Compassionate Leaders
Real men lead with personal action when others are standing on the sidelines.
Right now, there are few choices that can have a more positive impact on our personal lives and the world around us than adopting a vegan diet.
Taking a compassionate stand against sickening animal cruelty is manly.
Preserving our environment is manly.
Improving our health and the health of our families is manly.
But eating fast food burgers because that’s what the TV commercials tell us to do? Not so manly."
Also here's the main arguments/points in the article.
- Vegan Men Have Higher Levels of Testosterone
- Vegan Men Have a More Attractive Scent (Apparently many women find this attractive which is why it was listed)
- Vegan Men Are More Fit
- Vegan Men Have Glowing Skin (Apparently many women find this attractive which is why it was listed)
- Vegan Men Are Compassionate Leaders
- Vegan Men Can Cook (Not all can, but the article argues that it promotes more of this behavior)
- Vegan Men Have Less Erectile Dysfunction
- Vegan Men Live Longer
Great post! We would all be healthier if we ate a vegan diet.
Thanks! I tend to agree.. I mean.. I've met some people who really think they need animal products to be healthy.. But I have to say I have my doubts.. I think maybe they just didn't try hard enough.. A lot of people have problems going vegan probably because they don't eat enough since plants are less calorie dense than animal products, but if you simply eat more.. And most people love eating so it should be awesome that you get to eat more.. But if these people who failed just ate more, they would probably solve the problem!
I don't personally think our physiologies are so different when it comes to diet, I'm open minded to the possibility some people may need animal products, but I haven't seen the proof.. And I'm very skeptical and doubtful.. SO yeah.. I tend to agree with you.. I think we would all be healthier. Can't prove it.. But.. I do definitely lean in that direction highly.
Less methane gas in the atmosphere with less livestock also.....
Nice to see, you both are vegan . Me also vegn
I didn’t realize that vegan men have higher testosterone. That’s good to know. Posts like this are so powerful. You really hit the point home about empathy. I try to be vegan, but I struggle with it. I still eat some meat, but less and less. Thanks for sharing this, for it gives people like me the strength to further withdraw from the vicious cycle of animal cruelty.
I wasn't aware either actually and I've been studying this stuff for a while. Definitely good to know! Also the living longer and less erectile dysfunction part which I did already know about is a major plus as well!
Not to mention many other things, it truly is amazing how many benefits you can find if you spend the time and look.. Really makes you wonder why eating animals became SO widespread and so overwhelming to the point it's even threatening our species .
Was it greed? Or just a natural sort of thing? Or perhaps something even more nefarious? I wonder.
Anyways.. Glad to hear you appreciated the article and you're welcoming for sharing. It's awesome to hear you try to be vegan and that you're going to work on it more in the future! If you ever want any help with anything about it feel free to ask, I definitely don't know everything and don't pretend to, but I might be able to help!
Thanks. I’ll follow you. I can tell that you are wise because it’s rare to see someone admit that they are not an expert yet still want to help if they can. True humility.
You're welcome. And thanks for the generous words. But yes.. I do agree that humility is pretty rare these days, I like to talk about all kinds of weird subjects that in my opinion probably can't ever be proved and will probably always remain philosophical but a lot of people act like they know everything, and it's really frustrating sometimes debating these people who can like never admit to being wrong about anything ever and if anyone ever has a question of any sort they always have an answer that is 100% right no question about it.. Ahemm. Sorry, lol.. Yeah I deal with that a lot and I try to stay humble and strangely enough the older I get and the more I learn, the more I realize.. I less I know. I don't know very much at all in the grand scheme of things! Heh. Though I have done a good amount of research on certain subjects more than others, this subject is one I'm not amazing at, but I do have a couple years under my belt of active and diligent study!
Thanks for the follow! I already followed you earlier cause I wanna surround myself more with people who actually care and aren't total ruthless sociopaths, though now I'm going to give your page a closer look and see what kinda stuff you're posting. Cheers newcastle.
Resteemed.
Thanks for the resteem bud! Hope you've been doing well. :) My father recently joined steemit. Would be cool to connect you two, though I still don't think he's seen the picture you did. I sent it to his email a while back and asked him recently and he didn't know.. So.. I need to send your picture to him again, I'm sure he'll like it. He's really liking steemit so far and I think it would be extra cool to him now to see that one of the people on here painted a picture of his.
Kind of annoys me I didn't make sure he saw it sooner. For some reason I thought he saw it already, I guess I'm just so overwhelmed and mentally exhausted lately that it slipped, my bad! But.. Anyways.. I hope you've been doing well michaelstobiersk! You're definitely one of my favorite people here on steemit. :)
Thank you very much. Would love to connect with your dad. What is his username?
You're welcome. And awesome! His name on here is @irvinesimages
Maybe you could even show him the image you painted yourself directly and upload it as a comment on one of his blog posts? I bet that would be a pleasant surprise for him to see! :)
Hello friend apolymask, here if I have it difficult, because I must admit that I eat meat, not in large quantities, because it is not my favorite food and on the other hand here in my country is extremely expensive (there is definitely a cultural theme in each country and each region that influences); although I must say that I have never killed an animal, I definitely could not. I had never stopped to review all the points that you raise in your post, where some very interesting advantages are placed. Of course it is difficult to say from one day to the next that one is going to change their feeding style; but, maybe if we are going down the frequency of consumption then we can reduce somewhat this situation, that siceramente as you raise it in your post looks unjustified. For my part and my family we have already begun to reduce the consumption of meat; Although it is not the solution, at least it would be helping a little to reduce the unjustified killing. The advantages of being a bit more vegetarian we will see, in my family, in the next few months. Thanks for the info. Greetings.
That sounds awesome that it sounds like you're going to work on reducing your impact on the animals more! :) Very cool. Even though we have a bit of a language barrier, I'd be happy to help you in any way I can if you have any questions.. I don't know everything and don't think anyone does, but I do know a lot and I might be able to help! I've been studying the subject for a couple years now and have got pretty deep.
You're welcome for the info.
All the best to you and your efforts!
Thank you apolymask - very kind, I will keep it in mind
A very sad true..
Personally I have never hunted game for meat, but I also think it is necessary so the deer population doesn't get out of control. One time me and my bro were on ramin noodles for weeks out in the middle of nowheresville. Finally we came across a huge rattle snake so we dispatched it, skinned and ate it. We didn't let anything go to waste and I even tanned the skin and still have it. But finally getting protein after so long really helped us physically and mentally. I would say it was a necessity at the time.
I'm not sure I agree with the idea that humans need to intervene in animal populations. If humans suddenly went extinct almost all other life on the planet would thrive.
Also ramens have protein, all edible plants do. The only thing that doesn't have all the essential amino acids which is required for health and muscle production is gelatin, which is basically made up of ground up animal bones.. But yeah, when you're in a survival situation and if you don't have enough food, I would probably do the same thing. Fortunately I'm not in a survival situation and I can just go to the store and get whatever I need.. But.. If I was in survival situation.. Yeah.. I'd do what I need to do up until the point of killing another human or stealing from them or whatever. I do see a difference between humans and animals and I wouldn't kill a human like I would an animal to survive.. Though.. That doesn't mean I still can't care about animals even if I think humans do have a higher right to life. As I mentioned before.. If I don't need to kill them.. Why should I? It's pretty simple logic to me.. Thanks for sharing your thoughts bud!
I think you may have a 'chicken and egg' thing going here, let me expand.
Those that empathise more would seem to lean more towards Veganism I think. Being 'manly' or being less empathetic of course means that killing animals is not an issue. So the real question seems to be between empathy and veganism (except for those that chose being vegan as a life choice or the 'trendy' thing to do ). Is empathy manly? I dont play the game of stereotypes. Is being empathetic a human trait? I believe it is, but it has been separated from us.
Unfortunatly, in todays society, the choice of empathy is really removed because one can just enter a supermarket and buy a piece of meat that has no resemblance to an animal right off the shelf, its as easy as lifting co-co pops. Its just presented as another foodstuff in a packet and no more thought for the average consumer is given. Therefore no empathy required.
On the other side of the coin, I believe one should have the experience of killing an animal if one should believe it is OK to pick a part of them from a chilled shelf. I believe in all things leadership is by example, and this was no different. Under professional guidance, I have killed a sheep for food. I would not say it is horrific (as it was done under kind circumstances), but I found myself stroking the animal and talking to it after the 'death blow'. I won't go into the details here.
Suffice to say my meat intake has drastically declined, but not gone completely as a consequence. I am, however, moving more and more toward a plant based diet. Does that make me less a man? That really depends on your definition of a man. You decide if you think that makes you a wiser judge, meanwhile I'll just be me. I do know that killing after killing will dull you to a point where it would be normal. Do I choose to do that? No.
Let me be frank though, should it become a survival situation, I probably would kill an animal to eat. Maybe we should be asking the question as to why foodstuff plants are not readily available everywhere. Would it not be better to plant apple trees to line a road? would it not be better to encourage vegetable planting in parks and gardens? why do we insist on trees in public being barren or chastising people for having food growing instead of useless lawns?
I'm sorry, I digress. To answer your question from my own point of view? No, It does not make one less manly or womanly to not eat meat in the same way it would not make someone less of a person because they love another person or animal.
We really have to get back to judging an individual by their actions. Not eating meat may just have those 8 things to their favor from the article, but I would ask 'does it make them a better person?'
WOW, thanks for the post man, dont know where all that came from :-)
Looks bad :(
all animals help us. we are a comunity in this world.
thanks for your valuable post @apolymask:-)
delicious, nutritious food👍👍👍
What... Plants? Yeah I know. Plants are super delicious and nutritious. :)