Vegan lifestyle

[Harms]

Hey Leo you could talk about living a vegan lifestyle, it would bring great awareness to people not only from a health standpoint. What really goes into the milk that so many of us are 'addicted' to. People who are really serious about nutrition and health would benefit them greatly I feel. 

[Ida]

If it not only is from a health standpoint isn't it then more of a political/religious topic of moralty? 

[nbolt]

I personally view veganism as a required step towards higher consciousness / awareness. One of the core consequences of the no-self philosophy is that compassion and love are supposed to become extremely high priority principles, and you can't claim to have attained that while still contributing to the largest genocide (both ethically and ecologically) of our planet's history.

[7cupsofcoffee]

I think it's a great topic to start your preparations with  for the journey ahead. There is definitely a correlation to the food we eat and the characteristic qualities that we develop from it. I too would like to know more about this topic. 

 

There is references made with regards to this in the Bhagavad Gita,I'd like to mention here. 

[plantbased passion]

i don't think leo is vegan..

[nbolt]

5 minutes ago, plantbased passion said:

i don't think leo is vegan..

He is not.

[Brandini]

I think it would be an interesting topic. I've heard stories of personal development turning vegetarians into meat eaters and vice versa. Personally, I feel you can't place a moral opinion on it without hindering yourself.

 

Just need to go eat what your body tells you that it wants. It's how I gave up milk and most junk food

[Ida]

I bacame vegan three years ago after being vegetarian since 13 years old. I did it because I love animals and I find it cruel to exploit and murder anyone. I started to hang out with likeminded people and they are usually reeealy rational ateists debatting and fighting for animals everywhere. And my impression is that it's not a very spiritual thing to engage in. I became vegan because I felt like a good and right person. And it doesn't feel very spiritual. I love the video of Leo on human beliefs and the video on how we lie, I think they are very relevant to this topic. 

I agree with you Brandini, that it probably are hindering oneself to take a moral belief. But sure I would love to hear Leo's opinion.

[Leo Gura]

If I ever commit to being a vegan, I might discuss it. But I haven't made that commitment yet.

I will shoot some more videos about good nutrition though.

[Davidorf]

I've been a vegan for 3 months now. It has been one of the most profound decisions that I made. 

So, I just want to bring a bit of awareness to this topic and if you really read/watch some of the things I suggest you will have more than enough reasons to make a change.

There are 3 big reasons:

1. Veganism is the healthiest diet that we know of. It keeps you away from cholesterol, heart disases, diabetes; vegans do get enough or more than enough of protein - watch Forks Over Knives for more info on this

2. Being vegan is ethical. Being vegan is caring for other beings. Being vegan is having a high conscious - watch Earthlings for more info

3. Veganism is the only sustainable way that is going to give us an opportunity to live a bit longer on this planet. If you consider yourself an environmentalist, then you have to adopt a vegan lifestyle. 51% of greenhouse gas emissions come from meat and dairy industry - watch Cowspiracy for more info on that

 

Being a vegan today is a choice but if we continue like this for 50 more  years it will be a necessity. Don't be lazy and make a change that will keep you and others happy and healthy.

Wish you all the best!

 

Edited February 8, 2016 by Davidorf

[Truth Seekah]

 

Edited May 7, 2017 by Ganesh Sundaram

[Paul Deeb]

I am a bit new to Leo's videos. I found him while researching mindfullness and NLP. He does not seem focused on ethics as a proper philosopher would be. He is more of a self-help coach.

Personally I don't trust any philosopher who is not a strong atheist and a vegan. These two subjects are just so simple to understand to not be either shows a profound amount of self-delusion and cognitive dissonance.

[Edvard]

@Paul Deeb I have long considered me among athiests, but I have never commited to call myself that, neither do I do it now. I take Neil deGrasse Tyson's point of view, stating that the only "-ist" he is is a scientist. It doesn't make sense to go out stating there is no god, nobody knows. Of course, that doesn't mean the chance of there being one is 50/50, but the question is irrelevant in this regard. Furthermore, the existence of a god is not even scientifically impossible. Philosophers have good reasons to suspect that we are in a simulation. Couldn't the creator(s) of this simulation then be the very definition of a deity god?

When it comes to veganism, how are the morals here simple? Animals suffer every moment not only because of humans, but all around nature. Of course, that alone doesn't justify causing suffering, but if you are concerned about humans putting a quick bullet through a non-knowing animal's head without any pain (having lived a life because of human agriculture), you should probably rather be more concerned about snakes and cheetahs attacking antilopes. To me, what should matter is suffering. We kill for food, and the science of the health benefits of a vegan diet is not conclusive. Yes, vegans on average tend to be healthier, but that's mostly because they are more conscious of what they eat, while avoiding synthesized meat. We evolved to eat vegatables AND meat, and while the future may be meat free (and that is not a bad thing if achieved), eating meat is natural and if we don't shoot that moose, it may be scratched up to a slow death by a wolf anyway. If you choose to be vegan, fine, but I'm not onboard with your moralization of it (although if a farm causes suffering to their animals I get it, but that's no argument for not eating meat by principle). 

Edited June 27, 2017 by Edvard

[krazzer]

I find vegan people to be very dogmatic. Certainly not all of them but many of them I know are very preaching to others and on a crusade to turn everyone to their own point of view.

Here's a bold statement: Killing animals for food isn't good or bad in and of itself. It's always an opinion. 

I myself try too eat as little beef and pork as possible. I eat meat every other day and mostly chicken. Chicken because it has the least impact on the environment and I want to raise my own chickens for meat in the future. Chicken is also the best meat for your health and it makes it easy for me to get enough protein and vitamin-b.

I also eat fish for the health benefits. Mostly sardines and herring (much of it here in the Netherlands) for environmental reasons.

And for egotistical reasons: I can stand the thought of killing a fish or a chicken way better than a cow or a horse!

But I don't like the guilt that the crusaders try to put on others (which will make the meat-lovers more resistant anyway)