Influenced by mass marketing?!
What I was wondering was if kids really knew the truth about the cruelty and propaganda that groups like PETA spread and take part in would so many of them be trying to act "cool" by being a vegan/veg.? Also do you think Peta, ALF or any of the others had a part in your becoming veg and if you knew how undesirable those groups are would you still have become veg?
Answers: O.k. so this is a serious question for all you vegan/vegies so please don't hate on me and give me crap for asking. I'm a meat eater but I see add campains from PETA etc all the time. I also see celebrities talk about veganism/vegeism a lot. recently I've been hearing younger people talking about becoming a veg because of seeing/hearing these people/groups and thinking it's a "cool" thing to do.
What I was wondering was if kids really knew the truth about the cruelty and propaganda that groups like PETA spread and take part in would so many of them be trying to act "cool" by being a vegan/veg.? Also do you think Peta, ALF or any of the others had a part in your becoming veg and if you knew how undesirable those groups are would you still have become veg?
I understand where your coming from because, as a strict vegetarian even though I support animal rights I don't necessarily support everything that PETA does. And yes lots of celebrities are becoming veggie and young people think its cool but not all young people are vegetarians because its cool. Lots of veggies (including me!!!) have other very legitimate reasons and even though PETA are extremists a lot of what they say is true. For me eating meat is morally unacceptable and unhealthy but i didn't think the vegetarianism is for everybody. But if you think about it what isn't influenced by propaganda and celebrities? Fashion, dance crazes even music there are people who do it simply because they like it and there are people who are just following the crowd.
Well there are extremists everywhere. I didn't become veg. because it was cool, believe it or not, it's not as easy as it sounds, you become a minority and people are pretty aggressive.
I became vegetarian because of the impact on our environment that most farming causes. Not all, most.
Also because I don't believe that we should be feeding cows the grain that should be going to starving nations. We are getting fat, and others are dying of starvation.
I also dislike that these corporate farmed animals are made to eat toxic pesticides, antibiotics and hormones,,,,I wont eat that crap.
There are so many people who focus on PETA, but they are so small compared to the factory farms. I don't know much about PETA...I don't really care to, I research, and find out what I am supporting by purchasing certain things...then decide if I can live with those decisions, meat was something that I had to give up.
EDIT TO ADD: And as for young people, well, I think that looking into their diets are probably a very good thing. Anything to get them to open their minds and be broader thinkers...what harm?
i see what you are saying, but peta is not the only decising factor in being a vegetarian,
And considering how much the meat industry has forced meat, I think is a person, choses to do research about their food and then make a good choice that is great.
todays kids are a lot smarter then before, they quesiton many things: health, food politics, cruelty, care, economical affects, global issues. all of which show that being a vegetarian, is good for health, animal and the world at large!
I do not support peta! I am vegan.
Edit:- let me ask you, do you think people eat meat, so much more now because of mass marketing? count how many fast food commericals you see on tv every day?
If you have any more questions please feel free to ask.
i agree with you that being a vegetarian is becoming more marketed. i think people are forgetting that it is a choice that is not made to make you popular but is a choice to improve your health and also help animals. but i also think that all the marketing may be good because it gets the word out. over the past few years alone i've seen more resturaunts with vegetarian entrees and more veggie food in the grocery store. as long as people make this choice with the right intentions i don't believe that all this marketing is a bad thing.
I'm a veg. and I personally find that PETA and people that become a veg. because it is fashionable are annoying. I became a veg. at the age of 10 and had no idea that PETA even existed. I was also not aware of any celebrities who were veges. At that age all I knew was that animals were cute and I didn't want to eat them. Had I been aware of PETA and how annoying it was, I probably still would have become a veg. because the idea of eating an animal grossed me out that much. I think that if kids knew about how annoying PETA is, some would still become veg. because it is in style. I've met many veg. who went back to eating meat once they felt it was passe.Others would become a veg. because it is what they believe is right and those are the ones who will probably stay veg. I hope that answers your questions.
I fully admit that some members/elements of both PETA and ALF can be both extremist and unsavory for a number of reasons. At the same time they raise awareness for animal rights, animal abuse and related issues in a way that no other groups have. Therefore they're providing important services.
I'm not a donor/member of either organization nor would I ever be. They're both groups that I can neither outright condemn nor endorse.
That said, I came to vegetarianism when I began studying Buddhism some years ago and discovered the concept of Ethical Vegetarianism, which some Buddhists practice. It is based on the idea that all life is to be respected, including that of animals, and therefore we should not kill them for food. It made sense to me and I transitioned into vegetarianism over the next few months.
Obviously if you have seen many ad campaigns by PETA and you see celebrities talking about veganism/vegetarianism all the time, you are more than likely searching for it online. I almost never see anything about PETA, the ALF, or vegan/vegetarian news unless I actively seek it out.
What's wrong with kids thinking vegetarianism is cool? Its better for health, for the environment, and for the animals. You know we are in a crazy time when the norm is disease-prone diets that cause immense suffering.
I think that kids thinking vegetaranism is cool is vane because it's completely warping what vegetarianism is all about. And I think celebrities became vegetarian for marketing purposes, like those 'Got Milk' celeb advertisements or even those shoe advertisements. I don't want a celeb marketing something they know nothing about.
There are extremists for every cause.
My vegetarian lifestyle is a personal choice and no group or person can tell me that eating meat is a good idea.
well I'm fourteen, and I am a vegetarian who wants to go vegan. But NOT because of any mass marketing. I did it on my own account because of something I saw. And no I do not fully support PETA but some of the things I do.
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Um..."mass marketing" applies to the mutli BILLION dollar meat and dairy corporations which bombard us with ads, and are even so entangled with our government that milk ads are plastered in public school cafeterias, influencing children from early on that it's healthy and entirely natural to drink the pus-filled mammary-secretions of another species.
I really don't know what "cruelty" a meat eater could be trying to call PETA out for, isn't this somewhat hypocritical?
I'm sorry you think most vegetarians are making major lifestyle changes to be "cool", you'll find that these types of people aren't veg for very long. The vast majority of us do it because it's natural, healthier, and we don't wish to fund animal torture.