wow...the comments section is even sadder than the article basing the whole story on 2 restos that changed their menu....

this whole top of the food chain bit - give me a break!...yeah i could eat a cockroach 'cause i'm bigger and stronger than it, but that would just make me a caveman, excuse me cavegirl, scavenger.

fyi enviro types it take 20 acres to feed you annually compared to 1 acre for us veggie folk...consider your footprint if nothing else.

This thread has reminded me why I tend to avoid reading the comments.

If half of you took the time to read any articles on global food shortages and considered how your eating habits effect this trend you might think before comment.

As sookieyama rightfully pointed out, feeding an animal for years is a waste of land and energy. Not to mention that the methane gas that your steak farts and burps out throughout it's lifetime.

If you want to understand why some people are vegetarians check out "The Way We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matter". Plenty of vegetarians like or love meat but choose a vegetarian lifestyle after they realize the baggage that eating meat carries.

the simple rule is: if you feel good eating meat, then go eat meat. if you don't feel good eating meat, then don't eat it.

and if you don't feel good looking at others eating meat/not eating meat, then it's time for you to learn how to feel good so that you don't think like a stupid fucking idiot.

sorry about the last phrase. but i had to.

Who cares? Let 'em eat their 'organic' meat and die of colon cancer at 60. People that dumb deserve to die young.

Humans naturally need a sense of morality. It could be a simple as helping an old lady across the street, returning a wallet full of money, giving to charity, etc. The elevated sense of self from the actions of doing good feels better than the actual action itself.

Vegetarianism is more closely related to culture and religion, rather than pure logistics or the politics of eating meat. Realistically, vegetarianism barely makes a dent in the number of animals killed for food.

The reasons people choose to be vegetarian are cultural. It's like any other culture. Every culture has its own key attire (concert t-shirt), music (indie rock), activities (yoga), rituals (potlucks), world views (democratic party), theism (agnostic) and of course, key culinary staples (tofu and soy). Even though it's a sub-culture (culture within a culture), we should respect it like any other culture.

Because it's not a respected subculture, some vegetarians feel attacked, and tend to impose their personal views of morality on others who do not share their cultural beliefs. The problem is hastened when vegetarians try to "logic" their way through a debate, where double-standards are easily found (for example, a vegetarian photographer who smokes and wears leather boots). An orthodox could technically say someone is not really a jew or catholic or whatever religion if they have tattoos or have sex before marriage, for example, but we know that's not the case.

Vegetarians should instead feel proud of their belief and (sub)religion as simply that. There's no reason to have to justify one's beliefs. These idealogical conflicts, just like any other cultural conflict, change no one's mind on either side. But vegetarians, like non-vegetarians, have to respect that everyone is different as well.

Thanks for the Sociology-101-pat-on-the-back, Mr. REALITY CHECK, but for most animal advocates I know, it's not a religion any more than civil rights, feminism, or gay rights are religions.

It's not about faith or a belief in something spiritual. It is a legitimate social justice movement. It's not just about "me and my opinions" vs "you and your opinions". There is a valid perspective left out of the equation entirely: That of the animal. Every animal has a will to live that is just as strong as yours and mine and that exists entirely outside of what you choose to believe.

I sense a bit of defensiveness in your response, Joshua. Re-read my comment again. Take a deep breath. Concentrate. Work on the "empathy" part of your brain, this gives the ability to see other points of view. It hurts the mind at first but I recommend trying it out.

Yes, *of course* vegetarians believe it's a social justice movement with all their hearts. (This is insulting to actual civil rights movements, but that's another topic. Interesting you said this on MLK day.)

If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's probably a duck. So that means vegetarianism is a morality. A "culture." (Okay maybe not a duck, a Tofurky.) The grasping at straws to try to legitimize it as anything other than a culture ALWAYS draws heated and pointless debate, because it's impossible.

IT'S OKAY that it's a culture. Embrace it as a culture and watch the anger melt away. We live in a society that is supposed to be accepting of people who are different and have different beliefs. This goes for *both* meat-eaters and vegetarians. Live with each other in peace.

Just cuz they have a will to live doesn't mean they don't sometimes end up as lunch.

Really? I had no idea people ate animals all the time...

Ultimately, though, you have to believe that the perspective of the (other) animal is significant. Most people are nihilists in this regard. Indeed, if dropped into a culture where cannibalism and slavery were accepted, they would accept them. To change people's minds about something like meat, you first have to overcome that massive blind indifference, and that seems to occur only as a sort of emotional or intuitive jump -- a religious experience, one might say.

HOW FRESH CAN DEAD BE ANYWAY? (Sorry folks, I'm just saying ...)

The next thing they'll be telling us is that "fresh is out."

People who make claims like this are the same ones who said rock was dead in the early 70's. Yawn....

it's not. That's why prefer still kicking, or moving. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWwUd3KOGuw

Please check out the response I wrote to this ridiculous article in the NY Press here: http://www.thediscerningbrute.com/2010/01/13/meat-pride-revisited-ny-press-flesh-mob/

The surge of meat-pride in a culture that is already overwhelmingly meat-centric is bizarre to say the least.

If only these folks would simply admit they are selfish and don't give a crap about animals or the environment and stop scrambling to make excuses and justifications, we wouldn't have to have this conversation. It's an admittance of guilt.



“Humane” or not, livestock are contributing the single greatest source of greenhouse gases in the world (According to the UN and World Wacth Institute)! But in the realm of short-term self-gratification, this does not factor in.

One thing we know for sure is that in almost every single case, an animal will not willingly subject him or herself to the customs of the slaughterhouse. They want to live and they want to avoid suffering, and this is demonstrated in their own behavior, not in a person’s belief. If animal advocacy were a religion based in personal belief and blind faith, as opposed to a very real social justice, scientific, and advocacy movement, it would conveniently suit the trendy-meat subscribers.

Can you imagine a rapist standing over his victim and proclaiming, “You had a very happy life up until this point, and I am totally at peace with what I am about to do to you.” It’s preposterous. The same can be said in any case of exploitation, because clarity is simply that. It does nothing for the victim.

The whole "I witness therefore it's OK" philosophy is a bunch of crap.

I will cook you and eat you if I see you.

that's a really brilliant point you've made.

I haven't eaten red meat in almost 20 years. But I still eat poultry & fish. Do you care? No. Do I care what you eat? No.

I don't understand all of these preachy comments vis a vis eating or not eating meat. The bottom line is that different bodies need different things. The veggie diet that works for one person may malnourish another. There's enough variety here in the city, in both restaurants & food stores, to satisfy everyone. So whether you're a meat-eater, a vegetarian, or what the fuck ever, who gives a shit? Life's short. Eat what makes you happy & live your life. End of story.

Blame "Avatar". If a race of beings living completely in tune with nature can eat meat, and be skinny and athletic to boot, why can't we?

Of course, for their meat they hunt the animal down and thank it for it's sacrifice; they don't buy factory-farmed mystery meat from a fast food joint. So for wannabe Na'vi quality/organic/grass-fed/etc. meat's the next best thing.

i wonder why NYC has the most vegan/vegetarian restaurants in the world? i am vegetarian, healthy and proud. for all of you that make such silly, uneducated comments towards a healthy lifestyle and glamorize meat consumption are just plain ridiculous. in the end it won't matter, the joke will be you and your colon. fools.

i like evil_seitan's point of view, but I also have to say i wonder if with this new meat trend (it's a little concerning that what we put into our bodies is a trend) we will also see a heart disease, colon cancer, illness and obesity trend as well.

ha! one lackluster vegetarian restaurant in the outer boroughs (with an always-crowded Manhattan equivalent) flops, a few too many fence-sitting semi-vegs who likely ate animal rennet cheese and got copies of Omnivores Dilemma, plus the endless bacon meme, and now vegetarianism is dead?

judging by the type of comments we've got here everyone is well represented: political vegetarians, angry, toxins-racked carnivores, and no major comment from the rest of us who are happy about what we eat, especially here in NYC, with it's wide diversity of food.

PUKK sure wasn't dead tonight, we got the last seat.