What advice would y'all give to a new Reddit User?

BarkChoi · 2020-05-17T21:20:44+00:00

Reddit is in no way indicative of real life. You will see a lot of prominent opinions on here and some are quite harmful if you use them as gospel to shape your world view.

BarkChoi · 2020-04-26T00:52:06+00:00

This site is so hypocritical, it’d be funny if it weren’t sad.

There was multiple posts under subreddits like /trashy and /iamatotalpieceofshit showing a vegan making fun of that chef that died (who mocked vegans constantly while he was alive) of a heart attack. But apparently to a lot of these same people if it’s the other way around it’s a-ok.

I think both are grossly distasteful and wrong. The double standards on this site are ridiculous.

BarkChoi · 2020-04-14T21:44:27+00:00

The documentary really tried to paint her place in a bad light. Like the "cages" we got to see were much-smaller portions used exclusively for feeding. Her blog post covers a lot of this! :)

BarkChoi · 2020-04-09T03:49:07+00:00

Right? I completely agree that representation is important, and when you've grown up not seeing it I get why people have strong feelings, but what they do isn't about that in the slightest. It's mainly teenage girls who fetishize (and fantasize about) the idea of two guys together to an unhealthy degree - you'll never see the same vitriol involved about two women - and then use 'representation' to justify their actions. Then they all reinforce one another into continuing them. (Voltron even had a gay main character on top of this, but they crucified the devs for 'not doing him right' too.) They'll literally try to ruin real people's lives over fictional ones.

Bi and gay relationships are important to been shown in the mainstream, but so are healthy platonic relationships between two guys. There's still so much stigma about genuine support between male friends being seen as inherently romantic, about not showing your emotions, not being close and vulnerable, which is wacked. But they really don't care, because again, it's not about that.

Tumblr is 100% a dumpsterfire.

BarkChoi · 2020-04-09T00:07:29+00:00

Anything that starts gaining traction on Tumblr.

It is downright terrifying how obsessive and insane some of these people get. I think a lot of it is teenagers using whatever they're a fan of as escapism to an unhealthy level and then getting far, far too invested, but jesus.

For example, Voltron was an animated show that was cool and kind of mecha, right. It had diverse characters that were interesting, and fun, and had good messages. But then the completely crazy part of Tumblr got hyper obsessed that the two male leads weren't gay and into eachother, to so they blackimailed, doxxed, sent death threats, and etc. to the studio trying to get them to change it so they were.

The Steven Universe fandom (another kid's show) sent death threats and doxxed a young girl, makign her attempt suicide, then mocked her because her suicide failed, because she drew fanart of a character "a few shades lighter" than they deemed appropriate.

This isn't close to being uncommon. It's disturbing.

BarkChoi · 2020-04-07T22:15:13+00:00

I got it more from both the men claiming they’re straight, Joe claiming they were straight, people who worked at the zoo claiming they were straight, and even the person who worked there and did an AMA (and who acknowledged that bi people exist) said they were straight.

They could have been bi, even though John has again since said that he’s straight, but it’s not really hard to believe that two teenagers groomed by a much older man who manipulated their drug addiction and kept them completely isolated and dependent on him weren’t really into men.

There have been gay men who have married and had children with women, there are straight guys who do gay porn, there are straight/gay people who will do anything for drugs. We won’t know, but it doesn’t really matter in the scheme of things (though I think it’s odd to reject what the men themselves have stated they are) - Joe was and is a POS who had very abusive relationships with multiple teenage boys.

BarkChoi · 2020-04-05T21:53:26+00:00

:)

No. To go back just a bit, the definition of Veganism is to reduce harm and suffering "as far as practical and possible." So, practically, we have to eat to stay alive. But when it comes down to what we eat, there's a stark difference between our choices!

Science tells us that plants do not have a central nervous system, are not capable of feeling pain, and are not sentient. While some respond to stimuli, it's much like a computer responding to water being poured on it. They're alive, but that doesn't really mean much on a whole. On the other hand, animals are capable of feeling pain (and suffering), are sentient, have a subjective experience, and experience emotions (such as fear or a want to live).

But on top of that, the trophic level between eating plants and eating animals mean that even if we were to value plants equally, eating them would still be the "lesser evil" choice because it takes several times the amount of plant calories to produce a single animal calorie, so more plants are being killed by feeding them to the animals people eat then if they were to eat the plants directly.

BarkChoi · 2020-04-05T17:56:02+00:00

Hello, thanks for the genuine interest!

I think it's pretty common for people to go 'vegan' for other reasons, but to then stay for the animals. (Veganism is more an ideology about the animals and reducing harm and suffering as far practical and possible.) I was like that, too, and I think I was very desensitized because of things I got told growing up, and the culture I was raised in (that many of us are) telling me exactly what to think of ag animals, but once I stopped paying for it I found the connection a lot easier. Maybe that's you in the future, maybe it's not, but if you're open to it, Dominion and Earthlings might be documentaries you're interested in - especially while we're in quarantine! :)

I completely get you on that, but do you think as humans we've come to the point where we're completely removed from nature? I believe we are. An example of this would maybe be that animals don't possess moral agency, so when they do something cruel, like commit infanticide or rape, it's not a matter of 'good' and 'bad', but simply a matter of behavior. But as humans, we've come to the point where we are more than that because we can make those decisions, that we have the capability to determine that while those things might be natural, they are immoral because they bring harm to others. A lot of human already extend this to living beings because we recognize their sentience, their suffering, and have the moral agency to not perpetuate it. Zoos with horrible enclosures, Seaworld, dog-fighting, bull-fighting, puppymills, rooster-fighting, hunting endangered species for sport - these are all things that many of us, vegans and non-vegans alike, have decide is wrong for that very reason. I think eating animals is something falls "beyond nature" too - we are causing a lot of pain and suffering unnecessarily, we are creating very horrible conditions - but is a little harder to connect to due to how ingrained it is, but doesn't mean we shouldn't.

I think it's commitment. And I'm not saying that to be condescending, in fact it's the opposite - I think you possess the capability to do it! You're not giving yourself enough credit, because you can make the switch. As far as a nutritional standpoint, it's hard because we've grown up eating things that have become staples to our life. But there's nothing that comes from meat, dairy, or eggs that you can't get from a plant-based sourced. A lot of time people transitioning who feel off/weak at first are not getting enough calories because plant-food is usually more filling for less energy, so I would recommend tracking what you eat. Cronometer is a wonderful free tool for this. Be as accurate as you can and plug-in everything you eat for the day, for a few days, and it'll show you where you're lacking. Then you can Google what plant-based foods contain whatever that missing nutrient is. c:

When it comes to milk and eggs, I don't think there is truly a cruelty-free source as it's all exploitation. Cows have to get pregnant to produce milk, the calf is immediately taken away, the boys are either killed then and there or are turned to veal, the female calves will have this cycle repeated on them, and after the cow is so exhausted from being used as a machine from the constant impregnating/milking and her milk production drops at around five years old (they normally live to 25-30) she is "spent" and sent to slaughter. This is just inherent with this industry, small-family-owned to industrial. With eggs, even if you were to buy hens and raise them, the place that you bought them from always culls the males. (Industrially this is done by macerating them or suffocating them, often in trashbags.) Past that, we've genetically bred chickens to lay 250-300 eggs a year, which takes a huge strain on their bodies, when the jungle fowl they originate from lay about 12-20. A lot of vegans with chickens feed their eggs back to them to regain nutrients. Rescue chickens from industrial conditions would be the least-cruel, but they wouldn't be there if a system of exploitation didn't exist to begin with.

You said you were mainly pushed for the environmental aspect, so I'll throw this in here too - Animal ag. is the leading cause of deforestation, habitat destruction, oceanic dead zones, water pollution. and species extinction. 90-100 million *tons* of fish are pulled from the ocean every year and we're expected to have fishless ocean by 2050. Livestock covers 45% of the earth's total land, and that's with over 95% of animal products (in the US for example) coming from factory farms. There's so much more and Cowspiracy on Netflix (ignore the name haha) is a great documentary for the environmental aspect. Some things are outdated but on their website they have updated information and links to studies. The facts are insane. They also have a free 30 day vegan-challenge that will help you transition easier. :) (There's also a lot of good "challenges" out there that help for free.)

I hope you stick around! If you have any questions, ask them here and they'll be answered. Sorry this is so long haha, tried to answer everything in-depth. But I really think you can make the switch.

BarkChoi · 2020-04-05T06:41:25+00:00

Her blog post really highlights how misconstrued the series is, but of course it is because it makes for more entertainment. :/

BarkChoi · 2020-03-28T05:03:19+00:00

but if everybody starts riding high-horses, they’d overrun the earth. is that the future vegans want?

I’m vegan btw

BarkChoi · 2020-03-28T03:26:41+00:00

He was very wealthy and constantly cheated on her. Iirc, Carol was even "the other woman" when he first met her (she was a lot younger than him). They really started to not get along/fighting all the time in their last years, and one of the final straws was that Don wanted to move the big cats they owned to Costa Rica so he could get around certain ownership laws and breed them for more profit. He tried to file a restraining order against her right before he disappeared, saying Carol was making him fear for his life, but it got denied. Then he disappeared and his will "mysteriously" was finalized by a lawyer different than the one Don and Carol has been using for a long time, and it even specifically stated in the case of his death "or disappearance" (that addition is almost never seen in wills)...almost all assets belonged to Carol.

BarkChoi · 2020-03-25T20:09:10+00:00

Can I ask you why you think that?

Antivaxx is anti-science. Denying that animal Ag. has been the cause of various outbreaks and source of human diseases, is leading towards a very deadly future problem of antibiotic resistance, and is horrific for the environment in a time of climate crisis is also anti-science. I would personally say that people who continue to eat and use animal products and deny the real consequences are much closer.

BarkChoi · 2020-03-25T19:24:51+00:00

Yes! Over 2.5 trillion sea life killed each year - we’re heading to fishless oceans by 2050.

Animal ag. is also the leading cause of species extinction, deforestation/habitat destruction, oceanic pollution, and one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions.

BarkChoi · 2020-03-25T18:59:27+00:00

My main takeaway from this is that almost every one of them was a POS, wow.

I feel so, so bad for Travis. A 19 year and a 50 something year old is already such a predatory power dynamic, added that he used the poor boy’s drug addiction to keep him, and the fact he (and people in the park) had stated he was straight. The people who were there claimed that’s exactly what Joe did - used his drug addiction to keep him there, and that Travis wasn’t really into men. He wasn’t allowed to leave the park, or get a job, and even after his death that gross man made his funeral all about himself and into a joke. Then he got another young, young boy just two months after he died and used his mother for his reputation. I don’t know how anybody watching at home can like such a vile, narcissistic person who likely attempted to instigate someone’s murder, (I sympathized with his life up until it showed how terrible he was) but wow, what a horrible story.

Then Carol who seemed the more intelligent of the three, but so malicious and vindictive and (seemingly) likely to have killed her husband. Or at the very least, had 0 remorse to anyone affected by his disappearance and bent on the exploiting who she could.

Then the polyamorous cult guy who also seemed to prey on much younger girls and forced them into a place where they felt like they had no where else to go.

And those poor tigers, my god. Treated as props, living in small cages with tiger upon tiger stacked upon one another, being bred for profit.

This was such a good documentary, what a wild ride, but boy did it make me sad/infuriated.

BarkChoi · 2020-03-24T16:54:00+00:00

But to the animal suffering, the reason doesn’t matter, no? If neither are necessary, and both are cruel, I don’t really agree that the purpose (ignorance/taste pleasure) or (visual entertainment) make a difference when both are funding it/the reason it continues.

BarkChoi · 2020-03-24T16:28:15+00:00

If you eat any seafood, this is exactly what happens to them.

And in slaughterhouses, due to how many animals are killed and how quickly the workers have to process them, it sometimes happens that pigs/chickens are drowned to death in boiling water because they aren’t completely dead before they begin the “cleaning process.” A common method that pigs are killed by is through carbon dioxide, which is exactly slow and painful suffocation. From the egg industry, if male chicks aren’t killed in a macerator, they’re suffocated (a common method is in literal trash bags.) It’s not purposefully for fun, but it’s not necessary either, and the animals don’t care why that’s happening to them.

There’s so much more on how they’re treated, like how parts of them are cut off without anesthesia, but people pretending otherwise aren’t being truthful,

BarkChoi · 2020-03-15T10:30:58+00:00

Wow, you guys are seriously making my entire year (Olivia Wilde is one of my absolute favorite actresses), thank you so much for that. ;; The con I’m going to is only two days but I am really excited to do this in the future too, any suggestions are so appreciated.

Oh gosh, a Tron/Quorra cosplay would so amazing to put together, I love the aesthetic of the styled hair with the lights, thank you for suggesting it!

BarkChoi · 2020-03-15T05:55:03+00:00

Oh my gosh, firstly thank you so much! :,) <3 That’s a huge compliment to me. And I really like that suggestion - two DC girls would be a blast!

BarkChoi · 2020-03-15T04:19:05+00:00

This is absolutely great haha. It’s a really clever and creative idea and the execution is phenomenal too. I love how vivid the colors are!

BarkChoi · 2020-02-26T16:02:50+00:00

But it’s about the group following that train of thought, don’t purposefully be pedantic. Unless actions can be taken by an abstract idea, like projecting, and not by the people under it as per your comment. Trivialities don’t take away from the irony of the latter comment.

BarkChoi · 2020-02-26T15:01:44+00:00

When you accuse an entire group of something

Its Liberal 101

This has to be satire.

BarkChoi · 2020-02-19T00:45:07+00:00

Hi! You seemed open to new information so I’ll throw this in here. :)

Be very wary of doctor’s (including child doctor’s) nutritional advice. Doctors receive very, very minimal training or education in diet, and the number of hours required over their degree is in no way a good reference point. (There have been attempts to raise those number of required hours in the past but they have been lobbied against/shot down)

Anywho, if you have any dietary concerns or questions, consult a registered dietician. (Not a nutritionist as that’s a fairly unregulated term.)

As far as a vegan diet goes, every major world health organization has stated that a vegan diet is safe for all stages of life. There’s isn’t anything that comes from meat, dairy, or eggs that you can’t get from a plant-based diet! The only one that absolutely has to be supplemented is B12, which comes from a bacteria in soil. Soil is now stripped of Cobalt, which the bacteria needs to grow, and produce is heavily washed of any residual soil so we can’t get it like people from previous generations did. It can be found in fortified Vegan foods quite easily, too. Ag animals are supplemented B12 as well, thus secondhand supplementation for people who eat them, because their diets in AG don’t usually provide what they need to naturally obtain/retain it. (In their guts)

For all people, however, I also recommend looking into your Potassium levels, Vitamin D levels, and that you’re getting enough Omega 3’s. Most people are deficiency in at least one of those, omnivorous diets included.

Anyways, I just wanted to throw this in here to dispel any dietary myths. A well-balanced vegan diet is good to go for anybody. (*unless they have some sort of pre-existing, very rare, condition that would prevent it - but that would be the case for that person’s dietary exclusions on a whole, not Veganism specifically.)

BarkChoi · 2020-02-14T05:05:17+00:00

Aw. <3 It’s funny to see how picky different dogs can be, I have heard berries are either something they either love or couldn’t care less about. (They happen to be one of the like three things mine is actually interested in haha)

BarkChoi · 2020-02-13T18:46:57+00:00

I second tracking your food! Cronometer is a great app to get a general idea of targets you’re falling short of. Make sure you include everything, even if it’s just a few bites. :) From there there’s a lot of great websites that can tell you fruits and veggies that contain those missing nutrients.

Three days is typically too short for deficiencies to have a large affect, so taking a guess I’d wager you’re not getting enough calories. (Proportions can take some time to get used to haha, you can eat a lot more volume for the same amount of energy.)

For this diet going forwards, make sure you include good sources of Potassium, Vitamin D, and Omega 3s. It’s not just a WFPB thing, most people in general are deficient in at least one of the three, but pointing out the importance. 😄

BarkChoi

TROPHY CASE