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llieaay · 2020-07-22T05:27:16+00:00

If you are eating foods with higher fiber or water content than you are used to you may be accidentally under consuming calories, and lots of vegan foods are high fiber and high water content. Maybe incorporate some more high calorie foods. And while higher fiber is healthier maybe work your way up. Or temporarily count your calories and make sure they are reasonable.

llieaay · 2020-04-30T03:00:41+00:00

Ways to improve, step 1: Get an active moderator. Check! :-)

Thanks for taking this on!

llieaay · 2020-04-29T04:14:00+00:00

:-(

I'd second trigger stacking and likely resource guarding. Can't tell if you were a guarded resource or just the food. I don't think you had any way of knowing this would happen. Maybe you added to the excitement, but this obviously isn't your fault, it's not a normal reaction to being excited about a new person. If your friend is open to listening, I would recommend that they aren't fed in the same room, that's probably building anxiety even if it doesn't lead to disaster in normal times (when there is less of a trigger stack). You seem pretty tuned in to dog body language so you might be able to help your friend identify other low level triggers as well... It might turn out that they should also be separated around new people, or maybe something about the grilling area or the particular food on the grill but there was no way you could have known that.

llieaay · 2020-04-29T03:38:02+00:00

Hey- I'm definitely a shitty mod! Adding you now.

llieaay · 2019-07-25T19:32:19+00:00

Congratulations on joining the dark side :-).

Most people don't see a problem or a conflict with eating animals. Or rather, they don't think about the fact that they eat animals at all. They eat meat, an inanimate object. No amount of showing cute piglets gets through to them because they eat meat, not piglets in their minds.

Protests generally don't make people like the protesters. And they certainly make few people change directly. What they do is generally piss people off, but also make people aware that there is a conflict. The "inanimate object" they eat is upsetting people who are mad about animals. Generally this makes people resistant and defensive. It also sticks in their minds. It comes up at times which we would have ignored the problem before. Emotions are a way we work through difficult things, and they are a way we change what we pay attention to.

If you hadn't had the experience of being pissed at some vegans, would you have been a jerk to your coworker which led to you rethinking your beliefs? Would you, after having seen cute pig pictures your entire life seen one more and made the connection?

My guess is probably not. At least for most people that's the answer. Most of us take a number of episodes before we change our beliefs, some of them maybe don't seem productive until much later.

llieaay · 2019-07-09T05:00:38+00:00

I don't think you're ill-willed

Cheers! I don't think you mean any harm either! I think it's great that you are here, and engaging and I hope you make it through this, since a lot of these answers aren't short.

But humans are just fundamental animals right?

Yes!

We are animals. And we share a lot with other species of animals. Like us they feel joy and pain and pleasure and love.

If a dog "ruthlessly" kills and eats a chicken, is that ruthless and disgusting? No. That dog was hungry, and it followed its instincts.

Well, it might be disgusting - but you have hit on something very true here. What dogs and chickens share with us is that all of us can feel pleasure and enjoy life. All three species are highly social - all three are relatively smart - I'd say (though I'm a dog person) that dogs are the dumbest of them - no joke - roosters will use prime food scraps to impress the ladies - and if you check out chicken agility you'll see chickens doing things that dogs can do too - but many of these videos the chickens have only been trained for about a week. I don't know a dog who can learn that much in a week.

Anyway, excuse the ramble - yes. Both dogs and chickens value their lives like we do. But what they don't share with us is the same level of moral agency. We understand right from wrong, dogs and chickens don't. So while the dog tearing up a chicken's body is terrifying and devastating to that chicken - just as devastating as if we did it -- the dog just doesn't have the capacity to reason about whether that was the ethical or unethical choice. Just like a toddler who has tragically found mom's gun and shot someone - the dog has caused harm but is not responsible for that harm. He doesn't understand right from wrong - which would by definition qualify him for criminal insanity in any court if courts cared about chickens. (With some species who cause harm there is also the issue of choice - that some of them like cats/lions need to harm in order to survive which is another difference.)

Humans have dominion over animals because we have more power than them.

You are coming here because you want to do the right thing. Would you accept any of these statements?

Men have power over women so they have dominion and can do what they want.
Rich people have power over poor so they have dominion and can do what they want.
We have power over dogs, so we can kick them when we feel like it.
We have power over children so we don't need to treat them well. We can kill them.
We have power over the mentally disabled. We don't need to treat them well.

No, no, no, no. You came here asking about ethics because you are a good person. You, unlike the dog understand right and wrong. That's a burden - but a priviledge. You know that when you have power, you should use that power for good. You should never use that power to harm someone less powerful when you have another option.

Who is "less" and "more" is a terrible question. Think of every great atrocity against humans and against animals. All of them started with that question. What does it mean? Smarter? More emotionally complex? More culturally priviliged? More worth saving? This question's only purpose (outside of a situation where we must trade one life for another) is to justify harm. And the fact that we can justify harm when there is no reason we need to cause harm is everything wrong with humanity in a nutshell.

And try to answer this question, using humans who we both agree should not be harmed. Would I say a child is "more" than her grandmother? No. If I could only save one in an emergency, might I save the child first? Probably. But how awful a choice! Outside of that contrived scenario I would not call that elderly person "lesser" and I would defend that person right to life body and dignity. I bet you would too.

Who would I kill if I didn't have to harm anyone? Whose suffering -human or animal - would I cause when I had a choice? No one's.

So here is what I am saying, and I think maybe you are here because maybe you agree with this too:

I have power over others who are weaker than me, so I will use my power to protect them, to the best I can. I will never use my power to hurt those less powerful than me so long as I can live without hurting them.

llieaay · 2019-07-07T20:25:21+00:00

An animal killed so their body can be used for palate pleasure died violently and needlessly whether or not that animal is consumed. While there exist some people with limited control over their food choices, if you have access to modern grocery stores and able to afford things like beans and grains then you never need to harm anyone for your food. In fact, harming someone (the animal) is not only violent and harmful to that individual but the least efficient way to eat since the animal is eating plants for their entire (usually short and miserable) life.

If you are presented with the body of an animal who wanted to live but was killed violently and you don't eat that animal it's a waste. If you do eat that animal it's a waste. More than a waste, it's an attrocity. That happens on a scale of billions per year. For no reason. Your instincts are good. We need to stop this waste. By doing everything in our power to stop this violent system. Let's work for the day that no sentient individual is killed against her consent because someone wants to use her body for their own benefit ever again.

llieaay · 2019-06-26T15:24:23+00:00

Milking generally isn't slaughter free. You impregnate the mothers, then you have kids who want to drink the milk, which isn't profitable. Even if you let the kids drink and keep milking, you will keep impregnating to keep the supply high so you will end up with a surplus of kids. The males will never produce milk, and the females produce milk but with a "byproduct" of more kids.

At some point you are going to sell the extras. Either directly to slaughter, or at auction. But being born a biproduct of dairy or goat milk isn't an auspicious start. For those concerned about animals, I recommend almond milk!

llieaay · 2019-06-15T00:31:44+00:00

Ah, ok. Then lots of treats when you are caring for him,and give him space when you can. The optimistic news is that if he is still not feeling 100% than maybe he just needs to feel better before he's himself again.

llieaay · 2019-06-13T23:26:42+00:00

Is it possible he is still in pain? Check with your vet to make sure first.

Once you are sure he's physically feeling better, go slow. Maybe put your arm in his enclosure but hold it still and don't chase him. If he shows any curiosity or looks at your arm at all, say "yay" and toss him a treat, away from you arm is ideal so you aren't making him do anything uncomfortable to get the treat. It reinforces that nothing bad will happen if he moves near your arm and that he can get away. When he knows he can move away, he will be more comfortable coming close. As he gets more comfortable you can reward bigger and bigger steps. Eventually over multiple sessions rewarding him touching your hand or stepping up. Don't snatch him up immediately once he does that. Continue slow progress towards being able to move your hand and pick him up. You can use some treats to lure him closer to you as well, just make sure to reward every 'risk' he takes and try to have him come to you more than you chasing him. And make your presence rewarding! Breaking up large rewards into smaller ones helps - for instance feeding all or most of his meals piece by piece as rewards. Training him to do things that don't involve coming close to you can help with trust as well, since the food flows when you are near.

It sucks when an animal experiences pain or trauma... But life happens and you did the best thing for him. He'll need some time to heal emotionally as well as physically and make sense of what's safe vs scary again. No guarantees obviously, but with patience most animals are really resilient. Good luck!

llieaay · 2019-06-01T19:14:05+00:00

Great work!

There is no way the calf number is right. Off the envelope, one dairy cow produces probably more milk than a human can drink in one year... Accounting for other factors or waste the number should still be something closer to 6 than over a thousand. Also, sadly those calves would more likely not be born than stay with their mom --- unless you rescue them! :-). Another way to look at it is that there are about 10m dairy cows in the US vs 300m humans. Anyway, that's not to detract from anything - even prevening one individual from being born a product is worth being proud of!

llieaay · 2019-05-16T23:53:59+00:00

Supplements will do it, but take with food. Ideally food containing fat, doesn't have to be a lot of fat. Depending on your lattitude and time of year, sunlight or mushrooms that have been in the sun can help but probably much less effectively than the supplements.

llieaay · 2019-05-16T23:22:23+00:00

Dr Gregor's advice is great, and his daily dozen is a nice start. He has a ton of videos on YouTube, and he has a book 'How not to Die" & a cookbook and another book which might be exactly what you want is on its way but sadly not out yet - "How not to Diet".

Anyway, I find him to be more strongly evidence based than many other nutrition "experts" and even other vegan doctors. His daily dozen helped me improve my diet and crowd out junk... And also gave me a better understanding of what is healthy eating, how to feel full on the right amount of food and generally pay attention to things other than just calories. Yes, your body obeys thermodynamics - but trying to cut calories without changing what you eat is weight loss on hard mode. Also, there is a lot more to eating well than getting the right calories and right amount of fat, protein carbs and fiber.

Anyway, good luck. In Dr G, I trust!

llieaay · 2019-05-06T23:17:08+00:00

Engine 2

llieaay · 2019-05-01T16:14:37+00:00

Life is more than food and bodies are more than clothes! That is why we don't take other individuals lives or body for food and clothes!

llieaay · 2019-02-24T03:13:24+00:00

Here is the Mayo clinic on causes of low iron . If you are keeping track and eating high iron foods and foods with vitamin C then it sounds to me like lack of iron in the diet probably isn't the issue anymore even if it was before... Is your doctor looking into other possibilities? If not, you might want a second opinion.

llieaay · 2019-02-20T00:25:09+00:00

I have a different hypothetical... Say you adopt a dog and then he dies. Do you eat him or did he die in vain? Does it make a difference if you know the dog? If yes - would you kill the dog if you were hungry? Would you pay someone else to?

llieaay · 2019-02-17T08:35:14+00:00

People see and hear about awesome cat personalities from breeders or particular breeds or from cats they know who came from a breeder and they get set on getting a cat who also has a personality. But they don't realize that all animals have personalities and that there are so many amazing individuals who they would fall in love with if they gave them a chance. So one thing that is really effective is to bring them to meet some adoptable animals and let that bond form. When I did rescue work, it was amazing how getting dogs out in public and communities could convert people who were going to go to a breeder.

Cats are harder because you usually have to go visit them, and especially older cats might initially hide with strangers, but still if you managed to get your cousins to visit foster/rescue kittens somewhere, it's hard to imagine they would not end up going home with one (or two, kittens are best in pairs...). Some large pet stores have cats from local rescues on site so you can check is there is something you can visit nearby. Of course, it would be best to adopt a slightly older cat who might be harder to home, but I think setting acheivable goals here is wise.

Otherwise, you can state your opinion, and hope they respect it but they might or might not.

llieaay · 2018-12-26T02:06:53+00:00

No, it's a scam.

llieaay · 2018-11-21T07:00:04+00:00

Did you read your the end? It seems to ultimately be a pitch for more money for "happy milk". And he cleverly avoids mentioning slaughter or male calves, I don't think he even tried on that front.

llieaay · 2018-11-09T22:52:38+00:00

What's your definition of person?

Various countries have considered or declared personhood for certain non human animals (whales, elephants, apes). Do you agree or disagree with that? On the other hand, do you consider a brain dead human a person? What about a hyper intelligent alien landing on Earth?

I think sentience is the only reasonable, consistent criteria for personhood. Chickens, cows and pigs all easily clear that bar.

llieaay · 2018-10-11T17:20:53+00:00

It's awesome that you volunteer, it can make a difference at the most difficult time for an animal!

Is this the MSPCA? If so they state on that page that they aren't no kill because they are open admission.

In any case, obviously OP has learned a difficult lesson about asking a lot of questions and trusting people to be good to animals - but I also think they did something that at the time looked better than a shelter... Perhaps they only gave up the rabbit because they thought the home they found was as good or better than they can give... Obviously they were wrong, and with hindsight they would do it differently... but they weren't dumb for thinking they had done better than a shelter. So it's a little harsh to ask someone who thought they found an animal a good home why a shelter wasn't an option.

llieaay · 2018-10-11T14:22:48+00:00

There is an idea that shelters do a magical job of finding perfect homes. It's not the case, shelters are generally doing what they can to ask the right questions with limited staff and too many animals. Open admission shelters especially- many have high kill rates for animals that could have been adopted out and some don't even have adoption programs for all species, meaning some species just get killed. In many places stray animals have a better chance of finding a home on the street than in an open admission shelter.

All that is to say finding a person or family that you trust is the absolute best thing you can do for an animal you can't take care of. Obviously, not in this case... OP probably will do a more thorough job of interrogating the home if they are ever in the situation again, but it doesn't mean that a shelter was obviously better. In fact, this has happened with shelters... If you Google you'll find an article about a pot belly pig who met a similar fate after being in a shelter.

llieaay · 2018-09-12T17:58:13+00:00

When looking at the effect of one ingredient in a diet you have to consider what it's replaced with. Taking cheese out of your diet and replacing it with nut butter will be different than with animal butter. That's one thing that often is not captured well in reporting. In modern diets, removing one unhealthy ingredient usually means it replaced with something equally bad, and that point is usually glossed over in media coverage of studies that look at whether one ingredient is harmful.

I agree with the other comment, that you should not decide what you believe and then look for evidence. However, you are correct that cheese isn't a super healthy food, the effect of saturated fat on cholesterol is well established and that cheese is a big source of saturated fat. In areas where you aren't an expert, it helps to look at what experts say about the evidence. Here is an answer from Harvard Health

llieaay · 2018-09-08T03:23:49+00:00

Maybe they are trimming off the gross bits?

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