Vegans
By LisaFairhurst on 07-05-2008
People generally become vegans based on either dietary concerns, moral grounds, or both. It’s becoming more common to be against any form of animal exploitation from fur coats to animal experimentation to raising animals to use their products. Some vegans also oppose pet ownership on the same grounds although most have no problem with pampering pets. Vegans concerned with animal welfare seem to be split between completely leaving animals alone, allowing nature to take its course, and being animal caretakers, backing off once an ecosystem is stable. The large number of domesticated animals which cannot survive in the wild is an issue.
Vegans tend to be very passionate in their beliefs. Sometimes the force of their belief will pull close friends and family members into the vegan fold. Vegans often view their beliefs as a form of religion and will proselytize whenever possible. Have you ever known any closet vegans? It seems like it would be very difficult to keep it a secret since food is the center of so much of society. In one sense it seems that vegans enjoy bucking societal standards.
Based on the vegans I’ve known, the types most likely to become vegans are (in order) Healers (INFP), Composers (ISFP), Champions (ENFP), and Entertainers (ESFP). Those least likely to be vegans are Rationals, Promoters (ESTP), and Crafters (ISTP). Vegans are more often female than male. Possible explanations are that women tend to be more compassionate regarding animals and men tend to enjoy and perhaps even need meat more than women. I’ve never known a Rational vegan, but I’m sure they must exist. Anyone out there know one?
I have a sister-in-law who is a Healer who went through a vegan phase. When she came out of it, I asked her what had changed. She replied that millions of years ago, people had to eat meat to survive. From an evolutionary standpoint, people are meant to eat meat. Of course, she is still very particular about where her meat comes from and how the animals have been fed and treated.
Any comments on vegans you’ve known including yourself?
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Posted by Malleeman on Jul 6, 2008
While my girlfriend and I (both INFPs) have talked about becoming vegetarian (because of the harm to animals), we enjoy our meat too much, especially chicken, fish, and bacon. But my girlfriend has a female INTP friend who was a vegan, who is now a vegetarian. |
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Posted by Pat on Jul 6, 2008
We are evolved to be omnivores, or else we'd have the teeth and digestive system of cows and other herbivores. Even our chimpanzee cousins eat meat when they can get it. It's quite likely that eating meat helped humanity to afford the big brains we're so noted for. It seems to me that a lot of what you describe above seems more like sentimentality than anything else. I've also known people like that who are also outraged when a cat catches a bird or a mouse, and calls the cat 'wicked' when it's only acting like a cat. As someone said, "The lion and the lamb may eventually lie down together, but the lion's digestive system will have to undergo some massive changes." Sorry - I understand going vegetarian for your health, but the vegan stance seems to me like the overly finicky delicacy of people who are 'too spiritual' for this world. |
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Posted by DavidMKeirsey on Jul 7, 2008
I knew a couple: (a female) Counselor Idealist and a (male) Inventor Rational, who became vegans for awhile. They eventually gave up, for different reasons. I would suggest that they both essentially came up with their own self-justifications necessary to convince themselves (unconsciously) that the inconvenience both socially and gastronomically wasn't worth it. |
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Posted by LisaFairhurst on Jul 7, 2008
Thanks for the interesting feedback! Pat, I like your quote about the lion and lamb. Certainly something would have to change. Personally, I have trouble with people who try to equate the life of an animal with the life of a child. What parent is going to save their pet dog instead of their child if the house is on fire and they have a choice? |
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Posted by InventorChampionIntuitive on Jul 21, 2008
Hi Lisa, Both me and my sister are strict vegetarians. I'm an ENTP, and my sister is an ESTP (so there goes your ESTP example). She caught on to vegetarianism ten years before me. I think she made the choice for ethical reasons. I chose to become a strict vegetarian due to social, ethical, and environmental reasons, but later realized that ethical concerns probably trump even the health and environmental concerns. - InventorChampionIntuitive |
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Posted by InventorChampionIntuitive on Jul 21, 2008
Hi Lisa, Both me and my sister are strict vegetarians. I'm an ENTP, and my sister is an ESTP (so there goes your ESTP example). She caught on to vegetarianism ten years before me. I think she made the choice for ethical reasons. I chose to become a strict vegetarian due to social, ethical, and environmental reasons, but later realized that ethical concerns probably trump even the health and environmental concerns. - InventorChampionIntuitive |
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Posted by bsaunders on Aug 8, 2008
Getting graphic now - harvest plant foods kills animals -- mammals -- directly: mice, moles, etc., all of those tiny beings that get caught up in the machinery. |
I have a question for any vegans out there too, if I may. Does a plant not hold the same essence as an animal? As a human? When I hear about trees competing for sunshine, adapting to their conditions, evolving, reproducing, I think of life, no different from my own. As a vegan, do you merely discount this notion? Do you put a higher value on the life of an animal than a plant? Please forgive the loaded questions, but these are the questions that I ask myself; the same questions that tell me if I am going to destroy life to sustain my own, it may as well taste good.