The Most Noble Diet

The following quotes are from The Most Noble Diet, Food Selection and Ethics by George Eisman, Registered Dietitian, published by Diet Ethics.


"The six levels of progressively conscious concerns that underlie individual acceptability in diet selection are:

* Hedonism: eating what you enjoy for sensual gratification

* Personal Health: eating what you believe is "good" for you

* Environment: eating what the Earth provides without undue disturbance to ecosystems

* Politics: eating (or not eating) as a statement against specific oppressive actions or policies

* Nonviolence: eating only what can be obtained without intentional injury or cruelty

* Humanity: eating only what is your "fair share" in this global human community; that is, not
demanding extravagances that deprive other individuals of their basic requirements of life"
----page 4

"To keep their flesh tender, most veal calves live their shortened lives confined in tiny stalls without room to move or turn around, in a windowless shed where lights are turned on only for feeding. They are fed a diet deficient in iron so their flesh remains pale, and commonly have been known to gnaw the bars of their cages trying to get iron. Up to 20 percent die before reaching slaughter age-16 weeks."-page 34

"Over 60 percent of dairy cows in the United states are intensively confined. They are repeatedly impregnated to continue their milk production. Their calves are taken from them within hours after birth, causing both mother and calf great distress. The demand for dairy products creates the veal market because male offspring are raised for veal".-page 34


"During transport, animals are commonly not fed or given water for up to three days. They are packed tightly together to minimize costs, living in each other’s excrement, and are exposed to extreme weather conditions in the open trucks and rail cars. Pigs have arrived at the slaughter house frozen to the side of the truck..........baby chicks are sometimes shipped by the U.S. Postal service. These trips can take three days, with 20 percent dying en route."-page 37


"It has been found that the skin of a fish, which acts as a sensory organ for life in the water, contains nerve sensitivity similar to the human eye. Thus the frenzied, desperate slapping of a hundred fish dumped on the deck of a ship is as if a hundred eyes were being repeatedly poked with wooden sticks."-page 42


"If we were to see an animal in pain, a bird with a broken wing, a rabbit hit by a car, we feel sympathy and want to help, even if just having eaten the animal’s kin for dinner. We may resist compassion, but it is a part of us."-page 43


"Vegans or "pure" vegetarians, generally believe that we as ethical human beings have no right to kill or harm other animals unnecessarily. ........Vegans maintain that all sentient beings should be allowed to live without exploitation."-page 45.