Attack of the PETA/PCRM/grilled chicken crowd

September 30th 2006 at 11:59 am

Yesterday I was busy at one of my jobs, bloggingstocks.com, hence my missing posting here, and I happened to write up a story about the PCRM (an animal rights activist group that is actually more of a everyone-must-become-vegetarians group) suing fast food companies for having carcinogenic grilled chicken.

The PCRM groups did not compare carcinogen rates in home-grilled chicken, or in vegetable fried or grilled products (look up carcinogens in fries, that’s a killer product, in both senses of the word). Without the quite obvious lack of a control (this is high school science, people) it’s quite clear this is a scare tactic lawsuit by people trying to modify meat-eaters behavior.

So I point that out, link the PCRM group, and then, just to piss off that crowd, linked the CCF (the tobacco and meat industry front group) that debunks them. However, the CCF only points out actual facts, so they get the upper edge in this battle.

I also pointed out an article about BBQ grilling carcinogens and whatnot, to add a third party. So I post the article, go out for dinner and a high school football game, come home, go to bed, wake up, and I find 150+ comments on it. Heh.

My favorite comment:

Human beings are meant to have more self-control than the lower animals, and they’re also supposed to subsist on a vegetarian diet. The main symptom of a meat-based diet is this lack of self-control, and this resulting descent into lower consciousness (numerous examples of this lower consciousness can be found in the posts before and after this one). We have a nation full of individuals who are, for the most part, living with the beastly mindset of the lower animals. Does all the violence around you begin to bother you at all? The best solution is to cut it off at its root, which is this cruel, morbid, barbaric, animalistic, animal-based diet. Violence creates more violence, and this violent diet is one of the most potent methods for destroying the human consciousness and converting people into violent animals on two legs.

Forget the cancer — it’s your mentality you should worry about!

The personal attack emails from those who managed to hunt down my email address were whacky weird as well. From murderer to molester, I’m being accused of things you wouldn’t believe. And, somewhat confusingly, being threatened with physical violence, which is exactly what the post above claims vegetarians don’t do because they have more self control.

The truth is my own opinion lies somewhere with this guy who posts:

I think it’s a real shame that, by presenting their case in such a clearly biased and rather unscientific way, the PCRM has hurt the credibility of a valid and important cause. There are some of us who are *not* vegetarians but clearly believe in the cause of “animal rights,” and by filing such a weak lawsuit, PCRM is painting all of us in a bad light. I avoid all chicken and red meat because I am disgusted with the way it is produced; I’m currently an animal science major at an agriculturally-focused college and have seen what most consumers never see. If you knew the way your “food” was raised, the antibiotics and hormones the animals are routinely fed, the filthy conditions that are the norm, and the high degree of contamination in slaughterhouses and packing plants, you would NEVER eat another hamburger or chicken nugget. It’s not just “wrong” to raise animals the way they are treated now, it’s outright dangerous for humans to eat meat laced with antibiotics and contaminated with E. coli, salmonella, and other dangerous bacteria. I see nothing wrong with eating meat assuming it is raised and processed responsibly, but that’s just not being done anymore.

If the PCRM was to focus on just this instead of using bad science I wouldn’t have had so much ammunition, and the CCF wouldn’t have had such an easy way to pull the carpet out from under their feet. My sister and mother are both vegetarians for the above reason, and I agree that it makes sense.

Well, I can see more emails pouring in, gotta run.

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