Re: Dogs and cats as vegetarians?

Ok - if you will go take a look at the Beyond Vegetarianism website made up of former vegetarians who realized the shortcomings and pitfalls that lay behind the idealism of the vegetarian movement that blossomed back in the glorius days of peace, love and innocence of the 60's.  I was there sweetheart, and my soul still aches for the ideals we had back then, just as my heart breaks at the realities of what life is really like in the new millenium.

The healthiest and longest lived people on earth do not eat a strictly vegetarian diet.  They may eat a lot of raw fruits, nuts, seeds and vegetables, but not exclusively.  On the other hand, some of the unhealthiest people on earth are strictly vegetarians because it takes a great deal of careful planning, effort, and careful supplementation to make up for what our bodies are naturally adapted to eat and do not tend to get when we try to eat only fruits and vegetables.

I eat a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as seeds and nuts and such.  I should eat even more.  I also try to keep my meat consumption modest and eat mostly the healthiest meats.  And I will grant you that I should eat even less meat and more healthy meat when I do eat meat.  But no way, outside a temporary anti-cancer protocol, would I eat no meat at all - it is not natural and, in the long run, it is not healthy.  I would not do that to myself, to my kids, or to those who ask my advice.

And I certainly would not do that to my dog.

DQ