Chinese Vegetarian Challenge
OK, so we all know about the crazy quirks of Chinese vegetarianism/Buddhism and the inevitable questions they raise:
"What do you mean you can't eat garlic? Its not an animal fer chrissakes!"
"If you buy a caged bird and set it free and it dies a day later because its not a wild bird and has no idea how to survive in the wild, how was that not just the same as killing it?"
"If we all became vegetarian tomorrow, wouldn't the farmers kill all of their cows and isn't that bad?"
and my wife's contribution "You may be vegetarian up there, but you're still eating meat down there." That may be Chinese humor, by the way.
After watching some food show, I now have a new question for the Chinese Vegetarians...and this might even apply to normal veg-heads, too.
The Stone Crab has its claws harvested to be eaten, and then it regrows its claw.
Harvesting is accomplished by removing one or both claws from the live animal and returning it to the ocean where it can regrow the lost limb(s). To be kept, claws must be 2.75 inches (70 mm) long, measured from the tips of the immovable finger to the first joint. If both claws are legal size they may both be taken. Studies by the state of Florida have shown that removing both claws do not harm the Florida stone crab in any way when removed properly. In fact numerous studies have shown that by removing both claws, Florida stone crabs are forced to eat sea grass which has been proven to be more healthy for their diet and regenerate their claws faster and female Florida stone crab have more baby stone crabs since they are unable to fend off the advancements of the male crabs. These studies are what caused the State of Florida to change the laws to allowing two claws to be removed instead of just one. Florida stone crabs are legal for harvest from October 15 until May 15.
So, if you eat Stone Crab claws, you are NOT killing an animal. In fact, by taking both of their claws you make them healthier!
So, its okay for Buddhist vegetarians to eat these crabs right?
Just don't use a garlic sauce and everything will be kosher.
4 comments:
Well, you're still causing suffering for the crab. If your hands could be cut off but could also grow back, would that be OK for you?
>In fact numerous studies have shown that by removing >both claws, Florida stone crabs are forced to eat sea >grass which has been proven to be more healthy for >their diet and regenerate their claws faster and female >Florida stone crab have more baby stone crabs since >they are unable to fend off the advancements of the >male crabs.
Uh ... so removing the claws of a female crab makes it vulnerable to rape.
My hands are not designed by nature to break off when stuck or to drop one when threatened. I would assume the pain is limited by this.
"But often the question is, ‘Do they feel pain like we do?’ Almost certainly crustaceans do not perceive pain in the same way that we do. To begin with, their nervous system is very different from ours. Some events that would be devastating to a human do not seem to affect crustaceans too much – for example, it is common to find crustaceans in the wild that are missing legs.
These legless individuals seem to get around just as well as fully legged ones do, and do not appear to be feeling ‘pain’. In fact, some crabs will drop a leg, in the same way that a lizard will throw its tail, to confuse a potential predator while it scuttles into hiding."
http://museumvictoria.com.au/discoverycentre/infosheets/do-crustaceans-feel-pain/
Plus some say plants feel pain.
I'd bring up all the bugs and small animals killed in growing soy, but that's another question to direct pain to the crab.
Good point about the rapes...perhaps only eat male crabs then. :)
I have often suggested to my wife, who is vegetarian for Buddhist reasons, that it would be fine if we ate some roadkill every now and then. Without success.
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