From: terra@athena.mit.edu (Terra Witkop)
Newsgroups: rec.food.veg
Subject: A Moderate Voice
Date: 17 Apr 92 17:08:08 GMT
Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

With some dismay, I've been following the recent flame wars, and
finally couldn't resist putting in my $.02 worth.

I've been enjoying r.f.v. for about a year now, and I really like
the recipes, the discussions about vegetarian issues, and 
particularly the moral support (like the "how can I avoid eating
meat during the holidays without being disowned" threads that
pop up.)  Still, while everyone has the right to say what's on
their minds (within certain, vague standards), I wish some of
the more strident among us would consider more carefully before
they post.  For example, as someone else pointed out, the Brits
in this group need to bear in mind that vegetarians in the U.S.
(and probably other countries) are in a much smaller minority
than vegetarians in the UK.  I seem to recall a thread concerning
a recent advertising campaign by the US beef industry, the slogan
of which is "Beef -- real food for real people."  That's what we
vegetarians in the US are up against, folks!  Making the switch
from a meat-centered to a non-meat diet is not always easy, and
the folks who've made it need to be more understanding and
helpful to the ones who're still struggling.  Referring to the
omnivorous among us as "carnivores" and "murderers" only turns away
non-vegs who might be considering cutting back on their meat
consumption and therefore peeking into r.f.v. for ideas.  I've been
a bit annoyed lately by the recent anti-dairy and anti-eggs
threads.  I eat B&J ice cream because they get their milk from small
family farms, they have exemplary business practices, and the
product is just superior.  I don't drink much milk or use a lot of
butter.  I use few eggs, and the ones I buy are from free-range hens.
It's very depressing and discouraging to be informed via the net
that I am an immoral person because I use animal products at all.
I would far rather be persuaded to the cause of veganism by
reasonable, factual, well-thought-out posts and by being innundated
with wonderful recipes!  (Yes, I noticed Mr. Traub has been posting
recipes lately.)

Incidentally, in the time that I've been reading r.f.v., I've noticed
very few strident "pro-meat" folk posting here, few enough to
comfortably ignore.  This sort of thing will happen from time to time
in an unmoderated group.  (For example, I've looked in on alt.atheism,
and soul-saving bible-thumpers seem to be a regular feature of that
group.)  That's no excuse for intolerance toward all the omnivores who
read and post here.  Also, not everyone on this group is vegan, so
there's no reason why recipes including milk, eggs (or even gelatin)
shouldn't be allowed.  The vegans can simply ignore those recipes
unsuitable to their diets.

So please, let's stop the name-calling, nit-picking, and general flaming,
okay?  This is a big world, and, at least as of the time of this writing,
there's room in it for all of us ;-)

-- 
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Theresa (Terra) Witkop                         terra@athena.mit.edu
MIT, Room 8-109, Cambridge, MA  02139-4307
Standard disclaimer applies.