Comments on: Anthony Bourdain is NOT a Vegan

By: Gary Loewenthal

Gary Loewenthal — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 03:42:46 +0000

As demand for animal products decreases, we’ll quit breeding them. The answer to this question – and the one about gasoline – is on the FAQ page of any animal rights or vegan web site written in the last 25 years.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 01:02:39 +0000

Who else is going to keep the animal population in check? Don’t worry, our day is coming….not to mention most of you probably drive around with long dead animals in your gas tank. Way too honor them!

By: Bapcha

Bapcha — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 04:20:28 +0000

I am a life-long vegetarian [born to practicing Hindus in India], and I cannot stress how much I dislike “fake meat”, textured vegetable protein, and tofu [unless I cook it]. Tofu sucks – unless you are a great cook, and if you eat South Indian Vegetarian food, you will hate TVP.

Bottom-line: Vegetarians and vegans – please live and let live. Even Anthony Bourdain likes my kind of vegetarian food. Proof? See this video…..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTeOtAdBr-o

By: Vegancat

Vegancat — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 21:13:04 +0000

Damn…to where is hezbollah tofu vanished?

And here is another Bourdaine-lesque beeing… http://www.thehappyhoarfrost.com/2008/03/bourdain-hezbollah-tofu-cant-take-tony.html

By: Lane

Lane — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 05:38:01 +0000

Hi Scarlett,
How ironic! I did see a few minutes of his stint on the Tonight Show (or Letterman?) one night. He struck me as being a much less “macho” guy than he appears on TV. It really felt like that was a persona, and he wasn’t all that interested in assuming that identity outside of the show. Of course, I could be completely misinterpreting what I saw, but in reality, I don’t care enough to find out.

By: scarlett

scarlett — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 21:40:46 +0000

I love how he condemns being vegetarian or vegan, but gets all squemish when he does the occassional hunting thing. It really is easy to eat meat when it comes in a convient, plastic-wrapped package.

By: Lane

Lane — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 05:04:34 +0000

Hey Dan,
Well that’s one way to put it. We too were very put-off by his machismo and self-agrrandizing attitude. How much of that is actually Bourdain and how much is his producers?… Either way, we’re not fans.

By: Dan

Dan — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 23:52:37 +0000

Anthony Bourdain is a selfish tool (yes, tool). He thinks all animals (and this world) are a resource for him to use. He thinks that eating all these animal parts makes him some kind of macho, real-man, tough guy. I think he’s a chicken sh*t poser who doesn’t have the balls to do all that slaughtering himself. His whole schtick is for ratings and money. Thats all.

By: Lane

Lane — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 21:53:51 +0000

Gary, as usual, thanks for your eloquent response.

By: Lane

Lane — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 21:49:34 +0000

NY Cook,
“Honoring” them in your cooking? What do you do differently to cook the animals you have personally slaughtered versus the prepackaged animal products you purchase? If I were a customer in your restaurant, I would hope you would prepare all the food you serve with the same level of care, otherwise, why eat at your establishment? Your disregard for people who want a vegetarian/vegan option means I would never frequent the establishment you work at. I don’t eat at In-n-Out Burger because they don’t have anything suitable for me on their menu. I vote with my wallet. If my dollars don’t matter, good for you.

I don’t agree with hunting animals, however I have far less issue with someone who hunts an animal and eats it (hopefully the whole animal) than with the process of factory farming where animals live out their lives in the most abysmal of conditions and are then tortured before finally being dismembered, sometimes while still alive. Let me be clear though: I believe that it is wrong to kill a sentient being for food when there are so many other options available to us. “It tastes good” is not a valid reason to me.

I am not trying to force you to be vegan. We live in America, you have the right to make your own choices. Hopefully, your choices are informed rather than based on habit. What Jane and I strive to do here is to present information about our experiences as vegans. If that causes you to reevaluate your diet, great. If that causes you to change your diet, even better. But ultimately, it’s still your choice.

As for you statement that “your arguments are as flawed as Bourdains” — you have not presented my arguments. I never claimed that animals were unethical because they eat other animals. Some animals eat other animals in the wild because they have no other choice. Nor did the Inuit or other Native American Tribes have a choice. Prehistoric man ate what he could get, it was an issue of survival. Jane’s grandparents were incredibly poor subsistence farmers and when their livestock no longer produced eggs or milk, or they were that hungry, they killed an animal and ate it. ALL of it. I don’t condemn them for their actions. They had no other choice. In this day and age, and in this country, the vast majority of people have a choice in what they consume. There is no need to torture animals (and factory farming is torture) in order to eat. If it were an issue of survival, I would eat animal flesh. It’s not, so I won’t.

Finally, this blog is not about name calling. If you would like to present rational discussions from the omnivores point of view, you are welcome to comment. If you are going to be derisive, please vent elsewhere.