God Has Sense of Humor, Economists Say
By Robert A. Hahn Posted in User Blogs — Comments (11) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Potential proof that there is a God has emerged from an unlikely source, according to Reuters. Agricultural economists studying the use and production of soybeans have uncovered evidence that vegetarians are destroying the rainforest.
"Not only is there a God, He has an almighty sense of humor," said one economist who was made up just for this diary entry. "Vegetarians killing the rainforest... it's perfect," he added. "No mortal comedian could possibly have thought that up."
But the joke is now on vegetarians as Greenpeace and others warn that increasing demand for soy-based food products, driven primarily by the "vegetarian" market, is leading farmers in Brazil to clear new areas of pristine Amazon rainforest in order to plant more soy.
According to Planet Ark ("Your daily guide to helping the planet") the government of Hero Of The People Luis Inacio 'Lula' da Silva plans to pave a 975-mile section of highway from Cuiaba, capital of Mato Grosso state in Brazil's centre-west interior, to the isolated Amazon River port of Santarem in Brazil's North. Mato Grosso is Brazil's biggest soy-producing state and its farmers anticipate that paving the road will lead to an export boom.
In a laudible effort to string together quite a few buzzwords on this subject, the tierraamaerica.org web site noted that
The NGOs denounce the expansion of soybean cultivation in the transition area between what is known as the Cerrado -- a savannah ecosystem -- and the Amazon, where deforestation is taking a serious toll on the climate and biodiversity of the two biomes.
Meanwhile, back at Radical Roots, an "organic vegan cafeteria" at the University of Toronto, the staff prides itself on serving fair trade, fair labour and organic, animal-free meals. "You are killing little furry animals and their insect friends with your foul-smelling soy concoctions," we informed them in a recent email.
Spokesmen for Whole Foods Market ("nature's own bugs in every piece of fruit") were unavailable for comment.
God chose not to reveal His reasons.
- "He has an almighty sense of humor," said one economist who was made up just for this diary entry.
Up popped the devil.
And soy products are often used for livestock feeds.
So it isn't really vegetarians that are killing the rainforests (unless you are including herbivorous domestic animals under that label), but, more accurately, the nutritional demands of people in general.
But if it makes a good headline or seems ironic on the surface, I suppose it is worth a laugh.
As Cartman said. And F the veggie eaters. Meat is good, rain forests suck. While I appreciate the fact that we need good vegetation for converting co2, the ocean is where the good stuff happens.
Back to the point, I'm an enviormentalist, and I realise that the only way to save our good habitats is to buy the land with private money. The left is slowly realizing this, I think the right is too. The way to save nature is to get ritch and buy some land you like. Ted Nugent is ahead of the curve.
Don't know how much land Ted Nugent owns, but I was thinking Ted Turner, he owns about half of Montana. And the buffalo they raise and kill on his ranches there is tasty, although at Ted's Montana Grill, the buffalo is a few dollars more than beef, it's worth it. Plus we had great service at the Buford, Georgia location.
Buying the land. It's called pro-market conservation. That's a environmentalism that I am happy to be a supporter of.
God doesn't like vegetarians or environmentalists? Ah come on, surely he likes someone.
And in a fit of largesse, I'll keep the jealous grumblings about being able to post on RedHot to a minimum.
Seriously, though, I thought about recommending this promotion twice already today before they announced it. Congrats.
Since I am assured that these ratings mean nothing, I have bestowed my first-ever '5' on you.
since that's the other thing I've been dying to do.
This is not proof of anything. This is evidence that will provide a base for a hypothesis, but it is certinaly not proof that vegetarians are destroying the rainforest anymore than it is proof that God exists.
Perhaps the joke is not on the vegetarians, but the omnivores who, over time from eating processed food will realize the folly of bad judgement when health problems become more prevalent.
Perhaps the joke is on the US for not realizing the benefit of including in a regular diet soy, and other vegetable matter and also for not promoting both it's infusion into the USDA dietary recommendations and farming communities.
God - if those evil vegetarians spent as much money on domestic-grown soy and vegetable products as they do on imported products, why - we could have another segment of the US farming community that thrives, creates jobs, increases health, and provides income for the US.
Bet you told them, huh?