Hello everyone, this is Running On Empty ... Food Review! Well hello ladies and gentlemen and everyone watching This is Running On Empty Food Review and I am your host TheReportOfTheWeek So I'm at the world's largest McDonald's yet again. It's uh been about over a year since I was here last and one of the cool things at least about the world's largest McDonald's here in Orlando is that they have a much larger menu than most other McDonald's in the area and one of the very unique things that they offer here And I should mention first and foremost this isn't like a new nationwide release this isn't like a new menu item or promotion that's available at all McDonald's. Really, the immutable fact of it all is that this is a novelty item that's really available at this McDonald's here in Orlando, and then at two others one in West Virginia and one in Ohio and that is pizza You can get mcdonalds pizza here It was released originally back in the 80s as a big menu promo and things that kind of fell through But there were a few locations and still have it kind of is like a promo unique item Etc and this is one of them.

Now, it's a build-your-own pizza So it's not like they just have pepperoni pizza, and the meatball pizza and a vegetable pizza They have-- It's all customizable, so have an array of toppings that are out there They have a variety of things you could do with the pizza You could get a combination...You could even get pineapple on the pizza I bet if you really wanted it you could get no cheese No, sauce just the base and pineapples if that's what you really want. They have a brick oven in there They'll they'll probably do it and you can kind of get a pizza your way, which is pretty cool. And I. Decided I should say to change things up.

Instead of getting a usual pepperoni pizza, which I already did try out and review the last time I was here, I got kind of like a vegetarian pizza as I said, it's build your own, but here's what it has on it, all right. It's got their standard pizza, sauce which is like you know mozzarella not mozzarella Just your standard tomato sauce has mozzarella cheese on it That's where I was getting that from diced green peppers diced tomatoes spinach and sliced mushroom Which is pretty cool that you can get that from McDonald's, you know doesn't sound like it? But it is it comes in this full-blown official pizza box right here, which I think is pretty cool I almost dropped it but disaster was averted And now for the grand reveal The one thing is sometimes it's tough. Oh here it goes This is what it looks like right here. It's a, uh-- It's like a build-your-own veggie pizza from McDonald's and I.

Think it is impressive, and I think you know they deserve praise where they get it And they deserve the criticism where it is, but I think it's pretty impressive that this pizza came from McDonald's I mean if you saw this doesn't look like something that would even be associated with McDonald's so I think that in and of itself It's pretty cool One thing about the box is sometimes it's a little hard to navigate. That's okay anyway Let's get ourselves a slice here Seems like it was cut pretty good Is that the view of a slice looks like you can see a little bit of a baked on the bottom there? Little baked on the crust, too and That's what it looks like so we know what's on it again I kind of wrote it down here mozzarella cheese pizza sauce diced green peppers diced tomatoes spinach and Mushroom so with that being said I think I'm just going to try this one out It's a McDonald's veggie pizza going in You know it was interesting it's a an interesting observation at least When I went in Remind you this is like in a big tourist hub There's a lot of people around a lot of people going in and out back and forth It's around lunch hour too. So midday people are naturally going to McDonald's especially one. That's this big kind of talked about it cetera And I thought there were gonna be more people in there Taking advantage of the pizza.

You know they it's one of three locations in the country that serves McDonald's Pizza that's not like this is an item that you could get at any McDonald's and I mean, that's it's legit It's not like they take out a frozen disc and put it in a microwave for 10 seconds and Bon Appetit They have a full-blown cook oven you know pizza oven right there, which is Pretty cool to have a pizza making station and everything so they're dedicated to it. They have the full set up So I thought they were gonna be people you know ordering pizza in there Surprisingly enough it seemed like almost no one ever even gets the pizza here I don't know if it's because a lot of people just you know go in and associate our I want a Big Mac from McDonald's, and I just want to get a you know double hamburger and some fries and a coke and Maybe they don't even know that you could get pizza here or maybe they see it And they just don't really know what to do it might be a little overwhelming But I thought that more people would be kind of taking advantage of McDonald's Pizza books again You can't it's not a place. We could get it every day So That's a that's one in kind of interesting thing I thought more people would kind of be taking advantage of the opportunity to get a pizza and With that being said how was the pizza I? Think when it comes down to pizza especially something that's treated as a novelty especially something that's kind of Looked at that it came from a fast food place People will instinctively try to associate it with fast food quality that they'll see this pizza from McDonald's And you know they can't do anything about this But when people think of McDonald's and pizza if even such a thought does occur there are We're just gonna think of kind of the lowest Denominator of pizza they're gonna think it's like you know just your your garbage frozen pizza But the preparation that goes into it really does a lot when it comes down to the quality of the pizza They took their time to do this They put effort into this, and I think you could taste it, too. I think it's comparable to a pizzeria style pizza It's it's hand tossed And it's not super thin crust but it's not like a Deep-dish doughy pan pizza at all has a little bit of a crispiness and a little bit of a bake on the bottom and on The crust adds a little bit of a crunch to it, which is pretty good.

Here's my favorite thing about it, though The ingredients are a lot fresher than you would think coming from McDonald's Because I know sometimes people will get the Big Mac look at the lettuce And I say oh this lettuce tastes like it's been sitting here. You know for insert period of time or You get something with a tomato on it and they think the tomato is just rancid or whatever and people might think that the ingredients are just freeze-dried, but they're really fresh I. Was just impressed by it especially vegetables Because those I mean they don't have a very long lifespan in terms of being out And if they're trying to be preserved or frozen or whatever it might be it's kind of noticeable But I was surprised at the overall freshness of the ingredients and it really does make a difference in terms of of The quality of it when it's fresh when it's freshly made when it's not just heated up and everything is Put together. I think the quality is there taste is certainly there It was it was really flavorful.

I really enjoyed it really taste the mozzarella cheese on this which is kind of rare even for take-out pizza sometimes the cheese just blends in with everything and all the individual vegetables - very flavorful as I said very fresh and Overall I was just impressed by a truth be told and maybe I say that with a little bit of a bias because I had gone here before I. Had one of their pizzas before the first time I had it. I didn't know what to expect You know I thought to myself. Maybe this is this gonna be Garbage, I don't know But I tried it and I was kind of taken back by how good it was then I came back And I thought it's gonna give out like a veggie pizza, try.

I also said the other day I wanted to try to start you know expanding to maybe some vegetarian types of things if the channel 2 had my sights on this and sure enough they did a good job with it and And it's it's definitely quality it might be a novelty item But it's not just gonna be something that is completely Flavorless and something you could take a selfie with and and post and then just throw in the trash bin cuz it's that bad It's something that you'll enjoy you can share about you could say I got mcdonalds pizza And you didn't if you really want to be that person you can But I think it's a pizza that you'll enjoy too and tastes pretty good Price-wise smoothness, it's around $9 which makes sense Their pizza for a novelty pizza, but it's a good pizza So I think the price is fair it tastes pretty good so that being said out of 10 I'm going to be giving this pizza a 9 point 3 out of 10 because as I said, I was impressed by it the quality was was much higher than I think many would anticipate from this and Just all in all I think they did a good job with it so that's all that I have for you today I'm your host to the port of the week today We were trying out the McDonald's build your own pizza from the world's largest McDonald's here in Orlando also If you're interested you could check out our Teespring store if you want any report of the week merchandise You could find the links in the cards in the description we're at https://teespring.Com/stores/thereportoftheweek and also If you want to help this channel out you could also support us on Patreon https://www.Patreon.Com/TheReportOfTheWeek Again more info about that in the description and in the cards. Well. Thank you again for watching I'll see you in a couple days and until next time that's all that I have thank you and take care!.


Vegetarians and vegans are usually lumped
together. What exactly separates the two? Are the differences greater than the similarities?
And is vegetarianism really a healthy, moral way of living? Lets find out! Hi its Emily from Bite Size Vegan and welcome
to another vegan nugget! Something I find interesting is that if you tell someone youre
vegetarian they are usually okay with it. But tell them youre vegan and suddenly
youre a militant extremist tiva-wearing tree-hugging whack-job covered in animal tattoos.
The basic difference between vegans and vegetarians is that veganism means abstaining from all
animal products, byproducts and methods of exploitation while vegetarianism simply means
abstaining from meat while still consuming diary, eggs, and honey, and wearing silk,
down, wool, and sometimes leather. While vegetarianism is usually portrayed as a healthy, animal-friendly
way of living, the truth is its crueler than meat eating and arguably more unhealthy.

Lets address health first and then move
onto the moral aspects. Dairy, eggs and honey are not only extraordinarily unhealthy food
choices but also really unnatural ones. Try to think of another animal who, once weaned
from their own mother, goes to suckle from the teat of another species. Its just not
meant to be.

(And if you do suckle directly from another species, you probably need help
outside of my expertise.) And how natural is it to eat the menstruation of another animal,
or their vomit? Now aside from how unnatural it is, dairy
consumption is linked to a slew of medical conditions, including heart disease, obesity,
clogged arteries, diabetes, osteoporosis, arthritis, a variety of cancers, and more.
Dairy is loaded with fat, cholesterol, sugar, not to mention all the fun bonuses that come
from our modern dairy industry, including antibiotics, growth hormones, and pus. Oh
yes. I said pus. Check out this video for more details about what exactly is in your
food.

Now let's address the moral aspects of vegetarianism.
One of the most cruel meat products that even some meat-eaters refuse, is veal. What many
people dont realize is that the calves used for veal are the stolen children of dairy
cows and that consuming dairy directly supports the veal industry. Im going to let vegan
activist Gary Yourofsky elaborate a little more on the ethical implications of vegetarianism: Gary: It is not an animal-friendly lifestyle
when you support the dairy industry. In fact, if you asked me to rank cruelty of animals,
and I don't like to because it's all unjust, but the dairy industry is the worst industry
on this planet.

You have mother cows being raped every year to impregnate them, you have
their babies being stolen every year, 3-7 years. You have machines being hooked up to
their udders, to their breasts three times a day to suck them dry. Then you send them
to the slaughterhouse when they can't produce milk anymore? So this is what vegetarians
support- they support the oppression and enslavement of hens in the egg industry. Even if it is
a cage-free free-range farm, when the hens stop laying enough eggs after 2-3 years, you
don't get a free stay- you get sent off to the slaughterhouse.

Vegetarians wear leather
and silk and wool. They consume honey. I'm still trying to figure out how vegetarianism
is considered an animal-friendly lifestyle, cause it's not. Now, as I say all this, if
you are using that as a stepping stone, I.

Don't care how you get to vegan- just sooner
rather than later. And I have to be fair, I dont want to be an Al Gore type, a politician
bullshitter- I went vegetarian for a year before I became vegan, but, I want to put
this out there- like most vegetarians I was not aware of the dairy and the egg industries.
If I had known then what I know now and I. Wasn't going to become vegan all at once,
I would've stopped eating dairy and eggs first. Then I would've taken meat out at the end.

Its true that many of us use vegetarianism
as a stepping-stone to veganism- but if the goal is to reduce the amount of cruelty of
our diet, or even increase our health, were really missing the mark here. A vegetarian
diet is still one composed of incredibly unhealthy animal byproducts and severe animal suffering.
Dairy and eggs support the same torture, cruelty, and slaughter that the meat industry does-
only the suffering of the animals involved is more prolonged than those raised for meat
alone. You can get more information about this topic
and the subjects related to it in my free eBook, which is linked below, or in any of
these videos. Please share this video around to help inform vegetarians and potential vegetarians.
Many of us (including me) started there because we didnt know any better.

And be sure to
hit the subscribe button down there for more awesome vegan nuggets. Here at Bite Size Vegan
I address all aspects of veganism and always in around 5 minutes. Now go live vegan, not
vegetarian, and Ill see you soon.  I do love hugging trees.

And I have owned some
tivas.  I can't- I can't cover all my tattoos at once..


Hey munchies! Welcome if you're new, I'm Alyssia, it's holiday
season, and I'm excited! Thanksgiving is coming up, Christmas is around
the corner, and this time of year, most of us get pretty excited about food. Eating food, sharing food with others, it's
a food-filled season! So today, I thought it would be appropriate
to share some holiday potluck dishes. I'm bringing you five recipes that are easy
to prepare in advance and take with you to a party or a get-together that you don't have
to feel quite as bad about. And, they are all either vegan or vegetarian
with a vegan option.

I kept these recipes plant-based because I
like to make sure there's always something available at a party that everyone can enjoy. And this way, you know there's always going
to be a healthier option. Let's start with my Holiday Bean Salsa. For this recipe you will need: red onion,
celery, garlic, garbanzo beans, kidney beans, black beans, baby gherkins, fresh parsley,
fresh mint, olive oil, lemon juice and zest, red wine vinegar, and salt n' pep.

In a mixing bowl, add your olive oil, red
wine vinegar, lemon juice, lemon zest, parsley, mint, and salt n' pep. Whisk to combine your dressing. Then, add kidney beans, garbanzo beans, black
beans, celery, red onion, gherkins, and garlic. Toss to coat, and that's literally it! Super easy to prepare, and such a delicious
and nutritious bean salsa.

Perfect for a potluck! Next, we're going to make my Chilled Stacked
Salad. For the base of this salad, you will need:
quinoa, red onion, spinach, red apple, celery, dried cranberries, feta cheese, and pecans. Layer all of your ingredients, like so, into
a trifle bowl. This makes for a beautiful holiday presentation.

Of course, for a vegan dish, you'll want to
omit the feta cheese. Oh, and we cannot forget the dressing! For the dressing, you will need: balsamic
vinegar, olive oil, honey (or maple syrup for vegan), lemon juice, dijon mustard, poppy
seeds, sesame seeds, and salt. Simply add all of your ingredients and whisk
to combine. Before guests enjoy, you can add the dressing
and toss.

This is such a fun dish to bring because it
looks impressive, it tastes delicious, and it takes no time to prepare. Alright, now we're going to make my Gingered
Fruit Salad. For this recipe, you will need: kiwi, pineapple,
pears, grapes, and pomegranate seeds - or really, whatever seasonal fruits you prefer
- as well as ginger, orange juice, lime juice, honey (or, again, maple syrup for vegan),
and nutmeg. Into a large mixing bowl, combine your dressing
ingredients and whisk.

Then, add the rest of your fruit. Toss to coat. So simple and delicious, offering a nutritious
and fresh dish with festive fall flavors. Alright, how about some dessert! Let's make my Buckeyes! A Christmas classic.

This recipe is directly from my "Ho Ho Healthy"
ebook, so check it out if you're looking for more healthy Christmas recipes, and you can
use the code "POTLUCK" for 10% off any ebook or package of your choice, this week only! For your Buckeye filling, you will need: powdered
peanut butter, sweetener of choice, natural creamy peanut butter, and oat flour. For the chocolate coating, you will need:
maple syrup, coconut oil, and cocoa powder, or you could just use melted chocolate or
dairy-free chocolate to keep these vegan. Add your filling ingredients into a large
mixing bowl and mix to combine. Use a cooke scoop to spoon out some of your
peanut butter filling mixture and roll it into a ball in your hands.

Repeat, and fill up a baking sheet lined with
parchment and sprayed. Now, for the coating. It can help the coating process if you transfer
the sheet of peanut butter balls to the fridge or freezer for a few quick minutes. In a separate mixing bowl, add your chocolate
coating ingredients and whisk to combine.

It should be a nice, smooth consistency, but
it could be thicker or thinner depending on your climate, so feel free to refrigerate
or microwave as needed. Then, use a toothpick to pick up one of your
peanut butter balls and dip it into your chocolate mixture, like so. And return to your baking sheet. If you want, you could cover up the little
hole on top, but it's not necessary to enjoy the delicious taste.

Allow to set in the fridge until serving and
devouring. Delicious! This one is always a guest favorite because
it's so easy to pop by the table, grab one, and go. Maybe a little too easy... We're finishing off the menu with a really
amazing, impressive, but surprisingly delicious recipe: my Chocolate Peppermint Silk Pie.

For the filling of this pie, you will need:
coconut cream, tofu (If you can get super firm, that's the best. Either way, I recommend pressing the tofu
to get rid of moisture), cocoa powder, peppermint extract, vanilla extract, maple syrup, and
cacao nibs. For the crust, you will need: dates, pecans
(or any nuts you prefer), and cocoa powder. Into your food processor, add your cocoa powder
and pecans.

Blend it on up! Once it's a nice crumb consistency, add in
your dates. I like to soak my dates in water overnight
so they are extra soft. Once again, blend until your dough-ball forms. Perfect! Next, we're going to grab a springform pie
pan, which, if you don't have one, I highly recommend it for your pie-making needs this
holiday season.

Line the bottom with parchment paper, like
so, for easy removal. Add your crust mixture down into the bottom
of the pie pan and press it down to flatten it nice and evenly. Set aside. Into your food processor, add all of your
pie filling ingredients, except for those cacao nibs.

Blend it on up! That tofu is going to give this pie filling
a creamy texture, add protein, and keep it vegan. Look how smooth! Pour your filling mixture into the pie pan
on top of your crust and spread it out as evenly as possible. Then, you can sprinkle on our cacao nibs. Then, simply transfer to the freezer overnight.

When you're ready to enjoy, allow to thaw
for an hour or two in the fridge before popping it out of the springform pan, slicing, and
devouring. Bam! Five delicious, nutritious dishes - perfect
for a potluck this holiday season. Thumbs up if you enjoyed, and let me know
which recipe you're most excited to try in the comments below. All of these recipes are available in the
PDF in the description box below, tag me on social if you try any of them, and remember
to check out my "Ho Ho Healthy" ebook and others at mindovermunch.Com/ebooks.

I hope you all have a wonderful week! Thanks so much for liking, sharing, and subscribing. And remember, especially when it comes to
those holiday parties, it's all a matter of mind over munch..


Top 10 Protein Sources for Vegetarians Proteins are the building blocks of body tissue,
and even give the body the energy it needs to grow and develop properly. When protein is digested, it breaks down into
amino acids. The Institute of Medicine says that women
need at least 46 grams of protein a day, and men need at least 56 grams  a day. Here are the top 10 sources of protein for
vegetarians 1.

Greek Yogurt Greek yogurt, which has the whey strained
out of it, is a great source of protein. A 6-ounce cup of Greek yogurt has 15- 20 grams
of protein. Thats much more than regular yogurt, which
has about 9 grams of protein. This probiotic food also has a lot of vitamins
and minerals.

Eating Greek yogurt all the time will help
your digestive system stay healthy, boost your immune system, help with weight loss,
stop high blood pressure, lower bad cholesterol, and fight yeast infections. 2. Lentils Lentils is another good choice for protein. But they are not a full protein food because
they dont have all nine important amino acids.

One cup of boiled lentils has 18 grams of
protein. There are many good health reasons to eat
lentils. They give energy, lower the risk of heart
disease, help keep a normal body weight, and keep the digestive system healthy. 3.

Edamame Edamame is a full protein food, important
amino acids you need in your diet. One cup of cooked edamame has 17 grams of
protein. Edamame beans have fiber, vitamins, minerals,
and healthy polyunsaturated fats, especially omega-3 alpha- linolenic acid. They are also naturally gluten- free and dont
have a lot of calories.

4. Kidney Beans Kidney beans are another great source of protein. One cup of boiled kidney beans has 15 grams
of protein. They have all nine amino acids, but they are
not a full protein because they dont have a lot of methionine, a proteinogenic amino
acid.

Kidney beans have a lot of fiber, folate,
magnesium, potassium, zinc, and vitamins K. And B6. They are also low in fat and cholesterol. 5.

Tofu
Tofu is a soy milk product, and is also a good source of protein. Top 10 Protein Sources for Vegetarians Proteins are the building blocks of body tissue,
and even give the body the energy it needs to grow and develop properly. When protein is digested, it breaks down into
amino acids. The Institute of Medicine says that women need at least 46 grams of protein
a day, and men need at least 56 grams a day.

Here are the top 10 sources of protein for
vegetarians 1. Greek Yogurt Greek yogurt, which has the whey strained
out of it, is a great source of protein. A. 6-Ounce cup of Greek yogurt has 15- 20 grams
of protein.

Thats much more than regular yogurt, which has about 9 grams of protein.
This probiotic food also has a lot of vitamins and minerals. Eating Greek yogurt all the time will help
your digestive system stay healthy, boost your immune system, help with weight loss,
stop high blood pressure, lower bad cholesterol, and fight yeast infections. 2. Lentils Lentils is another good choice for protein.
But they are not a full protein food because they dont have all nine important amino
acids.

One cup of boiled lentils has 18 grams of protein. There are many good health reasons to eat
lentils. They give energy, lower the risk of heart disease, help keep a normal body
weight, and keep the digestive system healthy. 3.

Edamame Edamame is a full protein food, important
amino acids you need in your diet. One cup of cooked edamame has 17 grams of protein. Edamame beans have fiber, vitamins, minerals,
and healthy polyunsaturated fats, especially omega-3 alpha- linolenic acid. They are also
naturally gluten- free and dont have a lot of calories.

4. Kidney Beans Kidney beans are another great source of protein.
One cup of boiled kidney beans has 15 grams of protein. They have all nine amino acids,
but they are not a full protein because they dont have a lot of methionine, a proteinogenic
amino acid. Kidney beans have a lot of fiber, folate,
magnesium, potassium, zinc, and vitamins K.

And B6. They are also low in fat and cholesterol. 5. Tofu
Tofu is a soy milk product, and is also a good source of protein.

A cup of tofu has
10 grams of protein. It has eight important amino acids and a lot of iron and calcium.
It also has manganese, selenium, phosphorus, magnesium, copper, zincand vitamin B1. 6. Chia Seeds Another good source of protein for vegetarians
is chia seeds.

Two tablespoons of chia seeds will give you 9.4 Grams of protein. They are
also one of the best plant sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Chia seeds can help with digestion, treat
anemia, give you energy, control blood sugar, stop aging signs, and boost brainpower. 7.

Quinoa Quinoa has all nine important amino acids,
and is a full protein source. One cup of cooked quinoa has 8.14 Grams of protein. Quinoa also
has fiber, iron, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus and folate. Eating quinoa every day can lessen
swelling and lower your risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and colon cancer.

It
can also help your digestion and help you keep a healthy body weight. 8. Soy Milk Soy milk is used instead of milk by a lot
of vegans and people who are lactose intolerant and cannot drink milk. It is full of protein
and has vitamins A, B12, and D.

One cup of soy milk has 8 grams of protein. 9. Green Peas One of the best sources of vegetable protein
is green peas, or any peas for that matter. Green peas also have fiber, potassium, magnesium,
iron, zinc, folate, and vitamins B, C, A, and K.

They are also low in calories. One
cup of cooked green peas gives you about 8 to 10 grams of protein. Green peas can help lower the risk of heart
disease, arthritis, and type 2 diabetes. 10.

Peanut Butter Peanut butter is another great way to get
protein. This nut butter is a good source of monounsaturated fat and fiber. It is also
full of vitamins. Just 2 tablespoons of peanut butter has 8 grams of protein.

If youre careful not to eat too much of
it at once, this butter can help lower bad cholesterol and help you keep a normal weight. If you like the video, give it a thumbsup
and share it with your friends! If you want more recipes and tips, subscribe to the channel!.


Hi everyone today I'm here to do a
review of "The Vegetarian" by Han Kang. This recently won the Man Booker
International Prize which is awarded now yearly to a novel which is translated
from another language into English. It was originally written in Korean and
translated by Deborah Smith who, from what I understand, just learned Korean in
2010 and really taught herself through the translation of this novel, which I
think is pretty remarkable. The story itself is quite remarkable as well.

It follows a woman in South Korea
who decides one day, after having a dream, to become a vegetarian. And while that might
seem like a not totally abnormal life choice, in this novel, which is somewhat
short, has some drastic consequences and it feels like a very earth-shattering,
life-changing decision. We see how the story unfolds through three
different perspectives. So really the book is broken up into sort of three
novellas, and the first one is told from the perspective of the woman's husband;
the second is told from the perspective of her sister's husband, so her
brother-in-law; and the final section is told from the perspective of her sister.
And all the sections are about two years apart.

They never overlap at all so you're
getting these kind of snippets into her life when she decides to become a
vegetarian and then two subsequent sections of her life after, and you kind
of see how things devolve and what that really does to herself, to her family and
it's fascinating. It is a very strange premise; it almost feels like a thriller,
although the atmosphere of the story is not thriller at all. It is quite placid;
everything feels very kind of covered, and calm, and yet underneath that tone there
is a lot of tension. The only way I can really explain how she does that is
through the writing; it's very direct, but at the same time, which
seems kind of impossible, it hides a lot of things.

So you're told everything up
front, but you know that underneath there are just these layers that the storyteller
isn't really giving you. I think because you're seeing this woman's story through
other people's perspectives, you don't hear a lot from the woman herself as she
decides to become a vegetarian; you're really just viewing from the outside. So
I think that kind of increases the tension. It's not just a book about
moral, ethical choices of vegetarianism.

In fact, it's not really about that at
all. It's much more about, from what I came to
understand it as, a story about choice and how this one woman, through her
life and things preceding the story, have informed her in almost a
subconscious way to this choice that other people don't agree with. And so by
continuing to embrace this choice she is sort of rebelling. And it was a really
interesting psychological study almost.

Overall just quite an engaging read. It's
not long like I mentioned. You could probably read it in one sitting. I read it in a few sittings, but I think
each section is really a great kind of stopping point; they all feel complete
and yet they all inform each other as well.

So the more you get into the story
the more things in the past sections make sense, and it just builds in layers on
itself, and I absolutely loved it. It's definitely one that will stick with me
for a long time. I think reading it a second time would really unpack even
more of what exactly was going on. The final section is very psychological and very heady, so I think it could  warrant a second reading and hold up to that which is always great.
And I definitely see why this won the Man Booker Prize this year for the
International choices.

It definitely lived up to the hype for me and I would highly
recommend this. I will give the sort of caveat that there's some pretty adult
material in here; it's not used without purpose, but I just wanna throw that out
there that. If you're young I would not recommend this book. I would wait on it.
If you feel comfortable with that kind of content then I think you should read
this because it is a great piece of translated fiction.

And I'm excited to
read more from this author. I think she's great at examining humans and looking at normal things in kind of a
different sort of twisted way. I really enjoyed it, so if you have read this
novel please let me know your thoughts. It seems like it's making its rounds and
i'm happy for that cause I think it deserves the attention.

And let me know
if you've read anything else by this author and what you thought of it. I hope
you guys enjoy this review. I hope you decide to pick up "The Vegetarian" if you
have not, and I'll see you in my next video. Bye!.


Some people are especially sensitive to images of animals in pain. If you're one of these people, don't worry -- the following video contains no images of animal distress. [Electronic theme music] [music fades to background] Vegetarianism has been around since the days of ancient Greece and whilst it's still a minority view -- at least in my home country -- we all recognize it as a fairly normal, common, everyday kind of thing. There is actually some debate about whether or not vegetarianism is on the rise and part of that is to do with a lot of people /saying/ that they're vegetarian when actually they're not really.

So, for the purposes of this video at least, we'll define "vegetarianism" as "not eating any animals at all." So let me make this clear: [booming, echoing] If you eat fish, you are not a vegetarian. [*Ding*] So are there any philosophical reasons to become vegetarian? People often say that vegetarianism is healthier for you or better for the environment than eating meat. But those are practical arguments. Can we frame any arguments in moral philosophical terms? Some philosophers have pointed out that producing meat is actually quite a wasteful way of getting food.

If we all became vegetarians, then we'd need less land to grow that food. And since there are so many starving people in the world, you might say that there's a moral reason to become vegetarian so we can use that land to grow more food and feed more people. That's a little too human-focused though, right? That's saying that eating meat is bad because of the impact it has on other people. Is there anyway we can frame arguments around the animals themselves? Well, the most obvious argument is that eating meat necessarily involves killing animals.

It's generally assumed that animals are sentient -- they are aware, in some sense. Certain animals like us and chimps are maybe /more/ aware, but it's still feels like something to /be/ a chicken.
[Chicken cluck] And animals have interests -- by which we mean "states of the world which would be good for them" -- so, animals have an interest in staying alive. Most humans have an interest in eating meat because it's really tasty.

But you might say that our interest in that pleasure -- which is very small and which we could kind of do without -- can't override the much more fundamental interests of an animal in /staying alive./ Some people would say that it's just philosophically arrogant of us to assume that we have the right to override the most basic interests of another creature if we can help it. Obviously, in by just being alive everyday we override the basic interests of millions of bacteria and we override the basic interests of thousands of mosquitoes and locusts who are 'just tryin' to make a living,' but in those cases, we /have/ to, because they're pests or because they cause diseases. Whereas, in the case of eating meat, we could really do without that. Now you might just say that, "No --
NO! Human interests do trump animal interests every time.

I mean, chickens aren't that intelligent. It feels like /something/ to be a chicken, but it doesn't feel like much. We aren't really depriving it of anything all that big. But there's another argument that has it's locus classicus with the 18th century philosopher Jeremy Bentham, and the quote, "The question is not 'Can they reason?' Nor 'Can they talk?' But 'Can they suffer?'" A lot of animals, or at least, the ones that we eat, /do/ feel pain.

They /can/ suffer. And when they're reared for slaughter -- particularly if they're reared in intensive conditions -- they do suffer. Quite a lot. You might say that free range animals who live in better conditions don't suffer as much, but surely "death" counts as a harm.

Do humans really have the right to inflict that harm? If you raised a human being in really nice conditions for a number of years and then killed it, would that be okay? Now, obviously people are going to say that those two cases are not the same -- that there's some morally relevant differences, in which case, what are they? You might say that just buying and eating the meat doesn't directly contribute to the suffering, but you're supporting the industry with your money -- you're kind of culpable a little bit. This does leave some meat-eating options open: for instance, if you accidentally hit a wild animal with your car, then you didn't deliberately cause it's suffering, but it still kinda happened. Are you okay to eat it? Personally, I'd be inclined to say, "Yes!" I mean, don't look a gift horse in the mouth: put it in your mouth! Or if meat cells could be grown in a petri dish without ever having been part of any animal, then presumably that would be okay. Of course, that's all well and good, but a /lot/ of people eat meat.

And in my case, I know, it would be really, really difficult to give it up, 'cuz it's just so. . . Tasty! Is it fair to set moral standards that most people would find it difficult to.

. . Meet? Well, morality can be demanding. Just because you really, really don't want to do something doesn't mean you don't have a moral obligation to do it.

And remember, demanding this is relative: if you grew up vegetarian, in a society that was predominantly vegetarian, you'd probably find it pretty easy to do without meat. What do you guys think? Are there philosophical reasons against [*for*] being vegetarian? Do humans have the right to harm animals? If you're a vegetarian, why? There's also a link in the description to a paper by a guy named Dr. William Stevens, which outlines a lot of these ideas in detail. It's free to read and it contains some quite interesting arguments saying that eating meat is linked to the sexist treatment of women, which is something that I'd never thought of.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments. You can also reach us on Twitter and Facebook if you don't want to venture into the nether wastes of Google's commenting system. Subscribe to join the PhilosoFans, and not clicking the "like" button would be a mis-steak. Our last episode was on how names work and a lot of the people in the commenting system gave similar comments outlining a /referential/ theory of names, which is quite close to what John Stuart Mill thought.

So I'm going to give those comments their own episode because they deserve more detailed discussion. So you can let me know whether you'd like the next episode to be "How do names work?, Part 2" Or "Is democracy a human right?" In the meantime, though, let's see what  some of the other PhilosoFans had to say about how names work. Marsgreekgod said that the name Tom Hanks means "the individual who we call Tom Hanks." The problem with saying that is that who we call by a certain name is a contingent fact. We might have chose to call Jeff Goldblum by the name "Tom Hanks," but that wouldn't mean that Jeff Goldblum would be the same individual that we mean when we say the name "Tom Hanks" currently.

Fabio Reale said that names are identifiers for abstract objects. The problem with that, as well as all the problems of a referential theory of names which we'll go into in part 2, is that you'll then have to prove that there are such things as abstract objects, which will require a whole . . .

. . . Load of other philosophical work that we don't have time to go into right now.

Maybe that would be a good topic for another episode. Chris Hartman said that talking about other possible worlds is a waste of time because this is the only world that we can ever experience so we should try and draw conclusions from that. Well, that kind of depends on whether you think it's necessary to experience other possible worlds in order to draw conclusions from them. I would say, and a lot of philosophers who use the possible worlds model would agree with me, that possible worlds can be stipulated -- we can say that the conditions are "x, y, and z" and see how our concepts would operate under such conditions in order to draw conclusions about them that way without necessarily experiencing another possible world.

Athavan Rajasingham asks, "Will you do anything special for the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary?" Mmmm. . . Maybe, maybe you should come back tomorrow morning and see if there's anything up.

. . That's all we've got time for this week. Thank you very much for watching, and I will see you in the next episode.

Byyyyeeee! ["My name is" by Eminem ends].


Millions of people currently subsist on a
diet free of meat, and millions more do so on a diet completely free of any animal produce
whatsoever. For some reason, what a person chooses (or
rather in this case, chooses not) to eat is a weirdly contentious issue online. So we compiled a list of 5 pros and 5 cons
of a vegetarian or vegan diet you you may want to consider if not eating meat is something
thats ever appealed to you. *Note: There is an unbelievable amount of
misinformation about the topic of vegetarian diets online from both sides of the aisle.

To be clear, this article neither supports
nor condemns the idea of abstaining from eating meat. Its an interesting topic that has become
highly politicized and we just wanted to challenge that with an article that takes a more balanced
approach. CONS 5. Vegetarian diets cost more (if youre poor) Although a diet consisting solely of pizza,
fries, and super-sized cups of soda technically constitutes a vegetarian diet, the image in
most peoples heads when they hear the word vegetarian is one of a cornucopia of
fresh fruit and vegetables.

Which is a problem, because fresh produce
costs a lot of money. Now this is the point in conversation where
someone would interject to say well, actually, if you go to the farmers market, you can
get a weeks worth of groceries for a fraction of the price you can in the store. Which is a perfectly valid point that means
nothing to the millions of low income families who simply dont have the kind of scratch
necessary to drive 30 miles on a weekend to buy chard. Something militant vegetarians seem to have
a hard time understanding is that to some people, crappy junk food is cheaper than fresh
fruit and vegetables.

A study exploring the inherent difficulties
of maintaining a nutritionally balanced diet on a low income supports this, stating: When incomes drop and family budgets shrink,
food choices shift toward cheaper but more energy-dense foods. The first items dropped are usually healthier
foods  high-quality proteins, whole grains, vegetables and fruit. Factor in that poorer families often have
less free time to actually cook food, and a healthy vegetarian diet is not only difficult
to maintain for a poorer person, but almost impossible. Because  oh yeah  one of the real difficulties
of being a vegetarian is that 4.

Vegetarian diets are worse healthwise (if
you dont do it properly) Its often said that vegan diets are bad
for you because you cant get essential vitamins and minerals that are present in
meat into your body. This isnt true, and it is possible to get
everything your body needs with a no meat or no animal products diet. The problem is its very difficult, to the
point of being nearly unsustainable for some people. Again, this is where someone would jump in
saying But I dont eat meat and Im perfectly healthy! I just replace beef and chicken with [insert
farty sounding buzz-food here].

To be clear, were not saying that its
impossible to be healthy and vegetarian. Every major health authority we consulted
notes that a vegetarian diet can be healthy; however, it requires a sustained effort and
you guessed it  time and money to make it work (two things some people sadly have
precious little of). For example, just consider one nutrient, vitamin
B-12. This vitamin is found nearly exclusively in
animal products and most unbiased health authorities highly recommend vegans and even vegetarians
take supplements to make sure they get enough of it in their diet.

These supplements cost money, and while some
may scoff at 10 dollars a week to save all the animals, there are families and individuals
out there living paycheck to paycheck who could really use that 10 dollars. Besides, eating a varied vegetarian diet is
also a problem because 3. Demand for exotic produce can be harmful to
the environment, in specific circumstances A popular vegetarian talking point is that
if the world suddenly stopped eating meat, a plethora of good things would happen. Global emissions would be reduced, people
would live longer, thered be less disease, and everyone would get to high five the celebrity
of their choice.

Research supports these claims; however, it
also notes that this would require a massive, global shift in lifestyle and attitude, which
is just not going to happen. Like it or not, people like eating meat. Which is why such claims should be taken with
a pinch of salt, instead its better to look at what would happen if a considerable
percentage of people became vegetarian but not enough to upset the established system
of food production already in place. In this scenario, which is more likely because
its already happening, things arent as hunky dory as they are in the previous
paragraph.

In particular, research has shown that in
some specific circumstances growing the equivalent amount of vegetables is more resource intensive
than just raising animals for meat. A key problem is that not every fruit or vegetable
can be grown year round without a major investment of resources. Likewise, the demand for more exotic health
foods like quinoa has a major impact on the environment because it has to be shipped across
the ocean, along with all the bananas youre cramming into a smoothie. If you really care about the environment its
almost guaranteed that a steak from a farm 10 miles down the road has caused less overall
damage to the environment that a kiwi fruit shipped halfway around the world and driven
300 miles across the country.

Its also worth keeping in mind that the
truck carrying your kale probably hit like 3 birds on its way to the store because 2. A vegetarian diet still harms tons of animals A problem with producing food on the scale
that Western humanity does is is that its impossible to rule out, with any certainty,
any foodstuff you buy isnt responsible for at least one animal death. Whether its field mice being hurled into
a thresher alongside a couple thousands stalks of corn or the natural habitat of woodland
creatures being razed to the ground to make way for fields, all farming harms animals,
however ethical. A researcher named Steven Davis felt this
brought up an interesting ethical quandary.

Is it more morally defensible to kill millions
of animals accidentally every year than it is to purposely kill them to consume their
flesh? Were not even going to pretend were
qualified to answer that question. We simply felt that, in an article like this,
we had to mention that (as David puts it) Nobodys hands are free from the blood
of other animals, not even vegetarians. So at the very least, if you do become a vegetarian
for moral or ethical reasons, maybe hold off on acting too high and mighty about it. 1.

Vegetarians are more likely to suffer from
health problems We already noted in a previous entry that
vegetarians and vegans need to make a concerted, sustained effort to maintain a nutritionally
balanced diet. Although many vegetarians and vegans do, a
significant number do not, and this is where problems arise. A 2014 study of individuals who subscribed
to a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle found that they were more likely to be in poorer health
than those who didnt, mostly due to lack of essential nutrients found in their diets. Its not all bad, though, because the same
study also found that there are some benefits to not eating meat and that, overall, vegetarians
and vegans had a lower BMI than meat eaters.

Which segues beautifully into our counter
list of 5 pros of being a vegetarian or vegan, starting with PROS 5. Vegetarian and vegans are often thinner We already mentioned how, technically, you
could gorge yourself on junk food every day and still be a vegetarian. However, studies have shown that, by and large,
vegetarians and vegans tend to have a lower BMI than meat eaters. This is largely because fresh fruit and vegetables
seldom contain saturated fats, and the fats contained in things like nuts and seeds are
more easily metabolized by the body.

Vegetarians and vegans also, on the whole,
consume less cholesterol and eat more fiber, which mean both their arteries and colon will
be less clogged than a person who enjoys red meat on a daily basis. In other words, if youre looking to lose
weight, a vegetarian diet could help because it will naturally involve eating less fat
than an omnivorous one. In fact, a vegan diet can be incredibly beneficial
to many people looking to improve their overall health, provided they do one very important
thing and plan their freaking meals. Speaking of eating a diverse range of foods 4.

A (good) vegetarian diet is rich in lesser
consumed vitamins and minerals While its certainly true that, as mentioned
previously, vegetarians and vegans struggle to consume a healthy amount of certain, specific
minerals and vitamins more commonly found in meat products, the inverse is also true. By which we mean that, by the nature of eating
a diet rich in lesser consumed foodstuffs to get these vitamins and minerals, vegetarians
and vegans get the added benefit of also consuming less common nutrients that can be beneficial
to the body. For example, one study noted that A vegetarian
diet is associated with many health benefits because of its higher content of fiber, folic
acids, vitamins C and E, potassium, magnesium, and many phytochemicals and a fat content
that is more unsaturated. We wont get into detail about what all
of those long, impressive sounding words mean, but suffice it to say consuming adequate amounts
of them are all linked to good health and well-being.

Another less commonly touted fact about a
vegetarian or vegan diet is that 3. It can give you a better Antioxidant status Antioxidant is probably a word youve
heard thrown around a lot and assumed it was just some bogus medical-sounding jargon buzzword
companies slapped on boxes of tea to sell to hipsters who shop at Whole Foods. In actuality, antioxidants are pretty important
to the body as a whole and play a crucial role protecting you. In fact, scientists have tentatively claimed
that antioxidants have cancer fighting and prevention properties, as well as protecting
the body from a slew of other nasty ailments and problems.

So where are these magical antioxidants found? Well, mostly inside of fruits and vegetables,
which vegetarians and vegans consume on a much larger scale than omnivores, giving them
a better overall antioxidant status. Of course you could argue that omnivores could
get the same benefit with supplements, but then youd sound exactly like all those
gym bros arguing that vegans dont get enough protein in their diet. Also, doctors dont recommend taking antioxidant
supplements because there havent been enough studies done into whether theyre safe. For any vegetarians feeling pretty smug about
this, that might be because 2.

A vegetarian diet can improve your overall
mood (in the short term) As Bart Simpson once said, You dont
make friends with salad. Well to counter that flawless logic, theres
a study that shows you also dont have that good a time eating meat, either. To explain, a randomized study conducted in
2012 about what would would happen to the mood of individuals when placed on a restrictive
diet found that when omnivores abstained from eating meat, fish and poultry over a
two week period their mood increased significantly. Its important to note that this study was
rather small and had no conclusive results, but it may be worth keeping in mind that at
least one study has shown that eating a couple of extra apples and not having a colon clogged
with cow flesh made some people feel a little better.

We should also point out that there have been
studies showing the opposite of this, that a vegetarian diet is linked to poor mood and
even depression. However, most experts believe this to be a
side effect of iron deficiency, which arises as a result of poor meal planning on behalf
of some vegetarians  something weve already noted is a bad idea in general. Besides, the risk is probably worth it given
that 1. A vegetarian diet might protect you from dying
of a heart attack This is perhaps the most controversial item
on the list, so allow us to explain.

Theres a growing body of evidence that
suggests a vegetarian or vegan diet can protect you from a host of horrible diseases  in
particular heart disease. This is because one of the #1 things linked
to heart disease, besides smoking, is red and processed meat which, we dont know
if youve heard, vegetarians dont eat all that much of. In addition, eating a lot of processed meat
has been linked to all kinds of cancer, which are, well, bad. As vegetarians will, by default, never eat
either of these things, theyre naturally much less at risk of any of the potentially
life threatening side-effects of consuming it.

This isnt to say that vegetarians arent
at risk of heart disease or cancer, its just that their diet means theyre in a
much better place to avoid it. Think of it like walking on the sidewalk:
you can still be hit by a car, but theres more chance its going to hit the guy in
the middle of the road eating a steak. Of course, as this article has discussed in
detail, there are still major cons of a vegetarian or vegan diet you need to be mindful of. But at least now, hopefully, you have a more
nuanced opinion on the subject after reading this..

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