Culture sends males the message that hunting, butchering and eating animals is “manly”, but that couldn’t be further off base. Your character is the determining factor in what makes you a man. Real men are protectors of the weak and vulnerable; not violators and destroyers.
Although, as many will have noticed, the man pictured is actor and social activist Joaquin Phoenix (vegan), the following quote by competitive powerlifter Noah Hannibal (also vegan) is very fitting:
In a 2010 interview with The Discerning Brute, Noah Hannibal aka Vegan Tank, was asked: “The weightlifting world seems very full of machismo. Meat-eating goes hand-in-hand with manliness in our culture. How do you keep your manhood while bottle-feeding lambs?”
To which he responded: “It’s funny because I can’t think of anything more cowardly than causing the killing of an innocent animal for some food you don’t need. To me ‘manhood’ is about standing up for what you believe in no matter how inconvenient or unpopular, and I think it takes a lot of guts in our culture for people to say I’m not going to support animal abuse. I also think a lot of good hearted people continue to eat meat, eggs and dairy because their mind somehow blocks out the fact that animals are suffering as a direct result of what they put in their mouth.”
So perfectly said. As for the physical aspect, which is the manlier way of eating; meat or plant-based? Allow the following to help you decide….
“They thought red meat put hair on their chest and made them more manly. And I said, guys, no. It doesn’t. What it does is it puts plaque in your arteries and it makes you less of a man. The canary in the coal mine, when it comes to heart disease, the first sign is an under-performing penis.” ― Rip Esselstyn, former firefighter and triathlete
View his inspiring and informative ‘Plant-strong & healthy living’ presentation below
Plant-strong & healthy living: Rip Esselstyn at TEDxFremont
Rip Esselstyn, a former firefighter and author of The Engine 2 Diet, advocates a plant-strong diet to combat chronic diseases. Esselstyn inspired his fellow firefighting crew at the Austin Engine 2 station to follow a plant-based diet and dramatically heal their health. In 2012, Engine 2 and Whole Foods Market unveiled the Engine 2 food line.
www.engine2diet.com
Also this brief clip here by Dr. John McDougall
Meat is manly? Think again!
