i dont really like the whole 'being fat is awful' reason to be veg. i have been veg for 15 years, and am fat. i have a friend who is a vegan chef, and he is totally fat too.

if people look around at normal people who are veg, they might be thin, or they might not. and if they arent, people will think that if peta lies about veg people being thin, they will lie about anything.

but it isnt good for people to hear 'fat people suck ass' all the time.

i am veg because of animal rights, but i am also fat. that doesnt mean people should 'hate my guts' or i am a bad person.

it just isnt a good message.

Posted by: rachel | July 11, 2008 02:27 PM

Meat itself does not cause impotence or obesity. Too much unhealthy meat does. My boyfriend and I both have very healthy diets that include meat. We exercise daily, and have no problems physically, mentally, or sexually. Vegetarains don't just automatically get a free card to all diseases and obsesity. You seem to say a vegetarian diet protects you from everything (what with your hundreds of reasons). But in fact, I have seen obese vegetarians, unhealthy ones, ill ones, and...ahem...poor performers. With meat you have a risk of mad cow disease. With vegetables you have E coli. Both can be preveted by washing and thoroughly cooking your food. So a healthy vegetarian diet is no better than a healthy omnivorous diet. They are both just different ways to stay healthy.

Posted by: S.Q. | July 11, 2008 02:41 PM

Low volume of semen? That'll never do. Make sure you eat your pumpkin seeds to replace all that zinc that's attached to each delivery.

Posted by: Mike Quinoa | July 11, 2008 03:34 PM

Grace, lol!! If you can't see it what does it matter!!? They (overweighters') obviously don't mind. I mean the bulging of the bulge doesn't happen over night! Choices, choices!

Posted by: Carla | July 11, 2008 04:03 PM

S.Q.,

Cooking your meat will not kill BSE prions if they are present in your meat. There are cases where medical instruments were sterilized in an autoclave after use on a CJD patient. The prions survived, and remained infective.

If you cook at 800 degrees F., that should disable them, but your meat would have turned to ash long before reaching that temp.

Posted by: Mike Quinoa | July 11, 2008 05:21 PM

The point is: the studies show that "vegetarians are slimmer than nonvegetarians, weighing on average 20 to 30 percent less than their meat-eating counterparts."
So yes it is true that there are vegetarians that are obese, but the numbers are showing that they are less then meat eaters.
Eating healthy is the key

Posted by: Elda | July 11, 2008 05:28 PM

To S.Q.

Beyond the arrogant aspects of your diatribe about eating meat, you can't seem to grasp why eating meat is immoral.

If you had to kill your own chickens, cows, and pigs, perhaps maybe you'd give some thought to why going vegan or vegetarian makes complete sense.

If you haven't taken the time to view "Meet Your Meat", I strongly suggest you do so.

Posted by: Susan T | July 11, 2008 05:52 PM

dear SQ, whether you believe meat is healthy or not has nothing to do with the fact that meat is cruel!!! you are what you eat and cattle, pigs, chickens, etc are generally terrified just before they die... as you or i would be. all that adrenaline etc that is released with this type of terror can't be heatlhy. not only are you consuming this you are eating something that is totally filthy. don't believe me read slaughterhouse. and i believe you can get E. coli from meat not vegetables!!!!

Posted by: Nicole | July 12, 2008 01:44 AM

I love natural selection.

Posted by: Darwin | July 12, 2008 05:37 AM

I'm with you Rachel. I've been vegan (and not a junk food one) for over a year and I'm still really fat. Not a good advertisement at all for the lifestyle. I'm afraid it still comes down to portion control and exercise :-( BUT even if I never lose another pound, I will never eat meat again thanks to PETA and Earthlings

Posted by: Stacey Edness | July 12, 2008 11:06 AM

Rachel, I totally agree with you. I'm on the border btwn overweight and normal weight, and I find it just as easy to overeat now as I did before I became a vegan. It seems PETA is trying to use this obsession with weight loss that our society has in order to get people to stop eating meat. It won't work, and they'll just become mistrustful.

Posted by: Rachel | July 12, 2008 03:23 PM

Vegans can still be incredibly overweight but they are more than not a healthy, or under, weight. Actually, studies have shown that vegans/vegetarians who have selected this life style because people have told them they would be "skinny", instead of because being vegan is morally right, are more likely to be anorexic. So PETA is promoting anorexia and ridicule of overweight people.. No wonder so many people are "waking up". Go vegan because of your moral beliefs, not because you want to out-preform all your buddies in bed or look like the hottest new celeb. And stop jumping people for eating animals.. Have you ever took a moment to realise that plants need oxygen, sunlight, water, and nutrients like the rest of us? Who is to say they don't "feel"?

Posted by: Cynthia Downer | July 12, 2008 11:41 PM

Even as a vegetarian, I think everyone that's telling SQ he/she is wrong is missing the big picture here. The whole point of the article we're all commenting on is NOT that eating animals is cruel (that's not mentioned at all), but that it makes you slimmer and thus ensures better sperm. So the fact that SQ refuted the article's point has nothing to do with any other reason to go vegetarian, and therefore we should not be telling the commenter that he/she is wrong. End of story.

Posted by: Andy | July 13, 2008 03:41 AM

If you are a fat vegetarian or vegan its because you are consuming way too many carbohydrates. You are probably on your way to becoming diabetic.

Posted by: Sue | July 13, 2008 04:04 AM

Meat doesn't necessarily make people 'fat'.
Scientific research shows that proteins found in meat and dairy (or animal proteins) are harder for the body to digest. It also shows that meat and dairy can contain alot of lipids.
If too much is consumed then it will lead to weight gain and it can also clog up arteries.
However, eating lean meats can have health benefits.
Vegetarian diets are certainly more healthy if you eat properly. Less processed foods and raw fruit and veg are definates for nutrients and these foods also happen to be low GI and contribute to overall health and achieving a sustainable weight. Eating to many processed foods or carbohydrates can lead to weight gain.
I've been an ovo-vegetarian for 3 years and i eat extremely healthy and hence can maintain a healthy weight. This campaign is a little misdirected and contains false claims.

Posted by: Oswald | July 13, 2008 06:46 AM

When I quit eating meat I lost pounds, but I eat bread and spaguetis and this make me gain pounds, but whatever fat or not fat, the important thing is the animals. DON'T EAT ANIMALS, GO VEG.

Posted by: liliana | July 13, 2008 07:02 PM

Nicole, you very much CAN. Remember the big spinach E coli outbreak? Apparently not.

Besides, mainly what I hear on this side is how horrible the human race is. Shouldn't this make you happy?

Posted by: Tabitha | July 13, 2008 08:03 PM

There is a stereotype that veg. are thinner. Studies show that they tend to be, and this is true in a lot of cases, but overall, we are all individuals. We all have different genes and come in different shapes and sizes. I have been vegetarian for over three years and recently turned vegan a few months ago. I am certainly no twig by any means but I am a healthy weight and a healthy person. Just nurture your bodies and love yourself. Going veg is healthier if you eat a balanced diet, and its a great way to respect the rest of the creatures on this earth. YAY GO VEG!

Posted by: Erica | July 14, 2008 12:14 AM

PETA didn't lie about anything in this statement. They never said that there arent any fat vegetarians in the world.

Rachel, reread.

So what does this have to do with dietary choices? Well, loyal readers of The PETA Files will recall that vegetarians are slimmer than nonvegetarians, weighing on average 20 to 30 percent less than their meat-eating counterparts. In other words, meat-eaters tend to be heavier than vegetarians, are more likely to be obese

I know there are some fat vegans out there but if you look at the entire world and group all the vegan's together then all the people who eat meat and dairy, you will notice one group tends to be a lot smaller (percentage wise) then the other group.

Posted by: Harley | July 14, 2008 07:33 AM

I think it generally comes down to tolerance. The choice to eat meat or go vegetarian/vegan is exactly that: a decision. I don't really think it affects your sperm count or how much you weigh; that involves so many other factors like genetics, exercise, lifestyle, and other choices (i.e. smoking). I think it's common knowledge by now that an immense number of Americans are obese, which is not healthy. How you feel about the issue and whether you choose to eat meat or not is your own business, and so long as you get all the nutrients you need in a healthful manner, that decision should have no such dramatic impact on your health.

Posted by: Carrie Waibel | July 14, 2008 09:06 AM

Hi Carrie,

With all due respect, I don't think the decision to eat meat should be a "personal choice" any more than beating a child could be considered a "personal choice." There are other beings whose welfare is impacted by these decisions and their interests have to be factored in. The thing is, the meat industry isn't bending over backward to inform consumers about what ethical choices lie in the balance when they choose to purchase and consume meat -- and this undermines our ability to make *informed* choices. To say we should have "choice" is fine, but surely, we want to make informed choices, right?

PETA is, of course, an opportunistic organization - they're concerned about animals but are willing to shape the message in such a way as to capture the interest of the mainstream. They're pretty open about this, and to the extent that everyone knows that this is the case, I really don't see a problem with it.

It's sad that our society is more tuned in with what Jessica Simpson and Pam Anderson are doing, moreso than the horrors of factory farming or how slaughter practices in the U.S. compare with those in Europe, but it is reality. PETA's only playing with the hand they've been dealt.

Posted by: Curbles | July 14, 2008 02:30 PM

Eating meat doesn't make someone fat. Eating FAT makes someone fat!

I have a friend who is very thin and she eats meat. I ate meat for 26 years and I'm not overwight. I am vegetarian now btw. However, I see fat people that have reproduced. They eat meat. So...

Being fat is unhealthy to begin with. But it's funny to me that ya'll constantly state how unhealthy meat is. If you get lean cuts and cook it properly there is nothing unhealthy about it in my opinion. True, it may carry diseases but obviously that hasn't stopped the rest of the world from consuming meat products.

Posted by: brandie r. | July 14, 2008 02:34 PM

Thank you Andy,

You took the words right out of my mouth.

Posted by: S.Q. | July 14, 2008 02:36 PM

E.coli is a result of animal, not plant, agriculture, but through manure can also infect plant foods.

Carbs are perfectly fine foods, and very easy on your blood sugar, providing you stick with whole-food, unrefined products, such as brown rice, hard wheat berries, oat groats, whole grain pasta, quinoa, et cetera. Refined carbs such as white bread and white pasta, candy, crackers, and cookies can spike your blood sugar, but the fiber of whole, coarse grains prevents this blood sugar surge.

Posted by: Mike Quinoa | July 14, 2008 06:04 PM

A few nutrition notes for anyone interested...

Calories consumed vs. calories burned will determine if someone is underweight/normal weight/overweight. You can become overweight by eating fat, carbs or protein.

My personal experience is that many vegans tend to eat more high-fiber foods than non-vegans, thus are satiated on fewer calories.

As for E. coli... it is animal-derived; it is a bacterium found in warm-blooded animals that colonizes in the intestines and remains there life long. It is not harmful provided it stays where it is supposed to be, and in fact, plays an essential role in digestion. It gets into the food supply via contaminated manure fertilizer, improper handwashing (fecal-oral route), irrigation with contaminated water, meat contaminated with feces or other similar routes (there is a good explanation on Wikipedia).

As for the boys and their sperm... give me a vegan man any day!

Posted by: Leslie, RD | July 14, 2008 07:01 PM

OMG!!! I did not know that, & I didn't want to know that but that title that you guys gave it "SPERM gone wrong", i had to read it.

Being in the lunch room at school and seeing all the boys inhaling (0_o) all the hambergers and god knows what "slush". I feel sorry for their future. (x_x)

That gives me all the more reason to go vegie. :)I don't want to get [F]AT. - and being fat runs in my family. :( !!!!

Posted by: Jessica | July 14, 2008 08:48 PM

I love it!

Posted by: Curtis | July 15, 2008 12:24 AM

I agree Curbles

Posted by: lynda downie | July 15, 2008 10:18 PM

Thank you, Leslie! That is excellent information.

I've been a vegetarian for 20 plus years, and I always hoveread around 112 pounds.

However, about 5 years ago I became allergic to wheat. I was sick for years before I was diagnosed, I was severely anemic and felt horrible.

Well, when I finally got diagnosed, I stopped eating all wheat and I felt much better.

Guess what - within no time, I gained 10 pounds!! I was up to 121 or 122. And I was eating almost all vegan food because I had felt so sick.

I don't know why it happened, but obviously weight is a very tricky subject. Hopefully we're discussing this while being considerate of people who may feel overweight.

Posted by: Maya, CVT | July 16, 2008 12:28 PM

In the press this morning in England, soya and soya products 'significantly reduce a mans sperm count.'

Posted by: Paul | July 24, 2008 08:12 AM

i m a vegeterian only in the day not in night

Posted by: Jijaji | July 31, 2008 07:07 AM

It's absolutely ludacris to equate eating meat to beating a child, in my opinion, if only for the simple reason that I would never beat a child in order to eat it.

If I want to eat meat, that's my call and I don't think anyone else has any right to make that decision for me. On that same note, if I decide I want to be a vegetarian, no meat-eater should try to convince me otherwise.

We'd all get along so much better if we stayed out of each other's business, but I understand the impossibility of those personal decisions in correlation with the law.

Posted by: Carrie Waibel | August 8, 2008 09:54 AM

I guess America is in big trouble since almost 75% of the population is fat.

Posted by: Jeff | November 5, 2008 11:32 AM