Webomatica - Latest Comments in Spock Is A Vegetarian

Re: Spock Is A Vegetarian

Sub. M. — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 12:38:19 -0000

I agree with S.R.J.'s hypothesis. Veganism seems to be the logical choice, both ethically and practically for the Vulcans. If there is no husbandry for meat, it is doubtful that logic would permit expending the energy and resources necessary to produce dairy or eggs. And dairy and egg production are inevitably connected to some degree of animal suffering. As for seafood: science has only recently shown fish to have pain receptors and complex neural systems. I'm sure the Vulcan's would have figured this out and understood it to be just as morally relevant as the killing of other animals...so I would maintain that the show was nevertheless far ahead of its time, and that logic can fill in the gaps for us.

Re: Spock Is A Vegetarian

S.R.J. — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 22:49:12 -0000

I see the recipes have Vulcans eating eggs and butter. I find that difficult to accept since those foods still require violence and oppression toward other species. Surely Vulcans would be vegans. How could they justify keeping thousands of chickens for the purpose of harvesting their eggs? What would they do with those thousands of chickens once they were "spent" (past their laying prime)? The planet would quickly get overrun by chickens (or other egg-laying birds) when the spent birds weren't slaughtered . . . not to mention that they'd have twice as many chickens as we keep here on Earth because we automatically slaughter the male chicks but Vulcans wouldn't do that.

And the milk? I spent my summers on my grandparent's farm and there are few sounds more sorrowful than the sound of a mother cow being separated from her baby before their time so that humans could drink her milk. Would Vulcans tear apart mothers and children so they could have butter? And, again, a milk cow must be bred every year to keep her milk flowing. What would Vulcan do with all those cows piling up since they wouldn't be making them into veal?

It is my opinion that Vulcans would not merely be vegetarian. Their logic and peaceful philosophy would demand nothing less than veganism.

Re: Spock Is A Vegetarian

Todd Harrison - LA Headshot Ph — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 05:39:01 -0000

This fact has never dawned on me. This must be all Vulcans. Funny all the times I watched it I never noticed!

Re: Spock Is A Vegetarian

Elaine Vigneault — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 20:24:09 -0000

Wow, a thorough analysis!
The Vulcan recipes are my favorite. Now that's just funny :)

Re: Spock Is A Vegetarian

webomatica — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 15:52:55 -0000

I believe the idea was extended to other shows but I'm not as familiar with the others. I think once again the idea of Vulcan diet is yet another area where the show was ahead of its time.

Re: Spock Is A Vegetarian

tunequest — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 15:36:06 -0000

[nerdhat]
I guess that makes sense. Animal husbandry requires many more resources than basic agriculture. A single cow requires 13.6 Mbtu of energy to raise and feedlot cows consume roughly 22 lbs of corn each day.

Vulcan is an arid planet and the logical course to maximize agricultural output would be to grow fruit and vegetable crops for Vulcans to eat, not animals.
[/nerdhat]

Re: Spock Is A Vegetarian

Urbanist — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 10:01:25 -0000

Very odd - I wonder if they carried that consistently through and applied it to all vulcans on the other shows? Unfortunately, geeky though I am, I'm not going to research it :)