What happened in the vegan community?

I hadn’t heard about any of this until seeing that ToS post.

  • slazer2au@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    The long and short of it is, One of the lemmy.world admins demoted a mod of the vegan community over a comment about how cat can be fed a 100% vegan diet with supplements and the cat will be fine.

    • MissJinx@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      What an asshole vegan. How stupid can you be to say you love animals and say something as dumb as this

      • palordrolap@fedia.io
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        3 months ago

        I once gave a vegan friend of mine pause for thought when I pointed out that we probably shouldn’t be keeping pets in the first place if those pets aren’t in their natural habitat doing what their species evolved to do. They had cats.

        • iheartneopets@lemm.ee
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          3 months ago

          A good thought, if you are planning to buy one from a breeder! Don’t do that (unless you are a farmer who needs a very specific breed of working dog). By adopting instead, you can ethically have a companion, imo. The animal life already exists, so by giving it a good home, you’re engaging in harm reduction. Don’t forget to slay and neuter those pets!

        • superkret@feddit.org
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          3 months ago

          I have 2 cats but they weren’t born because of me. They’re from a shelter. They can freely roam the woods behind my house and of course they kill a lot of mice (and a few birds).
          The other alternatives would be keeping them locked up for life and feeding them cat food from industrialized animal farms, or putting them to sleep. I don’t think those alternatives would be more ethical.

          • Longpork3@lemmy.nz
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            3 months ago

            Cats require a few nutrients which aren’t naturally present in plants, such as taurine. Fortunately, those nutrients are easily synthesised, and added to vegan cat foods in order to make them nutritionally complete.

              • FundMECFSResearch
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                3 months ago

                Look at the research before getting emotional.

                While it seems dogs need atleast some meat, the scientific consensus is cats can be healthy with a vegan diet and proper supplementation.

                I’m not vegan nor do I have a cat, but this debate interested me and I’ve read a couple literature reviews and big papers on the subject.

                Cats aren’t what they were 15’000 years ago. Domestication has turned them into an entirely different species.

                • vxx@lemmy.world
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                  3 months ago

                  The thing I’m wondering whenever I see this discussion is:

                  Should a vegan have a pet that kills for fun?

                  Should they keep it inside all day to stop it from killing?

                  I don’t get why a vegan would want to have a cat at all.

                  • FundMECFSResearch
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                    3 months ago

                    Unless you live somewhere with little native wildlife the general rule amongst conservationists is that cats should not be let outside. They have already contributed to the extinction of many bird species.

                    That being said, in america, people let their cats out in general. In western europe, not so much.

            • Taleya@aussie.zone
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              3 months ago

              So you’re just fine with using and abusing an animal when it gets you what you want. Gotcha.

          • davepleasebehave@lemmy.world
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            3 months ago

            sure. but the above post stated with supplements. so if the food is palatable and nutritional to the cat, then what does it matter?

            • Catpurrple
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              3 months ago

              A person understands the reason they’re eating only plants with no animal byproducts. An animal doesn’t. An animal is just confused and irritated that their food was changed for the worse by their owner. If their diet and mountain of supplement pills/powders did not actually meet their dietary needs because it wasn’t an exact match for their regular food or natural prey, they would still end up malnourished. And not every cat’s dietary needs are the same or stay the same as they age.

              Malnourished or not, you also wouldn’t be able to stop your cat from finding a mouse or insect which snuck into your home and devouring them to enhance their compromised diet. You cannot make a carnivore vegan, you can only abuse them into living in a way they do not naturally live and do not want to live, until they find a way to avoid you for just long enough to go against your wishes and savage another animal, as is their instinctive nature.

              Furthermore, do you really think animals have no joy in what they eat, that that’s only a human quality? Nutrition doesn’t matter to the animal, they just want to eat what they want to eat. Cats almost never turn down an offer of cream or milk despite 90% or more of them being lactose intolerant. It’s not nutrients their body needs or can absorb, and actively makes them feel ill. But they want it anyway because it’s tasty and they aren’t able to consider the consequences of their actions as far in advance as humans can.

              Edit: In fact, going off that same point but for humans, you could probably make a human live off some kind of tasteless nutrient bar that gives everything you could need, but it wouldn’t mean they’d enjoy it. Oh wait, we did do that before, as a cruel punishment for prisoners in the US, fucking nutraloaf!

                • Catpurrple
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                  3 months ago

                  You’re still making them do something they didn’t consent to. They will still chew on bugs and small prey animals (when they get access to them, which isn’t often for indoor cats), because it’s etched into their behavior. They will take every opportunity they get. You can’t make a cat vegan, you can only force a cat on a vegan diet. Can’t you understand the qualitative difference there?

                  • Makhno@lemmy.world
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                    3 months ago

                    Giving a dog/cat shots in doing something to them they didn’t consent to.

                    Your logic is completely absent

                  • MissJinx@lemmy.world
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                    3 months ago

                    The stupidity of some vegas has no boundaries. It makes me so sad to know those poor animals are being torture. You are right but we can’t really debate dumb

            • MissJinx@lemmy.world
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              3 months ago

              Why have an animal to.torture it? Get a parrot of a fish then. Don’t adopt an animal, that can’t understand, and push stupid human values to it. A person that says wants to “protect” animal should respect nature. but you know… vegans are jot the best at logical thinking

              • davepleasebehave@lemmy.world
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                3 months ago

                if the animal enjoys the food and it has all the nutrition the animal needs then how is it torture?.

                Do you also rant at people who keep their cats inside against their will?

                • x4740N@lemm.ee
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                  2 months ago

                  I hope the RSPCA, ASPCA, Whatever your countries local equivalent is looks into you with that sort of mindset

                  • davepleasebehave@lemmy.world
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                    2 months ago

                    if the animal has nutritious food and enjoys the food then the RSPCA would be fine.

                    the RSPCA published the following information:

                    it is possible to develop a plant-based diet for cats, these need to be carefully formulated to meet the unique nutritional requirements of the cat and be appropriately supplemented with essential nutrients

            • Paraponera_clavata@lemmy.world
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              3 months ago

              I don’t think palatable nutritional vegan cat food exists, at least none with any empirical evidence its safe for cats long-term.

          • BananaCoffee@lemmy.world
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            3 months ago

            My bias is minimal; I don’t practice veganism for myself of my pets.

            I think your opinion is completely ignorant. While there isn’t clear scientific evidence that conclude a vegan cat diet is better, there is isn’t clear scientific evidence to conclude it is inately worse. So, is your opinion based in reality or your intuition?

            “However, there is little evidence of adverse effects arising in dogs and cats on vegan diets.”

            Domínguez-Oliva, Adriana, et al. “The Impact of Vegan Diets on Indicators of Health in Dogs and Cats: A Systematic Review.” Veterinary Sciences, vol. 10, no. 1, Jan. 2023, p. NA. Gale Academic OneFile, dx.doi.org/10.3390/vetsci10010052. Accessed 29 Aug. 2024.

            Naturally, organizations such as the ASPCA tend toward caution and advise against vegan diets, but your statement reaches far beyond that point.

            Edit: I recognize my comment is a bit condescending. I do not mean to discourage discussion. I am genuinely curious and encourage your feedback. Please let me know if I’m missing something important here.

        • Taleya@aussie.zone
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          3 months ago

          Cats are obligate carnivores. They have evolved to eat meat and only meat. A vegan diet can and will kill them.

          • BananaCoffee@lemmy.world
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            3 months ago

            My bias is minimal; I don’t practice veganism for myself of my pets.

            I think your opinion is completely ignorant. While there isn’t clear scientific evidence that conclude a vegan cat diet is better, there is isn’t clear scientific evidence to conclude it is inately worse. So, is your opinion based in reality or your intuition?

            “However, there is little evidence of adverse effects arising in dogs and cats on vegan diets.”

            Domínguez-Oliva, Adriana, et al. “The Impact of Vegan Diets on Indicators of Health in Dogs and Cats: A Systematic Review.” Veterinary Sciences, vol. 10, no. 1, Jan. 2023, p. NA. Gale Academic OneFile, dx.doi.org/10.3390/vetsci10010052. Accessed 29 Aug. 2024.

            Naturally, organizations such as the ASPCA tend toward caution and advise against vegan diets, but your statement reaches far beyond that point.

            Edit: I recognize my comment is a bit condescending. I do not mean to discourage discussion. I am genuinely curious and encourage your feedback. Please let me know if I’m missing something important here.

              • BananaCoffee@lemmy.world
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                3 months ago

                That article basically says what the study says. There is no real evidence that a vegan diet is healthier for cat; they point to owner bias as the cause of any perception that these studies show it is healthier.

                My point was that there is no evidence that a vegan diet is impossible for a cat. I wouldn’t try it because we don’t know it’s safe, but we also don’t know that it’s necessarily unsafe. I’m just bothered by people who jump to “vegan diet equals dead/tortured cat” because we don’t have any evidence that supports such a dramatic claim.

                • Taleya@aussie.zone
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                  3 months ago

                  Nah mate. You literally said " there is isn’t clear scientific evidence to conclude it is inately worse" and then tried to link to a faulty science study that got debunked.

                  Vegan diets for cats are notoriously difficult due to the fact it runs completely counter to the diet a cat has evolved to process. If you’re so dedicated to the vegan ideal that you will attempt to force an obligate carnivore - key word obligate - to consume a diet completely contrary to its digestive system then why are you keeping a pet in the first place?

                  • BananaCoffee@lemmy.world
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                    3 months ago

                    Sorry for my imprecise response. The article you linked is talking about the “Vegan versus meat-based cat food…” study specifically. I was refering back to the study I referenced in a previous comment, “The Impact of Vegan Diets on Indicators of Health in Dogs and Cats: A Systematic Review.”. The systematic review is essentially a big picture analysis of 16 other studies, 6 specifically about cats. The “Vegan versus meat-based cat food…” study was not included.

                    The systematic review says there is not enough evidence at this point to say whether a vegan diet is better or worse. I still stand behind “there is isn’t clear scientific evidence to conclude it is inately worse”.

                    I’m not putting any pets on a vegan diet. First, I don’t personally follow any vegan practices even for myself. Secondly, it’s risky at this point, and I don’t have enough resources (time, money, attention to detail) to minimize those risks. I keep pets because animal shelters kill animals that they do not have the capacity to support. I can imagine others, even those who practice vegan lifestyles, would commonly cite a similar motive.

          • desktop_user
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            3 months ago

            if cats are carnivores then why does mine eat corn every chance it gets, sometimes going for fresh corn over refrigerated steak?

            • Taleya@aussie.zone
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              3 months ago

              Same reason people sometimes chew on paper.

              Actually if you’re american, corn is also in cat food because it’s freaking everywhere so cats can associate it with food

        • x4740N@lemm.ee
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          2 months ago

          What’s wrong with depriving a cat of something it has evolved to need and can die or be in bad health without?

      • BananaCoffee@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        My bias is minimal; I don’t practice veganism for myself of my pets.

        I think your opinion is completely ignorant. While there isn’t clear scientific evidence that conclude a vegan cat diet is better, there is isn’t clear scientific evidence to conclude it is inately worse. So, is your opinion based in reality or your intuition?

        “However, there is little evidence of adverse effects arising in dogs and cats on vegan diets.”

        Domínguez-Oliva, Adriana, et al. “The Impact of Vegan Diets on Indicators of Health in Dogs and Cats: A Systematic Review.” Veterinary Sciences, vol. 10, no. 1, Jan. 2023, p. NA. Gale Academic OneFile, dx.doi.org/10.3390/vetsci10010052. Accessed 29 Aug. 2024.

        Naturally, organizations such as the ASPCA tend toward caution and advise against vegan diets, but your statement reaches far beyond that point.

        Edit: I recognize my comment is a bit condescending. I do not mean to discourage discussion. I am genuinely curious and encourage your feedback. Please let me know if I’m missing something important here.

    • Mrs_deWinter@feddit.org
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      3 months ago

      Wtf is happening in the comments. Why are people getting so insane over this topic over and over again? If there’s cat food out there that’s nutritional complete, cats like it, and it happens to be plant based - so what? The only two reasons to object are if someone is 100% convinced such a product doesn’t and cannot exist or if they’re entirely ideological about it. And if we have to apply the naturalistic fallacy that only the natural way can be morally okay, why of all things argue about pet food? I really, really don’t get it why people get so intensely emotional about it.

      • ngwoo@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        If there’s cat food out there that’s nutritional complete, cats like it, and it happens to be plant based - so what?

        Because the vegan cat food that claims to be nutritionally complete isn’t. Whenever these brands have their products studied they turn out to not be nutritionally complete. Feeding them to a cat is abuse.

        • Mrs_deWinter@feddit.org
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          3 months ago

          So they should simply start producing one that is. Problem solved. No law of nature prevents us from supplementing the right amount of taurine and b12, so there is no reason to be irrational about it.

        • Mrs_deWinter@feddit.org
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          3 months ago

          What should stop a company from supplementing the right amount of all the nutrients listed? The article simply claims it’s not nutritionally complete, but that would only be an argument against the brands currently available and tested, not against the idea in principle.

      • trainsaresexy@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        Maybe no one in the history of the internet has argued about this and it’s just time for people to duke it out. I thought everything was settled about cats by now, but maybe not.

        • Mrs_deWinter@feddit.org
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          3 months ago

          I’ve seen this exact argument before and it was just as heated. Ironically the same people getting annoyed at vegans for being emotional and judgemental are incredibly fast to scream abuse and murder when it comes to cat food.