Insects are wicked! I love watching ants go to work, I even throw them some little bits of food just to watch them work together to get it home. Glad this was addressed, anyone can kill them and get away with it as pretty much no consideration is given to their existence. If only everyone knew how vital some of them are to our existence!
We have this inner bias to disgard or belittle what we don't know. To improve insects image would require to study them and share this wonderful knowledge with everybody. I have so much learned from observing slugs outside and spiders Inside : all of them have a mission and means to fullfill it. We should better know our fellow living creatures. They have so much to tell us about us cause we are just like them in the same boat as them. We tend to love what we know and to reject what we don't. Let us know insects better. That's a call for insects channels. Show us how great insects are. Insects are truly amazing. Life is amazing. It's a God given gift. Our moral obligation as God's Creation, call It whatever you feel more comfortable with, is to NOT destroy it in vain. If it's there, there is a good reason for it to be. It's a part of a whole equilibrium we'll never be able to fully uncover. Respect this grand design or the grand design will get rid of the humane race. If you truly take your life and your loved ones in high esteem, praise and respect all lives. ALL. At the end of the day we only face one dilemma for each choice we make : the path of life or the path of death. And that's a tremendously difficult one to do cause the morbid pulsion is lying deep down within. Manking will be saved if it can overtake this inner destructive tendancy.
*Do Vegans Kill Bugs?* what is the vegan stance on insects? do they have rights? how “far” do you take veganism? in this interview vegan activist Gary Yourosfky elaborates on the ethical aspects of our relationship with bugs and shares his own personal experience and aversions. #vegansim #ethics #veganethics #insects #bugs #animalrights #speciesism #disruptspeciesism #bitesizevegan #garyyourofsky #interview #garyyourofskyinterview #garyyourofskyinterviewseries #bitesizeintverview #morality #bees #spiders #ants
The Beautiful Green Beast do you kill every mosquito and tick that you see, whether or not it has bitten you, or do you wait for it to bite you first? If you don't wait for it to bite you, isn't this speciesist discrimination? I mean a bear *can* harm you, would it be right for people to kill every bear that we encounter?.
I’m so grateful for Gary yourofsky he’s inspired me so much especially when I first went vegan 7 years ago! Wish we would see more of him now in 2020 when people really need him
Yet another video of yours I have fallen in love with!! Gary Yourofsky is incredible, there are no words. I'm soo happy you and he were able to make this video. So very informative, and I have to love the topics and issues you discuss, they're always relevant and more than necessary! Thanks so much Emily!!
^ I agree. It's just a concept. I don't even want to call myself a vegan because I don't want to build an identity around a diet (and a way of living I guess). But ego likes to identify with all kinds of stuff.
I loved this nugget! Funny story, when I first went vegan I had a compost bin and I put some citrus peels in without first freezing them. Soon, I had a SWARM of dung flies in my apartment! Out of all the bugs in the world, these were the ones that I was most afraid and disgusted by. But, of course, I didn't want to kill them. Over the course of a few weeks, I would catch them and release them out the window. However, during that time, I developed a sense of empathy for these flies! I found myself observing them, being more gentle when I caught and released them and my fear of them melted away. Now, when I see dung flies, I am reminded of how much prejudice I had and how unfounded my fear of them turned out to be.
what a beautiful story Mary's Test Kitchen! this really touched my heart. i think it's easy to feel distanced from insects but stories like this really show their worth :)
I wish he'd address the real argument in regards to insects: that many billions are indirectly killed for "our" vegan food. That's the argument that non-vegans use to "debunk" veganism, not really about the spiders in our homes. And it is kind of sad how someone can justify the systematic cruelty and slaughter of sentient mammals, yet pick on us because earthworms might have been indirectly harmed during the planting of tomatoes.
yep- it's a diversion tactic Vegan Ostomy. and Gary does address it in a sense on his website- though he's speaking to the issue of animals getting killed in food harvests: "Some meat, dairy and egg-eaters claim that vegans indirectly kill animals because tractors that harvest crops unintentionally kill some animals. The worldwide premeditated killings of 60 billion land animals in slaughterhouses and 90 billion marine animals in the waterways are diametrically opposed to the accidental tractor-killings in a field. Even our unjust legal system recognizes the difference between a premeditated murder and an accidental killing. Since farmers don't use their John Deeres to intentionally crush gophers and snakes, you never know when, where, or whether it's going to happen. Slaughterhouses INTENTIONALLY kill animals for meat, dairy and egg-eaters. No one intentionally kills gophers for vegans. I've volunteered at SASHA Farm animal sanctuary for over 15 years. When we mowed the hay fields, there were times when a snake or a field mouse ended up in the bales of hay. This never made us intentional killers. It made us people in the 21st century who rely on machines. When we use machines, accidental killings of animals and people will occur. Isn't it conveniently hypocritical that the meat, dairy and egg-eaters who bring up the animal-tractor issue still drive an automobile, even though those machines kill millions of humans annually worldwide? Vegans tread lightly and cause the absolute minimal amount of unintentional suffering to this planet and its inhabitants. Meat, dairy and egg-eaters cause the MAXIMUM amount of intentional and unintentional suffering to this planet and its inhabitants because it is unreasonable to intentionally starve millions of humans to death by feeding around 50 percent of the world's crops to 60 billion land animals, to murder 60 billion land animals and 90 billion marine animals with premeditation, and then accidentally kill wild animals with tractors. With veganism, we could eliminate two problems instead of living with three!"
***** That's the position I've always taken :) It's like having bugs hit your windshield when your on your way to the grocery store vs. slitting the throat of a pig that you've kept in confinement for their entire life under abhorrent conditions. For some reason, this is a difficult concept to grasp, although I'm nearly certain that only internet trolls use that argument against vegans.
***** If/when veganism/cruelty-free living takes off as a majority on this planet, we would have the ability, very much so, I would think, to go the next miles, of finding/creating (because the majority would CARE about it) technology that is also cruelty-free - including tractors etc.. - what if they were made with ear sounds that scare off the little critters, before the tractors get close... - I have thought this for years regarding road kill. I have been shocked that other souls don't find the road kill horrifically horrifying - that we find making our roads and cars soooo important, that we don't take the time to make them more safe for all sentient beings. I saw a device that one could put on the front of cars that supposedly would alert animals you're coming, and lower the chance of a collision (probably made just to help humans...not hit a dear and mess up there poor car?!!)...don't know how effective it is but thought that at least that was a step in the right direction - and I couldn't help thinking, WHY IS IT - I mean am I the only one thinking this - WHY isn't this just a standard on ALL cars??? Isn't everyone else just as overwhelmed by "roadkill"? It's atrocities. I also was shocked on how everyone just drives passed them...the numbing of our feelings as humans?... like shouldn't we be having a funeral and a proper burial...this is what I thought a civil society, with feelings not numbed, in tact, would be like - a society that probably would not be increasing but totally decreasing in sociopaths...
I watched a talk on noncommercial, healthy, and unleached soils with good bacteria to the plants growing fungus that do not require pesticide chemicals to kill bugs because the plant gives off the chemicals from the soil (thanks to the bacteria helping the plant absorb minerals to be that strong). It is fungus from bacteria metamorphosis causing exotic mutations of colors with changing body parts of insects. The ants harvest fungus for food but cannot remain near the fungus very long because it can completely overtake them from inside of their bodies like other insects to a point of changing genetics. Creatures are aware in some form of consciousness depending on a species relationship with certain bacteria that is really good or really bad. B12 is what keeps your heart healthy for animals like you including dogs that know via (feeling good and uplifting) endorphins in calves poop and etc.. It makes them feel good just as a cow's 5 stomachs making them mostly a bacteria harvesting system to break down plant material harnessing a different bacteria, which is where they get their B12.
Who decides what is ok and what not 50 years ago....no one called a pig a sentient being....how do know a earthworm or bug or oyster is not? The problem with vegamism is that its a belive a religion and "aint noboby got time for dat!"
RE: Jens Buhler Common ants you see outside the colony nest are female. Male ants have wings and stay in the nest until it is time for a nuptual flight (mating flight) male ants, know as drones have wings, the queens and workers are all female (worker= common ants with no wings) don't believe me, do your research I own multiple ant formicaria
Marko Stupar It's because the bees spend all year working ridiculously hard to produce enough food to keep themselves and their babies alive and then we gas them and take it from them leaving a lot of them without food, sometimes a replacement food source will be provided but it doesn't compensate for the loss and many still die. It's not vegan because it's not ours to take, anything that isn't ours to take isn't vegan; milk, honey, eggs, lives...
Great conversation! It is important to extend your compassion to even the smallest insects. They have a right to live their lives like any other being.
I used to be scared of and run away from or sometimes kill insects. I learned how harmless and beneficial many types of insects are. They're usually more likely to run away than bite you. They're usually more scared of you than you are of them. I enjoy looking at and talking to different types of insects. Many insects that I used to think were ugly I now think are beautiful. If I see a spider web, I try not to wreck it. If i see a spider or harmless type of bug, I try not to harm it. In the garden I dont use and dont need to use pesticides. I let beneficial insects/animals and nature balance itself, plus I dont mono crop that also helps prevent pest problems. While walking through an area with bugs, the bugs typically run out of my way to avoid me stepping on them. While touching plants, the bugs typically move out of my way to avoid coming into contact with me. I used to be scared that bees/wasps would sting me. As long as I don't upset the bee/wasp it probably wont sting me. Bees and wasps can fly past me with in inches of me or be with in inches of me and i have no fear of them. They are not interested in landing on me as long as im not wearing attractive scent or soaking wet on a dry day. If it stings me, it's not extremely painful, i can put some numbing and anti inflammation stuff on the string and it'll probably be better in about 1-2weeks. It is nice to have no fear while being near harmless bugs. Being able to identify what is and is not a poisonous spider has helped me to not have fear around non poisonous spiders. As long as you don't disturb a spider, it is more likely to run away than bite. If someone gets bite by a poisonous spider, as long as they get immediate medical attention hopefully they'll recover. I don't deliberately touch insects/spiders/bees with my hands as i dont want to get bite/stung. I like when butterflies land on me. Non poisonous spiders and a few harmless bugs in the house i let live in the house. If there are unwanted bugs in the house, trap them and put them outside. Keep house clean and sealed to avoid pest problems. Honey is for bees, not for people. Eating honey is not vegan. Agave nectar is a good alternative. lol Gary is funny. :D good job. thanks to both of you for all you do.
I'm a vegan but I'm not the biggest on insects I respect them outside but if ones in my room they got to go like ants and Flys I don't like infestations and don't want them crawling on my furry animals
+Vcafr0 actually yes, mammals like rats and mice do come into our houses and cause a lot of damage. Also, the vast majority of insects do not spread disease. Trying to remove all insects from our yards is hopeless and impossible. Most insects are actually harmless or even beneficial. So no, people like me are not "creating more diseases". You, however, are making stupid assumptions.
+Vcafr0 wtf, of course I dont let insects live in my house. If I have an infestation i will kill it off. I was saying that the vast majority of insects are harmless or benificial. Stop believing that all bug-lovers are the insect equivalent of crazy cat ladies. Those are a minority amoung us. I try to avoid killing insects when possible, but I will kill them when I deem it necessary.
God bless you Gary Yourofsky and Emily from Bite Size Vegan. The most useful thing I took from this video was the understanding that when people bring up counter arguments to veganism that most advocates find so ridiculous that they're hardly wiling to address - such as the one about plants having feelings - what's really happening is that deep within the psyche of the non-vegan there is an uncomfortable awareness (a cognitive dissonance) because of how contradictory it is to be eating animals while also claiming to love them. Instead of admitting to this, the mind tries to protect itself by forming a "projection" or externalized version of a similar contradiction that it then tries to ridicule. As a vegan advocate, I think this is a useful discovery because, depending on the emotional and psychological maturity of the person to whom we are speaking, it might be better for us to politely bring this point to the surface of awareness right from the start instead of wasting time and energy trying to give rational explanations like "If you're honestly concerned about harming plant life, we can kill far less as vegans." This is obviously a logical response, but it doesn't address the root of what's truly going on. Gary said we should ask them to "take a good look in the mirror." While I agree that this is what needs to take place, I think we should always aim to provide them with that mirror as compassionately and respectfully as possible. All of us can relate to how painful it can be to admit that we've been living a lie, and that's exactly what we are asking non-vegans to do. If we do it correctly, they should immediately thank us for being so supportive and helpful to them while they were going through that painful process of admitting the truth. If we do our job incorrectly, we face resentment for how aggressively we shook them awake. We can evaluate the caliber of our vegan advocacy by the feedback we receive from those we have converted.
"All of us can relate to how painful it can be to admit that we've been living a lie, and that's exactly what we are asking non-vegans to do." very powerful point Bill Steinbuechler and absolutely key. thank you
love this video and i agree with gary yourfosky. we have no problem leaving big beautiful cane spiders in our house (unless they are on our furniture, which in that case we put the spider in a container to take outside and let go). But one time we did this, the spider turned right around and crawled all the way back to our doorstep as we watched with out own eyes. (cane spiders are huge mind you). It was so awesome. it was as if he was saying, "Hey guys, why did u take me outside? that is my home in there :)" They are beautiful creatures. The only trouble we have with insects in refraining from killing them is when ANTS invade our home and take over our fruit stash. Here in the tropics ants invading in the home is inevitable, and i have not found a sustainable way to prevent them from coming inside ALL THE TIME (we don't have the problem often, but every once in a while the ants come by the thousands in our home), nor a way to remove them from the house without killing them. ants are beautiful and i love Gary's story about ants. do u guys have any ideas on ways to get ants outside without killing them? someone suggested letting them all gather on a plate of strawberries and then taking them outside, but this does not work as it only gathers the ants more into the house, not solving the problem permanently. Oh actually, also cockroaches are tough too. They are flying cockroaches here and are very hard to catch in the house. And if we don't catch them and get them out of the house, they have babies and we would end up living with loads of cockroaches. Sigh, the life of tropical living. lol xo
Sam thing happens sometimes in Turkey as well. What we do is we spread some sugar on the grounds and then they can take that sugar back with them without disturbing our kitchen Also mind that not all species of ants are the same. With some species this may not work.
hebince44 haha interesting idea! i still don't like the idea of inviting ants into our house to just constantly come and go by the thousands, but still thats a pretty good idea! thanks!
We get those angry red ants here. I found buying dr bronners and diluting with water in a spray bottle. Then spraying around keeps them away. But spraying them directly will kill them so be aware.
+Neo Morpheus or maggots and deadly bugs that are able to kill you. Would you be ok with a bigass wasp nest in your house? Or a load of nasty cockroaches?
Dönerente Drakensang Hey, these are innocent animals too! So what is your vegan point? That you protect the lives of the animals you like, but the ones that annoy and you consider "nasty" deserve to be slaughtered? I am not an obtuse vegan defending animals, so no, I would not be OK with any animal in my house, and I kill (or pay someone to kill) all the animals that I want to kill. Including the ones I need to eat.
I think when it comes to insects we have to draw a line. I think its fine to feel compassion for a cow, a pig and maybe even a fish, since they have a brain and could be considered rather complex beings (even tho imo they are not worth as much as a human, still they dont deserve to suffer...) But i dont feel like bacteria and insects should be honored since they arguably dont have any consciousness or ability to feel pain. For example a worm doest even have a brain, or a jelly fish,. it wouldnt even notice if it dies. Also if i eat fruit i accept that insects that wanted to eat them get killed off by pesticides. Of course you shouldnt kill them out of fun or anything, but if they invade your house or they are a threat to you, kill them without any remorse.
Insects feel just as much pain a cow, when you step on a cockroach and it's still alive it clearly squirms in pain. It's just another vegan cop out like using huge amounts of electricity and driving cars, there's probably 1% of the developed world who actually do live environmentally friendly and they live out in the country-side raising their own meat and using solar power, not living in the city talking crap about being a vegan.
My problem is fruit flies. I always have soooo many for the entire summer, but I also eat mainly raw so I have a lot of produce in the kitchen. But I started putting all my fruit in a cooler, covering it with cheese cloth and securing it with a large elastic and that really seemed to bring down the numbers. That way I didn't have to store my fruit and the fridge and have it all go bad, and I no longer had to put out traps. I felt pretty genious when I came up with it haha.
the method i use Miranda Cloud is humane and effective: put some really ripe fruit in a bowl or container and cover it with Saran wrap secured by a rubber band. then poke tiny holes in the plastic. they will climb in for the fruit but can't get out. just take it outside once and day and release them! :) that's probably what Disco Nouvo was talking about
Yeah I was doing that, but I wasn't emptying it everyday...I was a bit forgetful. But next summer I will keep on top of it, I'm trying to get better with things like that. Though storing counter produce in a ventilated box really helps. Thanks guys!
I love spiders, my son gets excited to see the spider pop out from the window frame when we take a shower. The spider is drinking the condensation, and my kid friggin adores it.
Sarah Muston what about the one ant that they pamper from day one as he is to be the future mate of the queen, they pamper this ant so much he becomes too plump to move but has his every need cared for, until the big day arrives, he mates with the queen, and the whole ant colony then descends on and devours the totally unsuspecting and helpless ant?
@@hayagrivawellness theres a giant madagascar cockroach that is slow as fuck and would be a cool ass pet, but wild regular cockroaches can be a plague reproduce a lot and transmit illnesses.
If you ask questions, 'Kalliopi Kalimnos' it's best you change your Google+ settings so that people can reply :) since I can't reply to you, I'm creating a new post to answer your question. Here are some links for natural flea treatments/prevention: some natural links are: www.peta.org/living/companion-animals/abcs-cruelty-free-flea-control/ www.petmd.com/dog/wellness/evr_multi_flea_control everydayroots.com/flea-remedies www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Natural-Flea-and-Tick-Remedy-with-Apple-Cider-Vinegar
+Bite Size Vegan I noticed you had a picture of a roach with Gary but no mention of it was said. What if there is a roach or mice infestation in your residence? How does a vegan approach that?
+Dee Zee Hard one, but as you are allowed to defend yourself then they are attacking you by eating your food in numbers. I can't think of any other way to deal with it than to call an exterminator or something. But I think mouse infestation only happens on farms and your house has got to be filthy for a roach infestation.
+Crusty Tackleford roaches come because people feed them. this is a matter of cleanliness. don't let dishes pile up, store food securely and take out the trash frequently and the roaches will find a new place to eat.
Killing bed-bugs, ticks, fleas and mosquitoes... Self defense. No problem. Deliberately stepping on ants, caterpillars, etc. --- Sadistic. Harm without justification = ignorance. Thanks Emily & Gary for clearing up the "bacteria", "germs" and insect issue. Hug a bug!
Loving your channel! It's so great to see new videos of Gary! He is such a captivating and no nonsense speaker. Really making a huge impact. I would love to know how I can get more involved! Specifically how to find out about attending demonstrations, protests, gatherings etc! I always seem to read about activism events AFTER the fact!
I'm not an activist. I am new to Gary, but I have enjoyed and learned from watching videos of him. I have been vegetarian for the last several years and vegan for the last 6 months. It's going well. But I'm also philosophical Taoist, which value the practice of moderation. If I were starving, I would eat meat. If I were in life or death starving, I would eat human meat. If I go to someone's house and they innocently serve me meat or dairy, I politely eat it. And I would make sure to eat every single crumb out of respect to the being that died in order to fill my belly. Later on, I explain my diet, so as to not to make the person uncomfortable. That's how I practice compassion to people in such situations. Not very activist at all, but that's how I personally do it. I have practiced what Gary mentions here, with insects. Some creep me out and it is all I can do to collect them and release them outside, but so far, so good. However, If I had a infestation of bedbugs or cockroaches, I would kill them. I don't know of any other realistic alternative.
Great video! Question: What are you guys' opinion on bug infestations (roaches, ants, spiders, etc.)? My current thought right now is that if they are impeding on my comfort and my space, then I feel no remorse for killing them, getting rid of them, or at least preventing more from coming in. However, I want to study these insects more so I can have a better understanding of them rather than fear and annoyance so that could perhaps limit my disdain for them. Also, I think developing and supporting more humane ways of getting rid of bugs in our homes rather than exterminating them would be a lot better for the society.
OK, he picked the insects that are likeable (butterflies, grasshoppers, honeybees) but what about infected ticks for example? they spread lyme diseases, Borrelia, Tularemia and many others. You're suppose to burn them after pulling them out to stop the disease spreading. And what about head lice? Are you going to try to save them if out of your head? What if your house and your pet gets infested with fleas? I'm sorry but even though I'm vegan I strongly believe that there are insects we need to get rid off in order to save us and other animals. Extending our compassion towards head lice and malaria infected mosquitos is just ridiculous.
acid junkie YES!!!! I saw what he did there too!! He didn’t answer the obvious question but instead chose to say how vegans are being attacked by dumb people an how its a no brainer that he is gonna help an protect the cute or insects that won’t bother you unless you piss them off an such. He didn’t answer the question just twisted it to what he he thought it should have said an how he is gonna be the hero in the vegan community by saving the harmless stink bug!
Honestly, I think what was to be taken from what he was explaining is if their not bothering you leave them alone. Of course if your pet has ticks and fleas or parasites you are going to get rid of them because it is necessary. Or if something is biting you, you are going to swat it away. We just have to have a balanced perspective.
You people are just trying to find something wrong with what he said, he's said that you have the right to defend yourself if something is causing harm to you (and he's said it before too), he was avoiding talking about that just because he didn't address every type of bug on earth, calm down.
As long as a bug isn't stinging me, biting me, or in my food, I'm cool with it. I'm getting pretty good with trapping spiders, but I'm with Gary here, they gotta go outside. I'm trying to make peace with ants and beetles and I have found natural ways to deter them from being in my house- it helps me avoid me having to fight the urge of squishing them when they're crawling in my kitchen....
I love bugs and insects! I think bees and dragon flies are my favorite. And I also love the really colorful beetles. Gary is such a great resource. Thank you Emily!!
There is no answer. The vegans live amongst the beasts until their house is destroyed, or they forfeit their shelter to them and live somewhere else. Unbelievable.
Well, a very important thing is to put food in jars (grains, legumes, flours, nuts...). I remember reading that the Ancient Romans take good care of the food they had. They stored them safely and clean because they understood how important it was to prevent invasions of bugs. I think we can learn from this.
Insects are very intelligent. For example they act as if they were dead, move frantically or start searching for a possibility to escape when you touch them or catch with a cup to free them. Wouldn't we do the same? Besides... they also are alive and we actually have no right to take their life away.
I am scared of insects...but I am too learning to appreciate them and just let them be! sometimes it is hard though! sad thing about catching spiders and putting them outside is that it actually kills them(well that is what my sister told me)!
i've never heard that about spiders Yekaterina Shishkovskaya and can't really think of why that would be the case. glad to hear you are starting to appreciate the little guys ;) and it can be challenging!
It doesn't make sense that it would kill them; there are tons of spiders outside, and tons of insects for them to eat. I'm scared of them too (I saw a ginormous, hairy spider (well, by "ginormous," s/he was about the size of a half-dollar) at work once, and shrieked much higher than I thought my voice would allow. I couldn't even try to do anything with the spider, so I asked one of my coworkers to take him/her outside, but not to kill him/her). If I see a smaller one just in my house, though, I usually leave him/her alone.
Please don't put indoor spiders outside. They are not suited to outdoor conditions. It's not as simple as there being lots of bugs outside, there are other reasons they are adapted to living in an indoor environment. See: www.burkemuseum.org/spidermyth/myths/comein.html If an indoor spider is bothering you wherever it happens to be, consider putting it in a more out-of-the-way part of your home. Your basement or cellar maybe? Somewhere that's dark and moist and tends to have bugs is a good idea. I have a spider who lives behind my toilet and I have to warn people about her when they use my bathroom! She's small but she lives in her web so it's not like she scurries around.
I am vegan and work in organic agriculture, and even though we use all natural products to grow our food, sometimes with those natural products if there is a big plague of greenfly for example, we treat it with organic products but some of them die. Another example is when we harvest, if we find also greenfly in our harvest we have to wash them off and so they die. At the same time, we produce worm humus with our organic waste, so we can use it for our substratum, and even though we are not harming the worms we are using them for the process. This is how most of organic agriculture works and so these processes are all basically included in what vegans consume. I would like an opinion from you Emily and from Gary about these subjects. Thank you!
Videos like these really demonstrate how disconnected people are from where their food comes from for even on small organic farms and orchards pesticides- including insecticides- are universally used to KILL insects. Scroll down in this pdf to get a list and description of allowed organic pesticides www.xerces.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/xerces-organic-approved-pesticides-factsheet.pdf . Bees are especially problematic since obviously they fly from field to field and orchard to orchard so bees are exposed to both organic and conventional pesticides. Most farms/orchards now use "slave" bees for pollination that are truck around the country . So even when these bees are used for organic orchards/crops they fly to adjacent conventional ones using neonicotinoids and consequently are DYING en masse (aka colony collapse). n.pr/1IbztUj So if you don't want to kill any insects, don't buy any fruits or vegetables from a grocery store or farmers market, go out in season and forage edible varieties of veggies, fruits and fungi. Though be prepared, there aren't any bananas, mango or papaya in North America, so you might want to learn what paw paw is instead and move close to where it grows. Might also want to learn how to pickle, can and ferment for those colder months when all fresh fruits and vegetables are out of season(esp. if you don't live in a warmer climate).
+Dani L so do I. I stood on a snail once and crushed his shell. I felt so sick ,angry and guilty thay I caused his death, and suffering. the end of a life is never a good time especially if you caused it.
Parasites, who thrive off the life of another and cause pain or suffering to others I have no problem with killing , I have three cats and I regularly use flee drops on them.
I love these videos with Gary, I always want to hear his ideas on things that I never saw him talk about and these videos are great because of it. I researched Q&A videos that Gary has on youtube but can't find much :(
Is emotional defence justification for killing an insect? For example: flies buzzing around the dinner table; ants invading your tent. They're not truly harming us but it's a different circumstance to if they were just chilling in their natural habitat.
Curious how vegans who drive feel about the bugs that hit their windshields? I drive a small slow van, and (try to) avoid the motorways, but I can't say I'm innocent in this respect.
Cosmic Nonsense it's very unfortunate. i bike everywhere i can. but as i've said in many videos, there's no way to be alive and not unintentionally harm some being. it's about reducing that harm as much as possible.
***** I agree totally - there are too many people in this world to reject technology, and even if we stopped driving on a personal level we'd still have delivery vehicles, public transport, ambulances, fire trucks etc. There are so many issues to be aware of, from killing bugs on the road to thinking about what sort of fertiliser our food grows in, to the petro-chemical industry and more ... I simply haven't got the ability to fight every battle, so just do the best I can. Thank you from the UK for everything you do - I think you're an awesome human being :)
Cosmic Nonsense The difference between that and what non-vegans typically do lies in intention. Non-vegans intentionally kill non-human animals by funding their slaughter, while we unintentionally kill animals as we drive.
nar3sas Typically though, their intention is borne out of ignorance rather than anything knowingly malicious. So, I suppose it could be argued that we choose to be ignorant to insect deaths because we're addicted to motor transport, to speed, to travel to making society faster and more efficient etc. I know I'd feel worse if I hit a rabbit than I would if I hit a fly - so does this mean that I'm unintentionally "speciesist" by default, and that I choose the animals I care about most just 'cos of their fluffiness and their ability to interact with humans? Here's a link to a study on how many insects are killed by motorists - and the results are in the trillions! www.treehugger.com/cars/trillions-of-insects-killed-by-cars-every-year-says-study.html Y'know, since I've been vegan I seem to ask as many questions as I find answers. :/
Cosmic Nonsense Before they're informed by the negative impact of their lifestyle, they are excusable. After they are informed, it is definitely intentional harm. I'm not ignorant at all to the deaths that I cause while driving, but I'm clearly excused on the basis of needing to drive and having no intention of causing harm. We would certainly lose a lot of progress as a species by not driving anymore. If I could get to every place I wanted or needed to by just walking or biking, I would do so, but that's clearly not the case. It's not comparable at all to funding the exploitation and slaughter of other animals. I myself hate it equally when either flies or larger animals are killed by cars, so I do not know what to say about you hating both to different extents. I'm aware so many more insects than larger animals are killed by motorists, but that changes nothing I've said.
I'm vegan I stomp roaches I feel a lil guilty but they are pretty bad in my area and I just can't have that I also have traps I can't have roaches shitting all over the place no
So far not killing spiders and letting them be has helped me with preventing & even getting rid of some ant and even cockroach infestations. Don't have any scientific data though.
+Izkapts I don't kill spiders either, I refused to let scared close and distant relatives of mine kill a spider and used a paper napkin to help remove the spider (people might've been grossed out if I used a drinking glass) to somewhere outside. I've even stopped my car (when I used to drive one) to chase (rather discourage) an animal (like a snake, phascogale or blue tongue lizard) off the road (and hope it doesn't become "road kill" in the future) I don't have any cockroaches in my room and barely got my food mothed. ...and I'm glad to say I saw some bees among the clover in my local area
Thank you Bite Size Vegan. Great video. Love Gary Yorofsky. I have a thing called a Buzooka. It sucks up spiders from a foot away and then you can release them outside unharmed. It's a great thing to have for people scared of spiders who don't want to get near them or kill them.
I have definitely become more compassionate towards bugs since becoming vegan. To the point that I swerve around grasshoppers on the bicycle pathway. I almost had an accident because of it recently. Gotta keep your head up but don't want to feel the squish and pop under my tires. Damn sentimentality!
I was actually afraid of spiders myself. When I moved into my cabin there was a few and I actually let them stay. One fell in my hair while I was shower and ironically that was the end of my fear. Gary, you are my hero.
I LOVE this. Instects are beautiful and now their beauty proven by microphotography. They have the right to live. I remember once I was washing dishes and this little ant got caught up in a drop of water. Suddenly I saw another ant helping her. I was like am I so into animals that I just imagined that? Lol well later after I did some research I found out that ants do indeed help each other. I was like wow. Since I was a child I always helped insects, specially june bugs. Even roaches that I HATE lol I still (with a broom) push them outside. :-) great video
Lovely stories. : ) Please use this tool or something similar instead of the broom - much more effective and gentle: www.amazon.com/My-Critter-Catcher-Spider-Insect/dp/B0192MB5RS?ref_=ast_sto_dp
Since becoming Vegan and meditating out in nature more and more, I do have new found respect for insects. I truly do admire them and do not harm them unless I have one attacking me that won't leave me alone. Again, it's all about not doing unnecessary harm.
wolfraider 338 They don't spoil the fruit, they eat the spoil. Remember the worms in Maximus Decimus Meridius, they were not eating his body but the dead human tissues and help clean the wound.
There are non-violent sprays made out of safe, minimally processed ingredients like chamomile that make them go away. The chamomile works great for spiders which is good for me because I sleep on the floor without a mattress. It doesn't work as good as the harmful stuff, but an IRRATIONAL fear of getting bit is not good enough reason to kill another who is just trying to find shelter. The harmfulness sprays work good enough to keep insects from overpopulating and becoming an infestation, but the sprays leave a few behind. Good cleanliness habits will solve the rest of that problem.
Mika De Boos You just said, in a bug infested house, you should REMOVE THE SMALL INSECTS ONE BY ONE or surrender your shelter, the one that you saved up money for, to the insects and live elsewhere.
During the warmer months, Flies tend to come around every now and then. Last year we have an infestation of flies, they laid eggs in my cats litter box and there were HUNDREDS in my apartment. It took DAYS they were breeding so fast. I purchased a safe bug vacuum and let them all go free. It took like 4 days to rid of them and neck aches. But I did it. And it CAN be done. Invest in a bug safe vacuum.
great nugget! I found that all of my fears relating to insects and spiders were based on propaganda from bug spray commercials that are selling poisons to spray into the air we breath and onto surfaces that we eat from. I tell the spiders look out for me with the mosquitoes and I'm more worried about snail bait in my salad than snails. ;)
First of all i really hate this radical ideas about vegetarian diets. I mean why do people have to be so radical in their ideas ... Even if people follow this type of diets for the animals (yes many vegetarians/vegans don't even care about the animals and do it for different reasons), they have to understand that animals are not all the same. I mean a pig or a chicken feel pain differently than an insect. Our moral responsibility towards an insect is far less than towards a pig and our moral responsibility toward a pig is far less than toward a human. We should all speak about a continuum of moral responsibility and not put all the animals in the same bag. After all, our developed societies and we it's citizens have always an impact (direct or indirect) upon animal life/well being and the environment. If you want to defend an extremist idea of protection of the environment and the animals, then that could only be achieved if we all went back to living in the caves. Instead of that, we should speak about an awareness and respect towards animals and the environment, which means trying as much as possible to avoid the suffering of animals. So instead of "NO! Vegans cannot kill bugs" we should say "Vegans should only kill bugs as a last resource". In the end the idea of feeding every vegetarian with vegetables and seeds means the use of techniques to prevent diseases of the crops, which means in many cases the killing of insects. Let's not be radical here, let's just be the best humans we can.
This is my own opinion and experience. When you stop killing them, they stop biting you. Period. For whatever reasons, it's like they have a sense of who's killed their friends and who're not.
Actually that is true at least in some animals. If you throw a stone at a crow and hurt it, it will communicate with the other crows of the flock and next time a crow from the flock sees you it will become very aggressive even if it wasn't the crow you threw a stone at and the other crow isn't around.
Polly Pocket Damn, that's good to know! We need to get this information out to mosquito infested, malaria stricken regions of Africa -- stat! Same goes for copies of The Secret. If only people who are starving in 3rd world countries would learn to properly align their chi, become vegan, live in harmony with nature, and visualize some clean drinking water, they wouldn't be in such bad shape. (i'm just kidding around, this wasn't meant as a slight)
I inspected the clover patches in my local town yesterday. I was so glad to see some bees after thinking they might've died off a few days ago. I used to like bees for producing honey until a couple months ago, now I like them for pollination and hope those fighting for bees win against those poisoning them.
Really beautiful video :) loved the story about the ants... so beautiful! Emily, I just read an interesting bit of info - whether it's real or not, I dunno! - apparently figs have digested wasps in them? There is so much stuff out on the net, and some of it is BS but I couldn't help but wonder - do you know more about this?
I think extending moral consideration to insects is taking it too far. Even if insectes did feel pain, (which I seriously doubt) they most likely don't feel it to a high degree, due to the fact that they're not cognitively developed like high order animals. If Gary really does think insects matter morally, he should avoid walking on grass and wear a mask like a Jain to cover his mouth so he doesn't kill any bugs. This is all stuff Gary would have to do if he genuinely believed insects had moral status. However, I think holding that kind of view is absurd and unfounded. As vegans we should only be worried about vertebrates and some invertebrates like the octopus. Since we know with pretty good certainty that those beings can feel pleasure and pain much like us.
***** "It is not absurd or unfounded to refrain from killing things when you don't have to. Pain is not the only reason you should not kill things." Right. I agree. But where did you get the idea that I think in order for you to have a "right to life" you must be able to feel pain? I never said that. "You should not kill anything unless you absolutely have to." Why? "Ought implies can, if you can prevent yourself from killing bugs then you ought to not kill bugs." But why is killing bugs morally wrong? You haven't said why it is. "But if you eat honey or you burn ants with magnifying glass because you think its cool then you are immoral." I don't eat honey or burn ants with a magnifying glass. "Keep in mind insects like bees, ants and spiders are tremendously important to the ecosystem and if they weren't around you would not be alive, so even though they don't feel pain maybe you should respect there life's because they are responsible for keeping you alive." It's true that bugs are important to the ecosystem and for the planet as a whole. However, all that shows is that they have external value, and not intrinsic value. In other words, it might be morally wrong to harm bugs because they benefit the planet, but not morally wrong to harm the bugs in themselves.
If you want a good argument about insects, Emily's video about bees/honey was pretty interesting and worth watching. But this is a much more contentious issue than Gary is giving credit. Peter Singer, for example, was persuaded that it was alright to kill insects after examining the scientific material on the topic. It's hardly a black and white issue and it really strikes at the heart of the vegan worldview, i.e. the prevention of meaningful suffering. Traditionally a simple distinction for animal rights activists is the line between plant and animal life, but since the real issue is the cognitive capacity for suffering, that distinction can only be so useful and it becomes problematic once you start looking at more primitive forms of animal life. It doesn't come up much, though, because it's so easy to go without killing insects, and most people don't eat them.
***** "I said that because you said animals like insects aren’t cognitively developed enough to feel pain and that is the only reason you give for not extending moral consideration to them. I was just pointing out that this is not sufficient justification for killing them." Right. Well, beings that can't feel pain or pleasure have no interest. They can't have interest because they have no conscious desires. If a being can't have conscious desires at all, we can't take their interest into consideration. "Why don’t you eat honey? Is it for ethical reasons? Because if it is then you are in fact extending the moral consideration to insects already so what is the disagreement? The only way it seems you can be consistent in not extending moral consideration to them and not using there honey is if you don’t eat honey because you have health problems from it or you just don’t like the taste. Otherwise you are extending moral considerations to them." I don't eat honey because I think it's fucking nasty to. Honey, as Gary always points out in his lectures, is bee vomit. Moreover, technically speaking, it's not vegan. And since I want to consider myself a vegan, I don't eat it. "Are you serious? I could give you a reason for this but do you honestly believe that killing things that you don’t have to kill is a morally acceptable thing to do? I think you can answer your own question." Depending on what it is, yes. I kill things all the time. I don't have to clean off my countertop with a cleaning spray and kill the billions of bacteria that's on it, but I prefer to have clean countertops, even though it's not necessary. I don't really care about reading the other stuff you said. It's too jumbled up and difficult to read.
***** There's nothing hypocritical about making exceptions among animals if you don't claim to do otherwise. Some people think some animals deserve to be treated with ethical consideration and others do not. As long as they don't claim to believe otherwise, there's no hypocrisy there.
***** "You can't pick and choose what you want to kill if you preach to not kill animals." I don't object to killing animals, but I do object to inflicting suffering on them. I'm not arbitrarily deciding what animals are worth moral consideration and what animals are not. If an animal has interest and is capable of suffering, then I think I have a moral obligation to not make that animal suffer. However, if a bug has no interest and is not capable of suffering, then I don't have to take its interest into account. Since it has none. You assume that because I'm a vegan I must be opposed to killing other animals. Well, I don't. As I pointed out earlier.
As vegan homeschoolers, including bugs in our circle of consideration and awe for life has considerably broadened the wonder of Life here on this beautiful planet. We've rescued numerous moths and butterflies, taking care of them in our "bug hospital." We make a sugar water mix (same as for hummingbirds) and after a few times these creatures recognize us and come to my hand when it's time to eat. When you start to pay attention, whole worlds become visible. My kids and I like to call moths the "dogs" of the insect world. They are friendly and curious and use the antennas much like dogs use their ears to show their moods. Mother pincher bugs stay with their babies for weeks after they hatch and regurgitate food for them just like a bird. There are many bugs that send me screaming, but I don't wish death on them because of my irrational fear. Luckily my five-year-old son is fearless and loves to come to the rescue when one of us girls needs help with an insect. We have a few videos of my son re-homing all manner of bugs on our channel. I can't stress enough how allowing my kids to see bugs as individuals with a will of their own, and the same desire to preserve their lives as any other living creature, has made the world so much richer and more interesting. And as far as homeschooling goes, science becomes a real-world adventure. One of the first lessons we teach our kids is SHARE! So we should be practicing what we preach and SHARE the world with all its inhabitants :)
Oh Gary, please take a closer look at a spider & thier cute little faces - not to mention thier intricate webs. When you see a spider web as the sun shines on it - oh my! Nature is so beautiful!
Watching again as Gary Yourofsky is a vegan legend. I had the biggest dragonfly fly around my swimming pool and I just watched it all afternoon.Always getting Bees Ladybugs spiders Moths Flies Ants in my swimming pool and always take them out and its so sweet watching them dry their wings in the sun and fly away.
My boyfriend and I are both vegan and we do our best to avoid killing bugs and place them outside if we find them indoors. We don't have a car, either, which means we walk a lot and take public transportation. I have a bike with a basket which I use frequently for grocery shopping and other errands which helps. Unfortunately, there will still be bug casualties despite our best efforts but it's important to remember that veganism isn't about perfection or an end in itself. It's a means to an end (living compassionately) and there are multiple ways to achieve that end.
Here is a question; I surmise that wearing cotton clothing is vegan due to the fact that the fabric comes from a plant, but in order for the cotton farmer to get a good harvest he must control the boll weevil, which means that it is a bug that gets killed, does that make cotton non-vegan?
As a biologist I love all animals and insects. Both the animals and nature is so amazing and so perfect it's hard to imagine and comprehend. I think everyone should read up on biology just to see how complex and amazing insects are. It gives a whole new perspective and respect for all life. In my opinion bugs are worthy of respect and compassion. They want to live and do their bug-thing, and I'm cool with that..not going to stand in their way. Gary if you are reading this: You are the "Jesus" of our time, in my opinion. You are so compassionate and kind, and I wish there were more like you. It's so hard to go on sometimes when you see all the cruelty and abuse that humans are capable of, but as you've said, it's about the victims. One day the world WILL be vegan. People will understand that oppression and abuse is wrong. Sending all my love and support. and I have to say I love the bite size vegan channel! :) Keep posting videos! Sending everyone a big vegan hug.
I have loved little creatures since childhood, I turned from being terrified of insects into a kid who used to build little houses for them and let them all loose in my mothers kitchen including a load of snails and frogs, when I was around 8 years old an earwig fell in my bathwater causing me to panic, I knew if I did nothing it would die, so I fought the fear and rescued it, dried it off and it survived, from that day on I always helped them, I wasn't brought up Vegan and only for a few months now, being vegan I am no longer a hypocrite
He's a massive jerk unless you agree with him 100%. He feels compassion toward everything in the animal kingdom except humans. I sent him an email the other day asking him for some scientific data to back up the reason why vegans don't eat honey and he verbally attacked me and basically said he didn't need science because veganism is about ethics. He's really not a good representation of the kind of compassion that vegans are all about.
Thanks for allowing Gary to speak so freely and allowing the viewers to come to their own conclusions. I have never seen him come off as so unbalanced then with you sitting there giving him room to rattle on and on non-nonsensically! I'm certain you did not intend for him to come off so embarrassingly, but the truth seems to out itself here. He so glibly denies that there are contradictions in the vegan movement and yet he himself is a walking contradiction.
Having extensively researched the topic, I have concluded that insects cannot feel pain (having been seen to continue eating whilst themselves being eaten), nor are likely neurologically advanced enough to have any conscious desire to wish to continue living. And as such though I respect the sentiment behind not killing insects, and do not do so purely out of habit; morally speaking their death is no less tragic to them than it would be for a plant. I'd be down for eating them, but they gross me out.
All life is beautiful. My daughter and I play with the spiders that inhabit our basement bathroom when she's pooping before bedtime. She's 3 and let's them crawl on her hand and legs with hardly any signs of fear. It's the best way to live is with respect for everyone.
I get a pang of guilt whenever I pick a tick off my companion animals. I treat them with repellants, but I live by some woods and fields so the ticks out here are baaaad. I know ticks can cause all kinds of diseases, but it's not like they can help being what they are.
I try to "do no harm". Husband and I have a insect "relocation" program and try to relocate any we find to the outdoors. Really isn't a big deal. Been doing it for years and really not think about it that much.
![Lil Uzi Vert - We Good [Official Audio]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/DrSfBULAsek/mqdefault.jpg)
Insects are wicked! I love watching ants go to work, I even throw them some little bits of food just to watch them work together to get it home.
Glad this was addressed, anyone can kill them and get away with it as pretty much no consideration is given to their existence. If only everyone knew how vital some of them are to our existence!
"If only everyone knew how vital some of them are to our existence!" amen to that Vegan Geezer!
We have this inner bias to disgard or belittle what we don't know. To improve insects image would require to study them and share this wonderful knowledge with everybody. I have so much learned from observing slugs outside and spiders Inside : all of them have a mission and means to fullfill it. We should better know our fellow living creatures. They have so much to tell us about us cause we are just like them in the same boat as them. We tend to love what we know and to reject what we don't. Let us know insects better. That's a call for insects channels. Show us how great insects are. Insects are truly amazing. Life is amazing. It's a God given gift. Our moral obligation as God's Creation, call It whatever you feel more comfortable with, is to NOT destroy it in vain. If it's there, there is a good reason for it to be. It's a part of a whole equilibrium we'll never be able to fully uncover. Respect this grand design or the grand design will get rid of the humane race. If you truly take your life and your loved ones in high esteem, praise and respect all lives. ALL. At the end of the day we only face one dilemma for each choice we make : the path of life or the path of death. And that's a tremendously difficult one to do cause the morbid pulsion is lying deep down within. Manking will be saved if it can overtake this inner destructive tendancy.
powerful words, Fredinotmercurybut
Vegan Geezer yeah i love getting bit by bed bugs!! I sometimes even hold out my arm and just let them take a bite!! 😊😊😂 lmao
sienna lol
*Do Vegans Kill Bugs?*
what is the vegan stance on insects? do they have rights? how “far” do you take veganism? in this interview vegan activist Gary Yourosfky elaborates on the ethical aspects of our relationship with bugs and shares his own personal experience and aversions.
#vegansim #ethics #veganethics #insects #bugs #animalrights #speciesism #disruptspeciesism #bitesizevegan #garyyourofsky #interview #garyyourofskyinterview #garyyourofskyinterviewseries #bitesizeintverview #morality #bees #spiders #ants
This is great!
ha! jackie chan with the flies, *****. love it. and thanks Jessica Ryle !
Maple syrup is vegan I believe
***** I kill mosquitos and ticks since they can harm me. Basically I find it okay to defend myself?!
The Beautiful Green Beast do you kill every mosquito and tick that you see, whether or not it has bitten you, or do you wait for it to bite you first? If you don't wait for it to bite you, isn't this speciesist discrimination? I mean a bear *can* harm you, would it be right for people to kill every bear that we encounter?.
I became vegan after watching a speech delivered by this guy. I want to thank him for encouraging me to take the best decision of my life.
Are you still vegan?
You should thank him for brainwashing you into a cult of weaklings
@@Eyewitnessinfinity More than likely they are. The ethics of veganism don't go away when someone accepts them.
I’m so grateful for Gary yourofsky he’s inspired me so much especially when I first went vegan 7 years ago! Wish we would see more of him now in 2020 when people really need him
Yet another video of yours I have fallen in love with!! Gary Yourofsky is incredible, there are no words. I'm soo happy you and he were able to make this video. So very informative, and I have to love the topics and issues you discuss, they're always relevant and more than necessary! Thanks so much Emily!!
Sarah Tabler you're so welcome! thank you for watching :)
I dont intentionally kill bugs, but if I accidentally step on an ant or snail (I know a snail is not a bug) I wont consider myself a non-vegan
+Unitato Potcorn Being vegan is all about doing what is practicable. You're fine :)
I dont eat any animal products and dont buy leather but I kill insects, I'm no longer vegan?
johnny roe - Yes, you killed bugs. You're not vegan anymore. Vegan police, come get this person!
vegan is a concept lol
^
I agree. It's just a concept. I don't even want to call myself a vegan because I don't want to build an identity around a diet (and a way of living I guess). But ego likes to identify with all kinds of stuff.
I loved this nugget!
Funny story, when I first went vegan I had a compost bin and I put some citrus peels in without first freezing them. Soon, I had a SWARM of dung flies in my apartment! Out of all the bugs in the world, these were the ones that I was most afraid and disgusted by. But, of course, I didn't want to kill them. Over the course of a few weeks, I would catch them and release them out the window. However, during that time, I developed a sense of empathy for these flies! I found myself observing them, being more gentle when I caught and released them and my fear of them melted away. Now, when I see dung flies, I am reminded of how much prejudice I had and how unfounded my fear of them turned out to be.
beautiful
what a beautiful story Mary's Test Kitchen! this really touched my heart. i think it's easy to feel distanced from insects but stories like this really show their worth :)
I wish he'd address the real argument in regards to insects: that many billions are indirectly killed for "our" vegan food.
That's the argument that non-vegans use to "debunk" veganism, not really about the spiders in our homes.
And it is kind of sad how someone can justify the systematic cruelty and slaughter of sentient mammals, yet pick on us because earthworms might have been indirectly harmed during the planting of tomatoes.
yep- it's a diversion tactic Vegan Ostomy. and Gary does address it in a sense on his website- though he's speaking to the issue of animals getting killed in food harvests:
"Some meat, dairy and egg-eaters claim that vegans indirectly kill animals because tractors that harvest crops unintentionally kill some animals. The worldwide premeditated killings of 60 billion land animals in slaughterhouses and 90 billion marine animals in the waterways are diametrically opposed to the accidental tractor-killings in a field. Even our unjust legal system recognizes the difference between a premeditated murder and an accidental killing. Since farmers don't use their John Deeres to intentionally crush gophers and snakes, you never know when, where, or whether it's going to happen. Slaughterhouses INTENTIONALLY kill animals for meat, dairy and egg-eaters. No one intentionally kills gophers for vegans. I've volunteered at SASHA Farm animal sanctuary for over 15 years. When we mowed the hay fields, there were times when a snake or a field mouse ended up in the bales of hay. This never made us intentional killers. It made us people in the 21st century who rely on machines. When we use machines, accidental killings of animals and people will occur. Isn't it conveniently hypocritical that the meat, dairy and egg-eaters who bring up the animal-tractor issue still drive an automobile, even though those machines kill millions of humans annually worldwide?
Vegans tread lightly and cause the absolute minimal amount of unintentional suffering to this planet and its inhabitants. Meat, dairy and egg-eaters cause the MAXIMUM amount of intentional and unintentional suffering to this planet and its inhabitants because it is unreasonable to intentionally starve millions of humans to death by feeding around 50 percent of the world's crops to 60 billion land animals, to murder 60 billion land animals and 90 billion marine animals with premeditation, and then accidentally kill wild animals with tractors. With veganism, we could eliminate two problems instead of living with three!"
***** That's the position I've always taken :)
It's like having bugs hit your windshield when your on your way to the grocery store vs. slitting the throat of a pig that you've kept in confinement for their entire life under abhorrent conditions.
For some reason, this is a difficult concept to grasp, although I'm nearly certain that only internet trolls use that argument against vegans.
***** If/when veganism/cruelty-free living takes off as a majority on this planet, we would have the ability, very much so, I would think, to go the next miles, of finding/creating (because the majority would CARE about it) technology that is also cruelty-free - including tractors etc.. - what if they were made with ear sounds that scare off the little critters, before the tractors get close... - I have thought this for years regarding road kill. I have been shocked that other souls don't find the road kill horrifically horrifying - that we find making our roads and cars soooo important, that we don't take the time to make them more safe for all sentient beings. I saw a device that one could put on the front of cars that supposedly would alert animals you're coming, and lower the chance of a collision (probably made just to help humans...not hit a dear and mess up there poor car?!!)...don't know how effective it is but thought that at least that was a step in the right direction - and I couldn't help thinking, WHY IS IT - I mean am I the only one thinking this - WHY isn't this just a standard on ALL cars??? Isn't everyone else just as overwhelmed by "roadkill"? It's atrocities. I also was shocked on how everyone just drives passed them...the numbing of our feelings as humans?... like shouldn't we be having a funeral and a proper burial...this is what I thought a civil society, with feelings not numbed, in tact, would be like - a society that probably would not be increasing but totally decreasing in sociopaths...
I watched a talk on noncommercial, healthy, and unleached soils with good bacteria to the plants growing fungus that do not require pesticide chemicals to kill bugs because the plant gives off the chemicals from the soil (thanks to the bacteria helping the plant absorb minerals to be that strong). It is fungus from bacteria metamorphosis causing exotic mutations of colors with changing body parts of insects. The ants harvest fungus for food but cannot remain near the fungus very long because it can completely overtake them from inside of their bodies like other insects to a point of changing genetics. Creatures are aware in some form of consciousness depending on a species relationship with certain bacteria that is really good or really bad. B12 is what keeps your heart healthy for animals like you including dogs that know via (feeling good and uplifting) endorphins in calves poop and etc.. It makes them feel good just as a cow's 5 stomachs making them mostly a bacteria harvesting system to break down plant material harnessing a different bacteria, which is where they get their B12.
Who decides what is ok and what not 50 years ago....no one called a pig a sentient being....how do know a earthworm or bug or oyster is not? The problem with vegamism is that its a belive a religion and "aint noboby got time for dat!"
I love ants, they are pretty cool and every time I see one in danger I try to get her to safety
Barbie Kuroi Nkotb that's awesome :)
Barbie Kuroi Nkotb Unless they were princesses with wings, then all the ants you'll see will most likely be male...
Barbie Kuroi Nkotb WTF? LMAOO
RE: Jens Buhler
Common ants you see outside the colony nest are female. Male ants have wings and stay in the nest until it is time for a nuptual flight (mating flight) male ants, know as drones have wings, the queens and workers are all female (worker= common ants with no wings) don't believe me, do your research I own multiple ant formicaria
+Barbie Kuroi Nkotb Ants? Did you know that ants slaves other colonies and bugs?
Right! Honey is NOT vegan. :-) Great interview!
Rohe Energie - Vegane Ernährung & Mehr woot!
Kaze Shini honey industry probably. They isolate bees to produce honey instead of letting them do one of the most important roles in the world
What are you talking about? The bees are going out and still pollinating plants, that is their true role.
Marko Stupar It's because the bees spend all year working ridiculously hard to produce enough food to keep themselves and their babies alive and then we gas them and take it from them leaving a lot of them without food, sometimes a replacement food source will be provided but it doesn't compensate for the loss and many still die. It's not vegan because it's not ours to take, anything that isn't ours to take isn't vegan; milk, honey, eggs, lives...
K B
I recently spoke to an Australian bee keeper. He was very clear in telling me no bees were harmed in the process of his Manuka honey collection.
Great question and great response! Gary is the man!
bananiac so glad you enjoyed the video! nice to have you "over" on the channel :)
He’s not a man, he’s a gay vegan
Come back Gary Yourofsky 🌱❤️
Great conversation! It is important to extend your compassion to even the smallest insects. They have a right to live their lives like any other being.
I used to be scared of and run away from or sometimes kill insects.
I learned how harmless and beneficial many types of insects are. They're usually more likely to run away than bite you. They're usually more scared of you than you are of them.
I enjoy looking at and talking to different types of insects. Many insects that I used to think were ugly I now think are beautiful.
If I see a spider web, I try not to wreck it. If i see a spider or harmless type of bug, I try not to harm it.
In the garden I dont use and dont need to use pesticides. I let beneficial insects/animals and nature balance itself, plus I dont mono crop that also helps prevent pest problems.
While walking through an area with bugs, the bugs typically run out of my way to avoid me stepping on them. While touching plants, the bugs typically move out of my way to avoid coming into contact with me.
I used to be scared that bees/wasps would sting me. As long as I don't upset the bee/wasp it probably wont sting me. Bees and wasps can fly past me with in inches of me or be with in inches of me and i have no fear of them. They are not interested in landing on me as long as im not wearing attractive scent or soaking wet on a dry day.
If it stings me, it's not extremely painful, i can put some numbing and anti inflammation stuff on the string and it'll probably be better in about 1-2weeks.
It is nice to have no fear while being near harmless bugs.
Being able to identify what is and is not a poisonous spider has helped me to not have fear around non poisonous spiders. As long as you don't disturb a spider, it is more likely to run away than bite. If someone gets bite by a poisonous spider, as long as they get immediate medical attention hopefully they'll recover.
I don't deliberately touch insects/spiders/bees with my hands as i dont want to get bite/stung.
I like when butterflies land on me.
Non poisonous spiders and a few harmless bugs in the house i let live in the house.
If there are unwanted bugs in the house, trap them and put them outside.
Keep house clean and sealed to avoid pest problems.
Honey is for bees, not for people. Eating honey is not vegan. Agave nectar is a good alternative.
lol Gary is funny. :D good job. thanks to both of you for all you do.
Love your comment. Thanks for sharing. < 3
What about roaches? You just gonna live with them?
Who else cracked up at 'People for the Ethical Treatment of Bacteria' :D ... Awesome nugget yet again!
hehe, i liked that too Ali "The Friendly Activist" Tabrizi ;) and thanks!
I want to meet Gary personally and thank him for the work he has done
Thanks Gary for all you do for the Animals if they only knew how many of their lives you saved already.
this man saved a stink bug? WOW such an inspiration! fuck yeah gary!
I'm a vegan but I'm not the biggest on insects I respect them outside but if ones in my room they got to go like ants and Flys I don't like infestations and don't want them crawling on my furry animals
i think insects are ∞ better than mammals
Vcafr0 who, me?
+Vcafr0 mammals also carry disease, you know.
+Vcafr0 actually yes, mammals like rats and mice do come into our houses and cause a lot of damage. Also, the vast majority of insects do not spread disease. Trying to remove all insects from our yards is hopeless and impossible. Most insects are actually harmless or even beneficial. So no, people like me are not "creating more diseases". You, however, are making stupid assumptions.
+Vcafr0 wtf, of course I dont let insects live in my house. If I have an infestation i will kill it off. I was saying that the vast majority of insects are harmless or benificial. Stop believing that all bug-lovers are the insect equivalent of crazy cat ladies. Those are a minority amoung us. I try to avoid killing insects when possible, but I will kill them when I deem it necessary.
God bless you Gary Yourofsky and Emily from Bite Size Vegan. The most useful thing I took from this video was the understanding that when people bring up counter arguments to veganism that most advocates find so ridiculous that they're hardly wiling to address - such as the one about plants having feelings - what's really happening is that deep within the psyche of the non-vegan there is an uncomfortable awareness (a cognitive dissonance) because of how contradictory it is to be eating animals while also claiming to love them. Instead of admitting to this, the mind tries to protect itself by forming a "projection" or externalized version of a similar contradiction that it then tries to ridicule. As a vegan advocate, I think this is a useful discovery because, depending on the emotional and psychological maturity of the person to whom we are speaking, it might be better for us to politely bring this point to the surface of awareness right from the start instead of wasting time and energy trying to give rational explanations like "If you're honestly concerned about harming plant life, we can kill far less as vegans." This is obviously a logical response, but it doesn't address the root of what's truly going on. Gary said we should ask them to "take a good look in the mirror." While I agree that this is what needs to take place, I think we should always aim to provide them with that mirror as compassionately and respectfully as possible. All of us can relate to how painful it can be to admit that we've been living a lie, and that's exactly what we are asking non-vegans to do. If we do it correctly, they should immediately thank us for being so supportive and helpful to them while they were going through that painful process of admitting the truth. If we do our job incorrectly, we face resentment for how aggressively we shook them awake. We can evaluate the caliber of our vegan advocacy by the feedback we receive from those we have converted.
"All of us can relate to how painful it can be to admit that we've been living a lie, and that's exactly what we are asking non-vegans to do." very powerful point Bill Steinbuechler and absolutely key. thank you
love this video and i agree with gary yourfosky. we have no problem leaving big beautiful cane spiders in our house (unless they are on our furniture, which in that case we put the spider in a container to take outside and let go). But one time we did this, the spider turned right around and crawled all the way back to our doorstep as we watched with out own eyes. (cane spiders are huge mind you). It was so awesome. it was as if he was saying, "Hey guys, why did u take me outside? that is my home in there :)" They are beautiful creatures. The only trouble we have with insects in refraining from killing them is when ANTS invade our home and take over our fruit stash. Here in the tropics ants invading in the home is inevitable, and i have not found a sustainable way to prevent them from coming inside ALL THE TIME (we don't have the problem often, but every once in a while the ants come by the thousands in our home), nor a way to remove them from the house without killing them. ants are beautiful and i love Gary's story about ants. do u guys have any ideas on ways to get ants outside without killing them? someone suggested letting them all gather on a plate of strawberries and then taking them outside, but this does not work as it only gathers the ants more into the house, not solving the problem permanently. Oh actually, also cockroaches are tough too. They are flying cockroaches here and are very hard to catch in the house. And if we don't catch them and get them out of the house, they have babies and we would end up living with loads of cockroaches. Sigh, the life of tropical living. lol xo
Mango Island Mamma oh flying cockroaches. quite the challenge even for a seasoned vegan! thanks so much for sharing your insect experiences :)
Sam thing happens sometimes in Turkey as well. What we do is we spread some sugar on the grounds and then they can take that sugar back with them without disturbing our kitchen
Also mind that not all species of ants are the same. With some species this may not work.
hebince44 haha interesting idea! i still don't like the idea of inviting ants into our house to just constantly come and go by the thousands, but still thats a pretty good idea! thanks!
Get an Avic. That is an Avicularia tarantula. They LOOOVE roaches, AND are great at catching them!
We get those angry red ants here. I found buying dr bronners and diluting with water in a spray bottle. Then spraying around keeps them away. But spraying them directly will kill them so be aware.
No mention to mosquitoes...
+Neo Morpheus or maggots and deadly bugs that are able to kill you. Would you be ok with a bigass wasp nest in your house? Or a load of nasty cockroaches?
Dönerente Drakensang
Hey, these are innocent animals too! So what is your vegan point? That you protect the lives of the animals you like, but the ones that annoy and you consider "nasty" deserve to be slaughtered? I am not an obtuse vegan defending animals, so no, I would not be OK with any animal in my house, and I kill (or pay someone to kill) all the animals that I want to kill. Including the ones I need to eat.
I think when it comes to insects we have to draw a line. I think its fine to feel compassion for a cow, a pig and maybe even a fish, since they have a brain and could be considered rather complex beings (even tho imo they are not worth as much as a human, still they dont deserve to suffer...)
But i dont feel like bacteria and insects should be honored since they arguably dont have any consciousness or ability to feel pain. For example a worm doest even have a brain, or a jelly fish,. it wouldnt even notice if it dies. Also if i eat fruit i accept that insects that wanted to eat them get killed off by pesticides.
Of course you shouldnt kill them out of fun or anything, but if they invade your house or they are a threat to you, kill them without any remorse.
Insects feel just as much pain a cow, when you step on a cockroach and it's still alive it clearly squirms in pain.
It's just another vegan cop out like using huge amounts of electricity and driving cars, there's probably 1% of the developed world who actually do live environmentally friendly and they live out in the country-side raising their own meat and using solar power, not living in the city talking crap about being a vegan.
What The
... and who the hell cares?
My problem is fruit flies. I always have soooo many for the entire summer, but I also eat mainly raw so I have a lot of produce in the kitchen. But I started putting all my fruit in a cooler, covering it with cheese cloth and securing it with a large elastic and that really seemed to bring down the numbers. That way I didn't have to store my fruit and the fridge and have it all go bad, and I no longer had to put out traps. I felt pretty genious when I came up with it haha.
hey there is a cool ethical fruit fly removal trap thingy on Happy Healthy Vegan using cling wrap.
the method i use Miranda Cloud is humane and effective: put some really ripe fruit in a bowl or container and cover it with Saran wrap secured by a rubber band. then poke tiny holes in the plastic. they will climb in for the fruit but can't get out. just take it outside once and day and release them! :) that's probably what Disco Nouvo was talking about
*****
exactly
Yeah I was doing that, but I wasn't emptying it everyday...I was a bit forgetful. But next summer I will keep on top of it, I'm trying to get better with things like that. Though storing counter produce in a ventilated box really helps. Thanks guys!
I love spiders, my son gets excited to see the spider pop out from the window frame when we take a shower. The spider is drinking the condensation, and my kid friggin adores it.
Well, ants are not altruistic for saving the queen, without her the whole colony will die. It's just the logical thing you do to survive.
Which is called altruism. Incurring a cost to yourself for the benefit of another. That IS altruism.
Sarah Muston what about the one ant that they pamper from day one as he is to be the future mate of the queen, they pamper this ant so much he becomes too plump to move but has his every need cared for, until the big day arrives, he mates with the queen, and the whole ant colony then descends on and devours the totally unsuspecting and helpless ant?
Great video! Thanks for your time in posting it!
I saved countless insects and reptiles from the killing and fear desires of a few missinformed people. They are amazing creatures.
i agree Luigi Mario :)
Disgusting
@@immolati4583 you are disgusting
I LOVE bugs, insects, spiders SO much! 💖💖💖💖💖
cockroaches are friendly social beings. i have connections with them in my house. i just lay there on my floor and they just like to crawl over me.
WTF.
Eris In Aries yes WTF
@@hayagrivawellness theres a giant madagascar cockroach that is slow as fuck and would be a cool ass pet, but wild regular cockroaches can be a plague reproduce a lot and transmit illnesses.
@@tbone007 that dude prob. Has salmonella or some shit
Nasty
Bees are the most important beings on the planet and deserve respect!
If you ask questions, 'Kalliopi Kalimnos' it's best you change your Google+ settings so that people can reply :) since I can't reply to you, I'm creating a new post to answer your question. Here are some links for natural flea treatments/prevention:
some natural links are:
www.peta.org/living/companion-animals/abcs-cruelty-free-flea-control/
www.petmd.com/dog/wellness/evr_multi_flea_control
everydayroots.com/flea-remedies
www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Natural-Flea-and-Tick-Remedy-with-Apple-Cider-Vinegar
+Bite Size Vegan I noticed you had a picture of a roach with Gary but no mention of it was said. What if there is a roach or mice infestation in your residence? How does a vegan approach that?
+Dee Zee Hard one, but as you are allowed to defend yourself then they are attacking you by eating your food in numbers. I can't think of any other way to deal with it than to call an exterminator or something. But I think mouse infestation only happens on farms and your house has got to be filthy for a roach infestation.
+Crusty Tackleford roaches come because people feed them. this is a matter of cleanliness. don't let dishes pile up, store food securely and take out the trash frequently and the roaches will find a new place to eat.
sfbunnyman Not exactly true. I've seen roaches in perfectly clean places. If they are already established there, cleanliness isn't going to help much.
+Crusty Tackleford my places is squeaky clean, and I'm suffering an infestation at my apartment because of some filthy neighbors.
I'm vegan but in summer my job consists largely of mowing city parks and football fields. So it's kind of impossible to not kill bugs.
Killing bed-bugs, ticks, fleas and mosquitoes... Self defense. No problem. Deliberately stepping on ants, caterpillars, etc. --- Sadistic. Harm without justification = ignorance.
Thanks Emily & Gary for clearing up the "bacteria", "germs" and insect issue. Hug a bug!
***** ha! you're welcome :)
Loving your channel! It's so great to see new videos of Gary! He is such a captivating and no nonsense speaker. Really making a huge impact. I would love to know how I can get more involved! Specifically how to find out about attending demonstrations, protests, gatherings etc! I always seem to read about activism events AFTER the fact!
Wow, I love Gary and his answers!! What an awesome guy!
tritawan ruttivut glad you're liking the series
I'm not an activist. I am new to Gary, but I have enjoyed and learned from watching videos of him. I have been vegetarian for the last several years and vegan for the last 6 months. It's going well. But I'm also philosophical Taoist, which value the practice of moderation. If I were starving, I would eat meat. If I were in life or death starving, I would eat human meat.
If I go to someone's house and they innocently serve me meat or dairy, I politely eat it. And I would make sure to eat every single crumb out of respect to the being that died in order to fill my belly. Later on, I explain my diet, so as to not to make the person uncomfortable. That's how I practice compassion to people in such situations. Not very activist at all, but that's how I personally do it.
I have practiced what Gary mentions here, with insects. Some creep me out and it is all I can do to collect them and release them outside, but so far, so good. However, If I had a infestation of bedbugs or cockroaches, I would kill them. I don't know of any other realistic alternative.
Great video! Question: What are you guys' opinion on bug infestations (roaches, ants, spiders, etc.)? My current thought right now is that if they are impeding on my comfort and my space, then I feel no remorse for killing them, getting rid of them, or at least preventing more from coming in. However, I want to study these insects more so I can have a better understanding of them rather than fear and annoyance so that could perhaps limit my disdain for them. Also, I think developing and supporting more humane ways of getting rid of bugs in our homes rather than exterminating them would be a lot better for the society.
omg i luv ur profile pic
I'm vegan, have been for years, but this guy is a trip and a half.
OK, he picked the insects that are likeable (butterflies, grasshoppers, honeybees) but what about infected ticks for example? they spread lyme diseases, Borrelia, Tularemia and many others. You're suppose to burn them after pulling them out to stop the disease spreading. And what about head lice? Are you going to try to save them if out of your head? What if your house and your pet gets infested with fleas? I'm sorry but even though I'm vegan I strongly believe that there are insects we need to get rid off in order to save us and other animals. Extending our compassion towards head lice and malaria infected mosquitos is just ridiculous.
acid junkie YES!!!! I saw what he did there too!! He didn’t answer the obvious question but instead chose to say how vegans are being attacked by dumb people an how its a no brainer that he is gonna help an protect the cute or insects that won’t bother you unless you piss them off an such. He didn’t answer the question just twisted it to what he he thought it should have said an how he is gonna be the hero in the vegan community by saving the harmless stink bug!
@Charmed Diaries the answer I was looking for
Honestly, I think what was to be taken from what he was explaining is if their not bothering you leave them alone. Of course if your pet has ticks and fleas or parasites you are going to get rid of them because it is necessary. Or if something is biting you, you are going to swat it away. We just have to have a balanced perspective.
You people are just trying to find something wrong with what he said, he's said that you have the right to defend yourself if something is causing harm to you (and he's said it before too), he was avoiding talking about that just because he didn't address every type of bug on earth, calm down.
He has said this in many of his interviews: If whatever animal attacks/will attack him he won’t just stand there and let it happen.
As long as a bug isn't stinging me, biting me, or in my food, I'm cool with it. I'm getting pretty good with trapping spiders, but I'm with Gary here, they gotta go outside. I'm trying to make peace with ants and beetles and I have found natural ways to deter them from being in my house- it helps me avoid me having to fight the urge of squishing them when they're crawling in my kitchen....
I love bugs and insects! I think bees and dragon flies are my favorite. And I also love the really colorful beetles. Gary is such a great resource. Thank you Emily!!
sproutbliss you're so welcome. and beetles are beautiful!
This world need more Garys !
Gary is such an inspiration!
you guys are awesome! Peace and love for both of you!
What about bedbugs? Roaches? Or other pest? Like, I am legitimately curious of the ethics here.
There is no answer. The vegans live amongst the beasts until their house is destroyed, or they forfeit their shelter to them and live somewhere else.
Unbelievable.
Gary said, when something harms you, you have the right to defend yourself.
+Mizzie You don't need Gary to tell you this but he is correct #thinkforyourself
Well, a very important thing is to put food in jars (grains, legumes, flours, nuts...). I remember reading that the Ancient Romans take good care of the food they had. They stored them safely and clean because they understood how important it was to prevent invasions of bugs. I think we can learn from this.
Insects are very intelligent. For example they act as if they were dead, move frantically or start searching for a possibility to escape when you touch them or catch with a cup to free them. Wouldn't we do the same? Besides... they also are alive and we actually have no right to take their life away.
I love your videos. Your videos actually have something that is answered. I'm so interested with watching all of these!
kate thanks so much! Do stick around. I do my best to be truly educational
I am scared of insects...but I am too learning to appreciate them and just let them be! sometimes it is hard though! sad thing about catching spiders and putting them outside is that it actually kills them(well that is what my sister told me)!
haha maybe...she said said she read it somewhere!
i've never heard that about spiders Yekaterina Shishkovskaya and can't really think of why that would be the case. glad to hear you are starting to appreciate the little guys ;) and it can be challenging!
It doesn't make sense that it would kill them; there are tons of spiders outside, and tons of insects for them to eat. I'm scared of them too (I saw a ginormous, hairy spider (well, by "ginormous," s/he was about the size of a half-dollar) at work once, and shrieked much higher than I thought my voice would allow. I couldn't even try to do anything with the spider, so I asked one of my coworkers to take him/her outside, but not to kill him/her). If I see a smaller one just in my house, though, I usually leave him/her alone.
Please don't put indoor spiders outside. They are not suited to outdoor conditions. It's not as simple as there being lots of bugs outside, there are other reasons they are adapted to living in an indoor environment. See: www.burkemuseum.org/spidermyth/myths/comein.html
If an indoor spider is bothering you wherever it happens to be, consider putting it in a more out-of-the-way part of your home. Your basement or cellar maybe? Somewhere that's dark and moist and tends to have bugs is a good idea.
I have a spider who lives behind my toilet and I have to warn people about her when they use my bathroom! She's small but she lives in her web so it's not like she scurries around.
thank you for that info Lee Hearts! i didn't know this
I am vegan and work in organic agriculture, and even though we use all natural products to grow our food, sometimes with those natural products if there is a big plague of greenfly for example, we treat it with organic products but some of them die. Another example is when we harvest, if we find also greenfly in our harvest we have to wash them off and so they die. At the same time, we produce worm humus with our organic waste, so we can use it for our substratum, and even though we are not harming the worms we are using them for the process. This is how most of organic agriculture works and so these processes are all basically included in what vegans consume. I would like an opinion from you Emily and from Gary about these subjects. Thank you!
Videos like these really demonstrate how disconnected people are from where their food comes from for even on small organic farms and orchards pesticides- including insecticides- are universally used to KILL insects. Scroll down in this pdf to get a list and description of allowed organic pesticides www.xerces.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/xerces-organic-approved-pesticides-factsheet.pdf .
Bees are especially problematic since obviously they fly from field to field and orchard to orchard so bees are exposed to both organic and conventional pesticides. Most farms/orchards now use "slave" bees for pollination that are truck around the country . So even when these bees are used for organic orchards/crops they fly to adjacent conventional ones using neonicotinoids and consequently are DYING en masse (aka colony collapse). n.pr/1IbztUj
So if you don't want to kill any insects, don't buy any fruits or vegetables from a grocery store or farmers market, go out in season and forage edible varieties of veggies, fruits and fungi. Though be prepared, there aren't any bananas, mango or papaya in North America, so you might want to learn what paw paw is instead and move close to where it grows. Might also want to learn how to pickle, can and ferment for those colder months when all fresh fruits and vegetables are out of season(esp. if you don't live in a warmer climate).
Thank you, Emily and Gary Yourofsky! Learning a lot from you. You are great.
If I accidentally kill a bug I usually feel so guilty that I will start crying.
Sounds like a fair, level headed reaction to what I said.
+Dani L so do I. I stood on a snail once and crushed his shell. I felt so sick ,angry and guilty thay I caused his death, and suffering. the end of a life is never a good time especially if you caused it.
So... how do you feel about ticks?
Parasites, who thrive off the life of another and cause pain or suffering to others I have no problem with killing , I have three cats and I regularly use flee drops on them.
Carly Drummond
I wonder if Gary is of a similar vein, or if he loves the wittle ticks and fleas, chiggers, bed bugs, etc., too. >_>
I love these videos with Gary, I always want to hear his ideas on things that I never saw him talk about and these videos are great because of it. I researched Q&A videos that Gary has on youtube but can't find much :(
SupheciInsan so glad you'r enjoying them! there are still quite a few to come ;)
Danke für die deutschen Untertitel!
Thanks for the german subtitles!
Is emotional defence justification for killing an insect? For example: flies buzzing around the dinner table; ants invading your tent.
They're not truly harming us but it's a different circumstance to if they were just chilling in their natural habitat.
Curious how vegans who drive feel about the bugs that hit their windshields?
I drive a small slow van, and (try to) avoid the motorways, but I can't say I'm innocent in this respect.
Cosmic Nonsense it's very unfortunate. i bike everywhere i can. but as i've said in many videos, there's no way to be alive and not unintentionally harm some being. it's about reducing that harm as much as possible.
***** I agree totally - there are too many people in this world to reject technology, and even if we stopped driving on a personal level we'd still have delivery vehicles, public transport, ambulances, fire trucks etc.
There are so many issues to be aware of, from killing bugs on the road to thinking about what sort of fertiliser our food grows in, to the petro-chemical industry and more ... I simply haven't got the ability to fight every battle, so just do the best I can.
Thank you from the UK for everything you do - I think you're an awesome human being :)
Cosmic Nonsense The difference between that and what non-vegans typically do lies in intention. Non-vegans intentionally kill non-human animals by funding their slaughter, while we unintentionally kill animals as we drive.
nar3sas Typically though, their intention is borne out of ignorance rather than anything knowingly malicious.
So, I suppose it could be argued that we choose to be ignorant to insect deaths because we're addicted to motor transport, to speed, to travel to making society faster and more efficient etc.
I know I'd feel worse if I hit a rabbit than I would if I hit a fly - so does this mean that I'm unintentionally "speciesist" by default, and that I choose the animals I care about most just 'cos of their fluffiness and their ability to interact with humans?
Here's a link to a study on how many insects are killed by motorists - and the results are in the trillions!
www.treehugger.com/cars/trillions-of-insects-killed-by-cars-every-year-says-study.html
Y'know, since I've been vegan I seem to ask as many questions as I find answers. :/
Cosmic Nonsense Before they're informed by the negative impact of their lifestyle, they are excusable. After they are informed, it is definitely intentional harm. I'm not ignorant at all to the deaths that I cause while driving, but I'm clearly excused on the basis of needing to drive and having no intention of causing harm. We would certainly lose a lot of progress as a species by not driving anymore. If I could get to every place I wanted or needed to by just walking or biking, I would do so, but that's clearly not the case. It's not comparable at all to funding the exploitation and slaughter of other animals. I myself hate it equally when either flies or larger animals are killed by cars, so I do not know what to say about you hating both to different extents. I'm aware so many more insects than larger animals are killed by motorists, but that changes nothing I've said.
I have gone vegan because of Gary. He is one of my favourite humans ever, and I don’t like many humans
I always try to catch them and let them out, but what is one to do when a more harmful bug (say cockroaches or termites) decides to infest your house?
I'm vegan I stomp roaches I feel a lil guilty but they are pretty bad in my area and I just can't have that I also have traps I can't have roaches shitting all over the place no
So far not killing spiders and letting them be has helped me with preventing & even getting rid of some ant and even cockroach infestations. Don't have any scientific data though.
+Izkapts
I don't kill spiders either, I refused to let scared close and distant relatives of mine kill a spider and used a paper napkin to help remove the spider (people might've been grossed out if I used a drinking glass) to somewhere outside.
I've even stopped my car (when I used to drive one) to chase (rather discourage) an animal (like a snake, phascogale or blue tongue lizard) off the road (and hope it doesn't become "road kill" in the future)
I don't have any cockroaches in my room and barely got my food mothed.
...and I'm glad to say I saw some bees among the clover in my local area
Thank you Bite Size Vegan. Great video. Love Gary Yorofsky. I have a thing called a Buzooka. It sucks up spiders from a foot away and then you can release them outside unharmed. It's a great thing to have for people scared of spiders who don't want to get near them or kill them.
I have definitely become more compassionate towards bugs since becoming vegan. To the point that I swerve around grasshoppers on the bicycle pathway. I almost had an accident because of it recently. Gotta keep your head up but don't want to feel the squish and pop under my tires. Damn sentimentality!
Vanilla Gorilla aww that's darling- i did that and actually did crash and burn and had a HUGE bruise all from swerving to avoid a grasshopper :)
@@BiteSizeVegan ye, thats just stupid
@@BiteSizeVegan Aw. You two. That's incredibly cute!
Stay cute and compassionate but also please try to stay safe.
I was actually afraid of spiders myself. When I moved into my cabin there was a few and I actually let them stay. One fell in my hair while I was shower and ironically that was the end of my fear. Gary, you are my hero.
I LOVE this. Instects are beautiful and now their beauty proven by microphotography. They have the right to live. I remember once I was washing dishes and this little ant got caught up in a drop of water. Suddenly I saw another ant helping her. I was like am I so into animals that I just imagined that? Lol well later after I did some research I found out that ants do indeed help each other. I was like wow. Since I was a child I always helped insects, specially june bugs. Even roaches that I HATE lol I still (with a broom) push them outside. :-) great video
that's a great story Fruitveganful Martenson. the altruism of animals is always moving. i'm so glad you're kind to the little ones :)
Lovely stories. : )
Please use this tool or something similar instead of the broom - much more effective and gentle:
www.amazon.com/My-Critter-Catcher-Spider-Insect/dp/B0192MB5RS?ref_=ast_sto_dp
Since becoming Vegan and meditating out in nature more and more, I do have new found respect for insects. I truly do admire them and do not harm them unless I have one attacking me that won't leave me alone. Again, it's all about not doing unnecessary harm.
I have a tiny fruit fly buddy that greets me every morning when I make my date smoothies. Change your attitude and your whole world changes :)
Eva Nelson aww...i do have a soft spot for fruit flies. we have similar interests :)
I hate fru
Sorry,, fruit flies they get in your bread they spoil fruits I don't like them
wolfraider 338 They don't spoil the fruit, they eat the spoil. Remember the worms in Maximus Decimus Meridius, they were not eating his body but the dead human tissues and help clean the wound.
Eva Lovisa So true.
Yet again, so well put, Gary! You ROCK!
What is your view on bug infested houses? How do you feel about people that gas their houses to kill them?
Following the logic and sense, you should put them outside one by one. The other option is to go and live somewhere else.
There are non-violent sprays made out of safe, minimally processed ingredients like chamomile that make them go away. The chamomile works great for spiders which is good for me because I sleep on the floor without a mattress. It doesn't work as good as the harmful stuff, but an IRRATIONAL fear of getting bit is not good enough reason to kill another who is just trying to find shelter. The harmfulness sprays work good enough to keep insects from overpopulating and becoming an infestation, but the sprays leave a few behind. Good cleanliness habits will solve the rest of that problem.
+Mika De Boos do you have any idea how insane you sound?
The Darkskin Philosopher As a 'philosopher' you should see the reason.
Mika De Boos You just said, in a bug infested house, you should REMOVE THE SMALL INSECTS ONE BY ONE or surrender your shelter, the one that you saved up money for, to the insects and live elsewhere.
3:50-4:20! Couldn't have said it better myself! Thanks of the great video :)
I like how this guy talks about insects.
Hats off to his observation ....loads of respects 🙏
Please invest in some better mics. The sound on your videos is terrible.
Watch my more recent videos. Had to learn along the way
Great, the video content was good it was just hard to hear at times.
During the warmer months, Flies tend to come around every now and then. Last year we have an infestation of flies, they laid eggs in my cats litter box and there were HUNDREDS in my apartment. It took DAYS they were breeding so fast. I purchased a safe bug vacuum and let them all go free. It took like 4 days to rid of them and neck aches. But I did it. And it CAN be done. Invest in a bug safe vacuum.
so my kitchen is full of ants, but I have a family member allergic to them. what should we do?
+leenie lol Dunno if those work but if the ants are still there you could try those: everydayroots.com/how-to-get-rid-of-ants
great nugget! I found that all of my fears relating to insects and spiders were based on propaganda from bug spray commercials that are selling poisons to spray into the air we breath and onto surfaces that we eat from. I tell the spiders look out for me with the mosquitoes and I'm more worried about snail bait in my salad than snails. ;)
thanks Disco Nouvo! and i do think the fears are taught to us from so early on...
First of all i really hate this radical ideas about vegetarian diets. I mean why do people have to be so radical in their ideas ...
Even if people follow this type of diets for the animals (yes many vegetarians/vegans don't even care about the animals and do it for different reasons), they have to understand that animals are not all the same. I mean a pig or a chicken feel pain differently than an insect. Our moral responsibility towards an insect is far less than towards a pig and our moral responsibility toward a pig is far less than toward a human. We should all speak about a continuum of moral responsibility and not put all the animals in the same bag. After all, our developed societies and we it's citizens have always an impact (direct or indirect) upon animal life/well being and the environment. If you want to defend an extremist idea of protection of the environment and the animals, then that could only be achieved if we all went back to living in the caves. Instead of that, we should speak about an awareness and respect towards animals and the environment, which means trying as much as possible to avoid the suffering of animals. So instead of "NO! Vegans cannot kill bugs" we should say "Vegans should only kill bugs as a last resource". In the end the idea of feeding every vegetarian with vegetables and seeds means the use of techniques to prevent diseases of the crops, which means in many cases the killing of insects. Let's not be radical here, let's just be the best humans we can.
wrong
When are we getting more Emily? This is still your channel, right?
Lee Hearts ha! yes :) Gary this Monday then me on Wed and Friday :)
This is my own opinion and experience. When you stop killing them, they stop biting you. Period. For whatever reasons, it's like they have a sense of who's killed their friends and who're not.
Polly Pocket ha! that's pretty cool. thanks for sharing your experience. :)
Actually that is true at least in some animals. If you throw a stone at a crow and hurt it, it will communicate with the other crows of the flock and next time a crow from the flock sees you it will become very aggressive even if it wasn't the crow you threw a stone at and the other crow isn't around.
Jillian TheFashionQueen do they remember ur face? XD
***** We are talking about 'BUGs' here not bears.
Polly Pocket Damn, that's good to know! We need to get this information out to mosquito infested, malaria stricken regions of Africa -- stat! Same goes for copies of The Secret. If only people who are starving in 3rd world countries would learn to properly align their chi, become vegan, live in harmony with nature, and visualize some clean drinking water, they wouldn't be in such bad shape.
(i'm just kidding around, this wasn't meant as a slight)
I inspected the clover patches in my local town yesterday.
I was so glad to see some bees after thinking they might've died off a few days ago. I used to like bees for producing honey until a couple months ago, now I like them for pollination and hope those fighting for bees win against those poisoning them.
i think flys fall into the category of bacteria(:
Really beautiful video :) loved the story about the ants... so beautiful! Emily, I just read an interesting bit of info - whether it's real or not, I dunno! - apparently figs have digested wasps in them? There is so much stuff out on the net, and some of it is BS but I couldn't help but wonder - do you know more about this?
thanks FrootKat! so glad you liked it :) and i've never heard that- i'd have to look into it. weird...
yeah it's weird! here's where I read it... could be an urban myth though haha www.thekitchn.com/strange-symbiosis-the-fig-and-126960
à-bas-le-ciel
+greekMD Yes :)
Gary should get real.
With a legend like Gary you could have tested these mics. Shitty quality. Powerful message
I think extending moral consideration to insects is taking it too far. Even if insectes did feel pain, (which I seriously doubt) they most likely don't feel it to a high degree, due to the fact that they're not cognitively developed like high order animals. If Gary really does think insects matter morally, he should avoid walking on grass and wear a mask like a Jain to cover his mouth so he doesn't kill any bugs. This is all stuff Gary would have to do if he genuinely believed insects had moral status. However, I think holding that kind of view is absurd and unfounded. As vegans we should only be worried about vertebrates and some invertebrates like the octopus. Since we know with pretty good certainty that those beings can feel pleasure and pain much like us.
*****
"It is not absurd or unfounded to refrain from killing things when you don't have to. Pain is not the only reason you should not kill things."
Right. I agree. But where did you get the idea that I think in order for you to have a "right to life" you must be able to feel pain? I never said that.
"You should not kill anything unless you absolutely have to."
Why?
"Ought implies can, if you can prevent yourself from killing bugs then you ought to not kill bugs."
But why is killing bugs morally wrong? You haven't said why it is.
"But if you eat honey or you burn ants with magnifying glass because you think its cool then you are immoral."
I don't eat honey or burn ants with a magnifying glass.
"Keep in mind insects like bees, ants and spiders are tremendously important to the ecosystem and if they weren't around you would not be alive, so even though they don't feel pain maybe you should respect there life's because they are responsible for keeping you alive."
It's true that bugs are important to the ecosystem and for the planet as a whole. However, all that shows is that they have external value, and not intrinsic value. In other words, it might be morally wrong to harm bugs because they benefit the planet, but not morally wrong to harm the bugs in themselves.
If you want a good argument about insects, Emily's video about bees/honey was pretty interesting and worth watching.
But this is a much more contentious issue than Gary is giving credit. Peter Singer, for example, was persuaded that it was alright to kill insects after examining the scientific material on the topic. It's hardly a black and white issue and it really strikes at the heart of the vegan worldview, i.e. the prevention of meaningful suffering. Traditionally a simple distinction for animal rights activists is the line between plant and animal life, but since the real issue is the cognitive capacity for suffering, that distinction can only be so useful and it becomes problematic once you start looking at more primitive forms of animal life.
It doesn't come up much, though, because it's so easy to go without killing insects, and most people don't eat them.
*****
"I said that because you said animals like insects aren’t cognitively developed enough to feel pain and that is the only reason you give for not extending moral consideration to them. I was just pointing out that this is not sufficient justification for killing them."
Right. Well, beings that can't feel pain or pleasure have no interest. They can't have interest because they have no conscious desires. If a being can't have conscious desires at all, we can't take their interest into consideration.
"Why don’t you eat honey? Is it for ethical reasons? Because if it is then you are in fact extending the moral consideration to insects already so what is the disagreement? The only way it seems you can be consistent in not extending moral consideration to them and not using there honey is if you don’t eat honey because you have health problems from it or you just don’t like the taste. Otherwise you are extending moral considerations to them."
I don't eat honey because I think it's fucking nasty to. Honey, as Gary always points out in his lectures, is bee vomit. Moreover, technically speaking, it's not vegan. And since I want to consider myself a vegan, I don't eat it.
"Are you serious? I could give you a reason for this but do you honestly believe that killing things that you don’t have to kill is a morally acceptable thing to do? I think you can answer your own question."
Depending on what it is, yes. I kill things all the time. I don't have to clean off my countertop with a cleaning spray and kill the billions of bacteria that's on it, but I prefer to have clean countertops, even though it's not necessary.
I don't really care about reading the other stuff you said. It's too jumbled up and difficult to read.
*****
There's nothing hypocritical about making exceptions among animals if you don't claim to do otherwise. Some people think some animals deserve to be treated with ethical consideration and others do not. As long as they don't claim to believe otherwise, there's no hypocrisy there.
*****
"You can't pick and choose what you want to kill if you preach to not kill animals."
I don't object to killing animals, but I do object to inflicting suffering on them. I'm not arbitrarily deciding what animals are worth moral consideration and what animals are not. If an animal has interest and is capable of suffering, then I think I have a moral obligation to not make that animal suffer. However, if a bug has no interest and is not capable of suffering, then I don't have to take its interest into account. Since it has none. You assume that because I'm a vegan I must be opposed to killing other animals. Well, I don't. As I pointed out earlier.
As vegan homeschoolers, including bugs in our circle of consideration and awe for life has considerably broadened the wonder of Life here on this beautiful planet. We've rescued numerous moths and butterflies, taking care of them in our "bug hospital." We make a sugar water mix (same as for hummingbirds) and after a few times these creatures recognize us and come to my hand when it's time to eat.
When you start to pay attention, whole worlds become visible. My kids and I like to call moths the "dogs" of the insect world. They are friendly and curious and use the antennas much like dogs use their ears to show their moods. Mother pincher bugs stay with their babies for weeks after they hatch and regurgitate food for them just like a bird.
There are many bugs that send me screaming, but I don't wish death on them because of my irrational fear. Luckily my five-year-old son is fearless and loves to come to the rescue when one of us girls needs help with an insect. We have a few videos of my son re-homing all manner of bugs on our channel.
I can't stress enough how allowing my kids to see bugs as individuals with a will of their own, and the same desire to preserve their lives as any other living creature, has made the world so much richer and more interesting.
And as far as homeschooling goes, science becomes a real-world adventure. One of the first lessons we teach our kids is SHARE! So we should be practicing what we preach and SHARE the world with all its inhabitants :)
So cool. Thanks so much for sharing it.
you're very welcome! *****
Oh Gary, please take a closer look at a spider & thier cute little faces - not to mention thier intricate webs. When you see a spider web as the sun shines on it - oh my! Nature is so beautiful!
Watching again as Gary Yourofsky is a vegan legend. I had the biggest dragonfly fly around my swimming pool and I just watched it all afternoon.Always getting Bees Ladybugs spiders Moths Flies Ants in my swimming pool and always take them out and its so sweet watching them dry their wings in the sun and fly away.
That ant story also happened in the movie Antz, so cool:)
My boyfriend and I are both vegan and we do our best to avoid killing bugs and place them outside if we find them indoors. We don't have a car, either, which means we walk a lot and take public transportation. I have a bike with a basket which I use frequently for grocery shopping and other errands which helps. Unfortunately, there will still be bug casualties despite our best efforts but it's important to remember that veganism isn't about perfection or an end in itself. It's a means to an end (living compassionately) and there are multiple ways to achieve that end.
Here is a question; I surmise that wearing cotton clothing is vegan due to the fact that the fabric comes from a plant, but in order for the cotton farmer to get a good harvest he must control the boll weevil, which means that it is a bug that gets killed, does that make cotton non-vegan?
As a biologist I love all animals and insects. Both the animals and nature is so amazing and so perfect it's hard to imagine and comprehend. I think everyone should read up on biology just to see how complex and amazing insects are. It gives a whole new perspective and respect for all life. In my opinion bugs are worthy of respect and compassion. They want to live and do their bug-thing, and I'm cool with that..not going to stand in their way.
Gary if you are reading this: You are the "Jesus" of our time, in my opinion. You are so compassionate and kind, and I wish there were more like you. It's so hard to go on sometimes when you see all the cruelty and abuse that humans are capable of, but as you've said, it's about the victims. One day the world WILL be vegan. People will understand that oppression and abuse is wrong. Sending all my love and support.
and I have to say I love the bite size vegan channel! :) Keep posting videos! Sending everyone a big vegan hug.
I have loved little creatures since childhood, I turned from being terrified of insects into a kid who used to build little houses for them and let them all loose in my mothers kitchen including a load of snails and frogs, when I was around 8 years old an earwig fell in my bathwater causing me to panic, I knew if I did nothing it would die, so I fought the fear and rescued it, dried it off and it survived, from that day on I always helped them, I wasn't brought up Vegan and only for a few months now, being vegan I am no longer a hypocrite
What a wonderfully kind man
He's a massive jerk unless you agree with him 100%. He feels compassion toward everything in the animal kingdom except humans. I sent him an email the other day asking him for some scientific data to back up the reason why vegans don't eat honey and he verbally attacked me and basically said he didn't need science because veganism is about ethics. He's really not a good representation of the kind of compassion that vegans are all about.
As everyone knows whom is educated , the Earth does not need Man kind to survive but we can not survive without the insects and bees 🐝
Thanks for allowing Gary to speak so freely and allowing the viewers to come to their own conclusions. I have never seen him come off as so unbalanced then with you sitting there giving him room to rattle on and on non-nonsensically! I'm certain you did not intend for him to come off so embarrassingly, but the truth seems to out itself here. He so glibly denies that there are contradictions in the vegan movement and yet he himself is a walking contradiction.
Having extensively researched the topic, I have concluded that insects cannot feel pain (having been seen to continue eating whilst themselves being eaten), nor are likely neurologically advanced enough to have any conscious desire to wish to continue living. And as such though I respect the sentiment behind not killing insects, and do not do so purely out of habit; morally speaking their death is no less tragic to them than it would be for a plant. I'd be down for eating them, but they gross me out.
Are you going to see Gary again for more interviews? I have a question for him :)
i'm not sure when the next time i'll see him Fair Horsemanship but i can certainly ask it when i do- or just email him and let you know?
Yes please. :) Do you want me to email you my question?
Fair Horsemanship yes go ahead :) or ask here, whichever you prefer!
love this series ❤
Before I went vegan I protected insects as any other animal, now I protect them all :33
Even mosquitoes?
All life is beautiful. My daughter and I play with the spiders that inhabit our basement bathroom when she's pooping before bedtime. She's 3 and let's them crawl on her hand and legs with hardly any signs of fear. It's the best way to live is with respect for everyone.
I get a pang of guilt whenever I pick a tick off my companion animals. I treat them with repellants, but I live by some woods and fields so the ticks out here are baaaad. I know ticks can cause all kinds of diseases, but it's not like they can help being what they are.
I try to "do no harm". Husband and I have a insect "relocation" program and try to relocate any we find to the outdoors. Really isn't a big deal. Been doing it for years and really not think about it that much.
Run Veggie Run aww...i like the relocation program idea :)