Dialogue about food requires openness from all sides

Having dialogue about food and modern agriculture can be difficult, particularly when various sides of the argument don't want to engage in conversation. This is one bridge I will seek every avenue to connect.

Are the days gone forever when two people or two opposing groups can sit down and have an adult discussion about our thoughts?

While I don’t think they are totally gone, I don’t think they are what they once were.

I have recently gotten active on Twitter after a couple years of doing nothing. I decided that I would follow those individuals I don’t agree with and attempt to stir dialogue.

Last week all I managed to stir was a complete road block.

A young lady who continually posts about vegan this and vegan that made mention that she we feeding her three weegan children another vegan dish for supper that night. The urban dictionary says weegan is combining a diet free of animal product foods with marijuana. I posted a link to University of California-Davis professor Lindsay Allen’s research indicating that “bringing kids up on vegan diet may be unethical.”

In summary, Allen’s work says:

“Meat is a vital part of a child's diet, according to a two-year study of Kenyan school kids. Without it, children grow up smaller, less strong and less intelligent, the results suggest.”

As you may well imagine, that post not only upset the vegan mother, but her vegan friends started railing on me as well. In fact, here is the last post weegan mommy made to her friend:

“yep, and pretty sure he's trolling, I've blocked him. @trentloos

I have my beliefs in life but they aren’t a religion to the point that I don’t want to at least hear what shapes your opinion in the manner.

I don’t believe this great divide is simply occurring here in the United States but around the globe as well. How can we make progress if we only communicate with like-minded folks? This is one bridge I will seek every avenue to connect.

Are the days gone forever when two people or two opposing groups can sit down and have an adult discussion about our thoughts?

While I don’t think they are totally gone, I don’t think they are what they once were.

I have recently gotten active on Twitter after a couple years of doing nothing. I decided that I would follow those individuals I don’t agree with and attempt to stir dialogue.

Last week all I managed to stir was a complete road block.

A young lady who continually posts about vegan this and vegan that made mention that she we feeding her three weegan children another vegan dish for supper that night. The urban dictionary says weegan is combining a diet free of animal product foods with marijuana. I posted a link to University of California-Davis professor Lindsay Allen’s research indicating that “bringing kids up on vegan diet may be unethical.”

In summary, Allen’s work says:

“Meat is a vital part of a child's diet, according to a two-year study of Kenyan school kids. Without it, children grow up smaller, less strong and less intelligent, the results suggest.”

As you may well imagine, that post not only upset the vegan mother, but her vegan friends started railing on me as well. In fact, here is the last post weegan mommy made to her friend:

“yep, and pretty sure he's trolling, I've blocked him. @trentloos

I have my beliefs in life but they aren’t a religion to the point that I don’t want to at least hear what shapes your opinion in the manner.

I don’t believe this great divide is simply occurring here in the United States but around the globe as well. How can we make progress if we only communicate with like-minded folks? This is one bridge I will seek every avenue to connect.

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