Frank,

I don't think anything we do should be isolated from moral issues, idealistically. Nature may or may not have morals, I certainly am not the authority there, (however I would tend to doubt it because there are "laws" of nature) but people most definitely do have morals, what ever they may be and people are the prescribers of the practice called homeopathy. Therefore, homeopathy can be respectfully applied within the moral boundaries of the prescriber and the patient. As simple as that. If a substance is administered that is diametrically opposed to the convictions of the recipient....would the patient's mentals interfere with the workings of what was the correct remedy, homeopathically, but not what they had wanted? Not argumentitive.....really wonder. If I were taken to the hospital and given a baboon heart without my knowledge or consent and it was the best thing for me physically but completely in conflict with my beliefs....?

Don't you think this is working the topic to death?! (Not intending a pun.)

Let me put it this way, we all make choices every single day. As long as those choices do not inflict pain and/or agony, or harm another, it should not be a problem.

There was a vegetarian yogi...who had a fever for several years and nothing would take it away. He had a dream of meat. He ate meat and the fever disappeared. He eventually wrote a book about the "rising of the kundalini", but I don't remember the name of it.

carolorr,
Maybe the anti-biotics in the meat?! Now, had he been a meat eater and then developed the fever, the anti-biotics in his system from having been eating meat could have rendered the admistered anti-biotic worthless because his system had been dosed too often already. So, what cured him was the introduction of anti-biotics via meat. Therefore, having been a vegitarian may ultimately have been what provided the fertile field for cure! No anti-biotics in his system. Kind of depends on how you look at things and the validity of a story to begin with. I wouldn't want to bet the farm on either spin!

This was in India about 50 or more years ago. I'm pretty sure they didn't use antibiotics then. I'm going to find out who that guy was. Have to go to a bookstore and look through the books.

As far as the blood type diet..it is recommened that blood type 0 needs meat because the acid in their digestive tract is meant for breaking down meat. If they don't have meat in them, they will always have an overly acidic system.

The A's on the other hand don't have enough acid in them...so they need more vegetables.

If interested you can look up this stuff at :
www.dadamo.com

With respect gpm you do not know what you are talking about here. I have tried to be tactful but am losing patience. Whether you eat meat or not has no bearing on the practice of homeopathy. Your remedy is your remedy - it's that simple.

If you choose not to take that remedy because it was sourced from an animal so be it. One remedy will not do for another as there are no substitutes in homeopathy. Being that strict a vegetarian is not compatible with homeopathy which works with nature.

We are omnivores and Vegetarianism is not our natural state. It is an artificial stance or imposition of will. To war with our own nature has a cost as always. Such suppression of our natural self requires energy to sustain it.

hillabee I hope you did not take offense with my joke. When one practices alternative lifestyles, there are always little jokes we like to share amoungst each other. I meant no offense to you or your choice of lifestyle. I too have changed alot of my old ways and am much happier for it. I try not to impose my views on my friends, but do share little tidbits I've picked up from others also trying to make a change for the better. When people complain to me that their cholesterol is too high or their blood pressure too high, I do bring up the fact that they are eating Porterhouse steak or fried food and a little better training with their diet might be in store. I think you can join Homeopathy and a vegetarian lifestyle. There might be a few minor changes in the prescribing, but if you work closely with a Homeopath that ubderstands what you want out of the treatment, there shouldn't be a problem. Homeopathy has been around for a long time and so have vegetarians. I'm sure the two have mixed and matched and been able to come to an understanding.

This seems to me a very nice debate. Old fashioned meaning of nice.
Thanks so much gpm and carolorr for the blood type information - I have no idea what my blood type is though!
Also, regarding the "natural" state of man, I think it must be omnivorous because although as gpm notes, the digestive tract is long, and most of our teeth are grain and vegatable muchers, we do have canine teeth as well and eyes at the front of our heads rather than at the sides - which is the mark of a hunter.

Thanks for all the responses.

A couple of points:

First of all, right off the bat, I should emphasize that I am not out to "convert" people to vegetarianism or veganism, I am stating my opinion. I am grateful for all of yours.

Lisa mentioned (I may be paraphrasing here), that vegetarianism is only about diet. This may be true; however, *veganism* is about much more than what I eat, it is a way of life based on non-harm, to human beings and the environment, as much as to animals.

It *is* next to impossible to be 100% vegan in today's society, as Lisa pointed out with her riding in an insect-crushing car example. What most vegans strive for is to live a harm-free lifestyle as far as is practical and possible. Therefore, I choose to avoid animal products in any form when I can.

There is good scientific evidence to suggest that humans are naturally omnivores, and I don't have an argument with that. I *chose* to not use animal products for a variety of reasons. Humans are able to make such choices based on an ethical, spiritual or intellectual basis; this is not a choice other animals have. Obviously, I don't think lions or other carnivorous animals should be changing their diets.

There is an abundance of scientific evidence that a well-balanced vegan diet can be extremely healthy. I would argue that my diet today is much healthier than it was 5 years ago, when I was eating an omni. diet. This is not to say that an omni. diet must be unhealthy, or that a vegan one must be healthy. I did extensive research in nutrition before adopting this eating plan --I am not some flighty, naive person who did this on a whim, without regard to my health.

Obviously, I do not feel my beliefs are "tenously" based. I seek to avoid cruelty to animals in any form where it is feasible. I am not saying that I would refuse medical treatment that was based on animal research, or contained animal products, if that was my only option.

This is why I was curious about homeopathic remedies in relation to vegetarianism or veganism. I wanted to learn about options in remedies. There seems to be some debate here.

Thanks again for all your help. Sorry this is so long!

hillabee

A good read on this topic is a book called "The Naked Ape", by Desmond Morris. It was required reading in my high school english class some 35 years ago. Although my memory may fail me at times, I believe he puts forth a very strong argument them the human is (was?) a herbivore. I personally am not vegetarian, but I do usually avoid red meat for health reasons. The blood type issue is something I never heard of but will certainly look into.

Just adding my two cents to this lively discussion...

What about those who are vegetarian by tradition rather than by choice?

There are a huge population of people in some countries like India, that are traditionally vegetarian for centuries.
It could be religious taboo or just being born in a particular caste/community/family. In most such families eating non-vegetarian food is not even discussed as it has been taken for granted for hundreds of years.
There is no ethical/moral choice involved (it was probably made a thousand years ago and no one even remembers why they are vegetarian) but simply a continuation of tradition of eating only vegetarian food.

I recently had a conversation with a person who visited India and said he ate only vegetarian food as he didn't want to be the odd one out among the rest of the Indians who were all vegetarians.