Reply #155: A few points: 1) The poster never SAID "It makes me happy, so it must be good". [View All]

[Warren DeMontague]

He said, "bacon makes me happy".

2) Happiness is a subjective, internal experience. Is it a "good" reason for doing things? Clearly, that depends on the thing, the definition of "good", a whole host of factors. Surely most people would agree that simply doing something BECAUSE it makes you happy is not, in and of itself, a BAD reason for doing something. I like exercising. I like reading Scientific American. I like having sex with my wife. These are things I do because I like to do them, and they make me happy. Merely the fact that I'm doing them because I want to do them doesn't mean I shouldn't do them. Capice?

3) As I said above, happiness is a subjective, internal experiece. Happiness is ALSO the subject of the thread, or the dubious "study" referenced in the OP. Is "because it makes me happy" a good reason to eat something or not eat something? I don't know- but it's sort of the central premise of the OP. I think it's disingenuous to argue that people should be swayed towards a vegan diet "because it may make them happy" but then simultaneously try to say that happiness isn't a legitimate factor in peoples' decisions to eat items that run counter to the agenda or aren't on the menu being promoted.


Now, none of this has anything to do with whether bacon is actually good for you, or not. I'm fairly convinced that large amounts are probably bad for people, but a little now and then isn't a terrible thing. Personally, I don't like it; probably the last time I, personally, had ANY bacon whatsoever (aside from the Morningstar Vegan stuff- I actually do eat a lot of vegan and healthy dishes, I just don't feel the need to proseltyze to other people abt. their diets) was, maybe, 1978.