Thai tsunami workers turn vegetarian - report

[Gothic Sponge]

BANGKOK, Jan 14 (Reuters) - The gruesome task of retrieving the bodies of tsunami victims has turned many Thai rescue workers vegetarian, the Matichon newspaper said on Friday.

"Our operations in the first days weren't going smoothly," Chatchawan Suthiarun, who led a team of 70 in Khao Lak where about 4,000 people, more than half of them foreign tourists, were killed on Dec. 26, told the Thai-language newspaper.

"After we turned to vegetarian food and lighting jossticks to the spirits asking for help, the job has become much easier, he said.

Matichon said vegetarian food was all the rage in one nearby village, where a makeshift relief kitchen produced about 1,000 boxes of meatless food a day.

The newspaper quoted a survivor as saying that the smell of death had put her off meat.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/BKK308503.htm

[smbolisnch]

1. I can imagine that would be the case.

It's easy to gnaw on a dead animal when you don't have to actually think about what it is.

[Gothic Sponge]

2. Yes, i think most would become vegetarian

If they had to see, or kill the animal. I guess it's easy for people to disconnect and enjoy their Big Macs.

[curse10]

3. wow- that's interesting

I wonder if it will keep

[smbolisnch]

4. I wondered that too when I read it.

I am sure for most of them, if not all, it will.

[amazona]

15. no it won't keep

When my partner was first working in a beef processing plant, he was put off by the smell and could not eat meat for a number of months but the effect wears off.

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

[Ignis]

17. Well, I'd say it's a different environment.

There's a very poor support network in the US for vegetarians--both in terms of restaurant options and social/peer support for this choice. Thailand is a vastly different story, as you can see from the threads below.

Environment is the factor that makes or breaks many decisions to go vegetarian, IMHO. I think you'll find that the number of Thais who remain vegetarian for a period after this incident will be somewhere between 0-100%, not just 0%.

[Sticky]

5. Yes

....same thing happened here to people helping with the recovery effort after the Swissair crash off Peggy's Cove. Seeing the dead carcasses and floating body parts will change a person.

It's been over 5 years and I still won't eat fish from the waters around the site.

[smbolisnch]

6. Oh really?

I have never seen anything like what these people have seen thank god. Even looking at a steak in it's package only takes a little bit of imagination to relate it to the flesh of your friends or your dog. :puke:

[Ignis]

7. Awesome news!

Thanks for the encouraging update. It's great to see some small good come out of such an awful tragedy.

For those wondering whether or not this 'fad' will keep, it's worth noting that Thailand has a long history of being extremely vegetarian-friendly. This is not to say that many Thais are vegetarian year-round--which is pretty rare--but many Thais eat only vegetarian food for some portion of the year for religious reasons. (The influence of Terawada/Theravada Buddhism can be felt here, particularly the Santi Asoke congregations and temples.)

As a vegan, Thai is my first choice of restaurants when I have to entertain business clients, as ordering veggie food is a snap. The word 'Jay' or 'J' is Thai shorthand for 'vegetarian'--so just order Tom Kha Jay instead of Tom Kha Gai, for example. Of course, in most American-Thai restaurants, you must still specify no fish sauce, shrimp paste, or crab bits in your food.

Hope that helps. :)

[smbolisnch]

8. I didn't know that about the Thai restaurants!

Thanks for the tip!!
:hi:

[freeplessinseattle]

9. Thanks for the info, I'm vegan too, but allergic to soy, so does

this just mean they leave out any meat, but don't add soy?

[Ignis]

13. Hmm.

That all depends whether you mean Stateside or in Thailand.

US:
Tofu is more common than gluten in American Thai restaurants, so your best bet would be to order salads and specify that they be vegetarian. Thai salads are amazing--especially the green papaya salad--but are often spicy and often full of fish sauce and shrimp paste, so make sure you're very clear that you'd like those left out. You could also try ordering Pad Prik Khing Jay or other mostly-vegetable dishes, but you'd still have to specify no tofu.

Thailand:
Chinese restaurants in Thailand are some of the easiest places to find vegetarian food. You have a fair chance of finding gluten as well as tofu for the meat substitute in Chinese-Thai restaurants, but you'll have to ask specific questions about whether tofu or gluten is in a particular dish. Soymilk is also pretty ubiquitous in drinks, as well, so watch out. Some areas of Thailand have quite a few Indian restaurants, so you're more likely to have luck finding soy-free veggie meals there--as long as you watch out for the dairy (ghee, paneer, etc.) that's likely to creep into the food.

---

A vegan who's allergic to soy. I'll remember that next time I'm feeling a load of self-pity about the lack of vegan options at a restaurant. You win! :)

[flvegan]

16. Wow. If I were allergic to soy, I'd be lost.

I'd work around it, but that would be an one more, even tougher obstacle to overcome.

[freeplessinseattle]

18. yeah, it sucks, but I do cheat and eat eggs, now and then, and feel a bit

guilty, but I had to do something so my hair wouldn't fall out! one thing I do really crave is pizza, and it seems they have soy everything nowadays, maybe they'll have almond or rice cheese pizza one of these days. Rice Dream ice cream subsitute is a decent vegan subsitute though. This time of year sucks though with the limited selection of seasonal fruits and veggies, but at least I live in the apple state! yum!

[evolvenow]

10. With such devastation, this is a little sign of hope...

To really understand the suffering of other livings beings, is the only way for humankind to transform.

I love being a vegetarian...and am grateful when people understand how vital it is to live in a less harmful way.

Perhaps the food is also helping to heal them of such unbelievable trauma and gift. I hope they are getting some comfort with all of the grief and sorrow they must be experiencing.

[Karenina]

11. I wonder...

Lack of confidence in the food supply? :freak:

[JohnOneillsMemory]

12. Reality-based actions. If TV Nation saw war victims, we'd have peace.

Want to save the world from the neo-cons? Just show their victims.

“If we let people see that kind of thing, there would never again be any war.”
-Pentagon official explaining why the U.S. military censored graphic footage from the Gulf War

I'm convinced we could end the war simply by PRINTING OUT the horrible photos of dead Fallujan corpses partially eaten by dogs and COVERING EVERY PUBLIC SURFACE with the evidence of war.

Our brains are hard-wired by evolution to empathize with other humans THAT WE CAN SEE.

It is that fucking simple. No one likes to see the insides of other people and will do anything they can to AVOID SEEING IT.

[Ignis]

14. Amen!

I have great respect for those who have faith, and who can make changes in their actions that are based solely in lofty ideals.

But that's not me. I need to see and touch and smell something for it to have a very real and long-lasting effect upon my consciousness.

I think you are on the right track here. My only concern is that the Chimp and the MSM have done a fair job of dehumanizing the Iraqi people into 'The Enemy' rather than other human beings.

I fear that only the sight of many dead US soldiers will help Americans to confront the realities of war in Iraq. Sadly, it appears that there will be no shortage of dead US soldiers in the next few months--but will the MSM allow them to be seen?