Discussion Topic: Should "environmental vegetarians" eat seafood?

Should I or shouldn't I?

For Buddhists, Yiguandao followers and other vegetarians motivated by a desire not to kill animals, the answer is easy: they view all meat eating as wrong.

For those following a vegetarian diet for health reasons, the issue is perhaps equally straight forward.

But for vegetarians whose primary motivation is environmental, in particular, the contribution to climate-change gas emissions of meat production, it is not. If harvested sustainably, what is the harm in eating fish and other seafood, such as these crabs currently promoted in Yeliu?

Crabs for sale at Yeliu, New Taipei City

                                                             Text and photos © Jiyue Publications 2011