Since it seems a few people here are involved in a spiritual/religious pursuit, I was just throwing this out there as
food for thought [lol]
hehe my ethical reasoning is derived from spiritual/religious reasoning... very similar to buddhism.
There are MANY buddhists (real old school ones too) that eat meat. Especially from a Tibetan point of view, the harshness of the terrain did not lend itself to a constant meatless existence. But they will protect all things - like saving the earth worms before they dig or saying prayers for any unseen insects they might step on as they walk...so their respect for life is ultimately high.
In Buddhism (Mahayana lineage) every action must be done for the greatest good possible...to end suffering for countless sentient beings, and the only way for any of those beings to end their own suffering is by evolving into our ultimate form - a Buddha. To describe how to do that is something like 4,000(?) texts (Tibetan tradition) so I'm sure I'm screwing up my point...
...but the bottom line is that I've seen high level, old time Buddhists that have switched diets based upon a doctor (Eastern and/or Western) telling them they are going to get sick and die sooner if they don't (they believe Tibetan medicine deals with both the physical body and the unseen body energy pathways we all have...long story). On the outside it looks like they're being self-centered and selfish by starting to eat meat. The reality is that they don't want to do it, but they have devoted their lives to serving all living beings in every realm of existence that there is. So eating some meat would actually be an act of kindness since their motivation for doing it is to continue to strive to save countless beings from torment and suffering as quickly as possible.
All that was to say - from a "spiritual/religious reasoning", I agree that vegetarianism is the best choice for spiritual reasons. I hear you on the fish oil point too and of course it's the valid strict definition. And of course we're not talking about something as anti-spiritual as hunting and killing it yourself. However, vegetarianism is not a spiritual path in and of itself...it's only part of one. If being completely vegetarian gets in the way of your "prime directive", then it has to be modified. Not doing so is probably anti-spiritual when you think about it.
The trick is knowing when that's actually true, versus "just wanting a cheeseburger". [thumb]
So, by definition, you're right that taking a fish oil supp means you're not a vegetarian, but I think someone could take a fish oil supp and actually be more spiritual/religious than a complete vegan. It all depends on the purity of the motivation and not entirely on the resultant action.
On a side note - Even as a vegetarian, the supps and other things we use have come at a great cost. Not to be a downer, but many animals have been subjected to unspeakable pain and suffering, effectively tortured, just so you and I know to "take X amount of supp Y". So even if someone were vegan and taking supps, they should (pause/pray/reflect/whatever) every time they throw a pill or powder into their mouth.
I'm not trying to start a belief system debate! Just throwing some "different" aspects out into the ether.
Sorry to take this ship so far off course! I think I see Gilligan and the Skipper.
...it helps avoid harm to animals is a bonus.
Yeah that's true - and I wish more people would expand their minds to care more about animals suffering. But since most of us can't even care about other humans beyond our immediate circle of "loved ones", that's a long way off. The "us" and "them" way of thinking does more to harm us than any food we eat.
Reading these scare stories...
I guess it all comes down to that. If that's 0%, the other end is 100% "it's all true". I suppose most reasonable people are at varying levels depending on the topic.