Thanks so much!

Phil

No worries, happy to help!

Not according to the manufacturer.

Even coming from a person who has a long history of ignorant statements and flat out inaccurate comments, this post is close to the terrible top.

Of course we should pick and choose what we can and cant eat. We do it all the time for health.
Someone allergic to peanuts or any tree nuts will get violently ill and will require at least an epi-pen and likely a visit to the hospital to recover.
Someone with Celiac cant have gluten since its an autoimmune disease. Continued exposure to gluten leads to lowered energy, a lack of nutrition absorbtion, and more severe problems(linked to cancers and reduced life expectancy).

The list of examples could go on and on.

Twinkies are bad food. There just isnt any reason to claim otherwise. They may taste good, but they are very clearly bad food. They have no nutritional benefit and are filled with things that are directly linked to obesity and other health issues. Seriously, how can you claim there are no bad foods?

I can eat and do anything I choose not to exploit animals because it is wrong on every level.

You are correct there is food and non-food and animals are not food nor are they clothing or entertainment or test subjects or ingredients for whatever products you choose to use. We are all beings on this planet and it is about time we act like it.

Humans have changed over time but just because someone does something at some point in history or in the present doesn't make it OK and doesn't make it right. I don't say evolution because I don't see mass slaughter of any animals (including humans) to be evolving. Yes a nuclear bomb is technology and it took a lot of development but it is not evolution it is a regression to a primitive state of aggression and same could be said with a lot of things.

Also people at poison at points and decided, well maybe don't eat that stuff but I encourage you to live by your beliefs and find random mushrooms and odd berries and eat as much as you can and you can wash it down with some stagnant water.

As a little kid I once saw the bullfights in Mexico City. The pageantry & skill was impressive but toward the end the poor bull is awash in blood, pretty nauseating. (Weirdly, in the 70's a DC independent TV station broadcasted Mex City bullfights every Saturday night but it was B&W.) That experience might have been partly why I'm semi-vegetarian. Note that slaughterhouses don't have tours for the public. In a way I respect hunters, ranchers etc; at least they know what's involved.

I was vegan for a couple of years & that was my healthiest time.

Livestock require a large amount of resources to produce compared to many other forms of produce. Cows especially require a huge amount of water, land, and grain.
I am a firm believer in eating intelligently and responsibly. I am not vegan, but don't eat an inordinate amount of meat.
I'm quite sure the OP can find plenty of nutritious options with a sufficient amount of calories and nutrients. Some foods can take a huge amount of packing space and some require refrigeration. If your tour passes many towns, you can grocery shop as you go. Touring can require a large amount of calories, so be sure and include plenty of calorie rich foods such as pasta, rice, and legumes.

Apologies to the OP, but I had to share this YouTube video for anyone who enjoys tongue in cheek satire:

While touring, I sure wish the mosquitos had got the message from those doing the preaching.

Twinkies still have hydrogenated (trans) fats which are regarded as exceptionally dangerous. I eat fast-food french fries & wow, they still use hydro fat, time to cut out that habit I guess.

I think the piranhas are just trying to get food, and actually are killing the animal they eat very quickly. Arguably more humanely than most animals? Foxes. They're Terrible animals. Go eat some foxes. They straight up tease and play with a poor, terrified animal before killing it. They'll also injure before playing with the animal just for entertainment or out of boredom. Beautiful, but terrible animals. Piranhas, sharks, other brutal seeming creatures are just trying to eat and live the only way they can. I think wild dogs and hyenas are supposed to be pretty crappy animals too, but I don't know much about them. You might be able to find some wild dog, hyena, or fox meat.

clearly you don't know the difference between vegan and plant based

Almost. I eat cheese and use leather.

As long as this stream has gone up a tributary... I'm a dietary vegan because of health history in my wife's family and because I want to decrease my carbon footprint. I've always been troubled by the "I don't eat sentient life" stance. I think it's ethically disingenuous, as it's just another form of anthropomorphism, i.e. "I don't eat life that's 'like me'". This struck me as odd way back in the dolphin free tuna days, and it still seems strange with respect to the "eat plants, but not animals" ethic. If we revere life, we revere life. I absolutely agree with the desire to move away from assembly line "meat production," but I don't see that it's ethically or morally superior to eschew all animal products.

I don’t see the difference if I catch a fish and eat it and an eagle catches a fish and eats it. We are both doing the same thing and it’s OK.

Only if you swoop down out of the sky and grab it with your talons. :)

Alright. Let’s try a grizzly bear in an Alaskan stream catching a migrating salmon. Do I at least get to use a net?

Clearly?

Just because some vegans choose to follow that diet regime for ethical reasons does not mean being vegan is a solely ethical decision. Some may choose to do so for health reasons with no over arching moral influence. Don't impose your motivation or people's semantic word play on others.

I have been vegetarian for about 18 years now. When people find out (I don't advertise) they often engage in a discussion about it for health reasons because that is why many try it out. It's a dead end for me because that does not influence my reasoning at all. I did not become vegetarian to get healthy yet many think that is what it's all about.

Sure. But by that reasoning you are implying you do not wish to grow as a person beyond the level of an instinctive animal. If a male bear wishes to impregnate a sow with cub he will often kill her cub. Your logic suggests that would also be ok for you to do to someone you fancy.

An eagle eats a fish because that's all it knows. They do not have the ability to engage in altruistic thinking beyond their offspring. Are you saying the same about yourself?

For myself; I am an evolved human being beyond the primitive hunter gather stage. Blessed with a large brain that can think beyond mere survival and able to make choices that consider the thoughts and feelings of other living beings. Where possible, I try not to kill other living being that also want to live as much as I do.

I’m not implying anything. All I’m saying is if it’s OK for an eagle or bear to catch and eat a fish, it’s OK for me also. These are highly evolved, majestic animals that are top predators, as are human beings. In my view, it’s morally acceptable for top predators to eat fish they catch.

We are all where we are along the spectrum of understanding. It's ok. I'm not really that interested in semantic intellectual debates.

For myself, I'm glad I made the decision I did when I did. It wasn't easy as my wife and kids are not vegetarian but we make it work and I have had the feeling of living closer to my value system as a result. I want to expand my compassion beyond the limits of tribalism and spend a lot of time outdoors and scuba dive and do a lot of photography with friends in a culture that appreciates animals. It feels good to put my money where my mouth is in that regard. If others choose otherwise so be it. I'm not their moral keeper but some arguments like "I'm an apex predator" ring hollow.

Neanderthal man was an apex predator and no one thinks too highly of their intellectual or spiritual abilities. You wouldn't let one hang out around your family for long. Most modern humans are not predators at all but rather self indulgent consumers who struggle with over consumption of foods with poor nutritional value.

Man. If you're going to go big and bold, why not bring out the CAPS as well?

haha, I'm not smart enough to write that it's just how it was from the vegan society website

Some emoji's would be nice too...

Sure. It's their website and they define their motivation as they see it.

Not every vegan is a card carrying member of that "Vegan Society".

From wikipedia:

Distinctions may be made between several categories of veganism. Dietary vegans (also known as strict vegetarians) refrain from consuming animal products, not only meat but also eggs, dairy products and other animal-derived substances.[d] The term ethical vegan is often applied to those who not only follow a vegan diet but extend the philosophy into other areas of their lives, and oppose the use of animals for any purpose.[e] Another term is environmental veganism, which refers to the avoidance of animal products on the premise that the industrial farming of animals is environmentally damaging and unsustainable.