Because a fruitarian is someone who only eats foods that don't kill the organism.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

"Veg" meaning "vegetation", not "vegetable". Or "vegetable" and in "animal, vegetable, or mineral".

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Exactly.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Random fact: Steve Jobs was/is a fruitatarian.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

why do we say humans and not parasites?

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Profound.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

That's what I was aiming for.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Because humans don't fit the definition of a parasite. Not really profound at all.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Not serious about the profound thing, but, in my opinion (which is what this site is for, posting opinions) we do indeed fit the definition of parasite.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Most definitions (every one I've seen or heard) involve the parasite living in or on the host.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

You're just being stubborn. Medical definition of a parasite: An organism that lives in or on and takes its nourishment from another. The term "parasite" came from the Greek "parasitos" (para-, along side of + sitos, food) meaning "eating at the side of, as at the same table." The sense of the term later changed to that of a poor friend or relative who lived at the expense of another. What do we do? We live at the expense of others, making us parasites.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Ok, but if we are parasites, then what isn't? Animals eat other animals, or they eat plants. Even plants compete with each other for sunlight, water etc. If we are parasites then pretty much every life form is a parasite.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Of course, we all live as parasites, but animals have symbiotic relationships where they help each other out. We are the world's parasite. We don't just live off killing a cow every now and then. We consume every possible resource, we exploit everything from water to fauna and flora. Only now are we considering (barely) the environment's health and it's just because it's put us against the wall and it affects us. We deplete and move on. Like viri, like parasites, and we're supposed to be the intelligent ones here.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

The only reason animals seem to have this symbiotic behaviour while we don't is because we are more efficient than they are: better hunters, better farmers etc. If lions were as good at hunting gazelle as we are there wouldn't be any left. All animals consume every resource they can, it's just that we can consume a lot more than most. And depleting and moving on? Our settlements are far more permanent than anything any other animal has. Yes we cause environmental damage and yes we need to keep that under control, but let's not overstate things.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Dude, we over-consume. Animals don't screw up the world we do. We are the world's parasite, that's my point. And we're "settled" because we're everywhere.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Possibly the most interesting conversation I've ever come across on this site. Congratulations.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

I admit that we cause problems, but you are just twisting the definition, any definition, of the word parasite because you want to use its bad connotations. Many parasites don't harm their hosts at all, so this can not be the factor that makes us parasites. I am agreeing with your general point, but using the word parasite is incorrect. And thanks, anonymous person, I do try :)

by Anonymous 13 years ago

I'm just stating the facts. I know the definition of parasite and we fit perfectly. Not twisting anything anything around. I'm not trying to convince you of anything, I'm explaining to you why, according to me, we are parasites to the world. Parasites live on the expense of others, their hosts. In this case the world is our host. We feed off of it, we live in it, and like parasites we diminish our hosts lifespan in order for us to please our physical needs. The worst part of it is that we don't need to be parasites, we don't need to kill our host to live, but we do. We're overpopulated, we over consume, we don't recycle (what we do now with the paper and stuff is barely recycling). tl:dr We're parasites to the world, so why not say parasites instead of humans?

by Anonymous 13 years ago

I totally agree with you.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Saying we are parasites works only as a metaphor. The earth is inanimate and so has no lifespan for us to diminish, for the term parasite to apply the host must also be a lifeform. Yes we cause environmental damage, yes we need to stop this, yes we in some cases over consume, yes in some areas of the earth we are overpopulated, but the term parasite has a specific definition and we do not fit it. I can see this conversation is becoming somewhat circular so this will probably be my last comment.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

It's only circular if you make it. It's not circular at all, you just want to be a literal smarty when you know what I say makes much sense. I'm not using any form of figurative speech, I think the world is alive and full of life. We both kill its life (fauna/flora) and the earth itself (contamination, deforestation [affects the soil], and what not). We don't sometimes over consume, we always do. We eat more than we need to eat, we waste. Look around you, what do you see? An AC turned on when there's no one around, lights on, food wasted, water under-appreciated. And since we are/were being so literal, the earth is pretty "animate." It rotates, it's winds move, the placates move, the insides twirl, it erupts. Pretty non-inanimate to me. Of course you might mean abiotic, but, again, i disagree.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

So now you're confused about the definition of parasite and inanimate? Inanimate can also mean 'not being, and never having been alive" The Earth is just a big rock floating in space. There is much life on it, but the Earth itself is not a living thing. I'm a little surprised I have to explain this. We kill and destroy life that is on the earth, and we cause environmental damage that makes it harder for new life to flourish. Many of us, me included, squander resources. I'm not disagreeing with you on that. I am, however, being a literal smarty. We are not literally parasites, as we do not have a host life form.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Ok. *cough* we're parasites *cough*

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Maybe because they're 2 different things?

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Vegetation...fruit is vegetation. (Anything that comes from the earth)....fail.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Vegetarians eat vegetable foods, and some animal products - milk, honey, eggs. Fruitarians only eat fruits, no living plants, it's a more bibllically based diet, following how it is assumed Adam and Eve ate in the Garden of Eden.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

I'm pretty sure fruitatarians (sp?) only eat dead plants (fruit that falls off a tree)? but I'm not sure.

by Anonymous 13 years ago