Something that really makes me wonder is why among people I know there is a common thought. Vegetarianism (of all kinds), buying organic and fair-trade, environmentalism, and especially all of them together, are seen as things for middle-aged women who believe every rubbish told by some kind of New Age guru instead of enjoying life's pleasure as it was meant to be. I am sure not everyone who is not involved in said categories is like this, but the number of people who actually are is, to me, alarming. My mother, who is not a champion in avoiding logical fallacies in her reasoning, is probably the one with the most rational point; it is against organic food (her views on vegetarianism are of the kind "a tiger will not leave you go, if hungry, if you tell it you were a vegetarian", which doesn't make sense as it wouldn't leave you go even if you ate meat so what changes?): "What assures you that what you pay more to have organic is not affected by the pesticides used to normal cultivations in other areas?" Nothing, but even if it is it's always healthier than if you put other on it, and they did not kill the insects on purpose. However, that's not the point. Not even the assumptions that eating meat etcetera are enjoying life's pleasures as it was meant to be, are my point now, though I have a lot to say about it. My point is why there is this tendency to divide things in "us" and "them"? Unless you go veggie or vegan for health reasons, it is easy that your ethics in general will drive you to make the choices I mentioned, as they are connected. Vegetarianism has an impact on the environment so you can consider buying organic to make it even stronger. Fair-trade deals locally so it is often organic as well, the only concern is for the transports. However, sometimes it has less impact to import and export things than to recreate habitats in artificial contexts to have certain products at near distances. I can see the link with New Age as well, even if used as a denigration of the position by those who inspired this post. New Age has its roots in oriental cultures that have a different view on the matters than western society as a whole. Many vegetarians rely on oriental cuisine to enjoy life's pleasures as it was meant to be. I am one of those, though I have hard times with the assumptions that we must satisfy the need for physical pleasures of our ego as it sounds too much anthropocentric. Anyway, I can't figure out about the other extreme. What restrains them (you, reader, if you are part of the group) to explore the shades in between? There is not only black and white, and it's not rubbish for people eager to follow with no critical sense every new trend started by a celebrity who got the illumination. Up to now the most common reasons are taste and health, though I don't believe it is possible to make any general statement about the latter. However, I can't see how something this subjective can drive people to split into "us" and "them" like in the religious wars. I often perceive a lack of respect from either parts, and I don't agree with the lack from my part. There shouldn't be any dogmatic statement of positions, only dialogue and compromises.