THE CRUELTY SHOWN ON THE 2008 "JUNGLE SWAMP" EPISODE WAS COMPLETELY OUT OF LINE. I UNDERSTAND - AS DO MOST FOLKS WHO WATCH THE SHOW - THAT HARSH SITUATIONS CAN DEMAND DRASTIC ACTIONS, BUT THERE IS NO GOOD REASON FOR SHOWING THE HOST BASH THAT REPTILE'S HEAD OFF THAT TREE!! GRYLLS COULD HAVE SIMPLY HELD THE ANIMAL AND EXPLAINED WHAT TO DO IF THE NEED AROSE. MY WIFE WAS LITERALLY IN TEARS AND I, A LOYAL WATCHER, WILL NEVER WATCH THE SHOW AGAIN. WHILE GRYLLS SHOULD HAVE BEEN IMMEDIATELY QUESTIONED ABOUT HIS INTENT BY PRODUCTION STAFF ON-SITE - AND STOPPED - THE EDITING TEAM SHOULD HAVE CUT THIS OUT OF THE SHOW.
So he knocked the lizard out before cutting its head off, would you rather he slowly slit its throat painfully?? Bear was in a SURVIVAL situation in which this lizard could "bite and not let go". He did what his instincts told him in this situation which I honestly didn't see anything wrong with. It looked to me like he did the most 'humane' thing possible. I guess he doesn't carry tranquilizer in his back pocket!
Honestly, if you immature people can't handle the reality of these situations then be my guest, stop watching the show and go back to American Idol. Threatening to "boycott" the show is just ridiculous, you may as well boycott every other show in which an alligator unjustly bites off a deer's leg. Grow up.
And Bear, keep doing what you do, the rest of us here greatly appreciate it. We would rather you eat, and find the food you need to survive instead of being afraid to hurt some people's feelings sitting in there comfy living room.
I am with you, it was cruel and unnecessary. Bear wasn't in a dire situation where he needed to eat that lizard. And killing it that way was just inhumane! I don't like lizards and I watch a lot of graphic surgical procedures on various channels without flinching, but this... this just hit a nerve. I've seen a few of his shows, and found them entertaining to some extend, but I really do not enjoy the killing of innocent animals just for the show.
And aside from the killing of the lizard (and the snake later on), I was also bothered by him chopping down two (and maybe more?) banana trees to use as shade from the rain. He only needed the leaves, so chop the leaves down, not the ENTIRE tree!! C'mon, you're destroying the natural environment!! One of the trees he chopped down had a big bunch of bananas on it, and he ate a few. Now the rest of those bananas will go to waste instead of ripening up nicely and maybe feeding some of the forest inhabitants, like the orang utans!
If you wanted to eat some bananas, then cut a few for yourself, not the whole tree. When we go to the national parks here in the US, we are not allowed to destroy trees, take a stone, take a pine cone, etc, why? Because we humans need to stop leaving our mark everywhere and let nature be natural. Just because you are not in the US and you are on a damn show, doesn't mean you shouldn't be environmentally friendly. SHAME SHAME SHAME ON YOU BEAR!!
Let me preface this by saying that I really don’t care all that much what BG kills on the show but for the sake of keeping this debate factual I would like to make a couple points.
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Bear was in a SURVIVAL situation in which this lizard could "bite and not let go
BG is NEVER in a survival situation and if he were he would have been a fool to mess with any creature that could potentially harm him. The idea perpetuated by this program that you need to find something to eat regardless of the risk is ridiculous to say the least. Food is at the very bottom of the list when it comes to priorities in an actual survival situation. Of course food is on the top of the list of priorities for MvW. This has nothing to do with survival and everything to do with making the show more entertaining.
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Honestly, if you immature people can't handle the reality of these situations…We would rather you eat, and find the food you need to survive instead of being afraid to hurt some people's feelings sitting in there comfy living room.
The reality of the situation is that BG has all the food he needs off camera. He doesn’t kill things on the show because he needs to do so to survive. In fact there is no reason to believe he even eats most of what he kills; he has acknowledged that he is a vegan and does not eat meat for health reasons. And I’ll say it again because it’s a point worth making, even if he were in a survival situation he wouldn’t “need” to eat, in fact there are a variety of circumstances in survival situations where you would be better off avoiding food, meat in particular. Of course you won’t hear anything of the sort on MvW. Actual survival advice is a rarity on this show; pushed to the side in favor of “extreme stunts” and Fear Factor type gags (pun intended).
Originally posted by bc164v2.0: In fact there is no reason to believe he even eats most of what he kills; he has acknowledged that he is a vegan and does not eat meat for health reasons.
Can you please point me in the direction of where Bear clearly states that he is a "vegan"? I've seen this claimed by critics many, many times, and yet I have never personally read or seen anything where Bear has used the term vegan himself. I've seen where he has said that he prefers not to eat much meat, and that we really don't need to consume the amount of meat that most of us consume, etc., but at no time have I ever seen him make such statements in regards to being a "vegan". It has always been in clear regards of health reasons, which is a huge difference, to say the least. I believe he just simply prefers to eat fruits, veggies, whole grains, etc., but he has point blank said that he enjoys a good steak every now and again. I've also never read or heard him say anything in regards to leather and anything else "vegans" stand firmly against. If he has said himself that he is a "vegan" I will stand corrected, but considering that's contrary to anything I've personally read or heard, I will definitely need to see/read that.
As for the "One of the trees he chopped down had a big bunch of bananas on it, and he ate a few. Now the rest of those bananas will go to waste instead of ripening up nicely and maybe feeding some of the forest inhabitants, like the orang utans!" statement..all I can say is, wow! Just for the record, there are far more jungle inhabitants than orangutans. The bananas would nourish many creatures, such as the creepy crawly kind, and regardless, whatever does not get actually eaten, would simply nourish the earth. I personally see nothing wrong with the killings on the show. Are those of you angered with Bear just as angry with Les? The situation, albeit more realistic, that Les is in for his show is not true survival either. He is going to be picked up in 7 days regardless. It's been pointed out many, many times here, but I'll point it out again..food is NOT a priority in that time frame. You can go 3 weeks without food, and Les could certainly go without it in 7 days, but that would be pretty stupid wouldn't it. Neither of these men NEED to eat while doing their shows, but I appreciate that both show you examples of what you can eat if necessary.
If he has said himself that he is a "vegan" I will stand corrected, but considering that's contrary to anything I've personally read or heard, I will definitely need to see/read that.
Thank you for posting those bc. After reading both articles, I'm once again convinced that Bear is -not- a vegan (a lifestyle typically driven by ethical, moral, spiritual and or religious commitments), and chooses not to eat animal fats for health reasons alone, like I previously said. The first article you quoted in my opinion just isn't credible. First of all, it is clearly a bias article meant for nothing more than to put emphasis on the at the time (published Sept. 1, 2007) controversy, and to paint Bear in further bad light. They say that he "yesterday said: “I’m vegan nowadays, except when filming.”", and that's all they can offer. It's obvious this was not something conducted in an actual interview with them, and honestly, I think this article speaks for itself. The second link you posted however backs up everything I've ever seen or heard, and that is that he chooses to no longer consume such things for health reasons, and that has nothing whatsoever to do with being a vegan. Here are a few quotes from that article.. "Despite the warning given by his father's and grandfather's heart attacks, Bear had enjoyed a diet rich in animal fats, especially meat and milk which he thought necessary to sustain his high-octane and physically strenuous existence.
But soon after his cholesterol test, he came across The Rave Diet, written by American filmmaker Mike Anderson, who had seen members of his family die of cancer and heart disease. Based on fruit, vegetables and wholegrains with as much raw food as possible and no animal fats or vegetable oils, it is a Spartan regime, but Bear has embraced it enthusiastically.
"After I read this, the links between the heart disease which killed my father and grandfather, my high cholesterol and my fatty diet became startlingly clear."
"It breaks my heart that my father never knew my children. He should have been around for another 25 years."
"We're not bonkers about it - if we go out, we eat what's available. And when I'm on an expedition I eat what I have to in order to stay alive. I've eaten sheep's eyes, the still hot meat from a zebra killed by a lion, and maggots which give you 70 calories to the ounce."
"I want to be around to love and guide my sons for a long time.""
I wonder what might be the most acceptable and sensative way to kill a giant lizard in the middle of a jungle?
I am little suprised at the outrage, though I think it is silly.
I have no issue with the scene. He bashed the lizards head, which is humane enough considering that its death was quick and instantaneous. He didnt kill for sport, nor was his act a gratuitous demonstration on how to capture and kill lizards. He did it to provide food for himself in the wild.
The first article you quoted in my opinion just isn't credible.
I should point out that the majority of the article is no longer available on-line and that it references BGs appearance on a morning talk show in the UK. “I’m vegan nowadays, except when filming.” - is a direct quote from BG on that show. (Unless you’re suggesting that this “quote” was just made up by this publication?). Bear Grylls used the term “vegan” so ...
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those members have used the term "banned" themselves, so unless they exaggerated or lied about that fact, then I'd say it's pretty safe to use the word myself,
…to use your own reasoning I should also be able to use the term vegan in reference to BG since he used the term himself; unless of course you think he exaggerated or lied about being a vegan.
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The second link you posted however backs up everything I've ever seen or heard, and that is that he chooses to no longer consume such things for health reasons…
But you just said-
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I've seen where he has said that he prefers not to eat much meat,…
And
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I believe he just simply prefers to eat fruits, veggies, whole grains, etc., but he has point blank said that he enjoys a good steak every now and again.
“Prefers not to eat much meat”, “simply prefers to eat fruit, veggies, etc”. That’s not at all what the article says.
Doesn't surprise me..start a post off with the words "thank you", and still meet such an attitude so long as your opinion differs. I hope you didn't waste too much energy searching and quoting previous posts of mine, lol, considering you've pointed out nothing that I haven't already made clear myself. Quoting this line: "I've seen where he has said that he prefers not to eat much meat" and this: "I believe he just simply prefers to eat fruits, veggies, whole grains, etc., but he has point blank said that he enjoys a good steak every now and again" is completely pointless. You're just splitting hairs, because you know full well that I specifically said: (this is even the remainder of the sentence you quoted for whatever God forsaken reason, that you conveniently left off) "but at no time have I ever seen him make such statements in regards to being a "vegan". It has always been in clear regards of health reasons, which is a huge difference, to say the least" as well as: "chooses not to eat animal fats for health reasons alone, like I previously said". Trying to twist my words to fit your own agenda, is ridiculous. Anyone reading the above posts with an open mind can see that I made the "health reasons" clear. As for the article..it isn't my fault you presented an incomplete article, if that be the case. I'm not going to assume there was any more than there was to it, nor am I going to assume that the quote came from BG during a show, or any other credible source, when clearly that hasn't been presented in the article at hand. (Note to self, I must remember to first check my crystal ball the next time..silly of me not to have known that the statement came from a morning talk show, despite the fact that the article doesn't include any such mention or further clarification..lol) Call Bear a vegan if you so choose; it fits nicely with the rest of your constant anti-Bear campaign. I however, until he elaborates to the contrary further, believe he eats the diet he does for health reasons. Hmmmm lost a father and a grandfather to a heart disease that he's genetically predisposed to, has children of his own and has received his first high cholesterol reading already (his sister's was even higher)..yeah, that's just so farfetched isn't it.
I'm waiting for the debate and arguments regarding Bear's favorite color..can't be too far off for some of you!
This message has been edited. Last edited by: mod_ivy,
I pointed out in my original post that BG doesn’t eat meat for HEALTH REASONS. But as is typically the case with you, you just read who made the post and then picked out the one thing that you could argue against, the use of the word vegan, which apparently you take to be a negative thing for some reason. Or is it simply that you jump to the conclusion that every thing a critic might post here MUST be some attempt to slam BG? For the record, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with someone being a vegan, the only reason I mention it is that it is one of the reasons that I don’t believe he eats all of what he kills. As far as the use of the term vegan, in my second post I attempted to explain why the term has been used, because it was BG who has used the term itself, this is obviously a concept that you agree with since, as I pointed out, you just made a case for it yourself. I did not bother to point out originally that the first link was no longer the complete article because it didn’t seem relevant. I didn’t realize that you’d need a crystal ball to understand that a statement inside of quotation marks is a direct quote, that’s why they’re called quotation marks after all.
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(this is even the remainder of the sentence you quoted for whatever God forsaken reason, that you conveniently left off) "but at no time have I ever seen him make such statements in regards to being a "vegan".
Whatever the reason was simply that I thought that issue had been cleared up when I posted an article where he says he’s vegan.
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I however, until he elaborates to the contrary further, believe he eats the diet he does for health reasons.
Uhhh??? Did I suggest otherwise? Why don’t you now provide a link to where you’ve seen him say “point blank he enjoys a steak now and then”? Because for someone who is on an extremely strict diet because, hmmmm lost a father and a grandfather to a heart disease that he's genetically predisposed to, has children of his own and has received his first high cholesterol reading already, it does seem a little far-fetched that on any occasion he is forced to deviate from his diet, he’d choose to eat something like a steak.
As for my attitude, come on, you can’t expect someone not to roll their eyes when you constantly dismiss outright anything that doesn’t support your opinion while at the same time accepting as gospel anything that does. Here you are making this whole rant about “heath reasons” apparently oblivious to that fact that I pointed it out myself in the post you first questioned. Sorry if BG doesn’t understand what you consider to be “vegan”, maybe you should take it up with him. Maybe you’d also care to explain why calling someone a vegan is equivalent to “bashing” them? Perhaps you should stop to look in the mirror before you go chastising anyone else.
You're funny bc, I'll give you that. I've read many insults here slung at Bear from the critics in regards to a lack of morals and character for abandoning his vegan convictions for the sake of a buck, and in my honest opinion, I personally don't believe that you threw out the term for any reason different than that..but that's my opinion. There's clearly nothing else I need to say on this matter, because I believe I've done a clear enough job of explaining why I believe Bear's diet revolves around health reasons, not related to being a vegan, and the articles you posted back that reason more than anything. Arguing at this point serves no other purpose than to give you your daily forum rise, and I think I've done a successful enough job of that for today. (I'm gonna send an email to his myspace fan page and ask if the question can be passed on to Bear though..IF I get an answer, I'll of course share. Hopefully it will end the diet debate once and for all)
I have no problems with killing animals for food, even when not in a survival situation. And I see no difference between Bear eating some lizard's tail and me eating some tasty chicken. In both cases an animal had to die. The one is no more cruel than the other, and IMO neither is cruel.
I've read many insults here slung at Bear from the critics in regards to a lack of morals and character for abandoning his vegan convictions for the sake of a buck, and in my honest opinion, I personally don't believe that you threw out the term for any reason different than that..but that's my opinion.
Riiiight, never mind the fact that I DIDN’T make any mention of morals or ethics and never mind the fact that I DID say that it was for health reasons; in your opinion, I MUST have been bashing BG none the less. Sounds like you base your opinions on preconceived notions regardless of whether or not there is anything to back them up.
Just for the record, there are far more jungle inhabitants than orangutans. The bananas would nourish many creatures, such as the creepy crawly kind, and regardless, whatever does not get actually eaten, would simply nourish the earth. I personally see nothing wrong with the killings on the show. Are those of you angered with Bear just as angry with Les? The situation, albeit more realistic, that Les is in for his show is not true survival either. He is going to be picked up in 7 days regardless. It's been pointed out many, many times here, but I'll point it out again..food is NOT a priority in that time frame. You can go 3 weeks without food, and Les could certainly go without it in 7 days, but that would be pretty stupid wouldn't it. Neither of these men NEED to eat while doing their shows, but I appreciate that both show you examples of what you can eat if necessary.
I hope you didn't waste too much energy searching and quoting previous posts of mine, lol, considering you've pointed out nothing that I haven't already made clear myself. Quoting this line: "I've seen where he has said that he prefers not to eat much meat" and this: "I believe he just simply prefers to eat fruits, veggies, whole grains, etc., but he has point blank said that he enjoys a good steak every now and again" is completely pointless. You're just splitting hairs, because you know full well that I specifically said: (this is even the remainder of the sentence you quoted for whatever God forsaken reason, that you conveniently left off) "but at no time have I ever seen him make such statements in regards to being a "vegan". It has always been in clear regards of health reasons, which is a huge difference, to say the least" as well as: "chooses not to eat animal fats for health reasons alone, like I previously said". Trying to twist my words to fit your own agenda, is ridiculous. Anyone reading the above posts with an open mind can see that I made the "health reasons" clear. As for the article..it isn't my fault you presented an incomplete article, if that be the case. I'm not going to assume there was any more than there was to it, nor am I going to assume that the quote came from BG during a show, or any other credible source, when clearly that hasn't been presented in the article at hand. (Note to self, I must remember to first check my crystal ball the next time..silly of me not to have known that the statement came from a morning talk show, despite the fact that the article doesn't include any such mention or further clarification..lol) Call Bear a vegan if you so choose; it fits nicely with the rest of your constant anti-Bear campaign. I however, until he elaborates to the contrary further, believe he eats the diet he does for health reasons. Hmmmm lost a father and a grandfather to a heart disease that he's genetically predisposed to, has children of his own and has received his first high cholesterol reading already (his sister's was even higher)..yeah, that's just so farfetched isn't it.