Vegans/Vegetarians: Would you survive on a Deserted Island?

I guess this is a frequent question that's thrown at vegans/vegetarians.. etc. Most of the times it'll go something like:

Waiter: "So .. what are you ordering?"
Me: "I'll have the mushroom/spinach pizza, just without the meat, thanks!"
Friend: "You're vegetarian?"
Me: "yeh, why?"
Friend: "bla bla bla bla bla but what would you do on a deserted island?"

Good question.

The classical argument involves .. what would you do if there was just you and a pig on a deserted island? Well first off, it's highly unlikely that there will be a pig on a deserted island .. deserted islands tend to be inhabited by birds, reptiles, insects and sea creatures for the most part.. unless humans brought them there.

So I would assume the pig would have arrived with me by boat. Well - I wouldn't kill the only source of friendship and company I have to my avail, considering how isolation can derail people and lead to worse things like psychosis in just a matter of days. A pig will feed you for a week.. or it could keep you company for as long as it lives. You could also get it to eat grass so you can use its shit as manure to grow other crops.

More than likely, I'd be eating mussels, sardines, crickets ..bird eggs, lizard eggs.. fruits, coconut, wild lettuce, etc. These foods are packed with calories and certainly easier to catch than deer or a boar or something. Also, mussels and shellfish don't particularly have brains or complex-enough nervous systems to be considered sentient life.. and they'd be everywhere.

Next question: You're a diabetic, and on a stranded island. What would you do without your medication?

 

That would have mostly been islands that are now inhabited or are close to civilization..

I think truly uninhabited islands are becoming rare pretty quickly..