Meat

[Ælex]

I like animals but I like bacon too.

Meeeeeeeeeeehh...

Edited May 28, 2011 by Ælex

[Soundwave95]

sometime I like eat meat like filet, bbq ribs, chicken, beef, sausage like that.

[Alexander Hamilton]

Do I think eating meat is an ideal? No. Do I think that factory farming, and the way many animals are treated is horrible? Yes.

 

But humans are animals, not angels. The circle of life isn't always pretty...and animals are not humans.

[Obscure_Trash]

Please use the edit button near the top of all your posts rather than double posting. The FAQ contains a section on coding if you need quote tag help. :3

[Ramica]

I did not come to the top of the food chain to eat salads and carrots all the time. I'm not a big meat eater but I do like meat - roast, ham, bacon, hamburger, chicken, turkey, fish etc. Enjoy even more wild meat - duck, deer, moose, elk.

 

I believe that man is an omnivore we are not a full carnivore, or full herbivore.

 

Most animals when sent to slaughter are killed quickly and humanly but often farms for chicken and of course veal - little baby calves don't have a good life are often treated cruelly and I am against that kind of thing. I don't think it is fair so many chickens should be crammed into a cage or a calf stuck in a place where it can hardly move just is not right.

 

So I do my best to stay away from such factory produced products when buying meat.

[saemiligr]

Death IS a part of life. Human Beings are Omnivores and are built to eat both plants AND other animals. It is in our very nature to hunt and eat meat. Not that you have to do much stalking in a drive through, but still it's there in the DNA.

 

Just because something had life before doesn't automatically make it sacred either. Then you might as well be crying every moment of every day because animals die, for lots and lots of different reasons, not many of them dignified.

 

While it can be argued that Human Beings are on a different level then most meat eating mammals out there, you do have to remember that entire ecosystems have structured themselves around the fact that humans have gone out for centuries and killed off hundreds of their numbers.

[vegetariancannibal]

And you shouldn't use soap, toothpaste, clean your toilet with bleech, etc. etc. as that all kills bacteria (that's the purpose after all of those actions) which are also living organisms.

You shouldn't use a fly swatter either, or a mousetrap.

I was raised vegetarian. The reason I still don't eat meat is partly because I don't see it as food, and mostly because I don't rate myself as more deserving of life than my fellow animals. I am able to survive perfectly well on a vegetarian diet because of the availability of food.

 

I see eating plants as more ethical than eating animals because there is no evidence to suggest that plants have a consciousness, and the purpose of life for a plant is to grow and survive as long as it can before death. Plants are the basic foodstuff of the masses, and I am grateful to them for that. I owe a lot to the sacrifice of plants.

 

Animals certainly are conscious however. And unlike plants they run and fight to avoid being killed and/or eaten. And like I said before, I don't think I deserve to live any more than they do. I see them as my equals, which is why I find it disturbing to see them killed en masse to feed a single race. But I can't say that every other human is the same as me, they may well be more deserving of life than I and so are justified in killing animals for food. But one question still bothers me; why are they killed for food but not me? A cow is a cow because its parents were cows. I am a human because my parents were humans.

 

I don't use mouse traps or fly swatters because they are violent and unnecessary. Flies and moths etc. can be caught by hand and returned to the garden. There are a variety of gadgets available for catching more hazardous visitors like spiders and wasps. I am absolutely petrified of spiders, but still I care about them. Although I am scared to be near them I have no ill feeling towards them and I would hate for anything to be killed on my behalf.

Edited May 29, 2011 by vegetariancannibal

[chipou]

I wish the way meat was slaughtered could improve. Better life for the animals before they're killed and a more proper way to kill them, so they aren't half living as they're being slaughtered.

yeah, it would be nicer if the animals were atleast able to roam about. but oh well. whenever i think about that i get sad. then i think if i DONT eat the meat, they lived and died a ****ty life for nothing! excuse me, im going to make hotdogs for lunch now so they didnt die in vain.

[Kestra15]

I see eating plants as more ethical than eating animals ... the purpose of life for a plant is to grow and survive as long as it can before death.

Is that not the same of all living creatures? At the base level, all animals simply want to grow, survive, and ensure the continuation of their species for as long as possible before each individual's death.

[Kamak]

Personally I see plants, animals, and humans as equals... for the most part... I'm not going to bore you with the overly complex justifications and footnotes I have on each in my mind, but essentially, let me say this:

 

Imagine a child with a health condition/injury that ensures that they will never walk (whether they were able to before or not). A regular human being would feel empathy for that individual, if only for the realization that there are many disadvantages that the individual may have to overcome, many things the individual won't be able to experience, and the idea that you could be in that very same position dealing with those yourself. (Note, this doesn't necessarily equate to "pity", as many people believe)

 

Now, imagine an animal with 4 legs, having had the back legs rendered useless by something (being run over, falling out of a tree, etc). Even if it doesn't get preyed on, the chances of it surviving depend on it getting food and water while being injured, and even if it does survive, it may never heal, or may not heal properly. There are no humans to help it, not necessarily because no one cares, but because no one knows (kind of like a "Tree falling in the woods" deal). Many people would empathize with the plight of the animal, knowing they don't have the conveniences of things such as doctors and the like to fix problems such as this, nor a sturdy enough pack system generally to support them while they heal.

 

Now we get to the final scenario. It's a wonderful spring day, and there's a field with a single flower bud in it. You're walking through, not paying attention, and you crush the flower bud under your foot. The flower wasn't able to open, never releasing its genetic information out to the world to live through its offspring, nor did it receive pollen to sow seeds near where it grew. It spent so much time and energy growing and making that bud, preparing for the day it should share itself with the world... and you inadvertently stepped on it. You monster. Generally, people don't feel bad about consuming/destroying plants... until they think deeply of how suckish an existence it would be to be grass in a front yard... This isn't necessarily a bad thing to not care... after all, if people treated plants as humans... well... how would we survive, since it's the base of the food chain?

 

The issue becomes for me that the three are treated as exclusively separate, usually because it helps define the morality of the subject. Many people who eat meat would draw the line at eating humans, since while human flesh is essentially meat, humans are generally in a group separate from animals. To vegetarians, plants are separate from animals because animals have feelings/feel pain/can be abused, but plants are mindless entities, thus making it alright to consume them. To me, all three groups are life, and should be respected. I believe people should do their best to respect the plants, animals, and humans who make their existence possible, ranging from food, to clothing, to how our personalities are shaped by the world around us (which even plants have an effect on us... go out into a field of wildflowers or wheat...). We should be thankful for every sacrifice made for/caused by us, whether it's the turkey on our dinner table or the ant we didn't even notice as we were walking. To me, being thankful for the sacrifices plants and animals make justify eating them (normally, I wouldn't discriminate against humans in this, but the idea of eating a human is the same as eating a squid... it grosses me out, especially since I don't imagine humans to taste very good. ).

 

Now how they are raised and slaughtered on the other hand is a completely different issue entirely... but consuming a plant vs. consuming an animal doesn't really weigh differently either way to me, nor do I think either side is really morally superior to the other... All we can do is eat the food we love, be thankful for the things lost to make that food happen, and live our lives.

 

-K-

[vegetariancannibal]

Is that not the same of all living creatures? At the base level, all animals simply want to grow, survive, and ensure the continuation of their species for as long as possible before each individual's death.

Of course. But my point (not stated very clearly before, I apologise) is that, well, I put myself into the mind of a plant, and I put myself in the mind of an animal, and plants are generally more relaxed (for want of a better word). I'm not sure if that's because plants are less aware of their surroundings and don't feel pain, or if on some level they know that their purpose is to give what they gain to the other lives around them.

 

(Though, all plants are different and I'm just making a generalisation of the plants that are eaten by animals.)

 

Animals do feel pain, and fear. They get adrenaline rushes just like we do, and they actively fight to remain alive. I believe all life should be treasured and the consumption of meat, much as the industry disturbs me, doesn't bother me as much as senseless killings such as squashing a spider or shooting a bird you have no intention of eating. That's what really makes me angry.

 

nor do I think either side is really morally superior to the other... All we can do is eat the food we love, be thankful for the things lost to make that food happen, and live our lives.

 

I agree with this totally. This is part of the reason I don't ask people around me to stop eating meat. (The other part is because I don't feel I have the right to ask them to change.)

[Rainbowsh]

Meat? Yeah, I can see why there are vegetarians in the world, but I don't really agree with them. Yes, it is true that meat comes from once living animal, but in all fairness killing animals for food is one of the many circles of life. I mean, other animals kill other animals to live, and humans just have to do the same too. That's just my oppinion anyway.

[PACMANnot]

I actually had a argument with someone about the fact that plants were/are living things before we up an ate them. You know the response I got back? "Plants aren't sentient beings so it's OK to eat them."

 

That made me angry for some bizarre reason.

 

I do understand that some people do not eat meat for whatever reason but you should have seen this person, yellin' at everyone for eating meat. The jerk...

---

 

Other then that, I love my meat and as long as it's not shrimp or lobster I'm OK! My mom can make some mean salmon patties that I can't resist even if I tried.

 

I also can't really say anything about how the animals are treated.This may sound wrong but I do eat meat that has been abused(to my knowledge). Coming by a good chuck of free range meat is hard and, from what I have seen, very expensive. With all of the shielding on the slaughter houses it's really hard to know if you're eating a properly cared for meat or not.

 

I do have something to say about the meat from fast food restaurants though. Lately eating fast food(yes I know it's unhealthy for you but I really don't have any choice unless I want to be stuck eating sugary junk food all day) meats has given me terrible stomach pains like you wouldn't believe. I try to avoid them as much as possible now because of the pains I get from eating them. Problem? I sure do think so.

 

Besides all that, I love my bacon and you can never separate me from it ever!

Edited May 30, 2011 by PACMANnot

[Sparx1996]

Okay. Prepare your minds, for they are about to be blown.

I don't agree with vegetarians, but if it's their choice to live without having a nice, greasy burger, or a perfectly grilled steak, I respect that. I see it as this: you get one life, so live it, even if it requires having to cut it short by eating meat.

[Rainbowsh]

Okay. Prepare your minds, for they are about to be blown.

I don't agree with vegetarians, but if it's their choice to live without having a nice, greasy burger, or a perfectly grilled steak, I respect that. I see it as this: you get one life, so live it, even if it requires having to cut it short by eating meat.

Amen! Just kidding, but I do agree with you! Eating meat isn't that bad, but vegetarians have their reasons.

[loftiicry]

I'm a vegetarian. But not because of the slaughterhouses, and animals should have the right to live, and whatever. I just don't eat meat because I think it tastes disgusting. Just thinking of nice grilled steak and greasy, tasty bacon makes me gag.

It's just..ugh. Although if I did like meat, I probably would eat it. The animals were raised to be killed, and even though that's unfair, that's how it is and you can't stop it from happening. >.>

[Kazeko]

I believe there's been research done into the subject and plants actually do feel "pain", or something like it, and send out distress signals to other plants in the vicinity.

[Katie]

I respect vegetarians but I don't agree with them on some things. People kill animals to live and animals kill animals to survive, It's a cycle.

[Obscure_Trash]

I respect vegetarians but I don't agree with them on some things. People kill animals to live and animals kill animals to survive, It's a cycle.

Vegetarians have different reason for being vegetarians, so it would really just be some vegetarians you disagree with. ;3

 

I believe there's been research done into the subject and plants actually do feel "pain", or something like it, and send out distress signals to other plants in the vicinity.

 

I vaguely recall this being brought up in this very thread before. I might have to do some research and re-check that.

[lizardtail]

I believe there's been research done into the subject and plants actually do feel "pain", or something like it, and send out distress signals to other plants in the vicinity.

from my vague memory and knowledge of plants, i think its not so much that the plant feels pain, more that the plant senses that it is being harmed, therefore impairing its chances of survival. and the distress signals are to tell the other plants that there is danger, and those plants respond by secreting/becoming bad tasting/poisonous or something like that. i forget what species of plant it is though.

[Kamoodle]

I am a huge animal lover, but I do like to eat meat. I used to refuse to eat any seafood, but now I am wondering what I've missed after some years of eating yummy salmon. I am not a big fan of chicken though when it's not greasy or is skinless. However, I have stopped eating the delicious part of chicken for a while. I guess chicken tastes boring.

[Sparx1996]

I guess chicken tastes boring.

then i guess everything tastes boring since everything tastes like chicken

[RubyRed74]

I love animals and all, but I eat meat, and I like it. My view is that it's the cycle of life, and animals eat other animals too.

[Chiaki]

from my vague memory and knowledge of plants, i think its not so much that the plant feels pain, more that the plant senses that it is being harmed, therefore impairing its chances of survival. and the distress signals are to tell the other plants that there is danger, and those plants respond by secreting/becoming bad tasting/poisonous or something like that. i forget what species of plant it is though.

Plants do release chemicals when they have been damaged, these signals are then picked up by other plants which then go through some physiological change (depending on the species) But plants dont have brains or nervous systems so they can feel no pain or panic.

 

But anyway, I don't eat meat, never have and I've never seen a reason to start to be honest. But if I did I'd choose as free range as possible, yeah humans are omnivores but that doesn't mean we should keep animals the way some of them are

((I'm not an animal rights nut by the way but I am doing a zoology degree))

[Snailbait]

I don't eat meat, but I don't have a problem with other people eating it - after all, that's the natural thing to do. Just as long as people don't try to force me to eat it, I'm happy.