Meat

[Kestra15]

I eat meat, despite the fact that I hate the thought of anything dying. Personally, I believe, because we were meant to be omnivorous, that it's okay to eat meat. However, I also believe this should be the only reason we kill animals. We take lots in order to eat; why should we take some for fancy-looking furs or ivory necklaces?

If we've killed a creature for food, may as well use the rest.

[Chiaki]

I don't like seeing animals suffer, but we are omnivores for a reason.

 

A grapefruit is a lemon that had a chance and took it. In that respect, humans are omnivores with an advantage, and we need to use it.

 

Besides, it is because of meat that we came to be what we are today. We would have become quite different if we had not started to eat meat.

It's true that we are what we are because of our varied diet including meat and plants but we are now what we are so we don't need what we did....

 

Well that doesn't make sense but what I'm trying to say is we don't need meat any more in order to survive. There are too many of us with too many other options available for humans to die out just because we don't eat meat.

 

I've been a veggie my whole life. When I moved out I continued vegetarianism because I couldn't see a reason to start eating meat when I was perfectly happy without it. But since entering into my final year of uni doing a Zoology course I've found my reasoning has changed somewhat.

 

Any animal has a complex life, its communication, behaviour, ability to learn and its adaptability is always in my mind when I think about eating meat. Even fish or chickens have their own cool things about them or something they do which I just cant justify stopping by killing them for food.

 

Like the perfect way fish are adapted for life in the sea or the social hierarchy of chickens. *shrugs*

 

Animals are just too cool to eat.

[Kestra15]

 

Questions?

[incondicency]

haha, kestra

 

I like meat. It's delicious. But my parents suddenly said yesterday: "Starting from New Year's, we aren't going to eat any meat. EVER AGAIN."

 

*sob*

[Stripey]

I like meat. It's delicious. But my parents suddenly said yesterday: "Starting from New Year's, we aren't going to eat any meat. EVER AGAIN."

 

*sob*

I'm sorry

Perhaps you can can convince them to get some baconsalt so that you don't suffer too badly without meat.

[Da_Troll]

Eating meat is perfectly normal. Meat influences the length or our bowels and if we don't eat meat they will increase in length so eating meat has it's advantages

[incondicency]

Haha, stripey, will do >u<

[Brite]

I don't think we would have canine teeth if we weren't suppose to eat meat.

[chuhulil]

Well, I usually didn't have any problem with eating meat, although I'm in South America, and this trip has really changed the amount of meat I eat. When I was in Peru, I got altitude sickness. I basically ate no meat for a period of time there and it made me feel a lot better. I realized that my eating ore fruits and veggies and less meat led to me not having as many stomach issues or not feeling full atll the time. Which heppened a lot for me.

 

I still eat but, I try not to eat a lot of it. When I do, I make sure it's not a big portion. And the only meat I've eaten recently is chicken. I think that this diet will continue even after I go back home. But, I have nothing against people who eat a lot.

[Nine]

I don't think we would have canine teeth if we weren't suppose to eat meat.

Interestingly, it is theorized that our canines are not an adaption to diet and were rather developed over time as an aggressive sexual display. We lack the honing complex in our teeth structure and have dramatically reduced canine size than some of our previous ancestors (and modern day apes). It's believed that this was because of social and group changes, and that we no longer needed big canines to fight each other. I think the honing complex appears and disappears a whole lot over primate evolution though, so I can't remember if it was ever prevalent in our history or not...

 

Even more fascinating is that our molars and other teeth are super refined for grinding, chewing, and cracking fruits, nuts, and stuff. So if an argument had to be made based purely on our teeth structure, it would actually make more sense that we are designed primarily for an omnivorous diet with very modest amounts of fleshy meat.

 

Err, unless someone believes in creationism, then I guess none of this would make a difference to their beliefs.

[Syaoransbear]

I just think there are very few places in the world that would allow a vegan to get all of their nutrients completely from local plants. I think it was necessary for humans to eat meat in order to expand to other parts of the world.

[Kestra15]

Well, I usually didn't have any problem with eating meat, although I'm in South America, and this trip has really changed the amount of meat I eat. When I was in Peru, I got altitude sickness. I basically ate no meat for a period of time there and it made me feel a lot better. I realized that my eating ore fruits and veggies and less meat led to me not having as many stomach issues or not feeling full atll the time. Which heppened a lot for me.

 

I still eat but, I try not to eat a lot of it. When I do, I make sure it's not a big portion. And the only meat I've eaten recently is chicken. I think that this diet will continue even after I go back home. But, I have nothing against people who eat a lot.

Although saying that, I felt *better* on Everest after having a meat-based meal when having altitude problems. In fact the only reason we mainly avoided (local) eat was due to the quality of the meat and sanitisation problems. And a general side-effect of both altitude and acclimatisation (be it through natural or drug-induced methods) is an upset stomach.

 

But if you feel healthier and happier cutting back on meat, go ahead. I know how such trips can be life-changing :~) Congrats to you!

[raichuluxray]

As long as hunters that the animal for giving it's life, and the meat goes to a good cuase, it's fine

[Kestra15]

As long as hunters that the animal for giving it's life, and the meat goes to a good cuase, it's fine

Define 'good cause.'

[quupee]

Just thought I should throw this into the discussion:

 

People say evolution has made us omnivores, and that is a good point. But there is pretty solid evidence that we've been cannibals in the past. Marks have been found on human bone which closely resemble the marks you'd find on animal bone which has been prepard by a human. The ones I'm concentrating on are thought to be from a time when we probably didn't have any religious beliefs, so I personally doubt they were some sort of sacrifice. There are several scientists which also believe this. There are also some less... um... reliable sources which say human meat tastes of pork. So presumably we taste nice for a reason..?

 

If this is true, and you want to take advantage of evolution, then why don't you eat people too?

[StormWizard212]

I think that whether people want to eat meat or not should be their decision. I'm not a vegetarian, but I respect and understand people who are, so long as they don't try to convert me to become a vegetarian also. Everyone has different opinions and ideals and I think that's something that we all just have to understand and respect. I don't think eating meat is a matter of "right and wrong", I think it's just a matter of opinion and perspective. When I think it does become wrong is when other people try to force others to act the same way as them, whether that's to eat meat or to not eat meat.

[Syaoransbear]

Just thought I should throw this into the discussion:

 

People say evolution has made us omnivores, and that is a good point. But there is pretty solid evidence that we've been cannibals in the past. Marks have been found on human bone which closely resemble the marks you'd find on animal bone which has been prepard by a human. The ones I'm concentrating on are thought to be from a time when we probably didn't have any religious beliefs, so I personally doubt they were some sort of sacrifice. There are several scientists which also believe this. There are also some less... um... reliable sources which say human meat tastes of pork. So presumably we taste nice for a reason..?

 

If this is true, and you want to take advantage of evolution, then why don't you eat people too?

Eating people was done out of desperation when it wasn't for religious reasons, and we in the western world have an abundance of food around us. Eating people would be much, much, much harder to accomplish now than eating other forms of meat. Eating people would be like devolving.

[Nine]

I just think there are very few places in the world that would allow a vegan to get all of their nutrients completely from local plants. I think it was necessary for humans to eat meat in order to expand to other parts of the world.

I totally agree. I think passive scavenging, then aggressive scavenging and gradually active hunting enabled humans to become much more successful and adaptable. I believe (?) that humanoids also starting eating meat around the time that the jungles and forests were receding in Africa, so we may not have even survived if we didn't take that crucial step =o

 

I always hear people saying that human flesh supposedly taste like pork, but it's strange... I remember reading about the Uruguayan rugby team and they said that it tasted like beef. I'm just waiting for sources to say that the Donner party thought it tastes like chicken, just to screw with our minds even more, lol =p

[linkx7]

meat is murder delicious delicious murder

andi love steak pork beef chicken duck bacon ham and swan lol jk ive never eaten swan but id like to try it they used to eat it in ye old days

[shaun056]

I am of the understanding that our ape ancestors, ate meat which in turn created bigger brained apes which would evolve over time.

 

Needless to say, humans have eaten meat for thousands of years and nothing will stop them now.

[NyneHells]

Well, people are animals and animals are animals and animals of certain sorts eat animals who eat plants who make their own food so it can get passed up the chain and sustain the entire planet.

Eating meat is both fantastic and necessary for Human beings. And since our eyes are forward-facing, no human can survive and stay healthy without a decent portion of meat~

Plus people are meat that get eaten by more meat-eaters.

And that's why I stay away from Pork chops.

 

...

I DO like bacon and bologna, oh and SPAM covered in honey and baked while wrapped in tinfoil. :3 It's like eating divine cutlets. Despite their mysterious, porky origins~

[Lila]

Define 'good cause.'

Meat goes to feed families, and as much of the remaining body parts are used for something. IMO. If hunting begins to hurt the population of a species, it should be stopped/restricted until the population can restore itself. But I guess that's why there are seasons for hunting.

Edited January 15, 2012 by Lila

[Kestra15]

Meat goes to feed families, and as much of the remaining body parts are used for something. IMO. If hunting begins to hurt the population of a species, it should be stopped/restricted until the population can restore itself. But I guess that's why there are seasons for hunting.

Nice answer, but I wanted to draw that out of raichuluxray.

[Nectaris]

If hunting begins to hurt the population of a species, it should be stopped/restricted until the population can restore itself. But I guess that's why there are seasons for hunting.

Most often it is these days. Most legal hunting in the US is highly regulated, with officials monitoring populations and adjusting limits/seasons every year.

[Princess Artemis]

If this is true, and you want to take advantage of evolution, then why don't you eat people too?

Human cannibalism is the only source of some particularly nasty diseases. In addition, human diseases pass to humans very easily, what with there being no species barrier, so why would it be evolutionarily advantageous to take that kind of risk, circumventing most barriers we have to others' illnesses?

 

This is probably a partial explanation for the widespread taboos and some religions making it wrong to take blood transfusions from another human.