Do you eat meat?

[roriconfan]

Meat is part of our diet. Sailors in the old days used to get sick for not eating meat during long journeys. And still they were eating fish. Oh, that is not meat so it's ok? Maybe fruits and vegetables are not alive? So let's cut the crap about feeling bad.

[Vexx]

Its more complicated ... aka it isn't a binary yes/no question.

We should probably feel a bit ashamed at the corporate mass production factory farming techniques that mistreat animals before they are eaten (and produce a crappier product at the end of the day as well).

As far as the *concept* of eating meat, we're omnivores biologically. Some nations eat too much meat and it isn't physically healthy for them, others don't get enough (or at least enough protein of some sort).

My family eats pretty much anything. We try to buy product that isn't produced in an utterly sucky way but, in the US, that is made very difficult because of the dominance of megacorporate food production techniques. So we do as much "farmer's market" and "buy local" as we can.

[Kyero Fox]

I used to live on a farm with hcickens and cows. They had a large field to use as if they were never finced at ll. But when I saw how they treat some animals. It makes me think half the human race are monssters. Hell I had a pet cow when I was young. Prob had some cliche name I don't reemember that far back.

Anyways I don't feel guilty when eating meat because I know I'm still a animal damn it. Its the circle of life. But I looooove meat. I wouldn't be suprised if I was a raptor in a past life.

[Haladflire65]

Isn't there a thread like this from a while ago?

Should we eat meat?

But just to add to the discussion, no, I don't feel guilty eating meat. As Fox said above, humans are still animals and being vegetarian can bring you health problems if you don't know exactly what you're doing. I think eating meat is fine, it's just the excessive amount we eat and the way people treat livestock that bothers me, especially every time we watch one of those movies that show a little too much, like Food Inc.

[Urzu 7]

Originally Posted by Vexx

Its more complicated ... aka it isn't a binary yes/no question.

We should probably feel a bit ashamed at the corporate mass production factory farming techniques that mistreat animals before they are eaten (and produce a crappier product at the end of the day as well).

As far as the *concept* of eating meat, we're omnivores biologically. Some nations eat too much meat and it isn't physically healthy for them, others don't get enough (or at least enough protein of some sort).

My family eats pretty much anything. We try to buy product that isn't produced in an utterly sucky way but, in the US, that is made very difficult because of the dominance of megacorporate food production techniques. So we do as much "farmer's market" and "buy local" as we can.

He says some things I was going to say.

For some cultures, where there is no mass production meat market and they live off the land, eating meat from animals or sea creatures and fish is definitely a-okay if you ask me. They need this type of food for protein and nutrition overall.

As Vexx mentioned, we in the U.S. have a mass production meat market that is just awful. Bad to crops and the environment, horrible to the animals that will be killed for meat (before they are killed, they live agonizing lives), and it results in inferior meat as opposed to free-range products (true free-range products, some are labeled as such but they cut corners). I feel bad about the meat industry in America. Basically all around bad. Only good thing about it is that it is cheaper...but there are things that are bad and wrong about it. But leave it to Americans to disregard that for the sake of higher profits and lower costs.

And we eat way more meat than we need to in the U.S. And then of course so much of it goes to waste, because so much food in general goes to waste in the U.S. But back to eating more meat than we should, we really could stand to eat less of it. Ideally, if millions of Americans chose to eat less meat (not every day, but some days during the week), they'd get the protein they need and it would be less of a toll on animals raised for meat. Buying free-range products would also be good and lessen the guilt some might have with this meat market. Many Americans do these things already, but it'd be great if many more Americans followed suit.

[Kyero Fox]

Originally Posted by Haladflire65

Isn't there a thread like this from a while ago?

Should we eat meat?

But just to add to the discussion, no, I don't feel guilty eating meat. As Fox said above, humans are still animals and being vegetarian can bring you health problems if you don't know exactly what you're doing. I think eating meat is fine, it's just the excessive amount we eat and the way people treat livestock that bothers me, especially every time we watch one of those movies that show a little too much, like Food Inc.

but this isnt about if we do eat it, its for people who do eat meat and if they should feel guilty about it =\ but w.e, not like theres 100 other topics line one another.

[MkMiku]

I eat meat whenever I can, but my dad and sister avoid it at all costs, because they believe it is unhealthy.

[Kyero Fox]

if it was unhealthy our species would be extinct, *cough* cavemen *cough* unless you belive god snapped his fingers and made the human race as we are today.

[Arbitres]

Oh yeah, great... God... God dammit do we have to talk about it?

Meat is necessity, it provides required nutrients, but I still don't like eating it in quantities.


Let's see... I like bacon? oh yeah, bacon is the meat I will eat a good bit of rather shamelessly.

Other then that, I only eat it as a requirement, basically. It's a grey area, we humans eat what we need to survive - even at the cost of others. This is rather grey in my opinion since we kill animals to live ourselves.

I guess it doesn't matter, since a good deal of people hardly think twice, this here is just my two cents.

[ChainLegacy]

I understand the premise of most vegetarian/vegan arguments in that they don't want to kill living things just to sustain themselves. Unfortunately for them, such a thing is more or less impossible to pull off because, like other have pointed out, plants and fungi are living as well. Perhaps someday in the future, we will be able to grow artificial foods jam packed with all the health benefits we can only get today by eating well; until then the whole debate is pointless to me.

[Tsuyoshi]

Originally Posted by MkMiku

I eat meat whenever I can, but my dad and sister avoid it at all costs, because they believe it is unhealthy.

It could actually be unhealthy not to eat meat. One of my friends actually started having problems because she was lacking proteins. She was vegetarian but after a while of not eating any meat, her hair started falling and her mails were breaking down like powder. It was really bad, so she started having some meat and she got better pretty quickly.

[D-KLAC]

well i do eat meat but not on fridays give it only day of week for no meat time same for holy week no meat allowed during that time.

[Nogitsune]

Originally Posted by ChainLegacy

I understand the premise of most vegetarian/vegan arguments in that they don't want to kill living things just to sustain themselves.

Actually, most vegetarians are concerned about causing suffering, not about killing living things.
I don't know for sure whether a plant can suffer, but I do know that it does not have a central nervous system (or anything even remotely close), that it would have no evolutionary advantage from feeling pain, and that it does not show nearly as clear signs of possessing self-awareness as most animals do, human or non-human. Even if plants were capable of experiencing suffering, the animals used for meat production eat quite a lot of them, so plants, too, would be better off without the meat industry.

Also, there is no convincing evidence that vegeteranism is unhealthy. Veganism maybe, but not vegetarianism. In fact, there are many people who don't care much about animals but are vegetarians because they believe it's better for their health.
But let's not go into this again. Even nutritionists will fight over this to no avail.

[Shyne]

It is hard to say what is healthy and what is not. In the early 20th century scientists said that smoking was okay and didn't cause any health risks. There was also a time where eggs were not healthy then healthy then not healthy now healthy again.
I do eat meat on a daily basis, but I also eat veggies and fruit and grain and dairy and fats as well. There is a such thing in eating too much meat. A person's choice to eat or not eat meat is a personal choice.

[felix]

Originally Posted by synaesthetic

Do you eat meat? Or are you a vegetarian, or a vegan?

What exactly is the difference between a animal and a plant? Heck your average dirt is alive too! to some extent.
Yeah "be good" but nobody is asking for you to be some sort of monk or saint though.

[Nogitsune]

Originally Posted by felix

What exactly is the difference between a animal and a plant?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal#Characteristics

[ChainLegacy]

Originally Posted by Nogitsune

Actually, most vegetarians are concerned about causing suffering, not about killing living things.
I don't know for sure whether a plant can suffer, but I do know that it does not have a central nervous system (or anything even remotely close), that it would have no evolutionary advantage from feeling pain, and that it does not show nearly as clear signs of possessing self-awareness as most animals do, human or non-human. Even if plants were capable of experiencing suffering, the animals used for meat production eat quite a lot of them, so plants, too, would be better off without the meat industry.

Also, there is no convincing evidence that vegeteranism is unhealthy. Veganism maybe, but not vegetarianism. In fact, there are many people who don't care much about animals but are vegetarians because they believe it's better for their health.
But let's not go into this again. Even nutritionists will fight over this to no avail.

If suffering is your only concern, then humanely butchered meat should be no issue to you. There is no suffering involved if the death is so quick as to not emit a pain response.

I personally know vegetarians who are in good health, so I am not implying it is a horrible health choice. I personally put a lot of emphasis on the evolutionary side of things, and I know for a fact my ancient (prehistoric) European ancestors had a meat-rich diet, which implies to me that it is probably the optimal diet.

[ClockWorkAngel]

I'm guilt of eating and loving to eat meat. I remember having discussions about this with friends; mostly the issues of whether or not eating meat was sustainable for the environment.

I think there's too much thought put into whether or not its moral to kill something to eat it; there's this human double standard that many people like to impose. Animals eat other animals, and so do we; just because we CAN make a conscious (though difficult) decision to not eat meat doesn't mean it's amoral to not make the decision.

Overall, its matter of how you were raised; and whether or not you like it. And the choice to go vegetarian or vegan should be done in the name of something more real like making a statement on sustainable eating habits (Don't get me started on the organic matter; it's too much BS for me to take) or just for health. I'm generally fine with the vegans and vegetarians; more meat for me

tldr; We could probably do better with not eating meat; but why does meat have to be so delicious?!

[Shizuo]

I live almost exclusivly on meat. Mainly because I personally find fruit and vegetables disgusting.

I don't dislike vegans and vegetarians for their eating choice. But what really pisses me off is when an "extremist" group goes around claiming that not eating meat and eating plants will help with global warming.

In my honesty opinion, that is the biggest load of BS I've ever heard. Sure, cows produce more greenhouse gases than cars do every year. But, what is the best way to stop a cow producing greenhouse gases? Simple, you turn it into a steak.

Secondly, plants convert CO2 into oxygen. Which is a really good thing. So why are we harvesting all these plants, when we can leave them there so they can clean our air?

tl;dr I haven't had any sugar today.

[Kudryavka]

I eat meat, though I find it a little disturbing sometimes. I could clearly imagine myself as a vegetarian, but never a vegan. I'd much rather be lazy and get complete proteins from a few animals and their byproducts than rely solely on combining a bunch of fruits, veggies, nuts and starches to satisfy my DV.