Why do you eat meat? (curious vegetarian)?

Question

I'm vegetarian & would just like some well-thought points of why somebody could justify eating meat (ain't attacking, just seeing the other side of the debate for me to think about). I'd think that if one swore by a life of compassion on any such level that surely not harming other sentient beings would be an axiom regardless of species or race.

Please do not offer the following statements as they can be debunked & are unthought statements (if you want i will further explain my reasoning against them, state in your answer if you want to see them)
''you kill plants, they're living too''
''it tastes good''
''its natural to eat meat''
(hypothetical scenarios) ''if you were starving on an island/not everywhere can afford or produce a wide variety of vegetables in their region''
''If we didn't eat live-stock they would die out/they would overrun our eco-system''
''i respect your lifestyle diet, so why don't you respect mine?''

Answer 1

First off, I like your style of question (an open debate. I've done many of these in YA, myself).



Now, to my answer.



Why do I eat meat? I hate to do this (I truly do), but I eat meat because I can and because I have earned the right. Please, hear me out. When I say I can I mean that through natural selection, it has been seen fit to provide me with incisors, a digestive system, as well as an appetite for meat. True, the same could be said with plants (we are omnivores, after all), but my point is that we have naturally evolved to gain subsentence from other animals. Do this make it right? Not really, but please continue to hear me.



With evolution, man was not given sharper teeth or faster feet, he was given his mind. We were able to acquire the world through use of invention and exploitation (we exploit rivers for power, for example). I see nothing wrong, as sad as this may sound, with doing the same to animals. You have a pet (or possibly had), right? Well, you exploited that animal for your enjoyment. Granted their standard of living was probably higher than those of cattle or chickens, but nonetheless, you took this sentient being and said "You live to please me and tickle my fancy with your company." (in so many words). Now, their life wasn't aimed at death, but there we're just debating price at that point (would you steal a car for $0.01? $1? $1000000? $10000000000?). But, let's look even more forward. We see natural animal exploitation all around us. Hyenas and vultures are both scavengers who feed off the work of another predator. Many smaller species of chimps will steal food from larger chimps (once the work has been done to get the food, of course). It just happens that man is better at exploiting animals and has been able to remove the middle man.



I think I'll end on a note of society (I may add more if I get bored). I had said earlier it was my right, and this is how. As man, I have earned the right to exploit animals (through the simple act of being able to exploit them (yes, that does provide the right)). Take your car (I imagine you drive (or at least commute through transit)) for example. You, as man, learned combustion and designed the engine. You earned the right to your car. Now, it's kinda harmful to the environment (we're extracting natural ores, changing eco-systems, releasing toxins, etc.), but nonetheless, it is your right to do it. You earned it. Is your harm as direct as mine? No. But it's still harm and it's still consciously made. Again, we're debating price.



I apologize for my thoughts (I'm somewhat tired so I'm not at my most coherent or providing my highest cerebral ability) and more importantly I apologize for my words (I KNOW that they sound offensive and that they are rather cruel and sad, but that this life. Plain and simply). At any rate, I'm interested in hearing your thoughts (I imagine you'll just "add detail" it) and look forward to your argument.



Cheers.



P.S. Please do include your counter arguments for "it's natural to eat meat" and "you kill plants, they're living too"

Answer 2

Well, we don't eat meat because eating meat is supporting the mass of animal slaughter and cruelty. Every time you take a bite out of a burger or a hot dog, your increasing the animal cruelty. It is the reason why they get killed; to become your meal, hair product, makeup and clothing which is unfair. I love animals and i know that they have emotions and they can feel the pain also. If your ever get the chance to watch video clips of animals being abused in the slaughterhouse, you will understand why some people choose to become a vegetarian.

Answer 3

I'm surprised you consider "it tastes good" to be false and debunkable. I find it does taste good. Silly me. Also it is nutritious and I was taught to eat it. That's why I do. Also, it is natural. How can you say it's not? Look around you - all kinds of creatures, most, I'd venture, eat meat - or other bugs or other whatevers, algae, but someone dies to make someone else's meal. That is natural, if you define natural as meaning it occurs in nature.



In fact right behind sex, it is the poster child for natural, I'd say. Wouldn't you, really? Of course so is fighting and urinating - neither of which is a preferred behavior - so natural doesn't necessarily mean something we like - tornados are natural too -

Answer 4

I'd die of starvation if I only ate vegan foods. My metabolism requires mass amounts of protein.

Answer 5

Simply put,I am an omnivore,although meat isn't vital to my survival,it helps.....and it tastes good.



I'm not interested in any counter arguments you may have,biologically we are omnivores,everything else is choice.

Answer 6

Actually, it's more justifiable to eat other people. The overpopulation from our race killing the balance of natural selection has gotten to a lethal level for the entire planet, I know it sounds twisted. We're the immediate threat to our own existence, so it'd be self-defense and self-preservation.

That's just my horribly skewed opinion.

As for the "mainstream" meats haha, being a vegetarian is moderately complicated for people who know nothing about it. It's foreign and unsettling for people who were raised on a no holds barred diet. I've attempted the vegan diet and it actually made me really sick, so many generations of meat eaters, and it being a major cornerstone of their diets through life actually creates a dependency in a lot of people. You have to consider balancing your nourishment more with a vegan diet. If you end up with a protein deficiency from not reading into your food, you'll lose your hair, nails will become softer and eventually fall off and never come back, and have a degenerative tissue disorder. Sure, by the time all this occurs, you should've seen a doctor. With an omnivorous diet you only worry about the meat not being full of bacteria and cooked through. Otherwise only risk becoming a fatty fat pants.

I assume mostly, you're just coming from the "bleeding heart" end of the spectrum with this question though. (pun intended haha) Which I actually don't understand in the vegan argument, it seems really strange to me that you'd sympathize that deeply with another species. Chicken- Flightless bird the size of a basketball. It's existence is a cruel joke. Cows- Bred to die, and have evolved to follow suit, domesticated and would be killed off by nature if set free in days, so they actually get a chance to live an effortless life to maturity in our hands. Fish- I'm not a fan so whatever haha. Pigs- domesticated to the point of having a cruel joke existence as well. All the other meats are just tossed in to serve a lil variety in our diets and there's plenty more where they came from. I'll stop now because this is getting really long.... my bad.



p.s. as for cows I've seen the lame PETA videos of slaughter and branding and prodding, that part is excessive and not really necessary, so that could be changed.

Answer 7

It is only natural. We evolved as omnivores. We could all stand to eat less meat, to be sure, but not to eat any is the aberration.

Answer 8

JUST BECOZ U CLOSE YOUR EYES IT DOESNT CHANGE THE TRUTH

Think abt it

vegetarianism may be an evolved science have u ever considred that. initially the cavemen ate only meat perhaps in ur past birth so did u. there was no option.

Consider this

God created us humans animals everyone - if he wnted to save all the animals , all the carnivore animals wud also only eat plants. But he made them that way. we as humans pride ourselves at having a choice.

there r ppl in the world who dun have food to eat o- if u ask them wud u pls only eat if u get veg food they will call u crazy. so if u wudnt judge that person u shld ideally not judge anyone

eventually whn it bottles down to survival he / she can become non veg. that wud nt be questioned.

so why r u thinking soo much. and also the fact abt the eco system is very true , the chickens will eat up all your food grains. be thank ful. .





v all have compassion- some save it for their behaviour towards fellow humans or their loved ones, u save it for our food.

direct your comapassion to some orphans.

Answer 9

I can't justify my consumption of meat because I absolutely know it is wrong and I find it to be immoral. I can honestly say that the only reason why I am able to eat meat is because I can't see the animal and I'm not the person killing the animal. It's not a justification for eating it, it's simply my reasoning behind why I am mentally able to eat meat. I absolutely love animals. and yes it is possible to love animals and still eat meat. But meat is seriously like a drug for me. it's not like any other type of food and the feeling I get when I eat well prepared meat is like no other. I get the deepest comfort and satisfaction of feeling and taste when I eat a good well prepared meat. it's only when I start to remember that an innocent animal had to painfully be killed that I start to fell like ****. but then again, I didn't actually physically kill the animal with my own two hands, just with my two dollars. I try not to take my ability to eat meat anytime I want for granted because it does weigh heavily on my conscience that an animal had to die just so I can have a tasty more satisfying meal. but it really is a difficult thing to give up especially when it's someone else who doesn't care about animals at all.

Answer 10

I totally respect your desicions and thoughts behind vegetarianism. I eat meat because I grew up eating it, however that doesn't answer the question morally. As an adult I have become aware of the terrible procedures that come before the meat I see, neatly packaged in the supermarket. However, as it is common within the food chain, I believe it is only natural to eat meat, in moderation of course. Truthfully I am a bit conflicted. I support the act of responsibly consuming meat. I am repulsed by the animal holocaust that has become the result of our endless need to consume.

Answer 11

Its a good source of protein. It is also a big part of my culture.

Answer 12

Why, for instance, is murder deemed wrong in society?

If a person were to eliminate his competition in a bid to immediately put himself into a more advantageous position than his former competitor, murder presents initial benefits. But if he could do so freely, his competition could likely apply the same principle on him. 'Freedom to kill' poses a mutual risk to both of them. On a larger scale, it poses as a threat to everyone within a social community.

Outlawing murder is a development that is engineered to improve overall survivability. Because it is beneficial, it is thus made 'right'.



The question of lust can also be evaluated in the same regard.

The question of social discrimination could also be evaluated in the same regard.



Morality is a human construct. The only measure of rightness and wrongness is the consideration of motivations and consequences.





As you had proposed, plants have no capability to experience physical pain. Since a wildflower would feel no pain, would you happily crush any under your feet whenever you see one?

No you would not.

Not because it is right or wrong, but because it isn't necessary.





Imagine insects, birds and small animals that have to be killed or deprived by other means of a viable and plentiful food source so that the greens may reach your table fresh.

Imagine wild animals displaced from their natural habitats and their way of life because of expanding human settlements.

For the predator to live, is it not necessary for its prey to die?

For the prey to live, is it not necessary for the predator to be subjected to hunger and death?

In order to turn a profit, must one not sell to a buyer a product at a price higher than its worth?

In order for a company to offer you that one position, is it not necessary for other candidates to be turned away?



Your own survivability and prosperity hinges on benefiting at the expense, or even exploitation, of others.

Whether you are aware of it or not, what your feeling or not feeling changes nothing.





By nature, we are neither herbivores nor carnivores. We are omnivores.

This adaptability to a variety of diets has been the key to survival throughout our evolution.



Meat eating is neither right nor wrong. It is as necessary as the consuming of any other food source.



Having the luxury of being in a modern environment where choices are abound does make the struggle for survival seem that much less trivial to most. As a result people's perspectives are constantly clouded by misapprehensions and prejudices about the identity of being human.

Answer 13

Nutrition/health. And it tastes good.

Answer 14

No, I stopped eating mean and white bread and white sugar more than 20 years ago, and my health has greatly improved in that time.

Answer 15

Because I don't feel guilty doing it.

Answer 16

can you really ask a q , wanting an honest answer, then tell people how they have to answer?

some of those argum ents are still valid, themost valid being 'its natural'

which isnt just a valid argument, its also the truth



justify?

because its who they are

why should they, or you or i, have to "justify" who we are to anyone else?

rather than just 'explain' who we are to them



meat eaters eat meat, cos they eat meat, veggies dont, cos they dont



the last comment is also very valid, respect is pretty important, for all sides ;-)

Answer 17

don't we eat meat to be healthier? I eat it because it tastes good...and I don't want to live off of vegetables only...Some people don't eat meat because animals are living things just like humans, but if vegetarians love animals so much, why do vegetarians eat all their food?

Answer 18

I eat meat because I have always ate meat and I've been raised to eat it. It is too good to give up. But I have tried to become a vegetarian once.



A few years ago, I tried to become vegan and go on a mainly raw food diet but there were too many problems. In the beginning I went out to the grocery store and I got loads of vegetarian foods and nuts but the problem was, it took too long to eat. I would be a plate full of raw broccoli, carrots, nuts, celery, etc, and it would take at least a half hour to chew and eat all of the crunchy vegetables and after I'd finish all the chewing, my jaw would hurt. If I didn't chew them enough, I would get big lumps stuck in my throat. I have TMJ and my upper jaw is slightly out of place so it was really annoying and too much to go through. And by the time, I would finish, I'd still be hungry!



Then I'd go to the natural food stores and all the vegetarian snacks were way too expensive ($3 for a cookie!) and I wasn't getting enough protein. I had to eat a crap load of nuts to get nearly enough protein. I would walk around and see people eating all the good foods and envy it and no fast food restaurants had vegetarian foods. Also vegetables have hardly any calories and I couldn't eat any of the good fattening food and I was getting skinnier and skinnier and I was always hungry so I just gave it up in about a week. It was horrible.

Answer 19

I have to admit that I am aware that don't have to eat meat but I choose to. Im very skinny and it helps maintain what little weight I do have. I do like the taste of it too. My theory usually is if the Native Americans did it, Im down. Plus I normal say grace before I eat and give respect to the life that was taken to support mine.

Answer 20

one must eat a little peace of meat of a vegetarian animal for at least once a month , and should be cooked not raw , don't eat wild animals meat , or reptiles , avoid eating ham , you would be healthy , humanitarian . and have good healthy vegetarian food john .

believe it or not ham meat cause constipation , fat , diseases and makes peoples feelings without jealousy and piggy .

Answer 21

thousands of years ago.....our ancestors...hairy dudes hunted for meat...why you think we got canine teeth...even tho they are small they still prove our connection with meat(we now consider ourselves omnivores).....compassion pfffff....if a shark or crocodile is hungry and the only meat around is you....it wont be heading for a salad

Answer 22

My value as a person is not defined by what I put in my mouth. We all make choices.

Answer 23

Because I don't require justification in my food choices. Why can't we all just look at our own plates and enjoy our food?