Vegetarianism - Opinions?

[TamaMum]

It's interesting how many different reasons there are for people choosing vegetarianism - or indeed choosing not to become vegetarian.

Traditionally, it was usually a moral / religious stand point - not to harm other creatures or to exploit them.

Nowadays (and mentioned several times in this thread) there are people who are vegetarian because (for example) they don't like the taste / texture of meat or are allergic to meat/poultry - (which kind of makes it easier to avoid eating meat and/or condem the way animals are bred and farmed for our convenience).

And something I've not seriously considered before - there are economic reasons,

It would cost me a lot less to eat a meat/fish free healthy diet - but I don't because of convenience. My busy life and my culinary skills would certainly be more challenged in terms of menu planning / shopping, etc. and I have enough on my plate (no pun intended).

If I felt strongly enough about it on moral grounds (for example) I wouldn't hesitate, but I'm honest enough to admit that I don't. I console myself with the fact that my purchases of meat, poultry and fish helps the farmers make a living - maybe that's a false consolation, but it works for me.

 

[Moussette]

Spoiler

I am vegan. Except for chicken. And steaks. And fish.... Ahem..

And something I've not seriously considered before - there are economic reasons,

It would cost me a lot less to eat a meat/fish free healthy diet - but I don't because of convenience. My busy life and my culinary skills would certainly be more challenged in terms of menu planning / shopping, etc. and I have enough on my plate (no pun intended).

True that.

 

[Mamapatchi]

Maybe vegetarians don't kill animals, but they eat their food, and that kills animals anyways in the end.

... <_<

Just joking, I have nothing against vegetarianism, but I love tuna and salmon so much!!

Hovewer I'm against parents forcing their childrens to be vegetarians, because kids need proteins and all the good stuff that meat contains to grow tall and healthy Hearing a 6 year old at my sister's birthday party ''Sorry, I can't eat hamburgers because I'm vegetarian!'' was pathetic. Did they have the choice?

You'd be surprised to find out the vast, vast majority of vegetarian parents tell their kids that they can eat meat if they want to. But they educate their children on the matter and most of them say no to meat.

 

[Bubbles11]

I am vegan because the animals that are used for meat, dairy and eggs are abused horribly - just watch any video from PETA or any other animal rights organization. If you look at the teeth and digestive systems of humans and those of carnivores, omnivores, and herbivores, we share many more characteristics with herbivores than the other two groups. Animal production also causes up to 50% of the greenhouse effects that are changing our planet's climate. And eating vegan can be much cheaper and healthier too. I'm pretty much only vegan because I can't stand the thought of hurting any animal in any way (I don't really care about the health aspect) and I'm trying harder to eat sustainably.

 

[VioletchiGirl]

It's peoples opinions really on what they want to do. But the real life fact is: humans NEED protein and it comes in the largest quantity in meat. There are substitutes but you have to eat it in larger quantities. But I won't go into the biochemistry of it all, I guess it's up to the person. I personally would rather eat a balanced diet.

 

[Counting Bodies Like Sheep]

I am vegan because the animals that are used for meat, dairy and eggs are abused horribly - just watch any video from PETA or any other animal rights organization. If you look at the teeth and digestive systems of humans and those of carnivores, omnivores, and herbivores, we share many more characteristics with herbivores than the other two groups.

While our teeth may not dictate clearly whether or not humans are herbivorous or omnivorous, the increase in hominid brain size correlates with the period in history when our ancestors began to consume meat. Another important point to consider is that, unlike true herbivores, our digestive tract is not as long and does not contain commensal flora which break down cellulose in food. I guess what I'm trying to say is that there is no clear-cut biological feature that can be pinpointed as rendering us herbivorous according to history, and therefore, I don't consider this is a strong argument that can be used in favour of vegetarianism & veganism.

All animal rights organisations have a clear bias, and will only show videos of the slaughterhouses that break legal requirements. I have been to various large animal farms while travelling, and it certainly put my mind at ease to see that the majority of animals are not treated as badly as in Meet Your Meat. So I also don't believe it's fair for the general public to judge the meat industry solely based on what can be propaganda (I'm looking at you, PETA!), but instead, investigate the local sources of meat so they can make a more informed decision.

I'm vegan because it's cheap, and more sustainable as you've mentioned. I've always said to myself... if I wouldn't go out and kill an animal for food, why let another do it for me? But even though I don't consume animal products, I also know there are many fallacies deliberately perpetuated in order to sway people to veganism, and for this reason I could never lend my support to animal rights organisations.

 

[Bubbles11]

While our teeth may not dictate clearly whether or not humans are herbivorous or omnivorous, the increase in hominid brain size correlates with the period in history when our ancestors began to consume meat. Another important point to consider is that, unlike true herbivores, our digestive tract is not as long and does not contain commensal flora which break down cellulose in food. I guess what I'm trying to say is that there is no clear-cut biological feature that can be pinpointed as rendering us herbivorous according to history, and therefore, I don't consider this is a strong argument that can be used in favour of vegetarianism & veganism.

All animal rights organisations have a clear bias, and will only show videos of the slaughterhouses that break legal requirements. I have been to various large animal farms while travelling, and it certainly put my mind at ease to see that the majority of animals are not treated as badly as in Meet Your Meat. So I also don't believe it's fair for the general public to judge the meat industry solely based on what can be propaganda (I'm looking at you, PETA!), but instead, investigate the local sources of meat so they can make a more informed decision.

I'm vegan because it's cheap, and more sustainable as you've mentioned. I've always said to myself... if I wouldn't go out and kill an animal for food, why let another do it for me? But even though I don't consume animal products, I also know there are many fallacies deliberately perpetuated in order to sway people to veganism, and for this reason I could never lend my support to animal rights organisations.

I am part of a youth advisory team for the youth-oriented subsidiary of PETA, which is peta2, and I agree that they definitely do a lot of things wrong - but I justify it by trying to advocate for change. The biggest part of my position in this team is to provide feedback for how their campaigns work and how they reach the public. This is starting to go a little off topic, but I really think that most if not all fallacies that are perpetuated by animal rights groups are minor when compared to the suffering that animals face by the other fallacies that are perpetuated by carnism. I am angry, though, especially when people appropriate the plight of for example Holocaust victims by comparing them to the situation of animals in factory farms. They are both indeed horribly barbaric, cruel, and unnecessary, but I think that comparing animal suffering to human suffering is a line that shouldn't be crossed.

 

[joshnemo]

How did a conversation about vegetarianism go into evolution and religion?

 

[x.//StoryTeller//.x]

How did a conversation about vegetarianism go into evolution and religion?

Because Tamatalk works in mysterious ways.

 

[FairyWars9]

I don't really mind it, everybody has different reasons for being a vegan. There's some that do it because they simply don't like the taste of meat, then theres some that do it for animal rights. It can also be a part of their religion that doesn't allow them to eat animal products. Then of course there's the people who get really bothered when they see someone eating meat and show them disturbing videos of factory workers abusing the animals, which here in Canada is extremely rare because he have higher regulations than the US. I've seen a lot of those videos and I still am a meat lover. People need to understand is that humans are meant to eat other animals, just like how Lions or Bears can kill us and eat us. It's a sad fact but it's just how the world works. If I'm eating something like a burger and someone gets upset over that I'll just either simply stop eating it or move to a different spot far away from them. ^_^

 

[Jazzijk]

As a vegan let me say this:

1. A person can be vegetarian and still care about other causes. As a nurse-in-training I would say that I care a lot about humans.
2. It doesn't matter if we were 'meant to eat meat' or not. After all, were we meant to wear makeup or open businesses? Pretty sure cavement didn't run factory farms.

3. I live in a hunting/farming area, so I'm exposed to the treatment of locally farmed animals and the children of these farmers.

4. Tempeh is a vegan protein food containing every essential amino. Though it has a little less protein (29g per serving versus 35g in meat?) it has more mangaese.

5. PETA is a gross, sexist organization that relies on shock value rather than facts.

I don't support eating meat - I don't support in knowingly contributing to pollution and death. However, unless people who eat meat confront me or complain about veg*ns, I won't normally proselytize unless we're really close. And of course I don't use shock tactics or emotional arguments, because nowadays if you're too emotional when presenting an argument people won't take you seriously.