I love eating meat...but I really love animals?

Question

Honestly, I can't think of anything tastier than a thick juicy steak, terryaki chicken or a macadamia nut crusted halibut.

There is a phrase "Just because I want a burger, doesn't mean I want to meet the cow". That is how I think and I feel like a hypocrite. Just thinking of the suffering animals endure to get from birth to my plate makes me sick.

Is there a way to stop liking meat so much?

Answer 1

This kind of amounts to a personal decision
as to how much information or demonstration
you want as it relates to factory farming.

There are lots of videos out there such as:
Peacable Kingdom", Earthlings, and
"Meet your meat" that can make the destruction
of another living being more real to you.
Animal body parts are irrecognizable when
torn away from the bodies of the
deceased and packaged. This has a very
disensitizing affect on all those who consume
the product.

For many people; reading animal rights leaflets,
or watching animal rights videos simply isn't
enough. It takes an actual trip to a factory farm
to witness a slaughter.

This kind of goes back to the comment you
made ( Incidentally Steve Buschemi used
the same line in the movie " The Island"),
" Just because people want a hamburger,
doesn't mean they want to meat the cow".

If you feel strongly about it then you have
to ask yourself " How much do I really
want to be exposed to"?

On the lighter side it is always helpful to
go to some potlucks sponsored by local
veg groups. So often people concentrate
on what they will miss not knowing what
they will gain. Veg food is an entirely
different world with more variety. Again,
you have to experience this for yourself.
I can tell you about it all day the long,
but you need to taste and see.

Also the following books may help:
The China Study
Diet For a New America
"Vegan", The New Ethnics of Living,
Meat Market, Meat, Ethics, and Money
Slaughterhouse by Gail Eisenitz

Most of us have been programmed to
eat flesh from an early age. The mind
takes reprogramming in order to lose
a taste for it.

The biggest thing is
understanding the finality of death though.
At some point and time we have to grasp
the concept that what was killed cannot come
back. The trouble with mass production
is that once you throw a hamburger wrapper
away you can always get another without
thinking about the life that was taken.
It's disensitizing. Once you get past this
mental block the sailing becomes smoother.

Answer 2

Stop the meat, and meet the spinach!
Ha I can see you have a big hart it makes me feel good it makes me happy to see nice people.
Personnaly I had stopped eating meat and fish during 11 years. I was very happy with it, BUT I don't remember well why, (maybe someone who told me) but I came back eating fish. In the beginning I was some sad doing this, really. But now I'm almost "allright" with that, but I'm so sorry, that maybe it is impossible, not to eat animal flesh, I hope I'm wrong, but I felt always tired, and my hair scratched, and in 2 or 3 days, it disappeared, it was spectacular, and amazing. Almost a new life has begun since 2 years.
Well I don't know if you fell the same for fish, but in my small and rotten experience of life, I believe that I have noticed one thing, that is that to forget one thing, or one person (like in loving), it works better if you think to another thing or person. There are surely other things you do love to eat, then you can turn to it. Maybe during the first month you will have 2 or 3 huge wantings of meat, then you can do it maybe, it will disappear week by week. One or 2 times a year if you are invited and that you want to be very polite, or if you feel that your body really wants it, why not too? It can be a way to not become an extremist.
Good luck and good appetite.

Answer 3

I've been veggie for just under a year because of your reasoning, I love animals. TBH, I'm not a huge fan of a lot of meat, but i do love poultry and lamb. Giving them up was very hard, but really, it has to be will power, i tried quorn but hated the taste, then every time I saw the meat, i imagined it was alive and staring at me, weird I know, but it really worked and I wouldn't eat it. Now, I don't have to imagine anymore, I've just sort of gone off it, I can't stand the look and the smell is the only think that tempts me, but I couldn't eat it now, I don't like the texture either

Answer 4

My brother feels the same way. But, he is a vegan (surprising, I know).

He thinks that the cruelty to animals is just too severe for him to continue eating meat. I mean really, would you eat a baby animal? I think the answer would be no, but think about this.

Cows are killed when they are 6 months old (veal calves are killed when they are 3 or 4 months old). Piglets are killed when they are 4 months old. Chickens are killed when they are 1.5 to 2 months old.

Plus, all of those animals are killed in cruel ways.

I hope you seriously do become a vegetarian or vegan, because there are many, many benefits to it.

Go to Goveg.com, Peta.com, or Peta2.com.

Email me if you have any questions or comments!

Hope that helps.

Answer 5

There is a famous singer (I dont remember who it is) but he made a bet that he wouldnt eat meat for a whole entire year. At the end of the bet, he went out to have a juicy steak and he just found out that it tasted horrible to him now. Maybe you could limit yourself, but at smaller portions. Also, there are plenty for products made for meat lovers that taste just like meat, but arent really meat.

Answer 6

just do it. become vegetarian. i did 15 yrs ago and i NEVER crave meat anymore. it goes away. trust me on this one. eventually you don't even miss it. you could take it in steps and just eat fish (but no other meat) for a year to try it out- that way you can still have the macadamia nut crusted halibut for awhile and see how your health and energy improve, etc... also, there are so many different kinds of soy based veggie meats available now and most of them are really good! plus good for you! if you are still on the fence, read "Diet for a New America" by John Robbins or "Fast Food Nation" That ought to do the trick. :)

Answer 7

I quit eating all meat for an entire year, I can't stand steak anymore, it tastes like blood and smells like death. Try that I guess.

Answer 8

Ha ha someone said that being a vegan is unhealthy! Let me explain to you how many hormones and chemicals are injected into that yummy burger of yours, and one word... cholestoral! "We're supposed to eat meat"...that's why our appendix's are of no use to us anymore. They were used to digest meat ;) Canine teeth? Alright look at dogs teeth and then look at ours...enough said.

I don't really like peta very much but they do have some graphic photos and videos about how animals are killed and kept. I'm sure that'll help sway you to become a vegetarian. Good luck hun :)

Answer 9

I don't think so, I've been trying for years, but a burger is just so freakin good! I try not to think about it - after all, we're mammals too, and there are several animal species that eat both plants and meat.....I guess if we were still wild we wouldn't think about it.

Answer 10

There comes a point in life when you just have to choose: your morals or your selfish desires. Do whatever feels right to you.