What do vegetarians have against meat?

Question

I've been wondeirng about this since I was at a restaurant with my family. And then from another table a woman said that there was chicken in her tofu. I was thinking "come on, its no big deal.."

Is it because of weight loss? Because eating plain meat that comes from animals does NOT make you fat. Its the people who tamper with the meat that makes it fat.
Well still, I eat the occasional hamburger and steak and I stay the same weight for months.

Is it because you care of the animals? That you don't want to directly hurt them? Well, the food you eat are already DEAD (hopefully) so why do you even care, just eat it. Besides, humans harm animals daily , either directly or indirectly. Take for example, using paper. The more you keep on using paper, the more trees are going to be cut down, and the more habitats destroyed. The more gas/electicity you use, the more the bodies of waters and air are going to be polluted.

Eating meat can't get any more natural. Why the complaint?

This may get off topic, but hey, you asked for it.

Humans live off of others' so that we may thrive ourselves. If we were to start eating ourselves, we would not even be here. You people are telling me that eating human meat is no different than eating animal meat. Then I would ask you, isn't the life of plants and vegetables equal to that of animals'? Doesn't the golden rule apply to our friends of vegginess too?

Here's what I think: the golden rule just plain bull. If we were all to be treated equal and not do anything to each other, we would all die together. Everything has to take something else in order to live itself.

Think of it as a balance beam. We are using energy to breathe right now, am I correct? Think of that as a negative output. To balance the beam, or CONTINUE LIVING, we must put something of positive input, food. That food will come from the loss of another.(plant or animal) So that just kills the whole idea of the Golden Rule. Like I said : equality=death

Answer 1

"I've been wondeirng about this since I was at a restaurant with my family. And then from another table a woman said that there was chicken in her tofu. I was thinking "come on, its no big deal..""

- Your logic is sadly flawed, and since I like responding in point by points, I will.

"Is it because of weight loss? Because eating plain meat that comes from animals does NOT make you fat. Its the people who tamper with the meat that makes it fat."

- Generally a plant based diet is less calorie dense than a meat based one so yes it works well for weight loss. This is but one reason and I would assume not a very common one.

"Well still, I eat the occasional hamburger and steak and I stay the same weight for months."

- No all meat eaters only eat the "occasional" hamburger. That's why they are fat.

"Is it because you care of the animals? That you don't want to directly hurt them? Well, the food you eat are already DEAD (hopefully) so why do you even care, just eat it."

- Why do we care? Are you serious? Well first of all you answered your own question, it's DEAD, a dead animals flesh. And not just tha,t a tortured, abused, dead animal's flesh. By not eating animals we consciously object to their treatment. Less demand equals less supply, which means less animals used for food. Simple supply and demand.

" Besides, humans harm animals daily , either directly or indirectly."

- This gives us no excuse for not doing what we can. If a building is on fire and we can't save everyone that doesn't mean we should let everyone die.

"Take for example, using paper. The more you keep on using paper, the more trees are going to be cut down, and the more habitats destroyed."

- True, Which is why we recycle.

"The more gas/electicity you use, the more the bodies of waters and air are going to be polluted."

- And the more meat you eat the more gas and electricity is used to raise and slaughter your food. Meat production is horribly inefficient. You could feed 20 vegans on the land it would take you to feed one meat eater.

"Eating meat can't get any more natural. Why the complaint?"

- That statement couldn't be any more wrong. There is nothing natural about factory farming. Point to one example in nature the even remotely resembles factory farming. I suspect I'll be waiting for quite a wile.

"This may get off topic, but hey, you asked for it."

- More misguided statements to refute, sounds like fun.

"Humans live off of others' so that we may thrive ourselves. If we were to start eating ourselves, we would not even be here."

- Humans don't need animal products to survive. We no more need to exploit animals than I need another donut. Why wuold we eat ourselves?

"You people are telling me that eating human meat is no different than eating animal meat. Then I would ask you, isn't the life of plants and vegetables equal to that of animals'?"

- No. Why? Sentience. The ability to feel pain.

"Doesn't the golden rule apply to our friends of vegginess too?"

- Plants don't feel pain, therefore plants have no interest in not
feeling pain, therefore it makes no difference if we eat them. They don't mind.

"Here's what I think: the golden rule just plain bull. If we were all to be treated equal and not do anything to each other, we would all die together."

- Animals have the right to be free of human exploitation and human induced suffering just as you are.

"Everything has to take something else in order to live itself."

- Then why not take something that has no interest in not being
used? Plants.

"Think of it as a balance beam. We are using energy to breathe right now, am I correct? Think of that as a negative output. To balance the beam, or CONTINUE LIVING, we must put something of positive input, food. That food will come from the loss of another.(plant or animal) So that just kills the whole idea of the Golden Rule. Like I said : equality=death"

- So eat plants. People still live just fine and upwards of 50 billion animals per year worldwide don't die. Its a win, win. I don't see the problem here. You give no reason why animals need to be exploited for human survival. I assume you have reasons right? Why don't you let us know what they are ok? I expect to talk to you soon. Take care.

Answer 2

I'm a vegan for many many reasons but I'm not against eating meat. I understand animals need meat in order to survive. I believe humans do not need meat to survive and would be extatic if they cut down their meat intake to once a week. I think all the time, if people just stopped eating meat altogether all those animals would still die. They'd be hunted by other animals. I am very against animal cruelty and factory farming but some people use the $ issue to debate that. It'd be better if people just didnt buy so much meat and when they did they bought free range. I know the worlds not going to go vegetarian so I just have to accept the fact that its always going to be around. I will defend myself if people start blabbing about my diet in a rude manner. I love animals, ALL animals and it wouldnt be fair for me to say I'm against eating meat, of course I personally am against it, I'm not against it as a whole because I know animals that need it. Humans dont see a lamb and decide to pounce on it, they werent designed to kill like certain animals. I wish humans never existed because all we did is mess this planet up. But now its our duty to fix it and if we don't we ourselves wont survive.

Answer 3

It's a matter of principle. Sure, that woman's chicken would've been sent back and tossed into the trash (I hope!) but that's not the point. If she ate it, that restaurant is going to be even more careless about letting meat slip into vegetarian food. What about the next vegetarian who eats there?

Religious considerations are also important and are not flexible.

Yeah the food we eat is already dead but why did it die in the first place? Because of the demand for meat. Every person who refuses meat sends a tiny message to the meat industry board of directors "meat consumption is dropping, we don't need to slaughter so many animals, ergo we don't need to raise and feed so many animals". If a million people do that, it has a huge impact.

You're right that using paper or power also harms animals. That does make many vegetarians hypocrites (on various levels) but at least by cutting out meat, they've made one small significant step towards doing less harm.

PS. I also agree that with the person above who said the golden rule (karma, etc whatever you want to call it) applies to our treatment of animals and the environment too. Plants as well. People who slash away at bushes because they're bored do not earn my respect. From there it's one step up towards mistreating the neighborhood dog or cat.

Answer 4

I love animals and always will. I know that meat is already dead but I don't support the killing of animals. So why would I pay money to BUY meat giving more money to the industry. Its called supply and demand. I don't blame the women for saying there was chicken in her tofu. Obviously she didn't ORDER the chicken. Lets say someone was allergic to eggs, and they accidently ate some because it was in their food. I bet you wouldn't go "come on, its no big deal". People should respect everyones beliefs as long as it doesn't harm themselves or the people around them.

How is eating meat natural for humans? Our teeth aren't sharp like those of a canine or feline. Our appendixs are of no use to us anymore. If you didn't know they were used for digestion of meat back millions of years ago. If eating meat was so natural for us then anyone that became a vegetarian or vegan couldn't survive.

<^>Edited<^> Alright so now you're saying that if we don't support the killing of animals then we shouldn't "kill" plants?
Well the reason I became a vegetarian is because I don't like the fact that animals go through PAIN. Plants don't have a central nervous system which means they feel nothing. Get your facts straight before you try to show off ;)

Answer 5

I can't speak for all vegetarians, but here are some things that I have against meat:

1) It is full of saturated fat and cholesterol. I'm not concerned about weight loss, but I am concerned about my arteries.
2) The animal is already dead because it was killed for you and you are indirectly responsible for its death. I am not comfortable with that. I recycle, I don't buy from companies that test on animals (as much as I can help) and I donate to no-kill animal shelters. Just because you can't save them all doesn't mean you can't save a few.
3) Its dead. It is a rotting chunk of flesh sliced off a dead animal and thrown into a skillet. Why would you want to eat that?
4) I believe that the Golden Rule does not only apply to humans. You should treat all creatures as you would want to be treated.

But thats just me.

Answer 6

Now, don't everyone get on their soapboxes here, I'm just giving a viewpoint...I'm not vegetarian, but my husband and son are, and here are their reasons... and I respect their choices.

People who are vegetarians for ethhical reasons don't eat meat because they don't want to contribute to the slaughter. They understand that the animal is alread dead, they just don't want to have contributed to its death.

Yes, humans harm animals daily, but "ethical" vegetarians make a conscious choice not to...directly or indirectly. Most likely, they also use "cruelty free" products as well.

Your comparison to using paper and utilities does not go along with your original question and you're veering off the subject by using it as a point of reference. Not eating meat is not the same as not "polluting the environment".

Eating meat is NOT considered "natural" by vegetarians and vegans...it's as simple as that.

Answer 7

My daughter is a vegetarian, has been for about 5 years, and she is one because she detests the slaughtering of animals. She's an animal lover so she'll never go back. I was a vegetarian for about 6 mos to 1 year. Then I went back because there was nothing to eat that I liked, and I started craving cheeseburgers. These people should be respected for their dedication and humane nature.

Answer 8

People have many different reasons. My sister-in-law is a vegetarian (doesn't even wear leather) because she doesn't like the way the animals are treated or the way the meat is processed. I used to think people like that were silly, but when I actually saw a show about beef and chicken farms, it was pretty gross. That's why I buy organic now. But for others, it might be for health, weight, religious, or personal preference reasons.

Answer 9

It's the preference Dan. Why do you eat meat? Because of taste? Because of limited options you have? Because you think greens/ vegetables are food for third world countries?
Well, simply put it, as you have preference to eat meat, we have preferance to eat vegetables.
There are spiritual reasons too. It is said and observed that people who eat vegetarians are likely to develop more compassion towards other beings.
There are religions which request people not to eat meat.
but first and foremost is the choice and free will.
So as we hold nothing against meat-lovers, you also should not be judgemental about other people's eating habits.
Also try some vegetarian recipes.

Answer 10

I don't eat meat because I don't like the smell or the taste any more, so it's more of a personal preference than an ethical decision. It doesn't bother me if someone else eats meat -- that's their choice.

However, there is a logical flaw in your argument. Yes, the animals are already dead when they're eaten, but if people didn't eat meat, there would be no reason to slaughter them in the first place.