I am torn between eating meat or not, advice please?

Question

I read Peter Singer's Animal Liberation. It was good, even if his philosophy didn't have me entirely convinced.

But for medical reasons, my diet is now further restricted. If I can't eat meat or cheese dishes (keep in mind I live in the Midwest and don't have the money to shop at health food stores), what am I supposed to eat?

I am tired of a restricted diet, but I don't know if I could overcome the guilt of knowing how the factory farms treat the animals.

And didn't humans evolve eating meat, even if we didn't start that way? Isn't beef more easily digested by our system than a fake veggie burger?

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

Read the question, people. I didn't say I couldn't eat meat because of medical reasons. I said my diet was restricted for medical reasons (i.e. something other than meat).

Answer 1

Well, meat is good for you in moderate amounts. Humans need a well rounded diet of plants, and animals. If your body has negative reactions to specific meats try to isolate which ones give you trouble.
Factory farms are certainly not humanities finest achievement. Aside from the poor raising and treatment of animals, meat from a factory farm is often fed with the cheapest food, not the best (grass for grazing animals) and full of hormones and antibiotics.
You live in the Midwest and imply you do not have access to many organic animal products... but living there do you have the means to get your own? Venison is a very healthy meat. Raising your own animal and having it slaughtered locally can ensure that the animal was comfortable and cared for, and that it died humanely.
Also, eggs (unfertilized means it's not a chicken) contain nearly every nutrient we need to eat except Vitamin C, which makes sense because a baby chicken would have to form using only the material inside the shell.
If your decision not to eat meat is personal well that's just you exercising your right as a human, bravo.
However,
If you believe in evolution then yes, humans evolved to eat meat... otherwise we wouldn't. If evolution is how we got here then anything, and in fact, everything we do is "natural" since we're just animals, albeit the most uppity ones on the planet.
If you believe in the Bible then we were created as vegetarians, but were given permission at Noah's time to eat meat, as nutrition would be harder to come by in a world devastated by the flood and slowly degrading on the genetic level.
Hope this helped.

Answer 2

You say for medical reasons you cant eat meat, so why do you want to start? Make the best of it and read up on vegetarian recipes to make you diet more interesting.
Beef is not easily digested by the human body, nor is any other meat. Most meat rot in the intestines for three days before the body can expell them.
Whether veggie or non-vegetarian, try and eat without guilt. We spend so much of our life eating,why would you want to ruin one of the most pleasurable activities?

Answer 3

Our systems are more like a herbivore then a carnivore actually.

There are tons of foods at your regular market that are vegetarian friendly. Whole grains like whole wheat pasta and bread, brown rice, veggies, fruits, nut products, soya products, legumes etc.

Veggie burgers are not fake. They are vegetables or soy and are very edible. I use substitutions in almost every recipe that calls for meat. I make Tacos, sloppy Joe's, pot pies, stews, casseroles, pasta and rice dishes and more. It's not restrictive at all to me.

Your question says you are torn between eating and meat and not eating meat and then you say you medically cannot eat meat...so what is there to be torn about if you have no choice?

Answer 4

I am pescetarian-i eat fish but not meat. I am not however, going to persuade you to stop, because i think if you don't want to, then i am not going to be able to do that, and you will give up anyway.
consider these things:
1. is it on your mind alot? If it is then you are probably feeling bad about it...i did and when i became vegy i felt like a whole new person...
2. do you grimace/feel bad when you eat or see meat? This may not be the case yet, but if you think baout it, then it is worth following up.
3. do you want to lose weight/are you comcerned with your health? meat contains lots of satruated fat and high cholesterol.
4. do you fell you 'love' animals. nonone can truly say they love them if they eat them

however, if you dont feel any of these, and you are really not that bothered then you may be doing the wrong thing-its no good if its for the wrong reasons, or if you are just going to give up.

be determined-it IS hard. but do you want to digest animal's souls???
go to www.viva.com for laods of helpful info.
good luck, and make the right decision for YOU.
ps we can eat meat, but our teeth arent designed to. just beacuse we can digest it...we can digest cardboard but you wouldnt eat that!
animal protein is much worse for you than normal protein anyway.
eat eggs, cheese, baked beans, nuts and seeds, etc etc for protein.

Answer 5

I tried going vegan for a year for similar reasons. It is a very difficult diet, especially if meat had a regular place in your diet. I gave up basically, but the amount of meat that I eat has been greatly reduced. They also sell farm friendly products, stuff that didn't hurt the animals( like milk, eggs, etc.).
Plus that tofu and veggie meat stuff gets really boring.

Answer 6

No, a fake veggie burger would be easily digested. Meat has to stay and your stomach and rot before it comes out of your body. XD

And don't listen to what the government tells you. What teh heck. They strongly say all people should drink 3 cups of milk everyday. Newsflash: Milk is bad for you. The country that consumes the most dairy products, is also the highest in cancer, diabetes, osteopreosis (YEP, IRONIC HUH.) and heart disease.

I love animals too, and have seen videos of people killing animals for their fur. But cutting meat out of my diet ia not an option. No way girl. But I don't eat beef. Nothing from cow, it's bad for you. Pork is ESPECIALLY BAD, because it is mainly FAT. o-o;;
I eat chicken and fish ^_^

Fish aren't beaten on anything, and neither are chicken. I hope this helped.

Answer 7

Can you eat beans? Pinto, black, white, garbanzos, lentils, etc. You can usually get tofu in regular grocery stores. Check out www.vegweb.com. There are zillions of recipes that you can try. I particularly like Caribbean Curry, Polenta Scramble, the Savory "Sausages" (made with potato flour and black eyed peas), and Vegetarian European Goulash. There's a search feature that will help you find these recipes. They're inexpensive and awesomely good.

For, tofu, you might start with this recipe:

http://www.lower-cholesterol-today.com/tofu-recipe.html

Good luck - vegetarians have the best food!

Answer 8

I have researched nutrition to all lengths and bottom line is everything in moderation!!! but keep in mind cancer grows in acidic environments so moderate the digestive acid in your stomach by eating at least three meals of all the food groups

Answer 9

Humans are naturally omnivorous. That is, we have evolved to eat meat and vegetation. If your diet has been restricted, it might be due to colesterol or something of that nature. I suggest you eat fish and chicken. Beef is an exellent source of zinc, protein, and B vitamins. Look into the lean cuts of beef. They're good for you!

Answer 10

whatever floats your boat. If you still want to eat meat go ahead its not like anybody is stopping you its a free country.