Why do some vegetarians think that eating meat is bad for everyone?

Question

I mean, what would you tell indeginous peoples' around the world that live in extremely cold climates? They need meat not only to for nourishment, but to sustain a fatty insulation on their bodies' to keep them warm. Aside from that, they need to kill animals to make clothing, and they certainly wouldn't let the meat to go to waste. Please, no answers about importing veggies to these regions, as it would be easier to feed all of Africa first. These people have been eating meat for thousands of years to survive. I think being a vegetarian or vegan is a great thing, but its not practical for everyone.

Aside from that, there are still tribal cultures that exist in every climate that would perish without meat. Should they become vegetarians or vegans for moral reasons?

Just wanted to promote an educational thread here, my question and ALL answers will hopefully teach people something. I am non-baised about the issue. It just comes up in a lot of conversations and I wanted to hear what the folks in this category would say. To me, Yahoo answers is about learning, not bashing or preaching.

I've noticed that some people assume I'm not a vegetarian or a vegan. I haven't pointed that out. I am not posting for the sake of my "argumement" either. This is a common issue in my life and I wanted to post the core of the issue here so as not to be constantly interupted in mid-sentence.

I will tell you this, I am non-extremist about anyting in my personal life. Whether I eat meat or not has nothing to do with the logic of a coomonly asked question that didn't originate with me. Who better to go to than the authorities and hear out their side.

I have learned a lot from this thread, and as I have mentioned, I intended to promote an educational thread. It worked. Thanks to some of the answers, I am inclined to post similar questions regarding pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, and fertilizers, organic and free range issues, and moral issues about killing anything for various reasons. I am in this for education and awareness. I will place the Q's in the appropriate categories

Answer 1

I really don't know the answer, but I totally agree with your way of thinking.

Answer 2

I've never been to a cold climate area so I can't speak for those people but I have been to countries where the major crops being grown are poppies us for opium and cannabis. People in these countries are starving yet the government in them are more concerned with making money for themselves. If the government changed their views and allowed more vegetable farming in those areas it would solve a lot of the famine problems around to world but until those in higher positions give up their greed their countries will continue to die. For example; Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Ethiopia, etc. Also, in regards to people claiming vegetarians and vegans "preach" yes we do in the vegetarian and vegan section of yahoo answers because we are the experts on vegetarianism and not meat eaters. If you want to preach about meat eating go somewhere else. Sorry, but that was in response to someone elses response.

Answer 3

I don't think it's bad for you to eat meat...well, maybe it is. I read an article that people who eat a lot of red meat get colon cancer. Also, there is a ton of anti-biotics and steroids in meat. Not to mention the bacteria that can be carried in meat if not cooked thoroughly enough. It's all pretty scary. And then there's the guy who was on Oprah who said he was a cattle rancher and that he'll never eat beef again because he saw cattle being fed cattle which some believe to be the cause of "mad cow" disease. When was the last time you heard of "mad soy" disease? or "mad tofu" disease? probably never and you probably never will...

Answer 4

You are right it's not practical.

Humans consume meat out of necessity not as a matter of nature. Humans by nature are herbivores, we have a long and thin intestine designed to let plants pass through slowly to absorb their nutrients, carnivores (lions, tigers, hyenas, etc.) on the other hand have thick and short intestines that allows for the quick passage of meat.

When herbivores consume meat it stays in the intestine a lot longer and can cause health problems, but out of necessity (climate change, wars, migration) humans started to eat meat.

Answer 5

You may be right.

But that does not invalidate the belief that the meat industry sucks and those of us who CAN do something about reducing the pain, cruelty, torture and death of animals should do so.

I think more veggies would be inclined to agree with your point if more people posed it like you do. There are not many meat-eaters who come here and present a logical unbiased point. ( compare "did dit" to "pushmy e" repsonses above, many meateaters just cannot help themselves in this forum )

Being veggie is not practical for the whole world, i agree. But it is possible for 99.99999% of the world if they so choose.

hee, hee fake veganconscript: If you are going to do things like quote me at least quote the words i type, where did i say "make a difference" ? You know very well that the 99.99999 is a generic term, its used by many normal people to suggest "most" or "the majority" or "nearly all". did you mis-interprete that for comic effect or something ?

Answer 6

Lots of veggie and vegan people disagree with the way that animals are farmed for human consumption more than they disagree with the act of eating an animal. These tribes don't farm animals in the same way, if at all. The animals are hunted and given a chance, that's the natural way of doing things. Animals in developed countries are pumped full of hormones and routinely taken for slaughter. Personally that's what I have a problem with.

Answer 7

I think some vegetarians realize that point, you just don't see them on here posting. The kind of people that post on here or stuff their opinions down your throat are oblivious to the fact that there are people out there who live differently than they do. Where I come from, you shoot deer in the winter to eat and survive. Otherwise, you have no meat, because a lot of families can't afford to buy a lot of meat. But, the pushy types of vegetarians don't understand that not everyone grows up with an organic food market at their disposal. They're just extremely self-centered.

Answer 8

NO, they shouldn't. You should only become a vegetarian because you want to and are able to. I personally choose to be a vegetarian not for health reasons, but because it costs 10 times more resources to produce good m,eat to eat than it does to produce vegetables.

Answer 9

The Hunzas, an indigenous group of people cut off from the rest of the world in the Himalayas, live in a cold climate. Their diets contain little to no animal products. Everything is organic and they eat tons of apricots. The 90 year olds look anywhere between 30 and 40. And it's common that they live to 120 still working alongside the younger people as if they were the same age. Some people there have actually lived until 140. They are also the happiest people in the world.

There are also indigenous communities in the Amazon (those innocent people modern meat industries are driving out and destroying) eat a mostly plant-based diet and do not suffer any of the "affluent" diseases that people here do.

You can count Okinawans in with a group of people who have little to no animal products in their diets and also have the least amount of disease and live the longest.

I, from personal experience - actually *trying* something before making a judgment - believe this. I used to be tired all the time, get sick at around twice a year, etc. I am now a ball of energy, haven't gotten sick at all since becoming vegan and no longer have asthma. My boyfriend, once an avid carnivore who used to try to challenge me, saw the benefits in me and gave up meat surprisingly. He now raves about how much better he feels and how much more energy he has.

If you're so concerned about indigenous people, take this into consideration as well:
*Intensification in animal farming has displaced 1,000,000's of people from their traditional lands - eg. indigenous people in south & central america, native americans in north america & crofters in Great Britain - this is continuing today.
*People displaced from their lands into cities succumb to dietary deficiency, diseases, parasites & opportunistic diseases.
*80% of the world’s hungry children live in countries which export food for your farmed animals.

Not to mention, it's a little pointless to compare this culture with a culture who not only does everything naturally, but also doesn't have the luxury of the internet or picking a book up and reading. It's obvious many people here even take that one for granted. A good *start* would be The China Study by T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D. The truth is, it is unhealthy:

Meat and dairy are the most contaminated stuff people put in their bodies. Milk has perchlorate, which is the scientific word for rocket fuel. Other than that, meat and dairy are full of antibiotics, pesticides, steroids, chemicals, industrial pollutants and hormones. Many animals are even given arsenic-laced drugs. Arsenic! And meat and dairy doesn’t even have fiber to bind these toxins and fats and help usher them out of the body. This absolutely has huge effects on the way your body is working. It absolutely has an effect on your organs, including the liver, which is important component in cleaning out the body, as well as an efficient metabolism. The FDA lists approximately 1,700 drugs approved for use in animal feed. Of these approved drugs, at least 300 include “weight gain” in their description. However, in their book Animal Factories, Jim Mason and Peter Singer disclose an estimate of 20,000 to 30,000 drugs actually being used.

And our bodies were not designed for meat:

http://veganjacks.blogspot.com/2007/06/comparative-anatomy.html

Furthermore, what I don't get is people coming in here who have never tried it personally and with no intentions of doing so or learning about it, but only to challenge and insult. Why do people care so much about what other people choose to or not to put in their mouth? Do they feel threatened in some way? Do they not have anything better to do than worry about how someone else is eating? We veg*ns stay here and post our thoughts here - so by all means go to a place where you can post your love for meat. I know I'm not actively hunting down such a place to challenge or insult you. I aspire to more productive things in my life than to take an invested interest in another's business.

Answer 10

Paleo diet its a diet based around eating real food unprocessed

Answer 11

i don't have a problem with with people out there that eat meat because it is their only option. i understand that people in polar climates need the animal's blubber and fur and i understand that people in africa are starving already, why would we want to take their meat away?
but, i am disgusted when i think about all the people in america and europe eating meat when they don't have to. they have options where they live, but they choose to go to mcdonalds instead. that's sickening.