Isn't eating meat sometimes immoral?

Question

Well, I believe that God created us, and animals, to live in this world, and to thrive. That also goes for animals. I think it's okay to eat them, but I don't really support eating it if it was inhumanely slaughtered. I don't think they were put in this world by God just to beaten. They need some rights as well, right? People tell me I'm weird for not eating meat, but it's for my beliefs.

Did God really create cows and chicken just to be slaughtered for our nourishment?

I don't think so. I think he made us all to thrive. I think we can eat meat, but we must not forget that God also made vegetables and fruits.

Is eating a dog no worse than eating a cow?

But the overall question is, do I really need to eat meat constantly? Is that what God wants us to do? Shouldn't we interconnect with everything around us in order to live a moral life?

And if I choose to delete cow from my diet, is that ethical in religious terms, or just Godly and moral terms?

Answer 1

You are deceiving yourself into believing that it is somehow good not to eat meat.
It is not Godly in any terms. It is not a moral issue.
If you take it into your heart that eating meat is a sin then for you it would be a sin.
The idea itself is self righteousness and has nothing to do with whether or not you are moral.
Animals are here for man's welfare they are to be used for meat and clothes and even companionship if you so choose but they do not have eternal souls and eating them is one of God's intended purposes of animals.

I doubt the flavor of dog would suit my taste. I prefer a really nice piece of cow as in rib eye...but to each their own.

Answer 2

Treating animals inhumanely so that we can eat meat is truly unethical, immoral and evil. I only buy free range grass fed beef, cage free eggs, organic chicken and certain wild caught fish. I eat meat maybe 3-4 times a week.

A diet that is based on meat as we have in the U.S. is unsustainable. Meat should be used in moderation. In most asian societies, meat is used as a seasoning, not as a staple.

Beef is the least sustainable of all. The amount of feed, water and land required to grow "x" amount of beef is 5 to 15 times more than the equivalent in meat from sheep, pigs, poultry or fish.

Not sure about the dog analogy, but I've never had a cow curl up in my lap... :) I do know that many societies do eat dogs and cats. Some won't eat pork of beef for religious reasons. It's really a cultural thing.

But you need to do what feels right for you. I think reducing your consumption of meat is very ethical, good for your body, and good for the planet. And I think God would approve.

P.S. Have you read the book "Fast Food Nation?" You will never eat conventionally raised beef again. It sheds light on the heinousness of commercial feedlots and slaughterhouses.

Answer 3

I became a vegetarian 30 years ago. When I ate meat on a regular basis, I would get sick two or three times a year or more. I have not been sick, not even a cold, for 30 years! I stopped smoking and drinking at the same time I became a vegetarian. I thank God for the laws of health as found in the Bible. These laws were not given to the Jews only. They are for all mankind. If you don't want to do it for conscience's sake, do it for stomach's sake! There are a lot of toxins in meat, especially today. So if you want to be healthy physically, mentally and spiritually, vegetarianism is the way! :)

Answer 4

There are not strict dietary laws Christians like me have to follow. And perhaps if we obsessed about what we eat or drank (or what we wear, etc.), we would be putting our focus towards things that are not as important as God. (Jesus of course says this)

That said, I agree with what you seem to be saying. Could Jesus possibly support inhumane treatment of animals? I hardly think so. If we are to be thankful to God for all of His creations, than we would not want anything- the earth, animals, our fellow human beings-to be treated without respect and compassion.

I am a meat eater, but I sometimes wonder if I should not be. The way in which we treat the animals we eventually eat is indeed inhumane. Jesus would not support such treatment. Peace be with you.

Answer 5

the only reasons I can see where meat would be immoral to eat is

a) it was offered to idols
b) it was eaten in spite (such as someone eating it infront of a vegetarian to irk them)
c) it's got poison/toxin in it and you know about it (suicide)
d) it was someone else's and you stole it to be eaten

other than that, I don't see how eating meat is wrong. yes I believe man is God's primary concern for earth (man's soul, his spirit, then his body). I don't see meat as immoral, simply because God made us omnivores. why go against nature?

yes I believe cows and chickens exist primarily for their meat and bi-products. everything tasting like chicken sounds sooo much better than everything tasting like apples...

but yes, everything in moderation

yes it is. dog is not an animal for human consuption. we have a natural disgust to eating dog. eating carnivores in general is a no-no for omnivores

you don't "have to" if you don't want to. you'll have to make up for it with other stuff though, like beans. yeah I think God intended for us to eat meat. after all, His first and only religion had lamb as a staple. okay, maybe it's because I'm born again, but the idea of "one with nature" sounds a little 'off' to me.

erasing cow from your diet is just cow-friendly. nothing more.

Answer 6

the Bible speaks against Pigs ,and Dogs as unclean animals , it don't say not to throw one up on a BBQ ...Jesus ate fish , which is an animal so the just fruits and veggies is out the window ...if you study all cultures , you will see that nearly every animal is put on a plate somewhere in the world . They were not as up to date as we are now , but I imagine back then you could eat it if you could kill it or catch it ......I can not imagine how over run we would be if we did not eat animals , nature will not kill them off quick enough to stop the over population so the next time you see a cow , just look at it , and think about how many meals just one would make ....oh , and it is sooo goood ....I love cow , and pig ...there delicious

Answer 7

Cows are the prime source of greenhouse gases, prehaps eating way more of them would be a good thing?

God gave man dominion over animals, designed man as a omnivore, and mandated blood sacrifice while distaining sacrifices of vegatables.

On the other hand, we evolved as omnivores, and probably spent a considerable amount of as scavangers before we learned to hunt and farm.

Either way, eating meat is right.

Consider this, nature is very cruel in the hunt, generally crueler than man ever is (not always but most of the time). Aslo consider that the most intense and cruel struggle for survival is in the forests of the world where the young plants are strangled out before they survive - by far the cruelest part of nature is the plant kingdom.

Answer 8

As a vegan and one who seeks the company of wisdom, you are immoral to those who love animals and won't eat nor wear them. On the other hand, there are those who think your actions are correct and good. However, you are doing a disservice to your fellow man because supporting factory farms contributes to the warming of our planet, a fact not lost on several U.N. scientists who published a study on this particular form of insidious-mass suicide. The choice is yours: cancer, heart disease, arthritis, constipation, etc. OR, a higher moral ground, better health, and a cleaner planet. Of course, it's more complicated than how I presented my argument but you get the gist.

Answer 9

Yes God put animals here for us but to say eating them is immoral would be like saying God gave us water to drink and air to breathe and to do so would be immoral (I know it is a rather silly argument but I couldn't find a better way to say it). The Torah says we can eat meat (as well as giving other dietary laws) but we cannot be cruel to animals. That is why animals are slaughtered in a kosher manner in Judaism. This would lessen the suffereing of the animal.

Answer 10

[God said] “‘These you may eat of all that are in the waters: whatever has fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, that you may eat. All that don’t have fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of all the living creatures that are in the waters, they are an abomination to you, and you detest them. You shall not eat of their flesh, and you shall detest their carcasses. Whatever has no fins nor scales in the waters, that is an abomination to you.”


then he contradicts himself...

He saw heaven opened and a certain container descending to him, like a great sheet let down by four corners on the earth, in which were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild animals, reptiles, and birds of the sky. A voice came to him, “Rise, Peter, kill and eat!”

But Peter said, “Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.”

A voice came to him again the second time, “What God has cleansed, you must not call unclean.”
: Acts 10:11

Answer 11

Jesus ate meat and besides animals are God's creation but they do not have a soul therefore we must respect them for they are God's creation but they do not have the same soul as a human(or they would be human). God gave humans dominion over all his creation and therefore it is right that we eat meat. As for inhumane treatment, I think that that is against God's will as we are not respecting that which God created so that is disrespecting God.