Are there any other vegetarians believe that.......?

Question

..... animals are actually here to be eaten??

I really don't mean to annoy people, nor to wind anyone up, before anyone thinks I am not serious - I have been vegetarian for 20 years now - initially in my teens on 'principle' but this was helped by the fact that I didn't really enjoy meat.

Now, having thought about it and considered all life's meanings and purposes, i really do see all animals as part of the food chain and am certain fish, chickens, sheep etc are all just fresh, walking dinner - but I still don't like the idea of eating it, so I don't. My children and my husband do.

I was having a chat with some friends today who thought I was probably the only veggie on the planet who thought this - am I?? There must be more people with the same view? Not that I need solidarity - just wondered :-)

This was meant as quite a simple question but of course has opened up a much more complex debate and I realise there are lots more related issues to be considered.

No, I do not agree with the *way* that we farm and kill animals to eat, which is one of the reasons why i became, and still am, vegetarian.

I do think animals have families, rear them, play, make homes etc all as a matter of instinct and survival and I still think this primarily a way of maintaining the existence of the fresh dinner - for whomever, as well as maintaining the ecosystem.

Yes, we have evolved beyond our basic instincts - and what we choose to do with this is important.

great views so far.

Answer 1

No, you're not the only one who thinks that. If G-d's intention was for us to be strictly vegetarian, wouldn't all creatures be expected to be vegetarian as well? But they're not.

Answer 2

1) I believe in preventing unwanted pregnancies in the first place--contraception. However, it should be up to a woman to decide when and if she becomes a mother. Many people in the "pro-life" movement oppose contraception. 2) How can you be pro-life and still eat meat? Did you know that 10 BILLION animals are born, bred, mutilated, and murdered every year for food in the U.S.? Those animals are torn apart in the slaughterhouse, and unlike a 10-week fetus who hasn't any sentience yet, they suffer greatly. 3) Oh, yeah, over 90 percent of all abortions take place before 10 weeks. 4) There are pro-life vegans and pro-choice omnivores. 5) PETA is funded by donations from people, not the government. There are plenty of anti-choice organizations out there who advocate for turning women into incubators. And some of them use the same ugly shock tactics, too. Or are you too young to remember Operation Rescue, headed by a former used car salesman? 6) Maybe you so-called pro-lifers should care about what happens after the kid is born. I care more about actual life than potential life--and that means, humans and non-human animals WHO HAVE ALREADY BEEN BORN. 7) This is a vegetarian and vegan board, about vegetarian and vegan living. Maybe you could ask your question somewhere else.

Answer 3

we dont have to eat them and thats the point...did nature intend for the animals to become factory farmed, causing out of control pollution and feeding grains to cows so westerners can eat them instead of using the grain to feed the starving of the world, there is more than enough food grown in the world to feed everyone, but instead its fed to livestock for a select few to benefit from. i dont think the way animals are consumed today can be considered a food chain or "natural" by any means. if we were meant to eat it naturally then we should have to be able to catch and kill it ourselves ( no guns) and eat it raw, thats how other animals do it. and if people are on the subject of what humans physiologically are designed to eat, due to the biochemical reactions during food digestion as well as morphology, scientists have determined the only meat we are designed to digest properly is fish and other seafood. we are much more adapted to root and plant source digestion. doesnt that intangible quality that makes "humans" truely "human" and not animals is the fact that we can process the world around us in a way that doesnt require the mass killing of millions. most animals are driven by foraging and mating behavior, but we have the gift that we can have more to our lives, i would suggest we use it wisely and show mercy and compassion when we can. and we all know we can live without animal products.

Answer 4

I've met vegetarians who believe what you do, but just don't like meat. You aren't the only one.
I consider it like this- when you look at the mammals in the animal kingdom, you have predators and you have prey. Predators have eyes on the front of their heads. They have canine teeth for ripping flesh (that sounds grosser than I intended. Oh well), monogastric systems, and a natural instinct. Try as you might to convince him, Fluffy the housecat still knows that Herb the hamster is his prey and will try to eat him.
Prey animals have eyes on the sides of their heads to see oncoming predators, are typically ruminants (have 4 stomach compartments to utilize all that greenery), and have molars only.
What does that leave? To me, it leaves pigs and humans, both of whom, biologically, are omnivores. Being from an area populated by pig-barn workers, I've heard more than my share of horror stories from when somebody falls in the pen and the pigs eat them. If you think about it, pigs and humans are both monogastric, have canine teeth (in pigs, these are called needle teeth and are clipped shortly after birth to reduce cannabalistic behavior) and somewhat of a natural instinct. I say instinct because, equipped with only a stick and left on a desert island, at least some humans would figure out how to spear a fish and eat it. Pigs naturally gravitate (and how!) to anything smelling even faintly of blood.
So... a long answer to a short question. If you don't enjoy meat, don't eat it. I am glad you had the courage to state your opinion, one that may not be so popular with other vegetarians.

Answer 5

Um, I don't think you're quite right, but not entirely wrong. I do agree that there is a natural food chain, and that all animals and plants are in it, including us. However, I think that all things are here to live their lives, whether they end up being food or die from other causes. They aren't just walking dinner. Likewise, if a predatory beast in the wild eats us, I don't think they should be killed for it...it's just nature.

Answer 6

Do I believe animals are here to be eaten? Yes.
Do I believe they are to be eaten by me? No.

If you mean in the sense that cats eat birds, wolves eat bunnies type of "are animals supposed to be eaten", then yes I believe they are supposed to be eaten. If you mean God created animals for our dinner, then no. I believe the bible explains that while in the Garden of Eden (the most ideal state for humans), no animals were consumed. I think the first mention of mankind eating animals was right after the flood, because all of the vegetation had been destroyed and God gave "dominion" over the animals. It is important to note that the same bible verse used to okay meat eating has also been used to condone slavery (where dominion over animals had another, more sinister definition). Then again, this only applies if you are a Christian, and anyone reading this should double-check what I'm saying since I am not.

But so far as humans were designed (intelligently or randomly) to consume meat... my answer is, not primarily. Humans are slow, have no claws, can not digest meat raw without risk of sickness, and don't have fangs. In my opinion early man would have had to of been a meat scavenger. The only animal I can think of that pre-tool man could have caught is fish...maybe...try it and see how easy it is to catch a fish with your bare hands. The "animal" food source that would have been most easily caught would have been insects. Sorry if that grosses you out, but scientists say bugs are just as nutrient dense as animal meats, and I don't think cave men had much of a discerning pallette.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I believe animals "can" be eaten for dinner, but it is not a necessity. We are perfectly capable of surviving without any meat, as I'm sure you can attest to. As omnivores, we have the choice of surviving on whatever food source we choose. The source is a matter of personal ethics that each individual must choose for themselves.

Answer 7

I can't deny that I'm an animal. And lots of animals eat other animals. There is a balance in nature which actually demands that there are predators and prey. So, yes, in one sense, animals are here to be eaten. At least that's the way things have worked out. But us humans walking around with our big brains often have the luxury of deciding what we want to eat and what we don't. (Mind you many don't have that luxury - they have to eat what is available to them). Fortunate humans like myself get that choice and since I have that choice, I prefer not to eat other animals. I don't have to eat other animals to survive, so I don't. If other people want to, that's their business.

Answer 8

I don't eat Beef nor Pork because of A food Allergy. I do believe that a Veggie diet is good for you! People can eat meat if they want to. I do eat Poultry, fish, lamb....

Answer 9

no i belive this as well, but i also am aware that the business of raising animals produces less food than farming, and if we changed some animal farm land to crops that it would feed millions of starving people. i belive we eat an unnecessary amount of meat and would like to do my part in changing that imbalance

Answer 10

Food is food, meat included.
Most vegos are ok, but it annoys the crud out of me when some believe that meat-eaters are inferior, and that they themselves are higher/more highly evolved and more enlightened.
Edit- If humans weren't designed to eat meat, we wouldn't have canine teeth. Humans are omnivours, that means humans eat meat, grains and vegetables, so excuse me, get off your high horse and stop acting all superior. If vegetarians wish to eat only a diet free of meat, that's no skin off my nose, but no need to be a self-righteous hippy about it.

Answer 11

Yeah seeing as we don't try to cause unneeded suffering on billions of animals I would say we are more morally enlightening. It bugs the crud out of me when meat eaters look at a slab of tortured animal and don't give a **** where it came from and never bother to think about the fact that they weren't even designed to eat meat. So excuse me!!!