Why is it that Vegans feel guilt free about their diets?

Question

http://web.archive.org/web/20041107084521/eesc.orst.edu/agcomwebfile/news/food/vegan.html
That basically says they are contributing to the deaths of millions of animals anyhow, so what is the big deal? Please read before you respond

Fannie, I don't kill my steaks, the farmers do. So therefore I'm just as clean of their deaths as you are. If you're really that concerned about animal welfare, grow your own garden.

Even if less grain was produced due to not farming animals, then humans would eat more grain anyway. Plus, I'm saying that people that are vegans for animal rights should be growing their own gardens instead of relying on farmers if they really care about animal's lives

Veggietart, I don't need justification to kill these animals other than that they taste good. It's called the food chain.

I think you people are getting the idea that I think I'm somehow morally superior to you. All the article was there to do was to point out that Veganism kills animals too. People who are vegans for health reasons, fine go for it. My problem is with Vegans that don't know what shoe to wear because it contains animal products. It's seriously backwards to claim that a Vegan diet is for the good of the animals, and I don't think anyone should become vegan on that standpoint alone.

But Barbara, your diet is still killing animals. Thats my point, not which one kills more animals. Lets use an analogy here. There is one serial killer that kills 10 people, and one that kills 20 people. Can you tell me which one is a worse person? Is it the one that killed 10 just because he killed less people? What I'm saying is Vegans are responsible for deaths, so I can't stand when they say they are better than someone who eats a steak because it kills an animal, because their salad kills animals too.

Al I, if you are trying to reduce animal suffering, then why not grow your own garden. Then you can be sure that the food you've grown from there had not killed any animals. What I'm bringing to light is the fact that you call me morally inferior for eating a diet that involves deaths, but yours does too. Refer to my analogy above, which killer is less bad? Can you tell me?

Answer 1

Those animals who are killed by farm machinery were not living in deplorable conditions before they died, there are things much worse than death as I am sure you know. I really wish I did not have to eat at all, but that is unrealistic. As humans progress so do the ways in which we do things. Vegetarians and vegans are interested in exploring ways that are less violent and cruel for all aspects of life. I should think this would be the goal of most mature persons. There is really no such thing as guilt free, it's just a marketing term.

Answer 2

There is no such thing as guilt free. Even the best things will have a down side, You obviously don't know what goes on in slaughter houses or you wouldn't even bring this up. Meat animals are killed in ways that most people can't handle to know. Some vegan do grow their own food but some live in areas where they are unable to do so. "Because it taste good" is the worst and most over used excuse for eating meat. Who cares if it taste good, is your comfort worth the miserable life that the cow had to live? The animals that are accidentally killed during the proses of any kind of food production are a terrible loss but at least there lives where spent happy and free. I don't think that there is such a thing as 100% vegan. If you are ok with eating meat it is just because you have lied and reasoned with yourself into thinking that its ok. All I'm saying is look at the vegans side, go watch a video or two, then come back and talk about this. Yes the losses are horrible but at least I try.

Answer 3

I YOU read the article in it's entirety you would see that professor Davis is working to improve agricultural methods to reduce the number of wildlife killed during harvesting not to try and convince people not to be vegan. Stop trying to manipulate an article to tailor to YOUR point of view. Besides there is a risk to everything but I would much rather eat a food that was harvested without the intent of spilling blood as opposed to one in which bloodshed is the ultimate goal. At least we have a goal in mind to reduce animal suffering. What sort of suffering are YOU trying to reduce or end? Also, you mention the food chain but nothing about biology. You really should study your own human biology before you go ranting off myths.

Answer 4

If you eat meat, then you are not only eating the dead animal's flesh, you are also indirectly eating all the cereals that were needed to feed the animal for it to grow and be nice and fat. So by eating meat, you are eating about 10 times as much cereals as we vegans are. So not only killing the animal you're eating, but also 10 times more mice and other little animals that god killed by accident during harvesting.

So yeah vegans aren't perfect, but we are hell of a lot less cruel and got much less blood on our hands than you have.


Go vegan!

Answer 5

That was the stupidest article I've read in a while.
You noticed that it is five years old, didn't you?
I almost feel sorry for the fool that wrote it, I'm assuming that he is college-educated but he still sounds this clueless.

It was really funny at the end when they suggested that people eat nothing but beef and dairy from grazing cattle.
First of all, you couldn't feed nearly 400 million people that way and most importantly, that is the unhealthiest diet I can think of.

You know that the average meat-eater is responsible for the death of more field animals than a vegan person, don't you? This is on top of the miserable life that the animals being raised have to suffer before their horrific slaughter. Most animals that are raised for food are fed a grain-based diet and you need far more yield to raise animals than you do to feed people directly.

Answer 6

Interesting. The article does point out, though, that veganism is still morally superior to pork, poultry and lamb production, all of which depend heavily on feed. Harvesting feed kills voles, mice as well. So does dairy, and to a lesser extent, beef, especially in areas of high production like Wisconsin. Pastures are more common in places like Texas, North Dakota and states which have the space.

The article basically suggests eliminating all meat except pasture-beef and pasture-dairy. This is even more ridiculous than veganism because we don't have enough pasture to support the current levels of meat and dairy consumption.

Although pasture is very healthy for the animal, it does not have the concentrated nutrition of corn and barley feed. So you need a lot of land area for that.

Riverrat,

It's demand for meat that causes the constant methane production.

"Even if less grain was produced due to not farming animals, then humans would eat more grain anyway"

Frederick,
Uhhh...I highly doubt humans are suddenly going to start consuming an extra 10 lbs of grain per person, every day. Our stomachs are only so big.

Answer 7

Nothing is guilt-free. It's all about minimizing. It is inevitable that some animals will get killed in farming, but by being vegan, you are not part of the supply and demand of meat, hence not contributing to the misery of the animal that are raised and killed for meat, which is a vanity. You must also remember that animals raised for meat consume a lot more food than humans so meat eaters contribute to the killing discussed in the article many times over than vegetarians.
Lastly, the basis of the vegan idea is this: You need to eat to live, but you don't need to eat meat to live. Meat is simply a vanity for which animals suffer in misery.

Answer 8

People who eat meat still contribute to the deaths of the "animals of the field". They still eat crops too. At least vegans save as many innocent lives as possible.
Also, noone is actually setting out to try and kill those animals. They just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. And at least they're not subjected to the kind of living conditions that animals in slaughterhouses are.
Maybe vegan diets aren't totally guilt-free, but they are certainly not responsible for anywhere near as many deaths as anyone who does eat meat.

For the record, I'm not a vegan myself. I'm a vegetarian. :)

Answer 9

first of all vegans are responsable for way less death then the others
Also, they don't kill these animals, farmers do. They don't eat or encourage in anyway those killings
Most of all, they probably are not even aware of that situation
At last, what should they eat to be 100% sure not to kill an animal?

Answer 10

whether vegans are killing animals inadvertently or not, the point is that we are trying the best that we can, and a lot of does do grow our own food so maybe stop being so damn ignorant