Is eating meat really bad?

Question

I am surrounded by preachy, evangelistic vegans. However, I come from a farming family, and we raise goats, chickens, hogs, sheep, guineas, and a few cows on top of the many different vegetables and fruits we grow in season. I get tired of people saying I don't care about animals just because I eat meat. Or, that I'd change my mind if I had to see a slaughterhouse. Okay?? I was raised on a farm, and I have seen/helped many animals get slaughtered. Never changed my mind. Plus we treat all our animals well, and with respect. We give thanks for their meat, milk, eggs, skins...as it is our livelihood.

Anyway, I tried being vegatarian 2 weeks just to be fair. I work out a lot (5 days per wk.) and work a strenuous job, plus helping out at home some weekends. I lost so much energy and stamina from cutting out meat. I was pale, and grouchy. I ate plenty of good proteins and vegatable/fruits: (beans, peaches, carrots, spinach, TVP, salads, oranges, tomatoes, avocadoes, flax...etc)...

...and it wasn't necessarily from "craving meat" or whatever. I simply was depleted from not having appropriate nutrition for my lifestyle and demands on my body.

Why do some of you set out to shame meat eaters? Do you shame the lion for hunting antelope? Do you shame the shark for his hunting of the smaller fishes? Then, why do you shame the meat eaters for following an instinct?

Be fair to those of us who learned respect for the Earth and the animals and mankind who all live upon it way before you joined a moral crusade. My family and people have been farming in the old way, as you say "Sustainably" for centuries. The way it has always been.

I just want to know what makes you right, and people like us, wrong?

Answer 1

Well...I guess I'm going to have to put my VEGETARIAN input in here!
Eating meat is not a damn sin...It's what you want to do. BUT some vegans/vegetarians get so upset and offended that people can't [or won't in some cases] see the cruelty in what they're doing! We become vegans/vegetarians because we're doing something for things we love!!! And animal's lives just so happen to be our main priority. We try to make people understand, and the one's that don't we get frustrated with because they're doing something that literally breaks our hearts.
And as for you "not caring," I can see where they come from. You are letting animals die just so you can live a happy, and "full", life! It just comes off that if you did care you would do something about it instead of HELPING the problem! And good for you, you give respect...But what you aren't giving is the rest of their lives!
When you "tried" being a vegetarian, what'd you do it for? A diet or because you really do love animals?
I became a vegetarian because I can't stand the way pigs, chickens, and cows especially get treated! They have hearts, and minds, and love. The way I look at it, if you're going to "murder" an animal and get away with it, why can't humans murder someone and get away with that!?!? The only differences between animals and humans is that animals don't have a voice to tell you how much you're hurting them, or how much they don't want to be your next chesseburger at McD's!
I personally don't hold ANY grudges against people that do eat meat...Because I can clearly see I can't change the world. But I will defend these precious animals to any and everyone because that's what God intended me here for. And that's what God intended those "preachy, evangelistic vegans" that surround you.

Answer 2

Eating meat isn't bad, its the way that most animals are raised that's bad. People become vegetarians for different reasons, anymore it seems like many of them do it to be trendy and have unresearched ideas.
My personal beliefs are that the meats sold on the mass markets have come from animals that are fed a diet that is not natural for them and is full of hormones, pesticides and antibiotics. I choose to not eat very much meat (I have spent some years vegetarian, too) because of the way these animals are treated. Not to mention the dirty conditions of most slaughterhouses. People like you and your family that raise and butcher your animals do it in a way that makes it more then right, but the right way of life.
For you trying to be vegetarian didn't work. Its very hard on the digestive system to adapt to a major nutritional change, it may take longer then two weeks for your body to adapt. Different blood types and metabolisms also have an effect on how you process foods. For example I (and you sound like you might too) have type o blood, which is more acidic then the others, so I break down foods faster and need the high protein and fat levels of meat to sustain energy. But I choose to eat meat sparingly and try to buy only meats grown locally and fed organically. So to make a long story short, not all vegetarians are evangalistic snobs but most are, you should do some research on the pros and cons so you can back at them with a good argument, maybe you can make them think twice. Besides that, most vegans and vegetarians are so vitamin deficient that they can't support activist attitude for long.

Answer 3

Well... only eating tons of super fatty meat and not getting other proper nutrients is bad. :)

Which is why Americans are so fat! No one likes to think about what they eat and (barely) survive off McDonald's and frozen burritos.

I attempted vegetarianism when I was in high school, and my parents let me do it just so I could learn the hard way. I didn't even attempt to balance my diet and I became grouchy and tired all the time. But that was my own fault. That lasted about 3 weeks, along with my playing the guitar, and how I'd "never get over that one boy."

If you want to be a veg, then you have to WANT IT enough to put forth enough effort. Junk food veggies are the ones that look terrible! A vegetarian diet can be very healthy, and so can an omnivorous one. As long as it is BALANCED.

You didn't want to do it, any more than I did. Eat your meat, ignore the militant vegans.

Try googling Anthony Bourdain's quotes on vegetarianism... you'll like them.

Answer 4

I completely respect your perspective, and if everyone was farming sustainably and ethically, vegetarians and vegans wouldn't have as big a soap box to stand on. Unfortunately, society at large is less sympathetic toward the cause of sustainable agriculture and the ethical treatment of animals. So we have a bit of an axe to grind. So in the same way you are painting all of us as righteous, angry, aggressive "veggier-than-thous," it's easy for us to fall into the trap of labeling all meat eaters as ignorant carnivores, unaware or unconcerned about animal welfare or the environment. So keep on eating meat if that's what you're comfortable with and that's what you feel your body needs. But please don't let a few radicals dampen your view of all vegetarians.

Answer 5

What makes them right is sheer arrogance, nothing more and nothing to back up their claims. Nothing in the world wrong with meat and never let anyone tell you otherwise. I tried the vegetarian lifestyle too once and felt the same way you did. Ridiculous to deprive yourself of such wonderful things as bacon, ham, fried chicken, pork chops, steak, prime rib, etc Let them eat their roots and have dark brown circles under their eyes; enjoy your meat guilt free.

Answer 6

"There is a reason that we humans have canine teeth. They are for tearing meat. Take a look at different animals teeth. The ones that live predominately on a vegetarian diet have flat teeth that are designed for chewing their food, meat eaters have sharp pointed teeth for tearing meat."

You could not be more wrong. The real scientific evidence counters this claim. Too lazy to write it out so here:
http://www.bizarro.com/vegan/vegan_carnivores.htm

Answer 7

Good for you for sticking to your principles. You should not let anyone (unless it's a doctor for medical reasons) tell you what to eat!

These people are cowards, just ignorant bullies who are so insecure about their lifestyle choice that they have an irrational need to force their views onto you. Tell them to get lost. Even better next time you're out with anyone like that get a big fat juicy rare steak and eat it in front of them.

But don't tar all vegetarians with the same brush....My sister is veggie but will happily cook and serve meat to her husband and her family, and us when we visit. She is happy in her choice and doesn't feel the need to force it on anyone else.

Answer 8

There is a reason that we humans have canine teeth. They are for tearing meat. Take a look at different animals teeth. The ones that live predominately on a vegetarian diet have flat teeth that are designed for chewing their food, meat eaters have sharp pointed teeth for tearing meat.

Answer 9

It is not bad! I am a Sister of Perpetual Indulgence and I eat meat every day.

Answer 10

Anything in excess is potentially bad for you
Try moderation