What is the point with vegetarians?

Question

We were always intended to eat meat from day 1

Answer 1

you also were born with free will to do what you like

Answer 2

You're absolutely wrong. In Genesis 1:29 it says
I have give thee every herb and fruit bearing seeding let be thy meat!
( if we were intended to eat meat why is that passage in Genesis? Also In Genesis it say You have been given dominion over every creature of the earth that craweth you art their help meets! Either in top of Genesis 1 or Genesis 2. God doesn't approve of eating meat
however it isn't in the 10 commandments. God should've made an 11th commandment saying
Thou shalt not partake of eating any animals!
Well it's your choice.. We vegetarians aren't giving you heck for not eating your veggies. Maybe we should start posting in the Food Section
things like What's Wrong with Meat Eaters? You got no basis saying we were to intended to eat meat from day 1. Read the Book Of Genesis

Answer 3

Something vegetarians tend to over look is the wildlife holocaust that ensues from ploughing a field. I used to live in a farming area, and you should see the birds following the plough to pick over the dead rodents and exposed worms.

If we weren't meant to eat meat why do we have enzymes in our stomach specifically for digesting meat? And some that only affect raw meat? That marathon answer by 'a c' ignored the fact that people that eat mainly fish and veg live longest, occasional meat eaters and veggies have the same life span, and vegans tie with heavy meat eaters for the shortest lives. And humans have been cutting up meat with tools and cooking it for 2 million years. That's more than enough time to loose large canines.

If you take a look at the hunter gatherer diet that is most natural to humans, there is a LOT of meat in it. 70% in stone age Europe and some modern ones still. Strangely, no active hunter gatherer groups suffer from high rates of heart disease or cancer. Several vegetarian cultures do though, Hindu's in particular. Veggies read propaganda, but don't bother to check up the background to it. A lot of what kills modern diet meat eaters is high GI food combined with artificial trans fats, as they tend not to be picky eaters. A buttload of studies have concluded that veggies have better health because of other lifestyle factors, like being from a higher social class, eating more veg and less junk, and so on.

A myriad animals eat meat. So do I. I am as guiltless as any other part of this planets eco-system.

Answer 4

Wrong. From a Biblical perspective the Gen 1:29 diet did not authorize meat. Only fruit and herbs of the field. Many atheists will give me the thumbs down on that I'm sure. Your body is also much more like a cow or horse than a dog or lion. The human colon is long and twisty, where a dog's is short and straight so that meat isn't in there long. Also, a cat's saliva is much more acidic, as is the stomach acid. And our teeth are grinders, not rippers like a cat. Let's face it, we're an herbivore. Yes, we can eat cooked meat, but after it's cooked it contains carcinogenic matter, yes, cancer causing. It's not healthy, and does not help us attain optimum health. In the zoos, ask them why they don't feed the animals cooked food. Yep, they get sick if they don't get raw. If we could eat a raw rabbit we just caught with a trap it'd be a different matter. But we clearly aren't intended to be carnivores - there's just too much physiological evidence against it.

Answer 5

I assume when you say that we were intended to eat meat from day 1 that you are speaking of the Creation story.

However, a closer reading of that story would show you that God gave Adam and Eve everything that GREW in the garden. It was not until they were being unceremoniously tossed out that God killed an animal, used its skin to cover them and demanded the beginning of animal sacrifices.

Thus, even God (according to the Biblical account) originally intended humans to be vegetarian.

BTW, I'm actually an atheist, and don't believe the story literally, but it seemed like you do, so I thought you might find it interesting to learn the fine details of the "intent" you describe.

Answer 6

Great question! ANd you are getting some really good answers. Here is my take:
Vegetarianism is not for everyone, certainly. I did it because I do not like the taste of tortured animals. I do believe that we were meant to eat them, but God also gave all animals unique personalities, and animals whose throats are slit and put in scalding hot water while still conscious, I just dont believe that was intended.
Some Veggies think THEY HAVE TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD and everyone should agree with them. I do not. I think we all have a free will and it depends. I dont think it makes you a bad person if you eat meat or that you have a stone cold heart, and I do not think I am better than you. It is just how some people decide to live their life.
So, GREAT question, seriously. I love answering questions like these!
Btw, I do eat chicken and seafood.
Have a good day, I hope that I helped a little!

Answer 7

Actually, whether you're in the creationism or evolution camp, it should be pretty clear that humans aren't made to eat meat. Most religions state that animals are sacred and not meant to be eaten--Christianity in particular. Check out Genesis 1:29 - 1:31. That's where God's perfect world, The Garden of Eden, is described--and it's vegan actually.

If you're from the evolution camp, just look at how we've evolved. We don't have large fangs for ripping into flesh. In fact, our teeth are almost identical to the teeth of... cows! We see in color like any other animal that needs to tell the difference between rotten and ripe fruits and vegetables (most carnivores see in black and white, and can detect movement much better). Our intestines are too long to digest flesh without getting all kinds of diseases (a carnivore's intestines are far shorter). Actually, how many other carnivores do you know of that need to burn the flesh of their prey before eating it? None! We need to because our bodies can't handle eating raw flesh like a carnivore's can. If you were a carnivore, you would instinctually want to eat every bit of roadkill you see.

Like it or not, you're an herbivore... acquiring a taste for burned flesh over the years doesn't change that.

Answer 8

I agree that we were "Intended" to eat meat, but we were also put in charge to care for the animals we eat. Now all of our meat, or almost all of it, comes from farms that the cows have 20 feet or less of room, are tortured by having their horns cut off, branded, genitals cut off, and many other tortures while in our care. Their calves are taken away from them after just a few months, put into a pen they cannot turn around in, their neck is chained, and they cannot lay down. The cows only get about 1.5 to 2 years of being out in a pasture, where they are to grow their first couple of years, their children are not so lucky. And the milk cows, also meat cows, are continuously being pumped full of hormones, which is very bad for our health

Chickens are put into cages with more then ten birds most of the time, the tips of their beaks are cut off with a razor, they are given drugs that cause them to grow so fast that their organs can't keep up, their legs become deformed, and they die in the cage because they cannot get to the water, they can no long walk or lift themselves up. We eat animals like this. When they are sent to slaughterhouses their bodies, living or dead, are thrown into another cage, killing some that are not dead, bruising their bodies, breaking bones, and such so that they cannot be sold like that, so they are made into dog/cat food or chicken soup. When at the slaughterhouse their head are chopped of and they are put into a boiler or into a machine that plucks them of their feathers, for those of them that lived through all that has already happened, they go through it ALIVE.

Pig are much like cows, only they are not allowed the time out on the pasture, they are always in a pen, they cannot even turn around and lay down. Their teeth are cut off or pulled out, and their babies are taken away almost immediately. The receive much the same treatment as a cow, so I will not continue with them.

Fish are raised in polluted water, their skin has some much pollution in it that it is more bad for you then good. Their bellies are cut open while they are alive, While on the fish farms, they are in a tank that is incredibly crowed, so crowed that they have almost no where to go that they do not bump into other fish.

All of the animals go through these things without pain killers. They are not immune to the pain, they suffer just like we would if it was the other way around. Next time you eat a chicken breast, patty, or salad, think, what did this chicken go though? Think about that with all the meat and dairy you eat/drink. That is why I am a vegetarian.

Answer 9

I'd argue that we weren't intended to eat anything in particular, but that we ate what we needed to survive. We've evolved now, there are more foods readily available, we get to make a choice about what we eat. Were we intended to eat ready meals? Processed foods? Foods filled with additives? Think about it. We eat what we eat now because it's available, accessible and we like the way it tastes!

People choose to be vegetarian for many different reasons, and nobody should have to validate themselves for their dietry choices. A vegetarian diet can be perfectly healthy, and of course, it bares no effect on anybody else, so who cares!?!

Personally, I've considered becoming vegetarian because, while I don't disagree with eating meat, I disagree with the poor treatment of animals to get this meat. Organic meat is the way to go I think, but I would never question someone's choice to be vegetarian, just as I don't expect to be questioned on my choice to eat meat!

Answer 10

There are many different reasons for being vegetarian. Some people are vegetarian for moral, health, social, political, economic or religious reasons, almost all centered around the belief people aren't intended to eat meat. Probably the most common reason for vegetarianism is that animals are entitled to life like everyone else and don't deserve to be killed and eaten. There are also many other reasons around lately that vegetarianism has laregly transformed into a boycott of the meat industry, which is accused of being morally corrupt when it abuses animals, oppresses workers, pollutes land, air, and water, consumes excessive energy, cuts down trees and limits other natural resources. For a combination of these reasons it is now the leading cause of global warming in the world, as well as poverty and pollution. The meat industry is the largest emmiter of greenhouse gasses in the world, before the auto and oil industries, and for many and sometimes all of these reasons, people are vegetarian.

Answer 11

We were? By whom exactly? You might want to back that up with... well, something, anyway. If you want to get all biblical, we were intended from day one (Genesis) to eat plant matter. Look it up.

I don't happen to believe that we were "intended" to eat meat. I don't have long, sharp fangs and claws to tear apart my prey. Nor do I have strong stomach acid and a very short intestinal tract to deal with rotting flesh. Carnivores do. Carnivores also do not get cancer from animal protein (as we do, see The China Study) or heart attacks from saturated fat and cholesterol (as we do, see any of 1,000,000,000 research studies on the effects of those things in our diets.) I believe that human are far more suited to eating plant matter. And, because I have the freedom to choose what I put in my body, I choose to eat what I think I was meant to eat - the fact that I don't have to torture and murder animals to do it and that I'm treading more lightly on the environment is just a nice big bonus.

What I want to know is, what is the point with the hostility towards vegetarians. It's not like your right to eat a burger is in jeopardy.