animal cruelty?

Question

okay so i dont eat any red meat, and i used to not eat chicken either but then i decided to start eating chicken again. so ive been only eating chicken and fish for a while. and now i want to stop eating chicken again because i just cant stand how animals are killed for their meat, and it grosses me out to be eating something that was alive. i wouldnt eat ALL animals if i could, but i just CANT give up fish! i dont eat farmed fish but still...im eating an animal. what do you advise? should i just keep eating fish?

Answer 1

Eating fish only will be a fairly boring diet. You should look into a flexitarian diet, you'll get a bigger selection of foods you can eat.

Answer 2

Only you can decide what you are going to eat. No one can tell you what to choose, everyone is an individual and what works for one does not work for another. Anyone can tell you to eat fish, or not eat fish, but at the end of the day your the one that has to live with the decisions you make. If it causes you undue stress not to eat fish, than eat fish. If it causes you guilt that fish suffer just as much as any other creature, than don't eat it.

If you want to give up fish, then you need to reevaluate the way you look at them. Why CANT you give up fish? Is it medical, psychological, convenience, etc? Fish may not be cute animals, or cry in pain, but they do feel.

Maybe you are just not ready to commit yourself fully to being a vegetarian. Some people start out slowly, cutting out one or two meats every few weeks/days/months. It gives them a chance to adjust to eating different foods, learning how to cook without meat, etc. You may want to keep the fish for now, and in a couple of month get rid of the fish and become vegetarian.

In the end the decision is up to you. I always have a feeling when I answer questions like this that people already have the decision made, and are just looking for confirmation that what they are doing is ok. What ever you choose, the right answer is the one that you are comfortable with, not anyone else.

Answer 3

I was also thinking about whether or not to eat fish, and have decided not to. On the negative side, fish is still an animal, and by eating it i have been told you are not considered a proper vegetarian, but on the positive side, i have just heard (may not be true), that fish don't feel and interperate pain like humans and usual animals do, so it might not be considered cruelty.

Answer 4

I was a strict vegetarian for two years and only started eating meat again because I spent some time in a tent in Patagonia Chile and if I wanted to eat at all it was whatever I was given which in that part of the world is going to be meat all the time. I recently stopped eating all meat again though. I had no intensions of doing so but then the other night while watching television I came across a documentary put together by PETA which I know would only show the extreme cases but they got their point across to me. I was so disturbed by it that I will only eat meat such as clams, oysters, mussels that sort of thing. They showed farmers cutting the chickens beaks off while they were still alive and that to me was horrifying. They do make meat substitutes but they don't taste anything like meat. I don't care what some of the others have said it really tastes nothing like it but it is better for you, and you feel better after eating that instead. You don't feel weighed down or groggy yiou actually feel refreshed. It's really up to you but it definatly is a life choice.

Answer 5

There is a company that sells vegetarian analogues, including faux seafood. It's called May Wah (www.vegieworld.com).

Is there a reason you "can't" give up fish? Maybe you should eat seaweed and sea vegetables to see if that will give you the nutrients you need.

Sadly, fish do suffer when they are caught. By eating no other flesh but fish, you would be taking a step in the right direction, but you really don't need it to be healthy.

Answer 6

I've been an on and off again vegan. I know how you feel. I think you should do your best not to eat any meat, but don't feel bad if you slip up and eat some fish every once in awhile. You are still an amazing person for making such a kind choice to abstain from eating meat. Don't give up the fight! :) hope that helps.

Answer 7

If you want to keep eating fish then keep eating it, but go catch it yourself so that way you don't feel so bad about what goes on behind closed doors.

Answer 8

Why would you let people influence you? It's your life. Eat what you want. If it makes you feel guilty, then don't. If it does not then do. Life is complicated enough without having to make it even more difficult. At least you get a choice. For many people, the question is not "what i should eat?", but "Will I have anything to eat today.. if so, what about tomorrow...?

Answer 9

I even have mixed thoughts approximately animal cruelty. i'm all in favour of combating cruelty while it consists of drowning kittens and clubbing seals, and beating domestic dogs. yet not a lot while it consists of swatting the biting flies, poisoning the fleas on my canines and burning lime disease wearing costly tics off of my young ones legs...

Answer 10

Eat the fish if you enjoy it but you can get enough protein from other food sources and not have to eat meat at all.

Answer 11

Sorry you feel so bad about eating animals (mamals). I'm just curious, do you own any leather shoes, or maybe a leather coat? If you do you might as well keep eating the red meat because it was already killed for your shoes. If you would like I could give you some venison. I recently had a very good hunting trip. There is nothing like killing your own dinner and watching it die!