Do true animal lovers eat meat? Where do you cut the line?

Question

I am very compassionate towards animals and I still think about the whole animal lover/meat eater dilemma. First of all, I do not eat meat, because by doing so, I do not contribute to the slaughterhouse cruelties and ultimately it is better for the environment (less pollution) and my health. But, I do eat fish, I am not of the opinion that fish are not worthy or do not feel pain, I still feel bad for them, but I feel like my body does need to eat fish once in a while. I tried to wear non-leather shoes and usually buy purses that are non-leather aswell, but it's not as easy as it seems to find a vast variety of non-leather items. I feed my pets meet, and that is something that is anavoidable, because the do really need it. So if I feed my animals a cow or a chicken, or cute little pork out of a bag, I can't help but becoming one of the consumers that supports slaughterhouses. Very sad. I feel that since I am human and blessed with a reasoning mind, I should not follow other animals

examples, I should live true to my beliefs and not be one of the millions that do not care about how the steak got on their plate. But, I am perhaps hippocrate, because I do still eat fish and wear leather, but being a complete vegan decreases my lifequality (I have tried it). So what is acceptable and what is not in you opinion about being a real animal patron.

Answer 1

You have to think that just as in the wild animals follow a food chain; we too are animals on this planet. The lion needs the protein of the meat it eats in order to survive; yet he has to violently attack smaller weaker prey in probably a horrific death. And I do not mean to sound sadistic saying it like that but it is the honesty of life. We do not have to get our protein and other nutrients from meat but it is a source that we do mainly use. If you want you can shop for more humanly killed bovine and other meats like poultry, just go to your local butcher or farmer, but do your research. Farmers do raise cows, etc and sell for meat individually, it is a little more pricey but it is a cow that is raised and killed humanly. I tell you all this as a meat eater and a very big animal lover. I wish we all cared about the animals on this earth, but I believe there are some lower on the food chain that I am supposed to eat.

Answer 2

I like meat too much to give it up. However, I do not like the idea of factory farms and the big slaughter houses. That is why I pick and choose where my meat comes from. Anyone can do the same thing.

I grew up on a farm and we raised our own cows and pigs. We used a "mom and pop" slaughter house down the road.
There is a big difference between the way a commercial slaughter house and a mom and pop slaughter house work. The smaller places do things alot quicker and much more humane. Also, theres a huge difference in factory farms and your local small scale farmer down the road.
I dont raise my own meat anymore, but I still go to the "mom and pop" slaughter house for my meat. I do not buy meat from grocery stores. I know the animals I am eating were raised good, and also killed fast and as painless as possible. I also know that every part of that animal will be used for something, and not wasted. I also know that I am not supporting the factory farmers and the big slaughterhouses.

Answer 3

I am a big animal lover, and yes, I do eat meat.

I do not support slaughter houses, I buy my meat from local farmers. I know what goes into the beef, they are fed all natural food, and not injected with growth hormones. They are also very well cared for.
I also eat venison, that my father hunts and kills. He too is a big animal lover, and hunts humanely(although, many people see that as a contradiction - he will not shoot the deer unless he is 100% that one shot will kill it, straight through the heart.) Without hunters, we'd have a serious over population of deer in my area.

It's difficult to completely stay away from animal products, by-products, or anything that has harmed an animal. You do your best.

Answer 4

You obviously love & respect animals b/c you give this subject so much contemplation.
Lots of ppl claim that you can be an animal-lover & still eat meat, but I think ppl who eat meat may love certain species (usually whatever animals the person finds "cute") & be more or less indifferent to other species.
I went vegetarian over 20 yrs ago, but fish & other sea creatures were the last animals I stopped eating, partly b/c I'd been so indoctrinated with our meat-eating culture that I was afraid to give up every form of meat @ the same time. At least fish usually have a reasonably normal life before being eaten, so it seems preferable when compared to cows, pigs or chickens. My SO is also veg, he stopped eating meat during our 1st year together (9 yrs ago). We feed our cats a chicken-based diet b/c cats are obligate carnivores & it is difficult if not impossible for them to be healthy without meat. When I first became veg, I did a lot of research & soul-searching & realized that I either needed to compromise & keep feeding meat to the cats or give up living with these beautiful animals. Our other pets do fine on a healthy vegetarian diet & our vet has no objections to this (we have various rodents as pets too).
You're so right that it's sometimes hard to find non-leather shoes or purses & sometimes I have to shop around more than I'd like to. We usually get wallets or belts online from one of the many vegan companies that offer them, but this isn't always convenient.

Answer 5

I love animals, but still eat meat. We aren't the only animals that eat meat and I don't think people should feel bad for eating it. I hope that the animals are killed in the quickest, most humane way possible. Think about it though, do tigers and all those wild, carnivorous animals kill their food in humane ways? They're sometime eating the animal before it's even completely dead. It's sad to kill something just to eat it, but we aren't the only ones doing it and it's just a part of the food chain. It's everyone's choice whether they do or don't eat meat, but I don't think the people that do eat meat should be condemned or criticized for it.

Answer 6

"Meat is murder, and murder tastes pretty damn good." Dennis Leary

I love animals, I love meat, I love animals as meat. I have been on working farms and inside a slaughterhouse, so I am very aware of what goes on in both places.

At some point, I hope to have enough money and land to be able to raise my own meat and have it slaughtered at home. I wish more people would do that, or look for locally and independantly raised food sources. Smaller farms generally have more space per animal and can manage to give them better care overall, and the slaughter process is much more humane.

Answer 7

Firstly, I am also a vegetarian, as is my significant other, and we are the loving parents of two very healthy ferrets, which are very strictly carniverous animals. In response to your posting, i must say that you needn't berate yourself about your morality too harshly, as just caring and giving it actual thought speaks volumes for your compassion and intelligence. I am very involved in this debate myself, and have spent years looking into the pros and cons. I came from a rancher background in rural oregon, and have also witnessed the mass produced cattle farms of california, where animals are left in squalor and filth, so pumped full of hormones and chemicals and starved to a point that they become crippled and die. I refuse to support this. They will continue to thrive, these death factories, as long as it's profitable. It is a cold, hard fact that the animals that die from disease and poor conditions in these 'farms' that are deemed unfit for human consumption (even by their incredibly low standards) are then turned into domestic animal food - kibble. It is in my opinion that the human race would progress tremendously if the adoption of vegetarianism was globally accepted, but that will unfortunately not be the case for many years, so we must play their game, but not in the way that you may think. We know that the industry's cruelty stems from one thing... money. efficiency and cost effectiveness replace morality and ethics EVERY TIME. So we must let them know that the money is not in those disgusting 'farms', but in organically fed, free range farm animals, free of drugs and hormones. And, in my opinion, that's what you can feed your animals, if you truly want to have a clear conscience on the matter. Free range raw carnivore diets are the closest to natural that you can get, save a live prey diet, which i find impossible to stomach. But that's just my opinion.

Answer 8

Meat is too good not to eat it. We didn't work so hard to get to the top of the food chain to not eat animals. Not that i care or anything, but its really hypocritical to not eat meat cause of the slaughterhouse and still wear leather. I would give up leather way before i give up steak.

Poor cows i can't eat you, but that leather Prada bag is to die for. Literally.

Answer 9

I'm an animal lover. And I eat meat. But I wouldnt eat a cat, or a dog..or a rabbit..or a ferret.

Answer 10

i eat meat, but only cause i'm human and it's only natural. It's like this, a lion doesn't not eat a gazelle because he sympathizes with it. it's his food and that's the circle of life. I think it'd be hard to be a vegetarian seeing as some of the food you consume comes from the same producers that produce meat. I don't think you'd ever escape it. i hope that helps put it into perspective.