44 replies to this topic

[Phantom]

Hi, i personally eat meat but often when eating meat particurly lower class meat i wonder about the ethical issues of raising animals sometimes fairly intelligent to eat them. I don't experience these kinds of conflicted emotions when eating fish or chicken as i consider them to not really be aware of their own identity.

I don't see anything wrong with it and am perhaps niave in hoping they were raised well and had some quality of life. I'm also interested to hear peoples opions on vegan diet not eating anything that comes from an animal.

[Iva]

What is "niave"?

I don't eat wild animals/birds' meat (tried pheasant once and that was it), I don't eat goats, bunnies and I don't eat anything with bones, guts, eyes, tongues et cetera. But I am a somewhat picky eater and I need meat in my diet to a certain extent. I could never kill anything myself.

Out of my five closest friends, three are "flexitarians" and I often have troubles with them - the food's ready and they won't eat.

I heard this had something to do with blood types. I'm A+ and I read that A people are very keen on dairy, cheese and dough, which does match me. I need my cheese and I need my pasta/pastry/cakes/milk.

[SeanM]

I am a vegetarian because I do not wish to support the slaughter of animals. While they may not be as intelligent as humans, they still feel, and scream in pain as they are heartlessly killed for human consumption.
Also, eating meat is completely unnecessary, as we can get all the nutrients we need from non animal sources.

Here's an informative video:



And my opinion on a vegan diet? I think it is just fantastic. I mean, I still find eating eggs and dairy alright because eggs are basically chicken period, and cow can get pleasure from getting milked if done correctly. You do, however, need to research where the eggs and milk come from, because there are a lot of inhumane companies in the egg and dairy industries.

[talvitaja]

Well, my opinion is, that people are meant to be omnivores by nature and there is no reason to deny that. And sadly most vegetarians are not aware that not all things we need from food are in fruits, vegetables etc.

I am certainly no expert so I can't tell what's right or what's wrong. But nothing makes me change my mind.

[SeanM]

talvitaja, on 16 September 2010 - 03:17 PM, said:

Well, my opinion is, that people are meant to be omnivores by nature and there is no reason to deny that. And sadly most vegetarians are not aware that not all things we need from food are in fruits, vegetables etc.

I am certainly no expert so I can't tell what's right or what's wrong. But nothing makes me change my mind.

What specifically do we need that is only in meat and cannot be taken in from non-meat sources?

[talvitaja]

SeanM, on 17 September 2010 - 01:01 AM, said:

talvitaja, on 16 September 2010 - 03:17 PM, said:

Well, my opinion is, that people are meant to be omnivores by nature and there is no reason to deny that. And sadly most vegetarians are not aware that not all things we need from food are in fruits, vegetables etc.

I am certainly no expert so I can't tell what's right or what's wrong. But nothing makes me change my mind.

What specifically do we need that is only in meat and cannot be taken in from non-meat sources?

As I said, I am no expert and I may be wrong because I am not 100% sure. But I am sure that without a well-thought eating diet it is unhealthy to be a vegetarian. I am sure that if a person makes sure his/her body is provided with all essential amino acids then I have nothing to say against it. Once again, I know almost nothing about it (I hate myself when I talk about something I know as few about...), in spring I will have my medical biochemistry lectures about nutrition and if I start knowing more, maybe I start saying more, but I guess it is better for me to shut up right now

[SeanM]

talvitaja, on 19 September 2010 - 11:09 AM, said:

As I said, I am no expert and I may be wrong because I am not 100% sure. But I am sure that without a well-thought eating diet it is unhealthy to be a vegetarian. I am sure that if a person makes sure his/her body is provided with all essential amino acids then I have nothing to say against it. Once again, I know almost nothing about it (I hate myself when I talk about something I know as few about...), in spring I will have my medical biochemistry lectures about nutrition and if I start knowing more, maybe I start saying more, but I guess it is better for me to shut up right now

Even with a well-thought diet, it is unhealthy to be a meat-eater.

For example, let's take a look at cancer:

Spoiler

Quote

Increased risk of breast cancer for women who eat meat daily compared to less than once a week: 3.8 times
For women who eat eggs daily compared to once a week: 2.8 times
For women who eat butter and cheese 2-4 times a week: 3.25 times
Increased risk of fatal ovarian cancer for women who eat eggs 3 or more times a week vs. less than once a week: 3 times
Increased risk of fatal prostate cancer for men who consume meat, cheese, eggs and milk daily vs. sparingly or not at all: 3.6 times.

Or maybe cholesterol:

Spoiler

Quote

Number of U.S. medical schools: 125
Number requiring a course in nutrition: 30
Nutrition training received by average U.S. physician during four years in medical school: 2.5 hours
Most common cause of death in the U.S.: heart attack
How frequently a heart attack kills in the U.S.: every 45 seconds
Average U.S. man's risk of death from heart attack: 50 percent
Risk of average U.S. man who eats no meat: 15 percent
Risk of average U.S. man who eats no meat, dairy or eggs: 4 percent
Amount you reduce risk of heart attack if you reduce consumption of meat, dairy and eggs by 10 percent: 9 percent
Amount you reduce risk of heart attack if you reduce consumption by 50 percent: 45 percent
Amount you reduce risk if you eliminate meat, dairy and eggs from your diet: 90 percent
Average cholesterol level of people eating meat-centered-diet: 210 mg/dl
Chance of dying from heart disease if you are male and your blood cholesterol level is 210 mg/dl: greater than 50 percent

Let's also take a look at how clean your meat is:

Spoiler

Quote

Common belief: U.S. Department of Agriculture protects our health through meat inspection
Reality: fewer than 1 out of every 250,000 slaughtered animals is tested for toxic chemical residues
Percentage of U.S. mother's milk containing significant levels of DDT: 99
Percentage of U.S. vegetarian mother's milk containing significant levels of DDT: 8
Contamination of breast milk, due to chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides in animal products, found in meat-eating mothers vs. non-meat eating mothers: 35 times higher
Amount of Dieldrin ingested by the average breast-fed American infant: 9 times the permissible level

Source for above = "Diet For A New America" by John Robbins

And yes, a vegetarian diet requires a little bit of attention at first, but after a while it just becomes second nature to know what you need to eat to get all the good stuff you need.

[talvitaja]

Well, luckily I'm not from the US, and my family usually gets most of the meat we eat from the people we trust.
I am pretty sure that the difference in healt between vegetarians and meat-eaters is mostly because people who are vegetarians usually live a much healthier life. That doesn't prove that meat is the bad thing.
And I must say that I am happy that I will have more nutrition classes than an average US physician...

It is a thing with two ends.

[zzz]

I am vegetarian, and I can tell you there are many reasons to become one ! First for the animals of course, but also for you because eating corpses can't be healthy and you can find proteins in many other foods (according to PETA, American people eat 2 times more proteins that they need), and also for the environnement, against hunger, etc...
All is developed here.

You can also read about what animals endure here.

And another point: no, the human being was not eating meat at the very beginning of his existence, he had to invent weapons for that because we don't have anything to hunt (no claws, no canines...), so it is not natural for us to hunt.

You also have to know that somebody who eats meat kills about 100 animals a year, and that vegetarian people live 6 to 10 years more than people who eat meat (according to PETA).

So don't hesitate: GO VEG !

[SeanM]

http://www.vernoncol...m/eatingfor.htm


Oh, and yay, another veg!

[Fenix]

SeanM, on 15 September 2010 - 03:19 AM, said:

I am a vegetarian because I do not wish to support the slaughter of animals. While they may not be as intelligent as humans, they still feel, and scream in pain as they are heartlessly killed for human consumption.
Also, eating meat is completely unnecessary, as we can get all the nutrients we need from non animal sources.

Amen.

As of a couple of weeks ago, I'm also a vegetarian! I've been wanting to be one since roughly 1 year and a half ago, but I always thought that being vegetarian in this country (Iran), is impossible. With a bit of research and with help from an online friend, I finally decided that I can do it right now. I just have to be more careful with my diet. Although a lot of relatives/friends/colleagues think I'm stupid and some even try to discourage me by saying things like "you look pale" or "you're young and hot-headed you'll realize you're wrong soon" :/.

SeanM, on 15 September 2010 - 03:19 AM, said:

And my opinion on a vegan diet? I think it is just fantastic. I mean, I still find eating eggs and dairy alright because eggs are basically chicken period, and cow can get pleasure from getting milked if done correctly. You do, however, need to research where the eggs and milk come from, because there are a lot of inhumane companies in the egg and dairy industries.

I'm an ovo-lactose vegetarian too.

[AdMission]

+1 vegetarians

[SeanM]

AdMission, on 24 October 2010 - 05:46 AM, said:

+1 vegetarians

Thanks for the support

[Iva]

Just had this sent to by a friend, had no idea about half of these, to be honest:

[xarabas]

Long time no see, boys & girls.
So, i'm veggie since last month, just to let you know

[Fenix]

Iva, on 25 October 2010 - 10:49 AM, said:

Just had this sent to by a friend, had no idea about half of these, to be honest:

I think whoever did that picture was just trying to piss vegans off. A lot of them seem false to me and even if all of those were true, I still think it's missing the whole point of vegetarianism... for me at least.

[Iva]

That's one of the reasons I put it here, wondering how much of this is true. I know some are, but some others, e.g. those connected to blood seem waaaay off there.

[SeanM]

Iva, on 25 October 2010 - 10:13 PM, said:

That's one of the reasons I put it here, wondering how much of this is true. I know some are, but some others, e.g. those connected to blood seem waaaay off there.

The picture was definitely made to troll on vegetarians and vegans. While it is true that those sorts of products can be made with parts of cow, that doesn't necessarily mean that they are. I'm pretty sure a vast majority of products these days are made of synthetic materials.

[Iva]

This one, however, is 100% valid, as TreeHugger is a reliable website and their main goal is not to piss people off.
http://www.treehugge...ingredients.php

[SeanM]

Iva, on 03 November 2010 - 02:32 PM, said:

This one, however, is 100% valid, as TreeHugger is a reliable website and their main goal is not to piss people off.
http://www.treehugge...ingredients.php

Fair enough. I wouldn't make fun of vegans or vegetarians for making mistakes, though. We all make mistakes, and I applaud them for trying their best.