View Full Version : Spin off from another thread, do you eat meat, why or why not?
SexyJess
03-19-2008, 05:24 PM
I picked "other" because I don't technically define myself as anything- it's kind of a mental thing. If I label myself as a strict vegetarian, I'm gonna want a hamburger. ;)
That being said- I never, ever eat pork for the reasons listed above. I would say I'm about 80% vegetarian- I do eat fish and I eat chicken, on average, once a week. I don't drink milk or eat yogurt but I do eat cheese and ice cream.
It wasn't hard to cut way back on animal products after reading "Skinny Bitch." I couldn't even read all the slaughterhouse stories because I was PMSing and started bawling like a baby. After that, I started buying more Morningstar products. Unfortunately, it's REALLY hard to eat vegan foods here (no Whole Foods or Trader Joe's or anything like that) so I do cave and eat meat sometimes. Even cutting back on meat helps.
AznExtasy
03-19-2008, 05:30 PM
I never ate a lot of meat in the first place. Growing up, we mostly ate tofu and fish as the main sources of protein, and meat on certain occasions. And when we did, it was never a main course, either. Today, I still live like this. I buy tofu in bulk and that's what my protein diet usually consists of. Every kind of bean curd there is; firm, silken (for smoothies), baked, etc.. Meat is used very sparingly, and I usually never cook red meat for myself.
Sometimes, when I am in the mood, I might get a nice rare steak. But only when I find myself in that kind of restaurant. Otherwise, I'm fine.
scarlett_vancouver
03-19-2008, 05:38 PM
I am mostly vegetarian in practice, but I don't call myself one.
Reason is, I don't have any moral issues with eating ethically raised and killed animals. However, since organic, sustainably raised and ethically raised and killed meat is rare, I don't eat much of it. I don't eat meat from which I don't know the source except on rare occasion...when I'm a guest or whatnot, sometimes in restauarants.
I don't drink milk, but I put cream in my coffee. I eat organic yogurt and cheese, despite being uncomfortable with the practice of mechanical milk extraction. It's a process...
Dottie Rebel
03-19-2008, 05:44 PM
It's a process...
I think that's the best any of us can say.
Bob_Loblaw
03-19-2008, 05:45 PM
I love to eat, period. I love all types of meat, even the exotic/weird stuff. I've always been adventuresome when it comes to my food choices.
Picaresque
03-19-2008, 05:59 PM
I don't eat meat at all, b/c I'm unable to digest it. If I accidentally eat something with bits of meat in it, I end up puking and being incapacitated for the next several hours. I haven't eaten meat since I was about 6 or 7...and I've never missed it. I always associate meat with vomiting and general unpleasantness, so it's never looked even remotely appetizing to me. :-X
Lola Rose
03-19-2008, 07:54 PM
ok, also, wth do some of those poll options mean?
RoseLeigh
03-19-2008, 07:57 PM
ok, also, wth do some of those poll options mean?
Pollotarian-eats chicken, but presumably no other animal
Pescatarian-eats fish "" ""
Lola Rose
03-19-2008, 08:02 PM
ok, thanks ma'am!
I am still not gonna vote, cause I don't eat any meat available. Just most.
bellasera
03-19-2008, 09:26 PM
I don't drink milk, but I put cream in my coffee. I eat organic yogurt and cheese, despite being uncomfortable with the practice of mechanical milk extraction. It's a process...
Wow I could have wrote that.
Bunny
03-19-2008, 10:48 PM
I eat meat, all kinds, though I usually eat mostly fish. I just try to eat as healthy as possible, but I like the way all meats taste.
Perry
03-19-2008, 11:27 PM
I've been a strict vegetarian since I turned 15. I went to a farm school and after seeing my friends animals I just couldn't eat them anymore. I do miss marshmallows.
britt244
03-19-2008, 11:49 PM
i eat meat. if i dont eat something, its because i dont like it. i figure, the animals are already dead whether i eat them or not. plus im very picky so whatever.. i'm going to eat what i like.
Gypsy74
03-19-2008, 11:58 PM
i eat meat. if i dont eat something, its because i dont like it. i figure, the animals are already dead whether i eat them or not. plus im very picky so whatever.. i'm going to eat what i like.
saying that the animals are already dead whether you eat them or not is a very STUPID argument.
As a stripper, you should understand a little about economics. it's about supply and demand, if there's less of a demand for meat, there is less supply of it, which means less suffering and in the end, less killing of animals.
britt244
03-20-2008, 12:01 AM
^no, it isnt. i do understand supply and demand but guess what? there are a ton of vegetarians out there and the animals are STILL being killed.
and whatever. you dont get to tell me MY personal reason is stupid. it's MY reason.
but, either way. i eat meat and that isnt going to change. so who cares what my reason is? another reason is because i like it.
Gypsy74
03-20-2008, 12:21 AM
I still think saying that the animals are dead anyways is a stupid reason to use as why you eat them.
Saying you like it, that's fine, that's a personal preference.
Saying they're already dead is illogical.
Bella21
03-20-2008, 01:22 AM
I had a hard time picking an option so I chose "other". I will eat meat when I have a craving for crab legs, sushi, or something like that. At the same time, I have a hard time eating meat since I always picture what the animal might have looked like while I'm eating it. :( It's okay when it's cooked and cut up for me, but I've never been able to eat quail (or whathaveyou) when they do the thing with splitting the ribcage. Gah, it still looks like an animal!
MsQwerty
03-20-2008, 02:38 AM
I was a vegetarian for a lot of years but not anymore. I never had a problem with the fact that an animal died to become my food but I do think factory farming is barbaric. I think if an animal lived freely its ok to eat meat.
I also think there are environmental, global and health reasons to cut down on meat consumption. I dont think being vegetarian and especially vegan is good for everyone at all, but that plenty of problems could be resolved if meat consumption was reduced.
I ticked "other". I have never and wont ever eat veal. I visited a veal farm as a 4 year old and remember how awful it looked for those poor cows. I buy free range organic meat and dont eat a lot of it currently. I gave up pig 6 months ago - something I never thought I could do. I have almost cut out chicken, but I cant see myself cutting out all animals from my diet again. I dont like most fish, but I eat some ad other types of seafood sometimes.
Oh - I dont eat eggs (allergic) and I cut out dairy 6 months ago too although I may include raw organic free range milk in my diet in future (-:
Darcy Foxx
03-20-2008, 02:42 AM
i've been vegetarian for 3 weeks now. yay.
Brendita
03-20-2008, 02:47 AM
[quote=Lola Rose;1456142]I was a vegetarian for a long time, but I feel better when I eat meat.
quote]
Same here. I went vegetarian at age 10 and refused to eat meat for 5 years or so. I got all thin and scary looking, even though my mother cooked plenty of healthy food for me.
I still don't eat pork or seafood, but that is just because I don't like it.
ellebelle
03-20-2008, 02:49 AM
I haven't eaten meat since I was about 6. I just couldn't process the thought of eating flesh, and once I discovered what 'meat' was, well that was the end of it. I was alergic to dairy until I was 17, but I LOVE dairy now.
I occationally eat fish now. I'm the only vegetarian in my family.
minnow
03-20-2008, 08:38 AM
I cast my vote in "other", even though I'll eat almost any land animal derived food. But, "LA" derived food for me is mainly lean red meats, and poultry. I've also been putting more seafood into mix in last 5 yrs. or so.
RoseLeigh
03-20-2008, 08:46 AM
[quote=Lola Rose;1456142]I was a vegetarian for a long time, but I feel better when I eat meat.
quote]
Same here. I went vegetarian at age 10 and refused to eat meat for 5 years or so. I got all thin and scary looking, even though my mother cooked plenty of healthy food for me.
I still don't eat pork or seafood, but that is just because I don't like it.
I was the opposite-I had all sorts of health and food issues until I went veg-like skelly-skinny. Then I finally plumped up (maybe too well!) and felt more in control of what was going on with my body. No more asthma or terrible allergies. I still have a slight eating issue, but it's not as bad.
Funny how people's bodies are.
Perry
03-20-2008, 01:06 PM
I know a guy that I call an "honorary vegetarian" or "The health consiouse hill billy". He only eats meat he hunts himself and fish he catches himself. He eats vegetarian unless it's his own cooking.
The steroids and antibotics pumped into farm animals are carbon compounds that are tough to break down - even through cooking. And most of our sea food comes from China, who is under heavy scrutiny for using illegal veteranary drugs.
I'm not a fan of hunting, and I'm very against "trophy" hunting, but it's more humane to let animals live a good life before they get eaten. It's a lot better than slaughterhouses.
BrunetteGoddess
03-20-2008, 01:27 PM
I eat meat, I'm happy when I eat it, and I don't get that a lot lately. maybe I'm selfish. And maybe I just can't get over my bacon.
And Gypsy, learn some tact, would you? Just because you don't like Britt's viewpoints or don't understand why she would feel that way, doesn't mean you can call it 'stupid'. That's pretty ignorant.
Gypsy74
03-20-2008, 01:36 PM
And Gypsy, learn some tact, would you? Just because you don't like Britt's viewpoints or don't understand why she would feel that way, doesn't mean you can call it 'stupid'. That's pretty ignorant.
well I guess instead of stupid, i should use the term "illogical". that makes more sense, and what I said wasn't ignorant at all.
Zinaida
03-20-2008, 02:15 PM
I'm very against "trophy" hunting, but it's more humane to let animals live a good life before they get eaten. It's a lot better than slaughterhouses.
I agree.
If I wasn't supposed to eat meat, animals wouldn't be so slow... or tasty. I kid, I kid. I eat some fish and chicken. Red meat and I do not get on. We had a falling out a few years back.
BrunetteGoddess
03-20-2008, 03:19 PM
well I guess instead of stupid, i should use the term "illogical". that makes more sense, and what I said wasn't ignorant at all.
Yeah it was.
But anyways, illogical IS a better word. One that might not have offended Britt.
cameron_keys
03-20-2008, 03:24 PM
Gypy..I agree with you. I dont agree with how you said it because it was a bit insulting...but yes..its supply and demand. If the whole world went veggie(which obviously isnt going to happen) then no more animals would be killed for food. They are killed because we want them to be. Because we buy it.
LoveSexMoney
03-20-2008, 03:26 PM
I like the taste of meat. But I am going to try something new by attempting to eliminate it from my diet for at least a few months. (skinny bitch still hasn't come in yet ;) ) My reasons include vanity, health concerns, mistreatment of the animals, and deforestation. Anyhow, I am going to give it an honest go... I need to start compiling recipes.
beauty21queen
03-20-2008, 03:34 PM
I love to eat, period. I love all types of meat, even the exotic/weird stuff. I've always been adventuresome when it comes to my food choices.
This is the same way
I am! ;D
doc-catfish
03-20-2008, 03:44 PM
Full blown omnivore here, although after reading how Monsanto is lobbying state legislatures to ban the rBGH-free label on milk, I've decided to stick to rBGH-free milk.
I do think that as a whole, we eat more meat, especially red meat, than we probably should.
I totally agree that it's disgusting and horrible how animals are treated in certain meat packing plants, and I personally try to avoid this by buying (for my own home, not when I go out to eat) free range meats or eggs from free range chickens.
You do realize that "free range" is one of the biggest scams our factory farms have going, don't you? In practice, there is little distinction between a captive animal and a free range one.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_range#United_States
Jenny
03-20-2008, 04:10 PM
I was personally horrified when someone told me that my egg package was just lying and that my eggs were not coming from a chicken paradise.
Chicagoeditor
03-20-2008, 04:13 PM
I like the taste of meat. But I am going to try something new by attempting to eliminate it from my diet for at least a few months. (skinny bitch still hasn't come in yet ;) ) My reasons include vanity, health concerns, mistreatment of the animals, and deforestation. Anyhow, I am going to give it an honest go... I need to start compiling recipes.
I applaud your honorable impulses! Good luck on the new menu! I myself tried to be a vegetarian once. It lasted, I think, 12 hours. :'(
britt244
03-20-2008, 04:21 PM
Gypy..I agree with you. I dont agree with how you said it because it was a bit insulting...but yes..its supply and demand. If the whole world went veggie(which obviously isnt going to happen) then no more animals would be killed for food. They are killed because we want them to be. Because we buy it.
i understand that. but since that ISN'T going to happen, that's how i feel. if that were a possibility maybe i would see it differently but it's not even remotely possible. you know? even if i stopped eating meat, and i were out to dinner, that hamburger patty is still sitting in the freezer even if i'm not the one to eat it.
I was personally horrified when someone told me that my egg package was just lying and that my eggs were not coming from a chicken paradise.
:rotfl:
doc-catfish
03-20-2008, 04:31 PM
I was personally horrified when someone told me that my egg package was just lying and that my eggs were not coming from a chicken paradise.
Some people are apparently horrified about that enough that they'll pay premium prices for products with the appropriate "socially responsible" label on them. I mean hey, its all about perception isn't it? John Q. Chicken farmer certainly isn't going to mind if his customers want to pay him extra money just for the trouble of leaving the confinement house door open.
Paris
03-20-2008, 05:01 PM
I marked other because my personal eating preferences are superseded by the financial considerations due to the preferences of my family (for whom I do the majority of food preparation).
I don't eat much meat. I like raw foods and lots of whole grains, beans and tofu. By family, on the other hand will sooner starve than have to eat fruit salad or stir-fry tofu.::)
It gets not only expensive but time consuming to prepare a separate meal for myself and my family (if I don't cook for them, all they'll eat is junk food). So I cook one meal for everyone. To get veggies into my family sometimes I have to puree the veggies and sneak them into other foods (cauliflower in mashed potatoes, pureed spinach in fudge brownies etc.).
I do have at least three days a week that are vegetarian. My family will tolerate foods like eggplant parmagina and meatless tacos. I don't care for the "fake meat" foods. I do like gardenburger, but it doesn't try to taste like meat.
threlayer
03-20-2008, 05:07 PM
I would live a much less efficient life if I did not include some meat in my diet. I do eat veggies and beans and grains and fruits a lot more than meat. Further, I do cook my own foods and not use much prepared foods at all. I eat more meat now than I did a few years ago because I was cooking for someone with low blood iron and insulin-dependent diabetes with its carb limits. Plus I need somewhat of a variety of tastes since I am not a gourmet cook. :)
If I had enough social conscience to avoid meat because of how animals are killed, I would probably also feel guilty about a lot of other important things, like where I'm living is on land stolen from the native Americans, like most of us here. And feel guilty about the trees killed on this land long ago to clear it. And feel guilty about spending money on a few strippers here who are most likely supporting the drug cartels. And any number of other issues that would really keep me awake at night.
However, there are a lot of positive effects for each of the above. Etc....
Jenny
03-20-2008, 05:10 PM
Some people are apparently horrified about that enough that they'll pay premium prices for products with the appropriate "socially responsible" label on them. I mean hey, its all about perception isn't it? John Q. Chicken farmer certainly isn't going to mind if his customers want to pay him extra money just for the trouble of leaving the confinement house door open.
Oh, no. I meant the eggs that you pay the surcharge for. And they didn't just say "Free Range". This package was all "These hens live in an open concept, weather-sheltered barn environment, where they are free to roam, feed, roost, nest and perch. At night we massage their feet and read them bedtime stories and once a month they get facials." Like it gave me specifics. I was all "what a lovely place for chickens to live. I'm sure those chickens from chicken run wouldn't have run away had they had conditions like this."
Speaking of - anyone think that those chickens from chicken run had no idea how good they had it?
Dottie Rebel
03-20-2008, 05:16 PM
^^Chickens (especially egg-layers) are, without a doubt, the most abused animals on the face of the planet. :(
britt244
03-20-2008, 06:03 PM
paris, spinach in brownies? do you taste that? the mashed potatoes/cauliflower sounds like something that would go well, but i never wouldve thought of that combination!
mollyzmoon
03-20-2008, 06:03 PM
I don't think it's wrong to kill animals, but I don't think it's okay to treat them however just for the sake of food. Hypothetically, I think the traditional way to farm and raise animals to eat them is okay. Except it doesn't happen as much that way anymore, and it won't because the world isn't going backwards anytime soon.
I don't think animals get the same moral consideration as people, but that doesn't mean they get zero consideration (which is about how you'd have to consider them to be okay with factory farming and the like).
I eat a little bird and fish and yogurt right now. I was vegetarian for a year, and vegan for six months. I got incredibly sick. I needed iron and B12 needles, which hurt. The doctor couldn't believe my blood levels hit the ground so fast. I'd like to go back to no meat. I don't want to get sick again. Most vegetarians I know are very skeptical that I could have gotten so sick, but for real I did. I was trying to eat balanced meals too, but it's harder to absorp non-animal supplies of certain nurtrients, for some people. And then pills can be a digestive pain in the ass too.
It's like morality vs convenience. It's human nature to take the easy road of immediate benefits. I think someday I'd like to just hunt my own rabbit or partridge, and eat some of that once in a while. I think that'd be alright. Except maybe not universalizable. What would Kant say, I don't know. Peter Singer would say "suck it up, princess". But to be honest, I'm scared to death to get so sick again. I could barely move without getting exhausted. My lips were blue! It took a long time to build up the b12 again. It's one of those subjects where I feel personally conflicted. If only there weren't so many people, and we didn't have to get what we want in such an evil way.
Zinaida
03-20-2008, 09:15 PM
i understand that. but since that ISN'T going to happen, that's how i feel. if that were a possibility maybe i would see it differently but it's not even remotely possible.
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."-Margaret Mead :)
beauty21queen
03-27-2008, 10:22 PM
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m102/beauty21queen/vegan.jpg
PaigeDWinter
03-28-2008, 05:28 AM
I eat pretty much all meats. My reason? It's the way humans roll. Now don't anyone go flaming me now, this is just my personal reason. Do whatcha want to, it's all good.
SundayMorning
03-28-2008, 08:05 AM
Eat all meats and always looking for a new delicacy or something I haven't tried before.
I just love meat and for me nothing will ever beat a well cooked (not "Well Done", Medium/Medium Rare for me) steak.
Exactly. I love the flavor, the texture, the juiciness, the satisfaction that comes from gnawing at a piece of meat. Plus I'd never ever be able to give up cheese. I would be missing out on a world of flavor.
It makes me physically sick when I think of the way the animals are treated in the factories. When I see something in the news about how a pet was tortured I don't even feel like I should express any horror since I eat animals that were treated the same, or far far worse.
This does bother me and I am not ethically able to resolve my concerns with my appetite. I have settled, albeit somewhat uncomfortably, with "we are at the top of the food chain. We as a species have earned our place at the top. This is our spoils." But I do very much understand your comparison to pet neglect and cruelty and that bothers me.
We are, through evolution and structure, omnivorous. Life feeds on death. But if someone wants to limit their food choices because of moral or dietary philosophies, that's fine with me. I won't argue or judge. I'll take extra time when they visit my place to make sure their dietary needs choices are met.
Totally true too. One of my best friends is vegetarian and I've always tried to be friendly and accomodating of his dietary needs when he's over, not sneaking in chicken stock or gelatin or whatever just because it makes my job easier. It's not a lifestyle decision I would mock somebody for.
kaiarose
03-28-2008, 02:11 PM
I remember when I was little and found out what eggs really were (unborn chick babies) I couldn't eat eggs for years. I got over it. Still when I eat any sort of meat and even eggs I can't think about what it really is or I can't eat it. So I blank my mind and dig in!
Dottie Rebel
03-28-2008, 02:15 PM
Eggs aren't unborn chick babies. There are no roosters in commercial egg farms so there is no way for the eggs to be fertilized. The egg is just the equivalent of an amniotic sac and placenta. The yolk is what the baby chick would feed on while in the egg.
I have seen eggs on a very small farm that had been fertilized, though. When you crack them they're bloody.
Zinaida
03-28-2008, 03:50 PM
This does bother me and I am not ethically able to resolve my concerns with my appetite. I have settled, albeit somewhat uncomfortably, with "we are at the top of the food chain. We as a species have earned our place at the top. This is our spoils."
I know what you mean. I also LOVE meat, been eating it forever. And I don't see anything wrong with meat eating in itself(or else I'd be campaigning for lions to stop hunting too lol...) but the torture.... Not necessary.