Should you feel guilty for eating meat?

[BNguyen]

Here's an easy way, ala Lion King

Let's say we become herbivorous - we start consuming plants. To fulfill our bodies' needs we need to consume a lot of plants. Now a lot of animals also eat plants, sometimes much moreso that we could. Now if we take away from their plate to fill our own, we essentially cause them to starve. If we don't tend to animals - thinning their numbers to curve over reproduction and thus have too many mouths to feed, we again are allowing them to kill themselves off. Predators exist to help keep the herbivorous population under control, killing indiscriminately but more times than not taking away females (since females typically outnumber males in the animal world). When they kill, they consume, because they cannot eat plants, at least not in good enough numbers and their bodies cannot break it down to use it. Humans were born to be omnivorous, meaning we need both plants and animals to be healthy, we just tend to go after animals more because of taste, ease of finding, and how it gives our bodies the sense of being full when we consume it. Plants (consumable ones) on the other hand, are not that easy to locate in the wild. You have to go to certain places to find food and even then, the fruits/vegetables/herbs we find do not hold all that we need to remain healthy.

 

[Sunrider]

No, you shouldn't feel guilty. Don't let anyone tell you that you should either.

If one would eat pigs, lamb and cows meat whilst refusing to consume dog or cats meat one is hypocritical and should take a look into ones values.

 

[Kroxile]

Came here awfully late, but whatever.

No, one should NOT feel guilty about eating meat. In fact, one should feel guilty about NOT eating meat because they are denying evolution, which in turn means denying what makes us human.

 

[Pharsalus]

Are you kidding? I'd feel a little guilty if i had to commit cannibalism, but other than that bring on the meat!

 

[Nautical Honors Society]

I was brought up as a vegetarian in India and then in my late twenties when i came to Europe i started to eat meat. Also in Europe it is easier to be a non-vegetarian as the vegetarian choices can be pretty boring. And I must admit that I like the taste of meat and seafood, etc.

But lately I have been questioning if I should feel guilty for eating meat, seafood (anything that has a life). Do you guys ever wonder about things like: balance of the eco system, food chain, humans are at the top of the food chain so its justified, etc? Do humans really need meat to survive or we just eat it for pleasure? I eat it for its taste and I know some meat/seafood are supposed to be really good for our health. Also primitive man/Neanderthals used to hunt for food...but i guess they used to hunt anything for survival. The modern man does not need to kill/hunt for survival as there is abundance of vegetables and fruits available to eat.

Anyway to cut the long story short, I'm very confused if eating meat/seafood is justified and that we shouldn't feel guilty for killing living things for our consumption. What do you guys think?

Your open and honest opinions on this subject are welcomed.

New studies show that plants can see, feel, taste, and smell.

http://phys.org/news/2012-07-tel-aviv-university.html

Everything edible feels pain, so should we starve?

Should vegetarians now feel bad for eating a salad?

No, we gotta eat.

 

[maninahat]

Yes I do, and I've dabbled in vegetarianism before. I was really bad at it because I hate vegetarian food and love the taste of meat. So that leaves me conflicted. One day, I probably make a more serious effort.

Further more, I haven't seen a compelling argument out there that makes me feel less guilty. I hear people talking about how we are omnivores, or that we are "supposed" to eat meat. Look, having canines doesn't mean we have to eat meat, or even that we should. A meatless diet is easy to sustain, more economical, and on a larger scale, kinder to the livestock which no longer exists to be slaughtered.

Meat eating in this day and age is a preference for first worlders - a preference we base purely on taste and libido. If you find that deliciousness outweighs the catastrophic waste and suffering that meat production requires, then by all means, there is no need to feel the slightest bit guilty.

 

[Reynaerdinjo]

Further more, I haven't seen a compelling argument out there that makes me feel less guilty. I hear people talking about how we are omnivores, or that we are "supposed" to eat meat. Look, having canines doesn't mean we have to eat meat, or even that we should. A meatless diet is easy to sustain, more economical, and on a larger scale, kinder to the livestock which no longer exists to be slaughtered.

And as a bonus, a meatless diet is healthier and makes people live longer.

 

[flarty]

No you shouldn't feel guilty for eating meat if its from a sustainable source. Your more than willing to slaughter the animal yourself, and you eat meat as a part of a healthy balanced diet.

Yes you should feel guilty if
You eat fast food or intensively farmed meat then yes you should feel guilty. If you eat a diet where you are gorging yourself on meat several times a day, then yes you should feel guilty. If you are not prepared to kill the animal then yes you should feel guilty and spineless.

With obesity on the increase from outrageous consumption of meat based products pushed by fast food retailers, not only is it ruining our health, but putting the strain of an extra half a billion imaginary people on the worlds food supply. It is also contributes roughly 18% to annual greenhouse gases.

So people stop trying to make yourself feel better and wise up, people are all ready starving on the planet and the meat industry means that most of agricultural land is taken up by grains grown to feed the animals we want to eat, instead of vegetables which are less of a strain on our environment, and would produce more food to go around.

But hey if you want to stuff your faces with macdonalds and leave nothing but a collapsing world for future generations, and forsake those born in to less fortunate conditions then go ahead.

(im not saying all of our environmental issues stem from the meat industry, though it is a monumental contributor and one people could easily change.)

 

[jboking]

Yes I do, and I've dabbled in vegetarianism before. I was really bad at it because I hate vegetarian food and love the taste of meat. So that leaves me conflicted. One day, I probably make a more serious effort.

Further more, I haven't seen a compelling argument out there that makes me feel less guilty. I hear people talking about how we are omnivores, or that we are "supposed" to eat meat. Look, having canines doesn't mean we have to eat meat, or even that we should. A meatless diet is easy to sustain, more economical, and on a larger scale, kinder to the livestock which no longer exists to be slaughtered.

Meat eating in this day and age is a preference for first worlders - a preference we base purely on taste and libido. If you find that deliciousness outweighs the catastrophic waste and suffering that meat production requires, then by all means, there is no need to feel the slightest bit guilty.

You haven't seemed to explain why one should feel bad for eating meat, only that we don't have to eat meat. If your argument is that livestock exists to be slaughtered and represents us destroying life to live, I'd wager that, as plants are living things, vegetarians do the same thing. You take life to continue yours. Certainly, if the animal or plant was treated poorly before being harvested, you should feel bad. I'd wager that if the plant was sprayed with pesticides, you should probably feel bad about supporting the company that allowed that to happen. Of course, humans are getting smarter and soon it wont be necessary to raise animals to be slaughtered. See: In Vitro Meat.

 

[hazabaza1]

No I Really Shouldn't. Here's Why.
Also trying to push beliefs on others through guilting really rustles my Jimmies.

AmazingAthiest=you instantly lose.
One of the unwritten rules of the internet, sorry.

 

[charliesbass]

I'm going to say the same thing that TJ said in that 'If we didn't eat them they would be close to extinction.' They're put in either fields or factory's and are sort of forced to reproduce and make more cows. Chickens out-number us and Pigs are close. Last year there was enough food to feed (3 meals a day) to 11 billion people, and many million still go starving and die of it. That's because about a quarter of it go to cattle. Pigs, Chickens and Cows are profitable and if we didn't have people making money off animals for meat then we would lose many jobs in that industry. Of course, I am against animals being abused unnecessarily and animals being driven to extinction being of over-consuming that species. But since there are billions of cows, chickens and pigs and by comparison, very little tigers, lions and pandas, it's safe to say that lions are scarce because we don't have simba burgers. And if vegetarians (or vegans) are against eating 'life', they are oblivious to the fact that everything we eat was (or is) life or a product of life. I could be totally wrong on all of this, call me out if I am, but I think that you shouldn't be ashamed to eating beef or anything like that, because they've pretty much served their purpose as an animal. They evolved so resourceful for a reason.

 

[maninahat]

Yes I do, and I've dabbled in vegetarianism before. I was really bad at it because I hate vegetarian food and love the taste of meat. So that leaves me conflicted. One day, I probably make a more serious effort.

Further more, I haven't seen a compelling argument out there that makes me feel less guilty. I hear people talking about how we are omnivores, or that we are "supposed" to eat meat. Look, having canines doesn't mean we have to eat meat, or even that we should. A meatless diet is easy to sustain, more economical, and on a larger scale, kinder to the livestock which no longer exists to be slaughtered.

Meat eating in this day and age is a preference for first worlders - a preference we base purely on taste and libido. If you find that deliciousness outweighs the catastrophic waste and suffering that meat production requires, then by all means, there is no need to feel the slightest bit guilty.

You haven't seemed to explain why one should feel bad for eating meat, only that we don't have to eat meat. If your argument is that livestock exists to be slaughtered and represents us destroying life to live, I'd wager that, as plants are living things, vegetarians do the same thing. You take life to continue yours. Certainly, if the animal or plant was treated poorly before being harvested, you should feel bad. I'd wager that if the plant was sprayed with pesticides, you should probably feel bad about supporting the company that allowed that to happen. Of course, humans are getting smarter and soon it wont be necessary to raise animals to be slaughtered. See: In Vitro Meat.

Vegetables are living things, yes, but they are not in the same league (or kingdom) as animals. They don't feel pain, and they don't have the mental capacity to evaluate their situation, feel fear, anger or depression. Plants don't suffer when they are farmed, so they aren't a problem for vegetarians.

But then you probably already knew all that. Don't waste my fucking time, playing dumb.

 

[maninahat]

No I Really Shouldn't. Here's Why.
Also trying to push beliefs on others through guilting really rustles my Jimmies.

AmazingAthiest=you instantly lose.
One of the unwritten rules of the internet, sorry.

Of all the videos he could have linked to, to prove his point...

 

[lukey94]

Should a wolf,lion,tiger,hawk,eagle,shark,cat,dog,whale or bear feel guilty for eating meat?

Humans are omnivores, there is no moral problem with eating meat. We have 4 relatively sharp canines and the 8 incisors for a reason ... meat!

 

[maninahat]

Ever looked at a camel or deer skull? You should. Canines ain't just for meat.

 

[SirPlindington]

No. Nature built us to eat meat. Meat is good. I like meat. I love meat. I will eat meat.

MEAT.

 

[agrajagthetesty]

I eat meat, but I've never heard an argument for meat-eating which I found convincing. I should really just put my money where my mouth is and try going veggie. :/

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

Well, the most obvious thing is no, because I don't see the cow getting killed or whatever so it never even enters my mind. But if it did, I still wouldn't feel guilty because it is a herbivore, they practically exist to be eaten by whatever carnivore is around. And even if questionable or unethical practises were used in the killing or transportation (idk), I still wouldn't feel guilty because I didn't know. The very least it would take for me to feel guilty would be if the animal were killed in a slow and barbaric way, for the sole purpose of my consumption, and would not have been killed at all had I not asked for it. Also it is tasty.

If people stop asking for (factory) meat, farmers will stop supplying it. Simple rule of supply and demand. Also I think that everyone has a moral obligation to know where his food comes from. And the fact of the matter is that if you buy factory farmed meat, almost all of the animals are not just killed in a questionable way, they also live lifes where the word 'quality' just never comes into play. They are overfed in tiny spaces, and depending on the species either live in solitude or amongst thousands of other imprisoned animals that never see the light of day. Many of them receive tons of anti-biotics simply as a precaution, so that now those anti-biotics are less effective at helping humans, because the bacteria developed resistances to them. Factory farming is a horrifying practice and no one should want to be a part of it.

I'm not FOR factory meat, that's another thread for another day. I actually buy the opposite when possible. But that just goes to show there are enough people aside from me to keep the despicable industry going by its own accord.

 

[Troublesome Lagomorph]

No, but you should feel guilty for wasting it.