why are you a vegetarian

Discussion in 'Animal Advocates Support' started by behindthesun93, Oct 5, 2008.

  1. Sunandsalt

    Sunandsalt Member

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    Factory farms are ghastly, toxic places that have done a great job of completely disassociating us from the source of our food. But I'm sort of "free range" when it comes to eating meat now. 99% of the time I avoid it because I'm not attracted to it, but I am not overly sensitive about consuming it on the rare occasion that it's in something I am served or is in something else I'd like to eat. I was a staunch, pick every little piece of turkey out of this-or-that vegetarian for 6 years, but now I'm comfortably non-judgmental about it. I have no interest in sitting down to a steak, but if it's in a cobb salad I won't freak out and go seriously out of my way to make it an issue. Chicken in particular grosses me out though. They are by far the most abused animal in factory farms, in my opinion.

    The difference between now and when I was a strict veg is that I still craved meat back then, so it was inevitable that I would just cave one day and go back to it. So I did, for two years. But when I stopped eating it after those two years it just happened naturally. Now my body is much happier on beans, nuts and veggies and has no need for meat.

    As for others, I used to be sort of a preacher. "Don't you know???" Of course I wanted to spread what I knew! But I've stopped that and realize that the information is SO out there, just about everyone knows these days, so any consequences that may befall someone for eating conventional meat are certainly not my responsibility.
     
  2. Sexless_harpy

    Sexless_harpy Member

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    that would be reason enough for me to go veggie and never look back.

    But nah, I love me my double cheeseburgers; drugs will just have to make room
     
  3. Invisible Soul

    Invisible Soul Burning Angel

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    Now, this is the type of thing that makes me very guilty being a meat eater. Im not jew/muslim, so of course I dont eat Halal/Kosher meat, but Im still aware that some of the meat I eat could be coming animals that have been treated inhumanely and killed barbarically. I do go out of my way to always eat free range, but its still something that plays on my mind.

    Ive always had issues reconciling being both a meat eater, and an animal lover. I feel like a bit of a hypocrite. I do believe that all animals used for meat should always be killed as humanely as possible. I feel outraged when I see things like the Chinese/Koreans killing dogs by blowtorching their fur off while still alive before preperation. Or cats being boiled alive etc. (but then, some Chinese believe the more the animal suffers in death, the better tasting the meat. Which IS wrong.) Then some people say I have no right to object to those things if I eat meat, which makes me feel worse. A particular aversion/hatred of most veg is the main reason I have never become a vegetarian. And it is fair to say that I have been plagued with guilt a lot of times because Im a meat eater, AND I love animals. I dunno. :(
     
  4. the_erect_one

    the_erect_one Member

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    I have been a vegetarian since my birth as nobody in my family used to eat meat.

    Still I continue to be a vegetarian by choice as I do not want to be a reason for the killing of any animal when there is plenty of veg food available for us.
     
  5. Geechee

    Geechee Member

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    So what is the "humane" way to obtain meat ? We're animals just the same as the pork and beef we eat. Don't get me wrong, I love animals ( i'm majoring in zoology ) but my job right now is being a chef and nothing beats a steak. I don't knock anyone for their choices but if it came down to hunting for survival I'd rather have some meat in my diet so I don't waste all my energy from the last handful of berries looking for the next handful of berries.
     
  6. Mattias A. Williams

    Mattias A. Williams Guest

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    Seeing all the 'animal torture' videos just makes me want to eat humans. I hate complainers.
     
  7. madeofhemp9

    madeofhemp9 Member

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    I read a book about Hare Krshna...very inspiring and uplifting. One of my favorites was the debate between a Christian and a practitioner of Hare Krshna, he goes that eating meat is against their 10 commandments. But the Christian says that "Thou shall not kill" was only limited to fellow human beings. And then the other goes: "Then you are saying that your God was illiterate, because if he meant it was only for humans, then he would have said "Thou shall not murder", not "thou shall not kill". Being vegetarian changed my entire perspective of life, and how i should treat it.
     
  8. wa bluska wica

    wa bluska wica Pedestrian

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    i like pork

    i like pigs

    i hate contradictions
     
  9. Morpheus-DreadStep

    Morpheus-DreadStep Member

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    You've changed my perception I mean I've always thought of the possibility but it's total logique.
     
  10. iWOLFY:D

    iWOLFY:D Member

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    Hey me too! Does that make us bad people XD ? well Im a vegeterian n I think it's wierd that I smile wen I watch movies and stuff n people bleed like in vampire movies and stuff, but if it's a animal then I usually want to cry :| it's like if I hate humans.....
     
  11. BreathIn

    BreathIn Member

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    I used to throw a tantrum as a child when I was fed meat, unless it was disguised well.

    It's deep rooted...

    :sunny:
     
  12. drumminmama

    drumminmama Super Moderator Lifetime Supporter

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    OK, that video was shot at Pottsville, most likely (i've seen my life share of these and do not wish to view more). Aaron Rubashkin treats animals and employees badly. So much for glatt kosher.

    here is the reality.
    YOU DO EAT ANIMALS THAT WERE SLAUGHTERED UNDER KOSHER LAW.
    If a carcass fails inspection at any point (usually for lung lesions, a kosher-certified animal cannot be diseased), it is not deemed kosher (clean) and goes into the general meat supply.
    Additionally, there are parts of the carcass that cannot be kosher and are in the general food supply.
     
  13. Its V

    Its V Member

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    I am Vegetarian because of the cruelty involved. Now, i don't hate meat, i actually quite like it, i used to love it, i stopped simply because of the cruelty and no other reason. If the animals were killed humanly, within seconds, and factory farms and slaughter houses didn't exist i would still eat meat.
     
  14. Tisha

    Tisha Member

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    I am a vegetarian for several reasons. I am against the cruelty inherent in the meat industry. I also respect that animals have the right to live their natural lives, just as we do. And...I really can't stand the idea of eating a CORPSE.
     
  15. the_erect_one

    the_erect_one Member

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    Being vegetarian is the way to go. A very pure way to live your life.
     
  16. MamaPeace

    MamaPeace Senior Member

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    I'm a vegan. But only recently did I switch from veggie to vegan.

    My main reasons are - Animal cruelty.
    People argue against it a lot saying that 'if you stop eating it they won't stop killing it', totally understand that but I'd rather not support it.
    - Healthy lifestyle.
    Since becoming a veggie I felt such a difference in myself, mind, body. I felt so healthy and natural.

    And also I believe animals deserve rights whether they can understand/communicate with us or not.
     
  17. sunflowerpower

    sunflowerpower Guest

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    "why aren't vegetarians vegans? I need some insight.
    would you eat a fish that you would've caught if you went fishing?
    would you eat a turkey you killed when you went hunting?"

    I liked reading your post. I was vegan for several years in my 20+ years of being a non-meat eater. Recently, I have been struggling with cravings of wanting to eat meat. I think it has to do with the food losing it's taste here in the States and craving the food I had in Europe and elsewhere growing up. I know I gained weight trying to find something that tasted even remotely as delicious as food grown organically overseas. The organic fruits and vegetables don't even seem to cut it here.


    Personally, I never got the whole let-me-eat-another-living soul's carcass platform. The whole concept has never appealed to me. Most of my family loathes fruits and vegetables, and most guys I date will not touch anything that has not or will not produce young of some sort. I get what you are saying about killing Kosher meat. I grew up in a Jewish household, and my dad was going to be a Jewish Rabbi butcher (before his parents died).

    I have gone fishing and I honestly love to shoot. I would have to say that there is a bit of hypocrisy in most people's eyes when they hear that I don't want to eat anything that has lived before; but, I have valid reason. When I was younger I had traumas like most other people. Most people would think that by living in many different areas of the world you are lucky to have experienced many different things; yet, there are those unlucky few times in which a person may experience things (especially at a young age) in which eating was part of festivities. The heart and the brains are not particularly pieces of meat that all may enjoy, but in many cultures the heart is the biggest delicacy and if you deny it - it is one of the biggest insults. Ugh.... That is the reason I am vegetarian. I hate the taste of those organs and of meat in general. Now thinking of it all again makes me want to become vegan!

    I am not vegan because my lactose intolerant arse loves chocolate and yoghurt too much to deny it. Oh and must I mention ice creammmmm..... *drool* I know they now make soy ice cream which is just as good... I may just switch over, again. :daisy:
     
  18. DrummingJoey

    DrummingJoey Member

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    I became interested in vegetarianism when I was about 9 years old or so. At that point, I had become simultaneously informed and discouraged about the subject. My sister had become a vegetarian for a short while after she accidentally killed a mouse or something like that. This made me aware of the fact that meat comes from dead animals, which I had never known before that. She kept it up for a couple of months before she gave it up, and at that point she had been sneaking meat in the middle of the night. She said that it was "impossible" and my child brain took her literally. Also, a teacher at my religious school talked about how she was a vegetarian for a few years but she developed a deficiency from a "certain vitamin that only exists in meat." At that point I was living in a state of guilt for my own transgressions against the animal kingdom, but I was afraid that if I stopped eating meat, I would literally die. The internet taught me that eating meat was not necessary to stay alive, and after that, it was a no-brainer. I made the decision early in 2005, at the age of 11. I was a pretty bad vegetarian for a while but I gradually developed a stronger willpower (I have an extremely strong willpower when I really believe in things).

    I became interested in veganism about a year and a half later. I was browsing some veg*n threads on the internet and I discovered the horrible cruelties that existed in factory farms. (I didn't know that when I became vegetarian, I was just opposed to the idea of killing things unnecessarily for food.) I deliberated over the decision for a while and then decided to go for it right before Thanksgiving. Now I've been vegan for about 6 years (I'm 18 now) and I absolutely love it. I am healthier both physically and morally, and I feel that the challenge of willpower involved has made me a more aware and active individual in society.

    A note to people of teenage and younger: A lot of people can't accept the reality that even as you are growing, you are capable of making decisions for yourself involving morals and ethics. They will try to talk you out of it, they will sometimes harass you for it, they will even try to force you to eat meat sometimes. I dealt with it in school and at home. My mom would try to tempt me to eat meat by making more delicious meat things and inviting me to eat (and also with poor or incomplete vegetarian meals). My dad was especially opposed to my being a vegan as it came on the shoulders of a lot of changes I was making to my lifestyle, including questioning my religion in the months immediately preceding my bar mitzvah (for gentiles reading this, a bar mitzvah requires a ton of commitment and effort from both the child and the parents, as it involves not only learning to read passages in Hebrew and learning the musical patterns that go with Torah readings, but also reciting those passages in front of the entire congregation while reading from a script that is devoid of vowel markings and musical indicators. There is also usually a speech involved and all sorts of other things like that, so all in all it took me an entire year to prepare, so deciding that I might not want to do it was a pretty big decision and he was pretty stressed by it). He bought a package of tofu dogs and then made me eat them, and never having made them before, he undercooked them and they tasted gross and almost made me sick. I have also had people intentionally feed me meat without my knowledge and then tell me about it, and on one or two occasions had pieces of meat literally shoved into my face. However, I stayed the course and they gradually grew to accept it. Now my brother and two sisters are vegan, and my dad is 95% vegetarian (for his health). My point is that it does get better, and when people see that you are really serious, they will grow to accept it and sometimes they even become interested in it, and that becomes an opportunity for you to become a leader in society at an early age instead of just a follower.

    Anyway I apologize for the long and somewhat egotistical nature of my response, but there you go.
     
  19. desertdreamchild

    desertdreamchild Guest

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    I originally didn't go vegetarian for the reasons that I have more recently discovered.
    I really had always thought about it, but not too deeply, and I was ready for a diet change, so, one night I just told my mother that I was refusing to eat meat. (assuming she wouldn't okay it if I'd just asked about it.) She was shocked at first of course, but quickly grew to support me, and so I stopped eating meat just like that. I didn't prepare for it at all. Maybe it was easier for me because it was a clean break. Now I feel that I have deeper reasons to support it. I've come to develop a belief that all souls are infinite, which, I probably will elaborate on later within a more relevant thread. But, long story short, I do believe that animals have souls, you know? Life is life, and all life is precious. I don't believe our life ends after we are through with this one life. I believe that the body you are given (whether it be in the form of a cow, human, or bird's) is a temple that your soul takes root in during this lifetime, and is it not quite strange to consume one's temple? I mean, I guess I just can't comprehend eating flesh and feeling okay about it. Because, all I can think about is the fact that that was a LIVING thing. You know? With a heartbeat, and a brain, and a soul was taken root there. Until it was killed. So that you could eat it, and no, I don't think it can be justified by saying, "Oh. But it tastes SO GOOOD." You know, I'm sure cocaine might feel good to do too, but I'm not going to do that. I'm sure people might get a thrill from stealing or cheating and a lot of other sinful things. That does not make them okay.
     
  20. FlowersAreFriendly

    FlowersAreFriendly Member

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    Because i love animals too much :)
     

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