The only reason why people continue to eat meat is because of selfishness, those meat-eaters who are not selfish may use the excuse of ignorance.
You've obviously never been held at gunpoint by a drunk Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars raving 'eat the sausage or the kitty gets it!'.
In fact, such people [vegetarians] have been known to have a lesser instance of high blood pressure, cancer and heart disease, etc. The benefits of a vegetarian diet are astounding.
Not to mention diarrhoea and farting.
There is also as much iron in a burger as there is an a bucket of Brussels sprouts. I love sprouts, but there's no way I could eat that many.
Most vegetarians, however, do not reject meat for the reasons of a healthier lifestyle. It is just an extra benefit packaged with a more important issue.
I'm too selfish too see it that way, unfortunately (I'm not trying to make out I'm proud of that or owt). If I go veggie, it'll be purely for the health benefits. As nasty as it may seem, I really do not give a stuff about animals. When I watch veterinary programs like Animal Hospital, when they show stray animals being rescued and rehabilitated, I find myself thinking 'just shoot it! Spend the taxpayers' money on schools and healthcare for humans!'. Although I am aware that there would be more money available if we didn't spend it on slaughtering animals.
However, countless cows would still be butchered for the leather industry, and 'the way we get milk is pretty dodgy', to use a phrase from Abigail.
Few people see how their slabs of plastic-wrapped steaks get to their dinner plate.
I do, they come from the freezer.
Sorry, couldn't resist it. It was screaming to be typed.
Few stop to even realise that the dripping piece of burnt flesh on their fork was actually a part of a living, breathing, blinking creature less than a week ago. It had a face, a mother and a brain that was capable of pain and thought. It's easier to see your meat as always looking like it did when you bought it.
I can remember when I was about six, and I discovered that sausages were made from pigs. I thought 'eew! No more sausags for me then, thanks'. I stopped caring about a week later, though, being six.
Don't know why I brought that up, actually... it's slightly amusing, I suppose.
Every meat-eating person in the western world is an accomplice to what happens in slaughterhouses.
Why doesn't that apply to the rest of the world?
Each of these persons only associate these animals with food.
I don't; I have a pet chook and she's lovely.
Any meat eater, I challenge you to kill your food before you consume it.
I quite happily catch and kill my own insects before eating them. The chook and I go hunting together.
Could you look into the big, soulful brown eyes of a cow and slit its throat?
I really don't think cows have soulful eyes. They are infuriatingly stupid.
I couldn't slit a cow's throat, though, becuase I'd hear it screaming. I could shoot it in the head though, because that's quick and painless if you do it right.
I could wring a bird's neck, though, as that's supposed to be pain-free.
There would be a greater sense of responsibility on the part of the consumer.
As Max said, if we did do it, we would be used to it, and it wouldn't be a prob.
How many of you will develop a vaccine for cancer? How many of you will be compared to Mozart, Einstein or Pasteur? Few humans will accomplish something that will change the world. Perhaps you will pump out a few babies, and they will be your life's greatest acheivements. It's nothing more than what any other in the animal kingdom can accomplish.
This just enrages me. So what if we don't advance science? Nearly every one of us plays an active role in helping the community and the human race as a whole, by having a career. This may help people directly, like charity volunteers, those in the medical professions, and the Samaritans. We may help people in a less obvious way, by providing products or services to make people's lives easier.
You can argue that there are other animals that live in colonies and help each other, like ants and meerkats, but ants do it because the queen ensure they do not think for themselves, and thus have no choice. Meerkats live in groups because a lone meerkat in the desert has little chance of survival, so they do it for selfish reasons. We do it willingly, and we have a choice. You can argue that we do it for the money, but even unemployed people are given enough money to live. Many people who become doctors say they did it because they want to help people; it such a gory and stressful job there's no way most people would do it for the money alone. Even though I'm not an animal fan I do admire vets for wanting to do their job. A lot of vets require more training than human doctors (because the need good knowledge of the health and anatomy of several species), and animals, especially wild ones, are oft beastly and uncooperative. It's great that there are people willing to do that. How many other animals go out of their way so much to help pther species?
Compassion for all living creatures...
Even headlice?
Pinky while I do side with you on Faz's 'don't be so stupid' comment, I think I should point out that you can't get all the nutrients you need 'without putting veggies in your mouth'... you do need vitamin C.
Sydney, I feel I must side with Max in that your post in that it is too harsh and aggessive. You shouldn't attack us so much just because we're different.
This topic was entirely unprovoked. If someone had posted a topic called 'vegetarians are pansies and eedjits' and this was your response, then I'd support you.
Stop trying to ram your beliefs down our throats. It
is as bad as attacking someone's religious beliefs. You can't expect us to change the values and morals we were brought up with.