What reasons do you have for being (or not) a vegetarian?

I am not veggie, I just try not to eat intelligent animals like cows, pigs, octopi, and turkeys, and to also avoid baby dead things like bluefin and yellowfin tuna, veal, and lamb. Chickens and most other fish are ok by me.

Why am I not a vegan? I like bacon.

I don’t eat meat because I’d prefer not to be eaten. I think most animals probably feel the same way, to the extent animals are capable of feeling and thinking.

The first time I stopped eating meat I was 12 or 13 and I don’t really remember what started it. That lasted about 5 years until I was out on my own and really struggling to make ends meet; I ate what was available to me.

This round started about two years ago. I was hiking with my then-boyfriend and we saw a family of quails. (Here are some pictures of baby quails.) Then-boyfriend announced proudly, “Hey! Remember when we ate those?”

I haven’t eaten an animal since.

I have been a vegetarian for almost 27 years now.

My primary motivation is animal rights. I was first guided towards the vegetarian path by reading Peter Singer’s Animal Liberation in high school, and I decided to become vegetarian as soon as I could afford to do so. My resolve was cemented by conversations with my best friend in college; he became a vegetarian shortly before I did.

I believe that all sentient animals have rights, and among those rights is the right not to be killed unnecessarily. I believe that death is a harm to all sentient animals, and that we cannot ethically justify killing and consuming animals just because we like their taste. I get very tired of the arguments from nature (“we evolved eating animals,” “we have teeth adapted to eat animals” “other animals eat animals so why shouldn’t we?”) because the thing that truly makes us human is our ability to consciously choose to be ethical and rise above our natures.

I am also vegetarian because of the tremendous harm that animal agriculture does to our environment; it is the single most destructive human activity.

@nikipedia, wow. That’s understandable!

I personally eat meat but avoid young animals and all organs. I know that sounds hypocritical because I am still a meat eater but I can’t stand the idea of eating some part of an animal that was so fundamental to their existence, and their character

I have been a vegetarian for personal health reasons and because I hate the idea of eating intelligent beings or destroying the environment by so doing. For health reasons, I have had to add animal protein back in to my diet, but it helps if I preferentially buy humanely raised and slaughtered meat, and if I make sure it isn’t from an animal I know personally. I also do not waste a single scrap. If an animal has to die to give me life then I will not waste it.

When I was a graduate students there were quite a few who got animal protein into their diets by feeding on recent roadkill. Thus, the animal died from accidental causes and was recycled by Homo sapiens rather than insects, bacteria or other carnivores or scavengers.

I am not a vegetarian because I enjoy the taste of many meats and they go well in many foods and they do have health benefits. I do not eat veal or lamb; the idea of eating baby animals grosses me out and there are many forms of meat I do not like, but I couldn’t cut it out of what I eat.

I’m not a vegetarian primarily because I’m lazy.

I’d also like to add that I do understand and empathize with the moral and health justifications people use to become a vegetarian.

Granted, I have plenty of reasons of my own as to why I consciously choose to eat meat (without guilt), but I think we’re all mature here. I respect those that choose to not eat meat, I believe us omnivores deserve the same.

I say this because I personally cannot stand when people attempt to make me feel guilty about consuming flesh – doesn’t work, and I know vegetarians hate when meat-eaters do the opposite to them. Just a bit of a personal rant, don’t mind me :P

I have no problems with others being vegetarians or meatetarians as long as they leave me alone and do not proselytize. Also, as long as they don’t expect me to go hunting with them.

I just have a question: do vegetarians/vegans think it’s hypocritical to not like hunting and eat meat? I heard someone claim that once on another website.

I don’t. It is all due to my need to not waste the meat. It takes a long time to eat an entire deer, and a lot of time hunters don’t even take all of it.

I am not a big meat eater and never have been. I simply don’t like it much. I have veggie burgers in the freezer and I’d rather have veggie pizza than sausage. I do eat fish and dairy, and once in a while I want some bacon or a real burger. I don’t believe it’s wrong to eat animals. I understand people who are vegetarians for that reason, but I just can’t get behind it. We are animals, and animals eat other animals. We’ve been eating meat since the dawn of our being. I don’t think it’s any more wrong to eat meat now than it was then.

@Darwin You could also argue that whatever isn’t used would be recycled back into the biosphere, if you would allow me to harp back to your previous argument.

Just makes the process a bit quicker.

@Grisaille – But all too often it ends up in the landfill after sitting in someone’s freezer for far too long.

@Grisaille, It is all about the choice. My flatmate is a meat eater to the extreme. At this moment in time my flatmate has five packs of minced beef in the fridge as his meals for the next three days whereas my other flatmate has a shelf full of vegetables and yogurt. There is no guilt in either choice (except that maybe a bit more variation is necessary for the first example)

Because I hate cows.

@Darwin True, but there are maggots, insects, crows and other such scavengers that will pick up the tab.

Ain’t what nature intended, but it it’s biodegradable, it’ll find it’s way back in.

@crisw Did you really mean all animal agriculture when you said “I am also vegetarian because of the tremendous harm that animal agriculture does to our environment; it is the single most destructive human activity.”? I worked on an organic cattle farm, and our purpose was to not be destructive. Actually, the cows could not be certified organic because their owner chooses to give them the appropriate amount of antibiotics rather than allow scratches to become infected for the sake of the certification. Everything we grew was organically done, and most of it went back into the cows. Our chickens were non-GMO, and we took good care of them. As far as environmental impact from animal waste, we used all manure back on the fields, and spread it so that it couldn’t flow into streams or contaminate groundwater. Or did you mean a different sort of environmental impact?

@phoenyx, why do you hate cows? They are awesome!

Because I believe it’s the only ethical choice.

Because I think it’s fine to eat animals.

Peer pressure and smells. When I make meals for myself I don’t eat much meat. Most of my friends and family eat a lot of meat based meals together and its hard for me to pass up joining in on a meal. Get me out with friends, beers, and burgers cooking on a grill where i smell one and I am sure to eat one.

I am a vegetarian and it’s because I just don’t think it’s right for us to use animals for out own personal benefit. They were on this planet first. There’s no reason why we can’t find alternatives to meat. I do.

The indigenous people of Australia believe that all creatures have a purpose and the purpose of some is to feed others. They used to give their thanks to the creature before they ate it. They were nomadic and did not cultivate gardens so they hunted and fished.

I find it an interesting theory. I eat meat. I don’t want to have to kill it myself but I eat it. I release the fish I catch and buy what I eat from the fish shop.

In a perfect world, all animals would have value. And those that are raised for food would have a good life in the sunshine until they were quickly and humanely killed. That is what bothers me when I eat the meat, how it was raised and killed. Often by cruel methods. But, hypocrite that I am, I eat it anyhow, but in limited quantities and try to buy true free range wherever possible.

@Grisaille
“Granted, I have plenty of reasons of my own as to why I consciously choose to eat meat (without guilt), but I think we’re all mature here. I respect those that choose to not eat meat, I believe us omnivores deserve the same.”

Respectfully :>) I am going to have to disagree here; not so much to target you or point fingers as to demonstrate a bit of thinking that non-vegetarians may not be aware of.

You (and many other meat-eaters) no doubt think of your choice of whether or not to eat meat as one having few or no moral consequences. Therefore, you may see it as along the same ethical lines as choosing whether to listen to Bach or Vivaldi, or whether to take a trip to the beach or the mountains. Therefore, you feel that no one has the right to criticize that decision.

However, from my (and other ethical vegetarians) perspective, the choice of whether or not to eat meat can’t be made in such a way, because it is not an ethics-free decision. In order for meat to be eaten, an animal has to be harmed. In the eyes of most philosophers, causing harm is never a neutral act. Now, of course, there are situations where causing harm is ethically justified- but the point is, such justification needs to be made.

Therefore, choosing to eat meat is an act that is open to moral debate. There are no doubt some situations (such as life-or-death survival, or consumption of non-sentient animals) where a strong moral case can be made that eating meat is justified. There are just as clearly other situations (such as consuming endangered species or torturing an animal to death to eat it) where such a case cannot be made. But, the de facto position is that eating animals must be justified and thus exceptions must, in some case, be made, not that it is a morally permissible act that is only sometimes unethical.

@wildpotato

“Did you really mean all animal agriculture when you said “I am also vegetarian because of the tremendous harm that animal agriculture does to our environment; it is the single most destructive human activity.”?”

Of course, some types are more destructive than others. Factory farmed hogs are perhaps the worst for the environment; grass-fed poultry or cattle the mildest. But there are environmental costs to even the greenest animal farming.

@wildpotato
Have you ever worked with cows? I have. I stand by my previous statement.

but I understand why people are vegetarians

@phoenyx

If you think it’s OK to eat cows because you dislike them, then I hope you get along really well with the neighborhood children… :>)

I am a vegeterian because I never liked meat and I think it’s sad eating animals who had lives. I think it’s wrong too

@crisw Nope, fully understood. What I meant by that was that I hate when people make broad statements with regards to meat eaters and vegetarians.

In a sense, not all meat eaters are unethical monsters, not concerned with an animal’s well being and pain endured prior to being killed. Also, not all vegetarians are crazed members of PETA, handing out pictures of chicken carcasses in front of KFC.

I’d like to believe we all have a level of cognitive dissonance; we choose to do things, disregarding other points of view consciously. But often times I see this particular debate spin out of control fairly quickly; there is a strong case that can be made from both sides, and I hate to see party lines crash into an uncivilized squabble. That’s what I meant by my statement, not that vegans have a right to question the morality of consuming a deceased animal. There definitely is a discussion to be had, just not when meat eaters (and vegans, yes) are categorized and demonized, that’s all.

Me, personally, I’ve watched all horrifying videos, read all the pamphlets, seen where our meat truly comes from. I understand. I just don’t agree with some of the moral justifications people use in conjunction with vegetarianism. I agree that animals should be treated better before their demise (not only is it obviously the most ethical solution, it prevents infections and disease in our food), I just don’t believe that shouldn’t be killed. I’ll stop there, as I don’t want to spark a furious debate, but you get the picture.

Hope that clears some things up.

@phoenyx…I said I had worked with cows seven posts before your question. I really like them – their faces, their cat-tongues, their intelligence and sweetness. I worked with Black Angus, maybe this is not true of all cattle?

Though the constant shitting kind of sucks.

@Grisaille

Thanks. I’d love to be able to have that rational discussion sometime; I realize all too many people (on both sides of this, as well as any other contentious issue) make their decisions with their hearts rather than their brains. I always like to discuss the issues with other people trying to make decisions based on logic; even when we don’t agree, there is always something to learn and theories to be tested!

@wildpotato

Out of curiosity, if cows are sweet, intelligent, sensitive, etc.; how do you justify killing and eating them?

@phoenyx…try reading my first response… I don’t eat them.

And I never said “sensitive” – I have no idea how I would be able to perceive such a thing.

@wildpotato
I didn’t see your post. You and I have very different opinions of cows. The world is one big bathroom to a cow. I’ve stepped in many cow pies. I’ve discovered that if you put up a solar panel in the middle of a forest, that’s what they’ll use to scratch themselves on (and destroy in the process). If you’re working on a cabin, that’s where they’ll take a dump. If you need to use a road, that’s where they’ll stand. If you start putting up a fence, they’ll knock it over as soon as you aren’t around. They are truly malicious animals.

@crisw
I didn’t say I dislike cows, I said I hate them. That is, I regard them as an enemy. I like children. They are delicious.

;)

@crisw Sure thing! I’m just too tired to use too much of my brain power right now. I fear my brain my asplode.

@wildpotato

My apologies. I missed your first post; I had remembered the cattle-farming one.

You might try living with chickens sometime; they are brighter than you think! :>)

@phoenyx

Rather than hating cattle, it sounds like you should direct your bile towards public-lands ranchers!

@crisw…Damn man! I also said I kept chickens! And again, perhaps we kept entirely different kinds of chickens, but mine were stupid-stupid.

@wildpotato

Sigh. Perhaps I just better head to bed. :>(

@crisw I probably should too, I just realized that I have been getting you and phoenyx mixed up just because your avatars are vaguely similar :oP

I don’t think I’m particularly affecting the livelihood of animals, but I believe that factory farming is wrong and if you’re not part of the solution then you are part of the problem. I will eat animals that aren’t factory farmed, like deer that my husband kills. They’ve lived a natural life, are killed instantly w/o knowing what hit them, and he only shoots mature bucks, not doe with fawns etc. I’ll also eat chickens because I don’t have as much compassion for them… they don’t care for their young, therefore I belive they don’t have the capacity to love. I think that animals w/ the capacity to love should not be mass produced by artificial insemination and forced to live crude, unnatural lives. Cows show real pain and distress when their calves are taken from them to be tied down for veal. Pigs do too. It’s terrible!!!!!!!!!

I eat meat because I like some of it and see it as nature providing me protein. Look at rabbits for instance, they’re nature’s “poppers”. Quick breeding, easy to catch for other animals so why shouldn’t I have a few of them in my belly too? Same goes for fish and fowl, other animals eat them so why would I exclude myself and go against nature?

@hungryhungryhortence because the animals that die by natural predators have lived natural lives and are killed naturally. The animals you eat are mass produced and slaughtered. If you think you’re so in tune with nature, go run down a rabbit for yourself and eat it then.

@hungryhungryhortence

“why would I exclude myself and go against nature?”

I’ll respond to this, because I specifically stated above how very much I hate the naturalistic fallacy.

We cannot base our behavior, as humans, on what other animals do. Unlike those other animals, we have the ability to make moral decisions. We don’t use “but other animals do it” as a rationale for rape, infanticide, murder or any of the other acts that other animals commit. Thus, any ethical act needs a much better justification than “other animals do it so why shouldn’t I?”

@crisw I am with you on this for the most part, but your post gave me an interesting thought – while we do not use the examples of animal behavior you described to justify our own acts, we do point to homosexuality in rats and other mammals as proof of its naturalness. Perhaps your arguement means that the gay lobby should try to avoid using that point? But this is a ? for another post I suppose

@wildpotato I was wondering the same thing.

@wildpotato

It is indeed a good question. What is natural and what is ethical aren’t necessarily the same thing. I am a strong advocate of gay rights. In the case of the examples from nature here, they are more valid (although not, perhaps, a perfect argument) because there is no harm involved (except in the tiny minds of religious zealots.) The naturalistic fallacy applies when one tries to condone immoral behavior by referring to nature, not when one is pointing out similarities that truly exist.

I could go into this more but, as you said, it’s probably better as a topic for another question!

@BBSDTfamily: the majority of the animal flesh I choose to eat is not mass produced and I’m all for hunting for my own meat if given opportunity. I don’t support mass farming of livestock, fish or poultry either. I’ve got my own thing going on but still eat meats and don’t feel I’m contributing to any cruelty by how I choose them.

Even though I did eat chicken a while before I was a vegeterian I am terrified of them

Jeremy Bentham said “The question is not, ‘Can they reason?’ nor, ‘Can they talk?’ but rather, ‘Can they suffer?’” I believe that if we really don’t question the fact that we know that what we consume is wrong, then the world will be stuck in a downward spiral, and only with the help of compassionate individuals will we be able to stop the world from downfall. Not to be a “debbie downer” or anything!

Hey! I went to school with Debbie Downer.

@berocky1 GA; spot-on quote!

@AstroChuck love it! @wildpotato thanks! It constantly amazes me that people are so cool. I mean, i don’t think that i could ever think of a quote like that. With people like Jeremy Bentham, the world may not be in the toilet after all (i highly doubt it though).