Is it moral to eat meat? ***Constructive Discussion ONLY***

[seismic wonder2]

I am an omnivore.
I believe an animal should be taken as quickly and humain as possible.
I hunt, but only take what game I can consume and no more. (I prefer hunting with a 35mm)
I fish, but only catch what I can eat and no more.
If I do happen to take more than my family needs in a meal I share it with my friends.
Nothing is wasted when taking wild game. EVER.

I was raised with "one shot, one kill" and to always give thanks to the animal for giving it's life to sustain yours.

And yes, ANY animal is fare game if my family is hungry, whether it has a cute name or not.

 

[meriruka]

Here's my story:
I was not raised vegetarian, but I am now.
When i began gardening, I read about pesticides and chemical fertilizer and decided I don't want to eat that stuff, so I grow my food organically. That led to reading labels on the products I buy. What is all this stuff I can't even pronounce? I thought "That junk can't be necessary" and I began to buy only things with ingredients I recognise. Then I saw a picture of a battery hen. From there, I discovered what is done to the animals I was eating and realized that would not support any industry that could treat a living thing so cruelly. I've been vegetarian for 10 years. Despite all the people around me who thought I would wither away to nothing without animal protein, I'm happy to say I've never been healthier. I have more energy, my weight is stable and I look 10 years younger than I really am.
I respect people who raise and care for their own animals. I believe that's what God intended. NOT factory farms, mass production and cruelty.

 

[McGoo]

I believe that a big part of the opposition to eating meat is how they are raised and how inhumanely they are slaughtered. It is no longer the raising of a pig or chickens - it's big biz... and it's all about the $$$$. The problem lies in the fact that animals are alive and should not be treated like wigits, rather with a level of respect. They give their lives so that we can continue to grow through their protein.

I choose to eat meat, though I was a vegetarian for one yr in opposition to biz agri biz, but now eat meat rarely, but only choose meat that is raised locally - within a few miles of my home. I also have stopped wasting any of my meat. If there is too much, I make sure to save the leftovers and cook up soups.

Raising chickens has made me more aware of how attached one can become to animals... whether they are labeled as 'livestock' or 'pets'. All have personalities, just like us.

 

[luvmychicknkids]

Quote:
Actually, you need to go read that again. According to your bible, Adam and Eve consumed meat..

 

[Ace_king_brahma]

Most of what I eat is meat. I eat alot of fish and chicken. It used to be mostly beef but I've taken to fishing a lot lately. I've hunted rabbits and fish but have yet to kill any of my own animals for meat. Tried several times to raise broilers for meat but was unwilling to do the deed and we wound up with big fat pet chickens. But since those early days I've been hunting and fishing and slowly getting used to the killing process and find myself tempted to "harvest" my own meat. I have quail I intend to raise for meat production. And may get into meat rabbits.

The way things are going with food prices but worse all the additives and what not in today's meat industry I feel if I can provide healthier meat for myself and my family from my own stock then I feel at a moral stand point it is a fine practical practice. I like some veggies but for the most part I crave the carnivore diet.

 

[mangled]

We eat meat because it's just the way we were raised. I like meat, the kids like meat, and my husband would like to live on meat alone.

We no longer buy our meat from grocery chains. The meat from our local butcher has a much better taste, it's less expensive, and we know where the meat comes from.

It's from local animals, fed without hormones or chemicals or what have you. The taste difference is absolutely shocking. It's gotten us wondering what exactly we've been eating.

Ethically, I can no longer put the commercial product out on my table for my kids to eat and feel good about it. Beyond that, there's no real conflict about eating meat.

Just my humble opinion-
Em

 

[me&thegals]

Very interesting! In college, the meat served in the food program was so dreadful that for the first time in my life I ate basically vegetarian. That weaned me from the idea that meat is a central part of every meal.

As a mother, wife and adult, I continue to eat little meat and buy almost none. My husband has raised free-range cattle, hunts for elk and deer, occasionally fishes, and we have used some of our chickens for food. But, most of our meals are based around grains and veggies.

Reasons to reduce meat consumption, in my opinion:
1. Most meat is probably raised and killed inhumanely (see book Fast Food Nation).
2. If we ate lower on the food chain, there would be so much more food available for the world. Animals are an inefficient way to get calories.
3. Americans tend to eat a LOT of meat, way more than most of the rest of the world. Since a lot of the world is healthier than us, it would seem we don't need so much meat for health.
4. Meat is expensive. Beans and rice are cheap

5. Farms that raise animals for slaughter can contribute dramatically to pollution, increased antibiotic and hormone use, waste run off and other environmental undesirables.

I believe it's more honest to consume meat in the full knowledge of how that animal was raised and killed. The only reason I decided to buy chickens was because I learned how chickens were kept in deplorable conditions and could not stand to contribute to that any longer...

 

[My Little Sister's Farm]

I recently came to the revelation that I will continue to eat as much locally grown and my own. Asking how animals were cared for and slaughtered, knowing the process was the best it could be. But I also know the commercial industry practices and that the industry is necessary. They are don't everything in research and development and in the plants to be sure the animals are cared for the best they can and still keep food economical.

Until we can feed the world with our techniques we can't dismiss the good for mankind producing meat in current techniques offers us. I hope one day we can feed the world and every animal raised commercially will be done so free ranging and with much respect and grace. Until that day I will work to create the best food I can for my family. I too buy from the grocery store, I can't do it all.

 

[Linda in San Diego]

Until reading this post, I had forgotten an experience I had as a teen ager. My youth group and leaders visited a slaughter house during the service week we did at a small, central California church. During the tour I spent much of my time with my face pressed against my boyfriend's back while I held onto to his arms and following him while he watched where we were going. I just could not look. I did not become a vegetarian exactly, but it put me off beef for a while. On the other hand, I have never had a problem catching, cleaning and eating fish I have caught. I wonder what the difference is for me? I think it may be the massive scale of "meat" production. When I purchase a styrofoam tray of chicken legs and thighs for my family and friends to BBQ, when I see a broken leg bone - I do become a bit squeemish. <sigh> Is nothing simple?
My thought, we humans are omnivores and we have become too good at it. I would like to become more self suffient, but the chances of that when living in a city are pretty slim. So every little thing I can do for myself is important, from raising eggs to growing zucchini.
Great discussion topic! It has really made me think.

 

[Corey NC]

I am the only vegan on this board and I have extremely different views than most here, which is ok. Everyone has their own opinions and I respect them even if I don't agree with them.

I was vegetarian for two years before I became vegan for which I am now. This means no dairy, meat, fish, eggs, and I try to avoid leather (and other animal materials) and products tested on animals.

I know that it is very unlikely that the whole world will not become vegan or that animals will all be set free. So please don't patronize me with anything silly.

I personally feel that I should do my best to reduce as much suffering in this already pain-filled world as I possibly can.

I don't know of anyone who support the suffering of animals in battery cages and slaughter houses but these same people still choose to go out to fast food and grocery stores and eat the animals anyways.

I feel healthier and fitter (is that word?) with loads of energy since going vegan. I don't eat a strange diet or a tofu filled one either. I eat lots of live foods (fruits, veggies, nuts, beans, ect.) and only a little of the processed foods here and there.

I am not a great speaker/writer but I stand by my beliefs as weird (extreme/stupid/insert demeaning adjective here) seem to others.