No, I don’t have any regrets about eating animals.

[Serin]

I keep birds as companion animals and am morally uncomfortable eating them, but this is the meat bird forum and it is absurd for anyone to come to the meat-bird forum and argue about not eating animals. It is not an argument anyone ever wins anyway, people will do what they want to do.

 

[Shadrach]

I was a Vegan for six years. I've been a vegetarian on and off for many more years. I was brought up eating meat and I eat meat now.
I rarely buy the meat I eat. I eat the occasional chicken from the tribes here and locally hunted wild boar. When we had a ram and lambs I occasionally ate lamb.
I found being a Vegan incredibly hard work and to get the 50 to 60 grams of a complete protein into myself on a daily basis very time consuming and I spent a large proportion of my day cooking which I really don't enjoy.
Being a vegetarian was easier on the time and easier to get adequate nutrition on a daily basis.
I have no moral objection to eating meat and I doubt I would have any problem eating another human if I was hungry enough. I've eaten rat, dog, snake, horse and lots of other creatures.
Most of my objections to eating meat is about the conditions the animals are kept in and the economics of meat production.
For some hunting their own meat is possible without having a major impact on wildlife populations, for most it is not a feasible way of feeding oneself.

 

[NHMountainMan]

this thread certainly took off. Amazing to me that for the most part, the BYC members have been respectful to one another, and less sensitive than the world seems to be these days.
As for eating meat - let's face it, the most organic food you can get is wild game. Unfortunately, I can no longer eat anything high in iron - pretty much any game except poultry, AND no beef, ugh. I do still turkey and duck hunt, and love that I can now feed us on eggs and chickens we're raising on our own. Post cancer, I jut didn't want to be dosed with antibiotics, steroids and pesticides used in industrial farming.

Earlier, someone mentioned 7th day adventist having longer life expectancy in Loma Linda, Ca. That city is included in a group of locations around the globe, termed "Blue Zones" which experience much higher than average life expectancy. Some interesting reading :

Blue_Zone

 

[FortCluck]

It’s good you’ve found a diet that works for your particular medical needs! However, most people are not allergic to meat so I don’t think every human would feel like a million bucks on a plant based diet. But, for sure, not eating something you are allergic to is going to be far better than when you were eating the allergen.

I could never eat a dog. I think my dog has the intelligence of a 2-3 year-old human. He doesn't speak English, but we share our own little language. He gestures with his eyes and movements to tell me when he wants something. He feels happiness, sadness, and anxiety, and he dreams at night. He dedicates his whole life to being my companion and protector. I think the bond between humans and dogs is sacred. A relationship formed over thousands of years together. I could never eat one unless I was starving, and I think it would have to be a nasty dog haha. To me dogs are people, too. Ok, I admit, I am a crazy dog lady!!! This is an interesting thread. Fun to respectfully share opinions and ideas.

I'm a crazy dog lady too. The little black and brown one isn't mine, I was puppy sitting.

I did have a neighbor who was Vietnamese and ate dogs/rabbits. I never really minded it as long as he respected my dogs, which he did. I personally wouldn't eat dog, cat, shark, dolphin, and giraffe (I may have forgot a few), but others have the right to.

 

[FortCluck]

I was a Vegan for six years. I've been a vegetarian on and off for many more years. I was brought up eating meat and I eat meat now.
I rarely buy the meat I eat. I eat the occasional chicken from the tribes here and locally hunted wild boar. When we had a ram and lambs I occasionally ate lamb.
I found being a Vegan incredibly hard work and to get the 50 to 60 grams of a complete protein into myself on a daily basis very time consuming and I spent a large proportion of my day cooking which I really don't enjoy.
Being a vegetarian was easier on the time and easier to get adequate nutrition on a daily basis.
I have no moral objection to eating meat and I doubt I would have any problem eating another human if I was hungry enough. I've eaten rat, dog, snake, horse and lots of other creatures.
Most of my objections to eating meat is about the conditions the animals are kept in and the economics of meat production.
For some hunting their own meat is possible without having a major impact on wildlife populations, for most it is not a feasible way of feeding oneself.

I agree with you on everything that you have said. Being plant-based for me is definitely a lot of hard work, but I'm someone who loves cooking so I enjoy being plant-based for the most part.

I cook two different meals, one for me and one for my family. This isn't doable for most people...

I want to get my family to the point where they don't have to buy any meat at the grocery store. I don't want to have to rely on another source to get our meat because honestly I don't trust what is on the shelves.

I'm going to be raising my own turkeys so that we will have nice big turkeys for Thanksgiving and we don't have to spend $60 on an semi okay Butterball turkey.

We crossed our Jersey Giants with other dual-purpose breeds to create our meat birds and I'm honestly excited to see how they grow out.

I like that I can provide for my family even if I am plant based. It's so satisfying to me to be able to put food on the table for my family and contribute to my family.

 

[Coopscraft]

I am loving this thread! So many thoughts and opinions! I only regret that it is moving so fast I can't respond to all the comments I want to, haha! Peepsi said something back there that made me laugh, she often does, but now I can't remember what it was.

I want to know more about the hairy sheep ... and I think it only makes sense to use as much of the animal as possible, why wouldn't you?

We think it is weird that anyone would eat dog, but there are some people groups that are horrified that we eat cows. ....

Thank you for the info on fake fur, I am horrified! Talk about "grasping at straws..." it seems there is such emphasis on outlawing drinking straws (and yes, they are part of the problem), but seriously, they are the tip of the tip of the iceberg, there is so much more we could be doing. Water bottles, maybe .... but I digress. Again. Sorry.

Couldn’t we make drinking straws out of bamboo?

 

[FortCluck]

Couldn’t we make drinking straws out of bamboo?

They already make some out of paper products that decompose quickly. I actually went to a restaurant that had them and the straw started falling apart in my drink I got another drink and just drank from the glass.

 

[Coopscraft]

coturnix quail start to lay eggs by around 6 weeks. Cull most males for meat at 6 weeks or so. One male per 4-10 females gives You fertile eggs. They can be kept in small cages, so suitable for indoors or garage. Live and lay for a few years.

That is interesting. How many quail would I need to equal a dozen hens in egg production considering lay rate and egg weight? I have a household of six and I share with other households. Could I put chickens and quail together?

 

[Acre4Me]

That is interesting. How many quail would I need to equal a dozen hens in egg production considering lay rate and egg weight? I have a household of six and I share with other households. Could I put chickens and quail together?

I think 3 quail eggs = 1 chicken egg approximately. My quail each laid 6 or 7 eggs/week. You need a high protein game bird crumble for them, which may be harder to find. I think what I was feeding them was 28% gamebird.

for calcium, I gave them cuttle bone (like for parrots) attached to side of cage. I just bought a bulk box of it, and grit I just used the grit sold for parrots Too into a small feed dispenser to attach to side of cage, like for a parrot.

I’ve you’ve never Cracked open a quail egg, they are small and fairly tough. So, there are quail egg scissors to use to chop off the top of the shell, pour out the contents. Also, if you pickle the eggs (yum! And bite size), some people buy an egg peeler, but I just used vinegar to soften the shell (soak overnight) before peeling since they were going into a pickling solution anyway. Quail egg scissors: egg top through the hole and the angled blade cuts it off.

And since they are small eggs, they cook quickly. Also good for adding to top of a pizza during last few minutes (don’t use a cold egg) in the oven.

 

[Aunt Angus]

They already make some out of paper products that decompose quickly. I actually went to a restaurant that had them and the straw started falling apart in my drink I got another drink and just drank from the glass.

Plastic straws are banned here. Yay. I've found that if you take the paper ones out of your drink between sips, it's fine. Just FYI.