I can eat meat as long as I don't think about where it came from. There are some meats I will not eat because I can't stand to think about eating a little bunny rabit (for example). We mostly eat chicken (love turkey too!) and beef in my house (the odd pit of pork) and I LOVE my seafood. But I can't eat Lamb, Deer, etc. I love my eggs, cheese and milk as well. I do not wear any leather or fur tho.

For me, meat has never been a big thing. I love a good burger or a nice turkey dinner... but the thought of a big slab of steak kinda grosses me out... I would be just as happy with a burger or some fish or chicken or something... I am a bit odd I think. In fact, I would rather eat a bag of pergoies over a steak hahaha.

bottom line, there are autotrophs (photo, chemo, etc) and then there are heterotropic animals; they all depend on SOMETHING to surivive whether it be light energy, inorganic compounds, or organic compounds. I don't think Spiders think twice about killing their prey. As rudimentary as these examples sound, the "more complex" organism situations aren't any different. Don;t get me wrong- I don;t believe in slaying and mudrering animals ruthlessly. I just believe that animals eat animals sometimes, and mother nature doesn't stop this.

I have also struggled with this question. I realize that humans are omnivores and it's natural etc, but like some other people have said, the meat industry is horribly run and animals are treated badly. They are also often pumped full of hormones or made to grow in ways that are not natural just so there is more meat on their bodies. This isn't even my primary problem though.... Thousands of acres of rainforest are cut down all the time to make way for cattle ranches. You can feed way more people off of a field of grains than you can off of the cows that graze in that same area.

Having said that, I also love meat, eggs & dairy. I know it would be a major lifestyle change to go vegetarian or vegan but it's something I may one day follow through with. Sometimes I think that I should be living more in harmony with my values and not eating meat would be one step in that direction.

You're right, of course. And I totally get "the circle of life" & all that. Maybe I'm just too soft-hearted about such things. I can't even stand to watch certain shows on Animal Planet that depict the natural killing the natural (such as a pack of wolves running down & killing a caribou...) I mean - I KNOW THAT'S NATURE and that is "the way it is" & all that... and I want the wolves to eat & survive & thrive! - but oh!!!!....the poor caribou!!!! .... Yeah, I'm kindy wimpy like that!!

That's pretty much ME in a nutshell!

I like that there's less focus on to-meat-or-not-to-meat, and more focus on how was this animal raised, and who is benefitting from me purchasing this product? While I don't think I'd ever become completely vegetarian, I have significantly decreased the amount of meat I eat by choosing free-range, hormone-free, usually-much-more-expensive meats. I went from 2-3 meals with meat a day, to one meal with meat about every other day.

Our teeth are made to eat meat. We have sharper teeth in the front for "tearing" a bite and flatter ones in the back for "grinding down" what we are eating. My kids are both insulin resistant and their dietician tells them "you eat what God made us to eat. He made animals for meat, grains, veggies, fruit etc. He did not make fruity pebbles!" I think she has a point!

I've tried to cut out meat a couple of times now and didn't make it. I do like having some meat. I also struggle with the issues mentioned here.

The other part of this is what some other people said - what is done to animals, what kind of 'extras' they add to the food (in general) should be more talked about. I DO NOT like the idea of someone putting hormones in meat and then I eat that. Over the long term, what effect is that having on children? Is there a higher concentration of it in their small body?

My husband and I were talking last night about how much sodium is in tomato and V8 juices. WOW when I looked at the can my eyes popped! How can they market this as the 'perfect food' when it has that much sodium!!?

I am carnivore thru and thru. I can watch the peta videos and then eat a rare steak with not a pause. However - if I think about sausage or hot dogs, any chopped and formed meat, I can't hardly eat it. I know there are eyelids and earlobes (and worse) in it.

I used to get grossed out about this stuff (and still do, I guess), but then a friend who is an avid hunter pointed out that creating sausages out of the less-desirable parts is at least using the entire animal, instead of letting it go to waste.

I became a vegetarian about 3 1/2 years ago. But I think it was always in me. I never liked meat only ground beef and chicken. I could'nt stand to eat anything when I cooked it cuz I saw all the blood. What put me over the edge was when my DH went to his sisters farm to pick out a pig and he shot it. The same thoughts of this litle pig was walking around and now DH takes his life away. I never eat meat again after that day.
But I do relize it is a part of life. My not eatting meat isnt going to stop all animals from being killed. I cook it for my family and don't think any thing of it. But personally it grosses me out to and I won't eat it.
Some of us eat meat some of us don't there's nothing wrong with either choice.

"Our teeth are made to eat meat. We have sharper teeth in the front for "tearing" a bite and flatter ones in the back for "grinding down" ."

Sorry I don't know how to use the quotey thing... but here are my two cents (if they are indeed worth that much)

As a feminist I tend to be wary of any argument that cites anything like biology as destiny (they used to say that the size of women' or enslaved peoples' brains were eveidence that they weren't as intellectually capable as Caucasian males and used that to support thier mistreatment of both groups) but at least in the case of dairy it seems we are not meant to have that either when you consider that a large percentage of the population is lacrose intolerant to some degree (more than any other basic food allergy, like peanuts or shellfish) and that baby cows,for whom milk is actually intended, have four stomachs with which to digest it.

There are also some studies that there is a correlation (though only a correlation, correlation does not indicate causation) between a diet low in animal products and a lower risk/ occurence of cancer. So there are health considerations in additon to ethical consideration which may help people to finalize their decision.

I personally went vegan for about a week and loved it, it forced me to try new things (boca soy burgers are great and Soy milk isnt as gross as I though it was) and I physically felt better (less congestion early in the morning, less lethargic) it's not a sustainable lifestyle for me ( I ironically love dairy with a passion) but I find I am not as dependent on dairy as I thought I was and I found I didn't miss meat at all.

I would definitly get a little more educated about vegetarianism and if that doesnt convince you, try it for a short period of time (as little as 3 days) and see how it goes.

Hi,

I think is a very personal choice. I don't think eating meat is a bad thing ( if animals had grown well,etc,etc). It's not a moral choice for me. If you don't like meat, go for it. But deprive yourself from something you have been "created" or "designed" to eat is frustating and unnecesary. Yep, poor veggies are alive too. And some people talk with them and say they can "hear" them, so it's sad eating them too, isn't it?

My 2¢.....I also think it's a matter of personal choice, I was vegan for like 6 months. It was a lonnngg tiome ago - but I remember it being a LOT more work. Going out was really hard - it might be easier now.

I was vegetarian for maybe 3-4 years mostly for ethical reasons, I faded out of it when I got married. Not because DH demanded meat for dinner - but because I know he enjoys it and I mellowed on my stance.
I do make an effort to buy freerange/organic (veggies, too) as much as possible. As for leather, I do have a leather jacket....
beach patrol - thanks for bringing us your ponderings....

Well she already said that it IS a moral choice for her. She does like meat, but it's a moral issue she is struggling with. Plus, I don't think most vegetarians or vegans would consider it "frustrating" not to eat meat. It seems to me that it is more frustrating for the people around them, sometimes justifiably (because it's harder to cook for them or make plans to go out and eat) and sometimes unjustifiably (because people feel threatened sometimes by others' choices).

I'm not trying to force vegetarianism on anyone... I'm not even one myself. But it seems that vegetarians and vegans face a lot of unnecessary criticism in our society about what they eat, in a similar way that we chicks struggling to live healthy lifestyles also sometimes do. Why is it that we find each other's food choices so threatening? (I'm not talking about anyone on this thread, just in general).