Should we eat animals?

[littlea53]

*Insert bad Dr. Seuss pun*

Heres a nice little debatable topic. Do you think we should eat animals? If yes, why? If no, why not?

I believe we should eat animals. Imagine it this way:

No matter what lifestyle choice you make these days, you almost invariably support a company, product, or service which was created at the expense of animals' lives. You would likely have to live an Amish lifestyle in order to achieve some semblance of this position of not killing animals, and even then this isn't exactly true since being Amish doesn't preclude you from eating meat. So yes, an Amish vegetarian who eats nothing but celery or something. That's what your future looks like for you. Of course, then what about plants? They're living things too, so we shouldn't harm them either right? The logical extreme leads one to say that the only way to prevent your causing harm to any other living thing is to just kill yourself.

 

[kaiser soze]

yes. other animals eat other animals. we are (pretty much) the top of the food chain, why waste it?

plus animals are tasty

 

[CSolarstorm]

No matter what lifestyle choice you make these days, you almost invariably support a company, product, or service which was created at the expense of animals' lives. You would likely have to live an Amish lifestyle in order to achieve some semblance of this position of not killing animals, and even then this isn't exactly true since being Amish doesn't preclude you from eating meat. So yes, an Amish vegetarian who eats nothing but celery or something. That's what your future looks like for you. Of course, then what about plants? They're living things too, so we shouldn't harm them either right? The logical extreme leads one to say that the only way to prevent your causing harm to any other living thing is to just kill yourself.

An overexaggeration, not exactly an argument against vegetarianism...but if someone genuinely feels this way they should refrain from being a vegetarian just for their own mental health if nothing else. If they think vegetarianism = suicide then by all means stay away from it.

Plants are supposed to vaguely feel stimuli, but they don't really posess a nervous system that makes them feel pain like members of the animal kingdom do. And plants grow a lot quicker and in larger numbers.

I'm okay with eating meat. I'm just against factory meatpacking. Eating the meatpacked meat, in a solid sense, isn't morally wrong as much as buying it is. Eating it just prevents it from being wasted.

 

[john stewart]

yes. other animals eat other animals. we are (pretty much) the top of the food chain, why waste it?

plus animals are tasty

this is pretty much exactly what i was thinking
especially the last part

 

[Dattebayo]

Well it's important to eat them as they provide protein to build muscles.

 

[littlea53]

An overexaggeration, not exactly an argument against vegetarianism...but if someone genuinely feels this way they should refrain from being a vegetarian just for their own mental health if nothing else. If they think vegetarianism = suicide then by all means stay away from it.

Plants are supposed to vaguely feel stimuli, but they don't really posess a nervous system that makes them feel pain like members of the animal kingdom do. And plants grow a lot quicker and in larger numbers.

I'm okay with eating meat. I'm just against factory meatpacking. Eating the meatpacked meat, in a solid sense, isn't morally wrong as much as buying it is. Eating it just prevents it from being wasted.

I didn't attempt to attack all vegetarians. I was just making a point against people who may attack me saying something along the lines of "Eating animals are bad. What if animal ate you?"

 

[CSolarstorm]

I didn't attempt to attack all vegetarians. I was just making a point against people who may attack me saying something along the lines of "Eating animals are bad. What if animal ate you?"

I didn't think you were attempting to attack all vegetarians. Your point was an exaggeration so I was just pointing that out.

 

[Pansy :]]

I personally am a vegetarian, but I do believe that people should eat animals... Although I'm a vegetarian in protest of factory farming... I understand that not all meat comes from factory farms, but it's so hard to tell, so I just gave up meat.
In the wild other animals eat other animals, so why shouldn't we?

 

[bel9]

Proteins we get from meat can be found elsewhere in nuts, bugs,. However, early Homo reliance on bone marrow and meat while scavenging probably allowed our brains and bodies to grow and change at such a quick rate. But before glorifying all that is meat, we should also remember what happened to our evolutionary cousins, the neanderthals; Their diets consisted of mainly meat from animals they hunted and that strategy didn't work out too well for them.

Our current average Western diet most likely overemphasizes meat and we probably eat meat more often than we biologically should.

 

[Aquanova]

Im not a vegetarian but Im horrifed with Factory Farming. Thats just terrible.

 

[Zibdas]

If God didn't want us to eat animals, he wouldn't have made them taste good.
/thread

 

[thekorean]

Proteins we get from meat can be found elsewhere in nuts, bugs,. However, early Homo reliance on bone marrow and meat while scavenging probably allowed our brains and bodies to grow and change at such a quick rate. But before glorifying all that is meat, we should also remember what happened to our evolutionary cousins, the neanderthals; Their diets consisted of mainly meat from animals they hunted and that strategy didn't work out too well for them.

Our current average Western diet most likely overemphasizes meat and we probably eat meat more often than we biologically should.

We need to eat less meat, but we still need to eat meat. Proteins from nuts and other things are different proteins than from meat and we need proteins from meat and they are the most useful. Bugs are animals BTW.

 

[bel9]

We need to eat less meat, but we still need to eat meat.

I never said we didn't need to eat meat. I just gave a scientific history into when our ancestors began to eat meat and the probable effects it had on them *shrugs*

Proteins from nuts and other things are different proteins than from meat and we need proteins from meat

I never said we didn't need proteins from meat; I said quite the contrary if you took the time to read the post.

they are the most useful.

Not in excess.

Bugs are animals BTW.

I never said they weren't animals.

 

[Zora]

Last semester I had to read a book called (*drumroll please*) Eating Animals by Fouhr or something like that. That said, the book wasn't enough to convert to me to vegetarianism, and honestly, the entire book is mostly about what goes on Factory Farms. But it did increase my awareness in a lot of **** that goes in the meat industry, namely factor farming that, quite frankly, we should do away with. And no, I'm not saying this because I'm pro animal rights, and I'm not even thing about animals here. I'm talking about some sick stuff that effects me, the consumer, such as the feces soup (look that up if you're interested, but don't complain to me if you don't want to eat meat again).

And then there's a host of other problems. Environmentally, they're actually a significant threat because the animal waste they produce. As far as health is considered, the overuse of antibiotics is just inviting for a new epidemic. The only reason why this hasn't happened yet is because it's unlikely, but nevertheless possible, a strain of virus (or bacteria or whatever other pathogen) will be the kind that could affect humans. However, given the fact it's possible, it's bound to happen eventually. Oh, and we haven't gotten to how they treat animals yet, namely how much **** they put animals through just to make them mass production and tastier. Like neutering all males (mind you, the surgery is swift and without pain killers), cutting off their beaks, etc, etc.

At the end of the day though, meat is just too integrated into our culture and I'm a lazy bastard who isn't going to go out of his way to avoid meat. That said, I actually commend American vegans and vegetarianism who really don't support our awful meat industry (elsewhere, the industry isn't so bad. Hell, Japanese cows get free booze). But our meat industry is a mess and it really needs strong regulations (the USDA really can't do **** because, because they oblige to both the meat industry and the people). The chances of that happening are slim though, because Americans want their meat cheap. And sadly, that also means destroying the environment through animal manure, eating some Chicken feces, and possibly contracting a new pathogen in the process.

 

[Chaos Emperor]

yes we should eat meat. theres all kinds of protein and other stuff in meat that helps keep you healthy, stuff thats probably harder to get from nuts. i heard many vegetarians/vegans have to have vitamin supplements to avoid illness since they're missing certain vitamins and minerals from eating only veggies and fruits. also, animals eat other animals, thats just how nature works. yes there are animals that are herbivores, but there are also carnivores, who cannot live on plants; we are omnivores, needing veggies AND meat. and as kaiser sore said, meat is tasty, so why wouldnt you want tasty food?

 

[Hydreigon11]

Humans are at the top of the food chain, why shouldn't we eat animals. It's like cheetahs not hunting gazelle, just because we are omnivorous, doesn't mean we shouldn't eat meat.

Plus (finishing argument) Meat tastes soooo good.

 

[Vermehlo_Steele]

If we don't eat meat, then animals shall proliferate to an even higher population than what they are now and the effect on the environment and society will be most profound.

More uneaten animals = more corpses, gas and feces, increasing health risks. The contribution of methane from cows is already high, imagine more cows and thus more gas.

More uneaten animals = greater strain on plant material, oxygen production takes a hit and more jungles/ woodland/ forests have to be cleared to feed the spiraling animal population.

More uneaten animals = the greater reliance of humans on plants and drugs for nutrition. Coupled with the above point means a tremdous strain on our bio-diversity and plant life around the globe.


All in all, a PETA/ environmentalist wet-dream isn't all that rosy, and frankly, those who abstain from meat for environmental reasons probably aren't on the right track. However, I agree with belbackinblack in that too much meat is consumed in Austro- North America, and probably Europe (I'm not familiar with European dietary habits)

 

[Ausgirl]

Yes cos that's what they're for. I wouldn't dream of eating animals like dogs though...

 

[Hatsune Miku]

My point of view

We should eat animals. only because its "good".(means everything positive of eating them)

 

[Malanu]

Two things to determine if we should eat animals
1) Does eating meat make us sick? No?
2) Does the meat taste good? Yes?

Eat animals!