New York Times Contest Asks: "Is Eating Meat Ethical?"

daffodilsoup

The New York Times recently put out a contest that might appeal to America's meat eaters - write a 600-word essay on why it is, in fact, ethical to eat meat. The Times notes that the essays are not to be about why you like meat, or why humans are supposed to eat meat, but the simple fact that it is ethical. Read more at the contest, here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/25/magazine/tell-us-why-its-ethical-to-eat-meat-a-contest.html?_r=1&smid=FB-nytimes&WT.mc_id=MG-E-FB-SM-LIN-CAC-032012-NYT-NA&WT.mc_ev=click

So what do you think? Is it ethical to eat meat?

MikeSEA

I don't have a problem with killing an animal and using it for food.

I do have a problem with torturing animals; to me, a clean kill is not torture. So I do have a problem with what a lot of the meat industry has a history of doing for a number of reasons.

The question itself "Is Eating Meat Ethical?" is a little over simplified--I assume by design since they're asking for explanations.

All of that being said, it's not as if I hunt for all of my meat.

DieVixen

I think eating meat is fine,its the nature of nature

angelashay42

I believe that on a very base level, it is natural for humans to incorporate a small amount of meat-based protein into their diets.
However, I think that our society has grossly over-stepped the boundary between necessity and greed. Animals were not put on this earth soley to serve and feed people. I believe they have rights to life just as humans do. Factory farming is cruel and unnecessary torture. My vegetarianism is in protest to these institutions.

In a perfect world, animals would roam free, live their lives, and only be hunted as an absolute necessity for human survival. Instead they are trapped, tortured, murdered, and gorged upon by civilized people who could just as easily (both nutritionally and economically) eat a vegetarian diet to survive. Alas, it is not a perfect world, but I believe we could do a lot better.

Grimmerick

The way most of us eat meat is definitely not ethical.......not even close. We eat way more than we need and don't care enough about how it came to be on our plates. I have no problem with killing an animal quickly and using all of it, but this factory farming **** has got to stop it isn't natural or fair. I don't think anyone here would say oh yes I would like to die and come back as a factory farmed cow or chicken or pig, I guess my point here is if we wouldn't want to be treated that way then we shouldn't be treating anything else that way. Yes our brains are more complex than an animals but that shouldn't mean they should be treated miserably because they aren't advanced enough to help themselves, it means we have the capacity to be compassionate for the suffering of others and we have the means to do something about it.............. but do we? No we don't give a crap and turn a blind eye for some of the most ignorant reasons I have ever heard. Oh I need all that protein for a healthy diet (no you don't need that much) Oh god says animals are here for us to consume (ok did he say we could mistreat them or turn a blind eye to their mistreatment ......NO) EAT LESS MEAT and give the animals more natural conditions. It's win win for everyone.........except the owners of the factories. How can we consider ourselves so smart and superior to everything else on the planet when we let this kind of stuff happen without even batting an eye? It's disgusting but I would like to say........BRAVO to all of you out there that hunt for your own meat or buy it from legitimate compassionate farms that do it the way it should be done.

Grimmerick

I think eating meat is fine,its the nature of nature

unfortunately it's not as simple as that unless you hunt your own or buy from a legitimately compassionate farm. There is nothing natural about our animal factory farming methods.