Vegetarianism. Seriously? (A Debate)

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  • LazerMole
    LazerMole Posts: 99 Member


    8veg.jpg


    LOVE THIS

    I am vegetarian because I think it is morally disgusting to rear and kill other living creatures for our own warped gratification. We don't need meat, if we were carnivores and we had no choice I might feel differently, but given I have been perfectly healthy for the last 22 years on a vegetarian diet, I don't think there is any valid reason why humans should eat meat. IMO "it tastes good" is a pathetic justification. Necrophilia might feel good, but it's gross so humans don't do it. I feel the same about eating something that is dead.

    *disclaimer - obviously plants don't count not having a brain or central nervous system or consciousness.
    [/quote]

    I'm just going to point out that while you have lived a perfectly healthy life as a vegetarian - vegetarianism is not for everyone, and not all people would be okay with a strictly vegetarian lifestyle. I'd also like to point out that unless you want to sterilize every single domesticated farm animal currently in existence, we're going to have an issue with very dumb animals with nowhere to go and no skills to survive in the wild. Even if we're not killing the livestock for food, I'm assuming you're still cool with dairy and eggs - but you have to do something with the excess of males, otherwise they end up causing damage and fighting one another for dominance.

    Veganism is a horrible idea anywhere else but in the 1st world - because people who do not have access to more than a hand full of vegetables and legumes are not going to get enough fat or protein to sustain brain development that they would get if they could raise chickens and goats for eggs and milk. And I'm really stressing that goat thing. Seriously - those f***ers will eat anything.
  • gchutson
    gchutson Posts: 657
    Meat's not the problem, it's how the living and breathing animal is treated while it has a life, brain, and feelings, and the way in which it is treated during slaughter.

    Since you are obviously not going to be swayed by any postings, why start a "debate"?

    As you say, you are uneducated, so I forgive you. (yes, I know, you're kidding, but I wouldn't be surprised if you really were uneducated)

    Alas, we will never live in a world of vegetarians, or even one where cruelty to "farm" animals has disappeared.

    Someone commented earlier that it's not "vegetarians," rather their "holier-than-thou attitude."

    Eh hem. Wink wink. Nudge nudge.

    And this is why I hate these types of posts. You end up with people taking the moral highground (which they are entitled to do, it just niggles me) and then you have others making ridiculous statements like plants have feelings. They always end up the same.

    "Niggles." I learned a new word today. I'm sure someone will find that offensive.
  • sho3girl
    sho3girl Posts: 10,799 Member
    I like meat and I like blood!

    However, I do have two darling cats, they are my friends and... we DON'T eat friends! So, I'd have to qualify, "Yes, I like meat AND I like blood, however, I probably wouldn't eat it if there was any intimacy involved prior to feasting..."

    Again, avoiding all jokes about "eating [cats]."

    just too funny :laugh:
  • noweightfisherj
    noweightfisherj Posts: 220 Member
    I do believe eating no meat or little meat significantly reduces the interior and exterior wear and tear on your body. Plus you are more likely to consume and ENJOY fruit, vegetables, and legumes. For children raised vegetarian, it sets a foundation for life for healthy eating. All of my kids love healthy food, they don't have that distaste for veggies that seems common in American children.

    I would never tell anyone they SHOULD be vegetarian, but I do think most people (at least in the states) eat too much meat. You can never go wrong in reducing how much meat you eat, but eating too much meat can actually hurt you.

    Scientifically, none of this is true. Vegetarians, vegans, and omnivores all have the same rates of disease and life expectancies. Also, I eat meat, and I've never not enjoyed fruit, vegetables, or legumes. Vegetarian =/= healthy eating, as there are plenty of things that are vegetarian that are not healthy. Oreo cookies, potato chips, french fries, just 3 examples off the top of my head that are considered vegetarian (well, vegan technically.)

    Good habits lead to good health, no specific diet or way of eating automatically leads to good health.

    And GC, commercial potato chips are fried in canola oil, vegetable oil, or sunflower oil. They stopped using lard decades ago. Sad really, as nutritionally, lard is actually very high in monounsaturated fat, and medium chain triglycerides, the healthy stuff people are spending crazy amounts of money on coconut oil for. :laugh:

    Apparently, you've never been to the south. We fry everything in lard. Last night I had chicken-fried ice tea.

    I have had chicken fried steak, chicken fried chicken, (which is just fried chicken), and chicken fried bacon, but I have yet to try chicken fried tea. I look forward to it.
  • gchutson
    gchutson Posts: 657
    I do believe eating no meat or little meat significantly reduces the interior and exterior wear and tear on your body. Plus you are more likely to consume and ENJOY fruit, vegetables, and legumes. For children raised vegetarian, it sets a foundation for life for healthy eating. All of my kids love healthy food, they don't have that distaste for veggies that seems common in American children.

    I would never tell anyone they SHOULD be vegetarian, but I do think most people (at least in the states) eat too much meat. You can never go wrong in reducing how much meat you eat, but eating too much meat can actually hurt you.

    Scientifically, none of this is true. Vegetarians, vegans, and omnivores all have the same rates of disease and life expectancies. Also, I eat meat, and I've never not enjoyed fruit, vegetables, or legumes. Vegetarian =/= healthy eating, as there are plenty of things that are vegetarian that are not healthy. Oreo cookies, potato chips, french fries, just 3 examples off the top of my head that are considered vegetarian (well, vegan technically.)

    Good habits lead to good health, no specific diet or way of eating automatically leads to good health.

    And GC, commercial potato chips are fried in canola oil, vegetable oil, or sunflower oil. They stopped using lard decades ago. Sad really, as nutritionally, lard is actually very high in monounsaturated fat, and medium chain triglycerides, the healthy stuff people are spending crazy amounts of money on coconut oil for. :laugh:

    Apparently, you've never been to the south. We fry everything in lard. Last night I had chicken-fried ice tea.

    I have had chicken fried steak, chicken fried chicken, (which is just fried chicken), and chicken fried bacon, but I have yet to try chicken fried tea. I look forward to it.

    It's great. Getting the fried batter up the straw is a challenge, but it's totally worth it.
  • gchutson
    gchutson Posts: 657
    What bothers me about that whole lot [of people that have never existed ever] (referencing other people is forbidden), is that you never see "healthy" vegetarians. By "healthy," I mean my definition of "healthy." IE, muscles, built, powerful, etc...

    I'm a vegetarian, it started because I didn't like meat as a child. My parents made me eat it, and when I was old enough to prepare my own food, I became a vegetarian. That being said, now that I am older and wiser, the moral aspect is also very important to me. I also live with meat eaters and have no problem with it, it's your choice. I leave it alone and expect people to leave my choice alone.

    I understand people are supposed to eat meat, for ages is was a necessity to survive. If you want to go out, kill your own meal, and use rest of the animal for various purposes, power to you, I respect that. I just don't see walking into the butcher or grocery store humane.

    And just because you had to say it's not possible,

    414403_706852486829_1056565600_o.jpg

    Celebrity opinions regarding anything, never count, ever.
  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member


    8veg.jpg


    LOVE THIS

    I am vegetarian because I think it is morally disgusting to rear and kill other living creatures for our own warped gratification. We don't need meat, if we were carnivores and we had no choice I might feel differently, but given I have been perfectly healthy for the last 22 years on a vegetarian diet, I don't think there is any valid reason why humans should eat meat. IMO "it tastes good" is a pathetic justification. Necrophilia might feel good, but it's gross so humans don't do it. I feel the same about eating something that is dead.

    *disclaimer - obviously plants don't count not having a brain or central nervous system or consciousness.
    [/quote]
    Gorillas do eat meat, as do chimpanzees and koala bears, just before they're referenced. Carry on.
  • _VoV
    _VoV Posts: 1,494 Member
    I've been a vegetarian since my teens. I think it is the KINDEST way to feed myself. I simply see no reason to make food choices which require someone to kill animals for me, if I can live well on plant-based food. After these many years, I see no point in debating this lifestyle. Live and let live.

    I've been eating this way since 1973--going on 40 years. I am in prime health at age 57. Whether this is attributable to my veg*n diet, I simply can't tell you, but I doubt it has hurt me any. I don't debate the health advantages of a plant-based diet, since most of the research is epidemiological, and I think it isn't proof, per se, that one diet is superior to another. I do believe eating a rainbow of plant foods is a good thing, and I encourage anyone willing to listen to me to do so.

    Veg*n food options keep getting better all the time, and I am thankful for that.
  • happythermia
    happythermia Posts: 374
    different strokes for different blokes, my friend.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    Gorillas do eat meat, as do chimpanzees and koala bears, just before they're referenced. Carry on.

    While this is actually true - it is insects they eat (usually ants). There is no conclusive proof that gorillas eat meat (other than insects) in the wild. Chimps - yes, gorillas, no.
  • gchutson
    gchutson Posts: 657
    I've been a vegetarian since my teens. I think it is the KINDEST way to feed myself. I simply see no reason to make food choices which require someone to kill animals for me, if I can live well on plant-based food. After these many years, I see no point in debating this lifestyle. Live and let live.

    I've been eating this way since 1973--going on 40 years. I am in prime health at age 57. Whether this is attributable to my veg*n diet, I simply can't tell you, but I doubt it has hurt me any. I don't debate the health advantages of a plant-based diet, since most of the research is epidemiological, and I think it isn't proof, per se, that one diet is superior to another. I do believe eating a rainbow of plant foods is a good thing, and I encourage anyone willing to listen to me to do so.

    Veg*n food options keep getting better all the time, and I am thankful for that.

    This is one meat-eater that will beat up anyone that ever makes you sad. Promise.
  • zCarsAndCaloriesz
    zCarsAndCaloriesz Posts: 348
    I honestly just prefer Veggies and Fruits, the only meat I actually enjoy is chicken.
  • tikikris
    tikikris Posts: 81 Member
    I don't eat my friends.
  • gchutson
    gchutson Posts: 657
    Gorillas do eat meat, as do chimpanzees and koala bears, just before they're referenced. Carry on.

    While this is actually true - it is insects they eat (usually ants). There is no conclusive proof that gorillas eat meat (other than insects) in the wild. Chimps - yes, gorillas, no.

    We like steak. Trust me.
  • carolynmittens
    carolynmittens Posts: 344
    so basically, you posted this topic not because you're genuinely curious about vegetarianism, but because you think your diet is superior and you'd like vegetarians to agree with you?
  • gchutson
    gchutson Posts: 657
    I don't eat my friends.

    Now see.. you say stuff like that and it makes it really, really hard for me to not be a smartass.
  • nikinyx6
    nikinyx6 Posts: 772 Member
    so basically, you posted this topic not because you're genuinely curious about vegetarianism, but because you think your diet is superior and you'd like vegetarians to agree with you?

    I really think it's just a way to spark some conversation..... why do you choose to eat the way you do?
  • gchutson
    gchutson Posts: 657
    so basically, you posted this topic not because you're genuinely curious about vegetarianism, but because you think your diet is superior and you'd like vegetarians to agree with you?

    No, I posted this topic to ask if anyone cares to debate the benefits / drawbacks of vegetarianism VS yummy, yummy meat.

    This fact was cryptically hidden within the second sentence of the original post that stated, "Anyone care to debate the benefits / drawbacks of vegetarianism VS yummy, yummy meat."

    I can be so coy with my intentions at times.
  • cheesy_blasters
    cheesy_blasters Posts: 283 Member
    Well, my entire family discusses this a lot. To me, most vegans and quite a many vegetarians just never look healthy. None of us get it. I don't buy the "not hurting living creatures" thing. A. dogs and cats eat meat and require it if you feed you cat tofu your evil. B. just because plants don't have faces or vocal cords doesn't mean your not eating them alive, killing them, or hurting them. We must eat life to live. Can't live off of rocks.

    not to ruffle feathers. just one family's opinion. everyone is allowed their own.

    LOL.
  • kaylurzz
    kaylurzz Posts: 121 Member
    I'm a vegetarian for health reasons. I'd only eat fried chicken nuggets from fast food joints, not healthy at all. Or I'd eat pepperonis, not healthy at all either. So about 3 years ago I decided to cut it out all together. And besides I never really eat meat much to being with.
  • sho3girl
    sho3girl Posts: 10,799 Member
    I don't eat my friends.

    Now see.. you say stuff like that and it makes it really, really hard for me to not be a smartass.

    Gosh you're holding back, you must have really been chastised :happy:
  • SunnyAndrsn
    SunnyAndrsn Posts: 369 Member
    eat, drink, and be merry. Whatever that may be. I don't care what you eat, but don't tell me what I should eat.

    PS...I DO like the taste of meat :-) Take that whatever way you want to.
  • hungryhungryhypocrite
    hungryhungryhypocrite Posts: 13 Member
    Well, my entire family discusses this a lot. To me, most vegans and quite a many vegetarians just never look healthy. None of us get it. I don't buy the "not hurting living creatures" thing. A. dogs and cats eat meat and require it if you feed you cat tofu your evil. B. just because plants don't have faces or vocal cords doesn't mean your not eating them alive, killing them, or hurting them. We must eat life to live. Can't live off of rocks.

    not to ruffle feathers. just one family's opinion. everyone is allowed their own.
    Well said. Our ancestors survived by eating meat. It's natural.
  • _VoV
    _VoV Posts: 1,494 Member
    so basically, you posted this topic not because you're genuinely curious about vegetarianism, but because you think your diet is superior and you'd like vegetarians to agree with you?

    I really think it's just a way to spark some conversation..... why do you choose to eat the way you do?

    Yes, I am interested in that, too.

    I am a vegetarian who still enjoys hearty, 'meaty' tastes and textures. I love Gardein and Boca anything. So, I'm sympathetic with people who crave meat. But, these plant-based alternatives are so very, very good and as cruelty-free as this world allows.
  • shirayne
    shirayne Posts: 263 Member


    Not booted, though I'm quite sure the moderators have a dartboard with my face and/or crotch on it.

    I'm not anti-veggie at all. Raw broccoli is arguably the yummiest thing since... well... sliced bread. Though I'm fairly sure broccoli came first.

    I'm far from anti-veggie but you'll never see me eat a meal without a piece of meat on the plate...it just feels wrong... and I concur...broccoli rocks!


    Especially when accompanied by MEAT... :)
  • nikinyx6
    nikinyx6 Posts: 772 Member


    I am a vegetarian who still enjoys hearty, 'meaty' tastes and textures. I love Gardein and Boca anything. So, I'm sympathetic with people who crave meat. But, these plant-based alternatives are so very, very good and as cruelty-free as this world allows.

    I've never tried a plant-based meat alternative, I'm sure it probably is abetter option sometimes, so I'll have to give 'em a try sometime :)
  • carolynmittens
    carolynmittens Posts: 344
    so basically, you posted this topic not because you're genuinely curious about vegetarianism, but because you think your diet is superior and you'd like vegetarians to agree with you?

    No, I posted this topic to ask if anyone cares to debate the benefits / drawbacks of vegetarianism VS yummy, yummy meat.

    This fact was cryptically hidden within the second sentence of the original post that stated, "Anyone care to debate the benefits / drawbacks of vegetarianism VS yummy, yummy meat."

    I can be so coy with my intentions at times.
    my bad. i thought that when you made the comment "Again, I'm not judging. I'm just curious" you were cryptically implying that you were not judging, and just curious.
  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member
    I don't eat my friends.
    I eat my best friend and she thoroughly enjoys it.

    Now that's out of the way, GH can stay on track.
  • supplemama
    supplemama Posts: 1,956 Member
    That was the nicest, most polite counterargument I've ever seen, professionally or otherwise. I can't argue back because I feel the to give you a hug and buy your kids a pony.

    Awwww! How sweet :smile:
    thank you for understanding my viewpoint.
  • scinamon1
    scinamon1 Posts: 158 Member
    why did the tofu cross the road?

    cos it wasn't chicken :laugh:

    i'm vegetarian and have been since i was about 9. i think everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but it always slightly annoys me when people say they eat meat because it is natural and humans were made to eat meat. we weren't made to dye our hair, and cars and mars bars and pretty much every aspect of our lives are unnatural, so that argument always seems a tad hypocritical to me. mostly i'm veggie because of the opportunities for awful jokes :)
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