Vegetarians - why?

I just want to clear up one little point. I grew up on a ranch in eastern Colorado. My father still runs the ranch. It is a small family farm, and he has always treated his cattle well. I can remember cold nights when I was a kid, my dad bringing baby calves in the house because they were just born and it was too cold for them to be outside. We bottle fed calves that their mama's rejected, and I had many "pets" because of that. But that is how my family made a living. Ranching is one of the most labor intensive occupations out there, and I for one have much respect for those who work that hard.

That being said, I don't have any problem with anyone wanting to eat differently than I do. It is 100% their choice. Just like it is 100% my choice to eat meat.

I just don't like red meat, never did,even as a child. I eat fish, chicken etc.

It doesn't bother me what anyone else chooses to eat or not.

I haven't read the whole post. Following are some reasons why I have been vegetarian in the past, I have a son who is vegan - currently I am a meat eater but could happily be vegetarian again

Taste
Health
Cheaper
Something doesn't have to die
Environmental - better for the planet
Variety

PS I don't like tofu :laugh: but there are lots of other options

I've tried to cut down my consumption of meat/meat products due to the fact that livestock maintenance and production causes a lot of CO2 emissions (particularly beef).

Decreasing CO2 means less food for all those yummy plants.....just saying....

This is one of the stupidest things I've ever heard. There is no shortage of carbon dioxide in the world. There will probably never be a shortage of carbon dioxide in the world. Even if there were, if people ate less meat, then animals would eat less plants, and there'd be more plants for the rest of us.

I win!

You can't read sarcasm, so without voice fluctuations and tone, no one can tell that you aren't just stupid.

YIKES!!! This is getting viscous! Lets all take a deep breath now!!

I almost went veg. The only meat I ate was chicken nuggets and I think I just ate them so often the thought of eating more meat turned me. Turns out I hate most vegetarian food too (getting better). I'm also concerned for those who do not research what is lacking in the vegetarian's diet and how to get it in a healthy matter that doesn't consist of eating the same thing over and over like tofu (that's a different thread rant). I can understand why peoples stomach turn over meat. It doesn't do that to me anymore. A animal dies for me every day. I'm like Jesus.

I also didn't want to be associated with the attitude problem most people assume vegetarians have. I bet some people got offended by my jesus comment for example. Don't get me wrong the 'meat eaters' can be just as bad to the other extreme making a point to tick the vegetarians off. I think we all need to be a little more acceptable and not assume that because someone has curiosity (not necessarily a bad thing in life) like the OP, or a sense of humor, you need to fight with them (non-constructively).

I think it's all rather silly. If someone is saying something and it's not to be intentionally mean about it, why would you flip it to be?

If you're like Jesus, I have lots of water I need turned into more suitable adult drinks...

I can totally turn things into adult drinks lol

tofu can be made tasty. it just happens to be really easy to make unbearable. my grandpa grossed me out when he fked up pork chops. now i think of cannibalism when thinking of eating meat. *shrug*

in definately on bath salts either so i dont think id enjoy it.

been a vegetarian for 12 years

I seen a video of how McDonald's treats the animals they slaughter. They take chickens minutes after they're both and cut their beaks while they're alive and then throw them into grinders to make nuggets (which I dont even think are very tasty). They don't even understand life enough to learn anything and they're stolen....I mean imagine coming into this world as a baby, scared and confused, then enduring such a horrible pain. I just imagine a human child doing so and any baby really would experience it the same way. It's dreadful. I seen pigs necks cut while hanging upside down and them cut down and allowed to wriggle until they die a slow painful death. When I see a mother cat/dog/pig or any animal feeding and taking care of their young I realize they feel. They bond and they have instincts like the ones I had when I had my two beautiful children. My reason is mainly I imagine in my head how I would feel if someone slaughtered my kids in front of me or stole them for a meal. I would never get over it and just because I am human, it doesn't mean other creatures don't feel. It is weird to me that we say they're stupid animals so it makes it OKAY. Doesn't that make US barbaric? Not them. Now if you want to talk food chain then eating a human baby is the same thing or eating someone disabled. They also are defenseless. I have seen animals mope after their babies or animals they lived with a long time are gone and some even die. If there is even the possibility that other creatures feel emotions the way we do I would never want to make them suffer that way. My kids are my world, we are all someone's children and you don't have to agree, but that it how I feel every time. Just because they don't speak our language doesn't mean they don't communicate. We don't eat foreign people or tribal people just because they are less "civilized". To me it isn't worth a burger that will last maybe 5 minutes on a really busy day to take a life that could have brought joy for years. & you can say well it's already dead, but it is supply and demand. Plus, there are murderers and pedophiles and always will be, but I won't go around selling child porn saying "Well its already recorded". So, my point is that it is about integrity. I have one short life to live right now and I don't want to be remembered as the person who just enjoyed what was available and accepted whatever was thrown at her. I want to be seen as someone who supported what she believed in even if no one else in the world understood.....Just because I have a brain and my own personality and I am going to use it. So what if it won't change anyone else's mind? I will have the satisfaction of knowing that no one changed mine.

P.S. I can't stand tofu!!!! YUCK!

I was vegetarian for awhile because it was lower in calories and i'm not a big meat eater. Then I thought about all those defenseless plants that can't stop people from eating them. At least animals can fight back. Ok, that's kind of a joke but I do love plants and can't understand why people don't value their "lives" as much as an animals or even just more. Trees can't defend themselves. Someone has to stop the madness.

Ok, I am probably going to offend some, but its not my intention.

However, I just don't get it, and never will. There has never been a good argument presented to me. I figure because whenever I ask why, they almost always get offended. For the life of me, I don't understand why I can't ask for a reason?

So why?

And please remove all of the tofu answers. That stuff is just nasty.

Meat does not taste good to me. The texture does not appeal to me. I feel better when I eat a veggie diet.

Ok, I am probably going to offend some, but its not my intention.

Yes it is.

That is not really fair. How can someone ask for clarification on a stance if the people with the answers immediately take this stance?

This is the coolest ticker ever, btw.

I was pescotarian for about 5 years total, which meant I still ate fish and dairy. For me it was ethical, factory farming is dispicable. I didn't judge others for what they choose to eat , It was just my preference. I still dont eat beef or pork, but added in poultry so I am no longer vegetarian obviously, but those 5 years made me think very differenly about food and be much more aware of where it comes from.

No offense taken...

I don't eat red meat, pork, or chicken. I do eat eggs, milk, and cheese. I also eat fish, shrimp, etc. So I guess I'm a pescatarian, not a vegan.

I believe (and also told by a doctor) that consuming decomposing, steroid filled flesh has a wee bit to do with cancers, especially colon cancer. The thought of eating meat just grosses me out.

Besides that, if you watched a few videos or movies of the shocking cruelty involved in the mass killing of animals for human consumption, you wouldn't enjoy that hamburger or BBQ sandwich as much. It's horrific the things that are done to animals. I can't stand to think about it.

There u go. My opinion.

i don't eat meat for the same reason i hate jelly, i hate the texture, i hate chewing it and eating it generally just makes me feel rather ill. I've never been a real meat fan but I ate chicken till one day i was in a restaurant and it hadn't been cooked properly and the vein popped in my mouth. Grossed me out and I have never touched it or even been tempted to since, i guess i'm just a queasy person and meat sets that off.

Probably some psychological damage from my brother as a child, whenever my parents would try to make me eat meat he would sit there making the relevant animal noises and as a huge animal loving child that made me feel super guilty haha

Why do people feel the need to try and convert people to become vegetarians or meat eaters? Every time I am aware of the fact that someone is a veg. it is because they feel the need to be convinced otherwise. (or vice versa) Why not just eat your vegetables or your meat and not worry about what other people are eating. You made a lifestyle choice, good for you. Now leave me to eat my lifestyle choice in peace.

The issue here is that the "lifestyle choice" of eating meat assumes that there is no "other", and that it doesn't only affect the person making the lifestyle choice - it involves the taking of another life. Aggressive activism definitely alienates people on both sides, and there are definitely more positive, peaceful ways to share beliefs than shoving them down others' throats, but the fact of the matter is that some people feel that they cannot simply stand by and watch injustice happen.

You are still taking another life when eating plants. They just aren't as cute.

This is a valid point, it is taking a life. But it's viewed differently to take the life of a sentient creature with a brain and nervous system as opposed to pulling a carrot out of the ground. Sure taking a plant's life is still taking a life, but animals have brains and nervous systems. They have the known capacity to suffer.

Plants fight for survival, avoid things that harm them, and react to external stimuli. While it does not have a nervous system (technically) it does have something that serves the same purpose.

Also, cows never see the bolt gun coming.

Heliotropism and other plant adaptations to their environment isn't proof they feel pain.

Pain motivates the individual to withdraw from damaging situations, to protect a damaged body part while it heals, and to avoid similar experiences in the future. Plants do this.

So do some man-made robots.

Yup. Which is where the discussions about the rights of artificial beings are coming from. But they also don't provide sustenance.

Haha! So are you saying that robots feel pain now? Since, their behavior is obstacle-avoidant just like the plants you cry for, I can see how it would offend your sensibilities.

Have you seen the latest robot AI technology?

Even something as unsophisticated as the Roomba makes my case for me. I really think someone as sensitive as you are--with your obvious concern for plants and robots--should go vegetarian. I worry for you.

no, a Roomba does not exercise self preservation like a plant does. Or some of the more sophisticated AI that is being developed.

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Are you laughing at plants exercising self preservation?

I know a couple vegetarians, I don't try to get them eat meat. I had a ex friend who was a meat eater when I met her and then went all vegan. she was trying to convert me, she took to the point of calling me an animal hater because I was planning on eat turkey on thanksgiving. She was nuts, she was all "I bet you'd even eat a cat...." to which I replied, "Well I've ate rabbit, snake, squirrel and even possum and coon, so yes I would cat or dog, if someone offered it to me." lmao.....she hasn't talked to me since.

Red meat makes me sick as a dog and is absolutely LOADED with fat. I will eat chicken but I don't eat any other meat. For some reasons psychologically I'm okay with Chicken but cow meat, pig meat, fish and especially lamb and veal just freak me out...I've seen seafood prepared and most of the time the animals are boiled alive or their claws are ripped off...etc...it just really freaks me out. It's not the reason I'm mostly a vegetarian but it is a small reason. But the main reason is I STRONGLY prefer vegetarian meals they're so much healthier and taste a million times better to me! I hate the taste and texture of meat and would rather get my fat elsewhere. That make fat in one meals is too much for my stomach to handle.