Veganism: Is it morally wrong to eat/kill animals?

[Nick_S]

Not exaggerating on this. One of my oldest friends won't speak to myself and a few other friends over what started as a vegan joke that he went on the complete defense about...much like this thread (not saying either side is right or wrong). Which somehow escalated to personal attacks and I got roped into it because two of the people in the argument were my brother and our best friend. Now, this kid won't speak to any of us because we're "ignorant narrow minded meat eaters". Mind you, for years this kid would flip flop back and fourth between, vegatarian and vegan and usually when he ran low on money, would eat taco bell and eat meat again. It's sad really. He also the first start up heated arguments and tell religious people how wrong and stupid they are.

Personally, I'm a very selective eater. 95% of the time I eat vegetarian, I don't eat fast food or any processed food. I do eat meat occasionally, maybe once a month or so and when I do it's lean. Either chicken or turkey but I'm real selective on where it's from. I also eat seafood, I fucking love seafood and I refuse to give that up, haha.

[10Toes]

Not exaggerating on this. One of my oldest friends won't speak to myself and a few other friends over what started as a vegan joke that he went on the complete defense about...much like this thread (not saying either side is right or wrong). Which somehow escalated to personal attacks and I got roped into it because two of the people in the argument were my brother and our best friend. Now, this kid won't speak to any of us because we're "ignorant narrow minded meat eaters". Mind you, for years this kid would flip flop back and fourth between, vegatarian and vegan and usually when he ran low on money, would eat taco bell and eat meat again. It's sad really. He also the first start up heated arguments and tell religious people how wrong and stupid they are.

Personally, I'm a very selective eater. 95% of the time I eat vegetarian, I don't eat fast food or any processed food. I do eat meat occasionally, maybe once a month or so and when I do it's lean. Either chicken or turkey but I'm real selective on where it's from. I also eat seafood, I fucking love seafood and I refuse to give that up, haha.

If only this could happen with squidmaster. Maybe we could have Blunt give him some meat.

[evandael]

There is something very sacerad about raising, or hunting and butchering your own meat. I do so when ever I can still

I don't disagree. But given your feelings about it, don't you object to McDonald's burgers, or nasty Cracker Barrel steaks, or hell, the entire supermarket meat aisle?


Shit is so far removed from nature it's practically from outer space. Not to mention, that in that disconnect from nature, in the absence of its 'sacredness'.. is it not only unnatural but also immoral?

[Farbin Kaiber]

Nope. Just like I don't think that about produce. From that angle, if you didn't pluck it from the plant, you shouldnt eat it. There are so many people that don't know what the plants (their) food grows on looks like. I think this is a two way street if you try to drive down it the way you speak of.

[streetwaves]

Nope. Just like I don't think that about produce. From that angle, if you didn't pluck it from the plant, you shouldnt eat it. There are so many people that don't know what the plants theory food grows on looks like. I think this is a two way street if you try to drive down it the way you speak of.

You could use the unnatural argument to condemn plenty of things in modern society. However, I do agree that factory farming has some obvious moral problems. Although I do not find it morally wrong to kill certain animals as painlessly as possible for the purpose of human consumption, there's something about raising an animal in a dark pen and literally making its life hell that doesn't seem defensible.

Regardless of whether it's acceptable or natural to kill an animal and eat it, I think 99% of people would agree that animals are more than mere objects and deserved to be treated in a way that respects that.

[ravenlord89]

Extremeists makes any opinion thread worth reading. LOL at sources that offer biased opinions on the subject. No article posted from a scientific journal or peer reviewed journal, and most of the links were from vegan websites. It is like posting quotes from the bible to prove the bible right. Sorry, that doesn'y fly with educated people.

Life is too short to get wrapped up in whether eating something is right or wrong. If it tastes good dig in and enjoy. I personally love food. Whether it is a big spinnach salad, or a blue steak I enjoy the food.

[CorvallisBMW]

Wow, 10 pages in a day? This one's a humdinger

[Massimo]

the industrial meat industry is, in my lax vegetarian (but not vegan) opinion, morally wrong.


if you can hunt down an animal, trap it, and kill it with your bare hands or an improvised weapon (not a gun, not a compound bow), then you are morally clear and can claim your place in the 'circle of life', an argument made previously. if you raise a hog or a cow or a chicken from its birth, care for it, and you are the one to slit its throat, drain the blood, and butcher it, then by all means, chow down.


going to Mickey D's or the supermarket ground beef aisle does not constitute a morally justified or natural means of consuming another life form. it is too far removed from the eat-or-be-eaten circle of life.

I agree but I do not practice this, Ignorance is bliss I supose.

It is true that we are way to disconnected or removed from the killing of the animals

[dreamchasin]

I like chicken

[Farbin Kaiber]

Any opinions on the Expensive Tissue Hypothesis???

[RobertK]

RobertK, wouldn't you say its not a moral thing but a preference?

Yup.. cept the way they farm animals these days is pretty fucked up not to mention nasty.

I don't get butthurt over people eating meat. To me its no different than smoking or worshipping scientology. Shoving your beliefs in the face of someone who chooses to be different than you just makes you look that much more insecure.

Nutrition is common sense once you understand what your body really needs to live a healthy life. The human body is pretty resilient and will take years of abuse before it breaks down. Some more than others. I try my best to balance out the good and the bad while learning to enjoy the benefits of both.

Buffalo Wild Wings is where I sin the most. Fogive me Jebus.

[uofom3]

I know this is a hotly debated subject, but it's one I'm interested in. What are your thoughts?

What is the difference morally between killing a person or an animal? Given that animals feel pain, does that make a difference?

For the record, I am not a vegan/vegetarian. But I think it's a difficult question to answer definitively to say the least.

No, it's not. If it were, you wouldn't be here.

[squidmaster]

right right right, so all of my sources were completely wrong and insane, but no one can provide sources that eating meat is healthier (or healthy), or morally correct. hypocrisy in this thread was not contributed by me.

and, of course none of you actually followed any of my links anyway. so here I'll go ahead and post the links to the scientific journals about health. the science is in here about health, which you all were attacking-- saying that it's healthier to eat meat. However none of you have been able to produce any information supporting the claim, other than pictures of bacon.

http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/arti...icleid=1134845
http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/122/9/876

http://www.scribd.com/doc/94656/The-Comparative-Anatomy-of-Eating

want me to pull more? not like it'll matter. none of you will read them anyway.

[squidmaster]

Look at where 99.99999% of you get your meat from, too.

http://www.farmsanctuary.org/learn/factory-farming/

and, whoa, like taco bell totally has vegetables and rice and legumes like everywhere. grab literally anything on the menu without cheese, and you can substitute any of the meats for refried beans or black beans. so eating at taco bell =/= eating meat.

[CorvallisBMW]

Well this is interesting:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-20354669

"The strongest argument that meat is not essential food is the fact that the Creator of this Universe did not include meat in the original diet for Adam and Eve. He gave them fruits, nuts and vegetables," reads a chapter entitled Do We Need Flesh Food?

The chapter details the "benefits" of a vegetarian diet and goes on to list "some of the characteristics" found among non-vegetarians.

"They easily cheat, tell lies, forget promises, they are dishonest and tell bad words, steal, fight and turn to violence and commit sex crimes," it says.

The chapter, full of factual inaccuracies, refers to Eskimos (Inuit) as "lazy, sluggish and short-lived", because they live on "a diet largely of meat".

It adds: "The Arabs who helped in constructing the Suez Canal lived on wheat and dates and were superior to the beef-fed Englishmen engaged in the same work."