What's your excuse for eating meat?

[aeromotacanucks]

I knew what the response would be. I worded the title as I did fully knowing that a bunch of monkeys would chimp out over it. I knew the reaction would be what it is, but I also expected a few people to post as they did, or expect them to post as they will. In other words, I didn't have you in mind when I made this thread, but thank you for your sympathy either way

be a vegan is North America is quite hard dude. I lived with a friend from India and he was vegetarian, however he was living with me. a convicted "meat lover"

he constantly called me "murderer" and "animal killer" because I decided to eat some "full meat subway" near the pool making a huge "meat and pepperoni smell" while he was trying to swim...

it´s cultural. when you have a culture of "eat animals to eat their meat" what do you think?

[brilac]

It's really good, but I really prefer eating chicken and duck.

[King Heffy]

It's really good, but I really prefer eating chicken and duck.

Damn you now I want duck!

[Mongrel]

I have a problem with the meat industry but in no way do I have a problem with meat.

I don't need an excuse to eat meat and neither does anyone else. It's a poorly worded question even if it was designed to bring out specific responses.

Having said that most people should do a better job of knowing where their food came from. Eating is one of those really important things. When I was in university I chose not to eat meat for quite a while. I was able to actually grow a lot of my food on the deck of my apartment. I took supplements to make sure I was getting everything I needed and my nose was firmly planted in the upward position.

When I went back to meat I made a choice that I would always know where it came from. Fast forward 15ish years and I buy half a cow, 2 pigs 12 chickens and 3 turkeys every year and fill up 2 large deep freezes. (also I keep all offals and bones) All reasonably local and I've even gotten to know the farmers and bring my kids out to the farms a few times a year.

As far as my ethics when it comes to eating meat I'm good to go. Not everyone can do this but there are still ways to know where your meat in the grocery store is coming from. People may not be able to make the best choice but they can certainly make the best choice available to them.

[Remy]

"Sorry bud," but if you don't want to participate in the conversation, you can click back and go do whatever it was you were doing. This thread was very clearly about a very specific line of question and answer: one that exists on forums, news websites, and classrooms all around the world. I couldn't care less if people here are offended by the fact that mindless consumerism exists. Why would I be?

My saying "here's how you're wrong, now explain how you overlook this wrongness" is not a negation of potential dialogue. Look at the posts by JR and a few others. It's only a poor approach to conversation if you have any rejection or willful ignorance of the negative reality that the conversation must be founded on, which is to say that the farming industry is hugely (almost entirely) violent, destructive, morally questionable, and unsustainable

As to the two bolded comments:

1) I very clearly offered a critique to your approach, and a solution that I felt would yield better responses. So your childish "there's the door" routine is just asinine. I contributed, you're welcome.

2) You don't think that your bullheaded approach to this topic is a barrier to decent conversation? Taking a binary "I'm right, you're wrong" stance really doesn't leave much room to discuss anything. You're lucky to have had any valid responses, frankly. I certainly hope you don't take the same approach with other topics in life, it won't get you far.

I'll come back when you're ready to have an intelligent, mature conversation about things, which you're clearly not prepared for at the moment.

[aeromotacanucks]

I have a problem with the meat industry but in no way do I have a problem with meat.

I don't need an excuse to eat meat and neither does anyone else. It's a poorly worded question even if it was designed to bring out specific responses.

Having said that most people should do a better job of knowing where their food came from. Eating is one of those really important things. When I was in university I chose not to eat meat for quite a while. I was able to actually grow a lot of my food on the deck of my apartment. I took supplements to make sure I was getting everything I needed and my nose was firmly planted in the upward position.

When I went back to meat I made a choice that I would always know where it came from. Fast forward 15ish years and I buy half a cow, 2 pigs 12 chickens and 3 turkeys every year and fill up 2 large deep freezes. (also I keep all offals and bones) All reasonably local and I've even gotten to know the farmers and bring my kids out to the farms a few times a year.

As far as my ethics when it comes to eating meat I'm good to go. Not everyone can do this but there are still ways to know where your meat in the grocery store is coming from. People may not be able to make the best choice but they can certainly make the best choice available to them.

nice point.

many people don´t know what means "you´re eating a dead animal"...

Well. as a "big city boy" I had this "industrial feeling" untill I kill an animal (a goat), remove it´s organs and then cook him hours late...

yes. was in Tutoia and one of my uncles made me do it...

was a cruel and rude experience. but teach you a lesson...

when you had this process you learn that animal isn´t dead for free. that animal has a life, the animal doesn´t want to die and the animal is really scared when you look him in the eyes with the final intention...

my uncle asked me "imagine this Rodrigo. let´s supose you´re that goat you killed today. how would you feel when the human came to you with a big stick and put you on an isolated place?"

I said "pretty scared I suppose..."

So. since you´re about to die as a goat would you like to be decently killed and at once and have your muscles being eated or would you like to be killed and people didn´t know how and why you died?"

I said "well. If I had no choice I would wish people at least know I´m not being killed for fun"

when you think the animal as a thing it´s wrong because you´re not giving the deserved respect to the animal. when you think the animal died for you because you have to eat meat but you know how the process works and see the animal as a living being then at least you´re showing some respect...

[McBackup]

Glassjaw really is a master troll. He's been at it so long and is so blatant about it you'd think more people would have caught on by now. But nope. 4 pages already.

[GLASSJAW]

2) You don't think that your bullheaded approach to this topic is a barrier to decent conversation? Taking a binary "I'm right, you're wrong" stance really doesn't leave much room to discuss anything. You're lucky to have had any valid responses, frankly. I certainly hope you don't take the same approach with other topics in life, it won't get you far.

I'll come back when you're ready to have an intelligent, mature conversation about things, which you're clearly not prepared for at the moment.

my post is not a binary 'you're wrong, i'm right!' -- my post straight up acknowledges the fact that i am a hypocrite. how can i be right if i'm guilty of the transgression i'm accusing everyone else of? my post straight up acknowledges that it's a complex issue. my post acknowledges that we all, as intelligent consumers, MUST know about the meat industry in 2015. that's it. what am i arguing that i'm right about? that a moral transgression exists? i already opened the door for that discussion too; i asked if you disagree, then please explain how/why.

but in knowing the industry as we do, then if we are to discuss it we must be able to acknowledge a weakness or a lapse in ethical judgment in our consumption choices. i included the NYT link for that very reason. when the NYT asked for someone to make that ethical argument, the winning essay didn't even do a very good job, so how do we, as thinking/informed consumers, make that ethical argument ourselves? or do we not?

the only bullheaded aspect of my post was in assuming the shared agreement that the meat industry is a violent, ghastly, environmentally unsustainable mess. if we agree upon that 'fact,' then yes, we have to be making excuses for supporting that industry if we are to support it. it's no different than how some people say things like 'i support the troops but not the war' without realizing how ridiculous that sounds. if you buy meat from the industry that you don't support, how do you rationalize it? or do you support the industry, too? etc.

for the record, i couldn't care less if you consider my posts intelligent, or if/when you want to respond to them

[Ghostsof1915]

Because scientifically we are omnivores. We don't have four stomachs, so biologically we eat vegetables, fruit, nuts, meat, bread.

[WZRD]

I eat meat to piss off vegans.

[Stefan]

I stopped eating meat two years ago for this reason.

Tons of protein in a vegan diet. I was benching at within 85% weight as when I ate meat.

[WilliesStache14]

I stopped eating meat two years ago for this reason.

Tons of protein in a vegan diet. I was benching at within 85% weight as when I ate meat.

so basically, not eating meat made u weaker

[Heretic]

It's in my DNA.

That joke said, we raise our own chickens and turkeys - they have a good life free ranging on our hobby farm.

We treat them humanely.

If we had more land, we would probably also have a cow on it...

[Kryten]

It's in my DNA.

That joke said, we raise our own chickens and turkeys - they have a good life free ranging on our hobby farm.

We treat them humanely.

If we had more lane, we would probably also have a cow on it...

I will be in your neck of the woods tomorrow, keep a turkey on ice for me (so to speak)

[Webster6]

What are you talking about? GJ acknowledges the seemingly condescending language of his query in the OP

Lol. Acknowledging ignorance does not disqualify it. He knew the response he'd receive, and in return he got nothing more than combatant trolling, and even legitimate rebuttal. Which he shot down because opinions that do not fit into his ideology are wrong.

I dunno why you're defending him here, it's just making you equally as ridiculous. There was no other result to posting a thread like this. He used inflammatory language and got the same in response.

What did you honestly expect GJ? If you're looking for other bleeding hearts than go to a PETA chat room.

[GLASSJAW]

Lol. Acknowledging ignorance does not disqualify it. He knew the response he'd receive, and in return he got nothing more than combatant trolling, and even legitimate rebuttal. Which he shot down because opinions that do not fit into his ideology are wrong.

I dunno why you're defending him here, it's just making you equally as ridiculous. There was no other result to posting a thread like this. He used inflammatory language and got the same in response.

What did you honestly expect GJ? If you're looking for other bleeding hearts than go to a PETA chat room.

i knew the response i'd receive from certain people. knowing that an idiot will act an idiot doesn't negate the prospect of conversation from the few quality posters this forum has left, though. and i will repeat for the 15th time now: i was expecting and/or hoping for a conversation about the ethical process people experience or willfully ignore in their shopping/consuming

i never shot down any 'legitimate rebuttal' and i didn't use any inflammatory language except to say that you have to be a moron to not know the state of the meat industry in 2015. (edit: and, obviously, I knew the title of the thread would ruffle the pride-feathers of some of the less than civilized of readers, and which is why i explained it literally in the opening sentences of my post)

anything else? you are posting a lot in this thread but you are not saying anything at all

[vancouvercanucks2010]

Let's face it, we are ***** people, and it's been like that for a long time . We are motivated by self-interest, and to be honest meat taste good. Yes, I totally understand your argument. Eating meat is socially irresponsible, environmentally unfriendly and it would cause a lot of pain when the animal were being killed. But to be honest about that, I wouldn't care about it, nor would I care about the consequences. It's me first in society, and my enjoyment is important, even it meant destroying our planet.

That is why I am not advocating people to have kids, the planet is quickly deteriorating no matter what. I think we already have passed the point of no return. Taking meat off the menu is just meant we have to spend our last days using inferior products, and i ain't going to deal with that.

[mpt]

I don't need an excuse, I eat what I want to

[Mongrel]

i knew the response i'd receive from certain people. knowing that an idiot will act an idiot doesn't negate the prospect of conversation from the few quality posters this forum has left, though. and i will repeat for the 15th time now: i was expecting and/or hoping for a conversation about the ethical process people experience or willfully ignore in their shopping/consuming

i never shot down any 'legitimate rebuttal' and i didn't use any inflammatory language except to say that you have to be a moron to not know the state of the meat industry in 2015. (edit: and, obviously, I knew the title of the thread would ruffle the pride-feathers of some of the less than civilized of readers, and which is why i explained it literally in the opening sentences of my post)

anything else? you are posting a lot in this thread but you are not saying anything at all

Are you sure you're not vegan? You sure remind me of me when I was vegan.

I stopped eating meat two years ago for this reason.

Tons of protein in a vegan diet. I was benching at within 85% weight as when I ate meat.

Not really at all compared to a normal/natural diet but what do you do about B12 which is a vital nutrient for you body and is not found in any plants based food at all? Calcium was a big problem for me in a vegan diet. Even taking tablets for iron, zinc Calcium and vitamins I always seemed to be calcium deficient.

[Lockout Casualty]

Well this thread sure continued the old and honored CDC tradition of missing the point and getting jimmies rustled instead.

"I don't need an excuse!" cried the masses. As if it's a relevant answer to the OP. Looks like GJ's point went over people's heads like a G6. Like a G6.

For me, it's a matter of out of sight, out of mind. It's sad and hypocritical, considering how I always rail against injustice in all forms, but words are easy and action is not. I'm too focused on what's in front of me that I simply don't care enough to go out of my way to buy ethical meat. I don't have any excuses. And I've been aware of how our meat is treated for years, yet it doesn't bother me nearly as much as it should. Also, being eastern European, I have seven leather jackets in the closet. Pamela Anderson would hate my guts.

My only saving grace is that at least I don't eat halal meat.

Read the OP yesterday and forgot about the environmental impact. All I can say is that at least my meat consumption is relatively low, I go days without eating meat and when I do, I make portions smaller than I used to (though it's because of digestive reasons, not ethical concerns).