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I've stopped eating meat

 
 
Mon 28 Jun, 2010 02:44 pm
Recently, I stopped eating meat.

I watched a video on YouTube sometime last week. It was of a slaughterhouse, specifically, a cattle slaughterhouse. What I saw touched me deeply. I had been contemplating the cessation of meat eating quite a bit prior to watching the video. I searched it knowing that it would probably put the proverbial nail in the coffin.

I've been told recently, 'I admire you for doing it' and, 'I'm glad you're sticking to your principles'. It makes me think that they've missed the point. It's nothing to do with my ego, or principles. It's only to do with the animals.

I understand how animals are abused with the intention of gathering as much of their produce as possible: milk , eggs. Hormones are used on cattle to make their udders larger, thus produce more milk, and they are kept in calf for most of the year. Chickens are also produced en-masse and many are kept in crowded battery farms and even force-fed. So free-range and organic is the way to go. Males can be killed. - This is a particularly bad example, I don't know how representative it is of the rest of the poultry farms.

It's important to see that I'm not preaching here, or trying to convince you to turn vegetarian; I'm just relaying the facts. I feel as though I've woken up from the illusion that killing an animal for sustenance is okay.

This thread is a discussion about vegetarianism/veganism. Smile
 
djjd62
 
  1  
Mon 28 Jun, 2010 02:50 pm
@Transcend,
i see by your profile your from the UK, i'm in Canada, but recently watched the River Cottage series, i like Hugh's take on sustainable living, and trying to consume meat that's been raised and slaughtered in a more humane manner, i don't eat a lot of red meat, and have tried to eat chicken that is not factory farmed where possible
Huxley
 
  1  
Mon 28 Jun, 2010 06:07 pm
Can you explain why you think it is moral to restrict yourself from eating animals? (that are not human, of course)
mark noble
 
  1  
Mon 28 Jun, 2010 06:24 pm
@Transcend,
Hi Mike!

If God hadn't wanted us to eat animals He wouldn't have made them out of meat.

Best regards, my friend!
Mark...
shewolfnm
 
  1  
Mon 28 Jun, 2010 06:47 pm
religion aside, we are omnivores. We need things that are found in meat.
But we need them from healthy , free roaming animals. Not slaughter house, hormone pumped, exhausted, vitamin deprived starving animals.

We do not need meat every day though. And definitely not every meal. You can thank the american beef industry for introducing that concept to people.

I DO understand the pull to remove meat from ones diet after seeing some of that stuff. I tried that myself. But I came back to the fact that I am an omnivore and I will not allow my stand for something remove my ability to be healthy. Instead I choose my meat differently .

I have bison maybe once a month.

There is a local farm here in Austin where you and several other people can pitch in to purchase a full cow ( duck goose goat pig what ever...)
You are REQUIRED to help care for the animal. You are GIVEN free range of their home. You eat the way you should. The meat is so much better tasting too.

Even that is a once a year purchase.

Im not passing on judgment. Im simply stating what I have done and what I choose to do for much the same reasons as you
A Lyn Fei
 
  1  
Mon 28 Jun, 2010 11:10 pm
@Transcend,
There is no point, physiologically, in eating meat from slaughterhouses as it is not nutritious. They do TERRIBLE things to animals. Even organic houses are not in the clear of mistreatment. I hate to burst anyone's bubble, though, but as bad as meat is to eat, veggies and other produce or packaged food at the grocery store is not nutritious either. The only way to get a truly healthy amount of nutrients is to grow your own produce or buy local, organic food- including meat. I definitely agree with Mark, here. We are made to eat meat. We also were made to evolve intellectually, but in this case, to me, that means eating organically and locally grown. Evolving also means we get a choice in whether we eat meat or not, and I believe to exercise this "god-given" right is wonderful.
You should read "The End of Food" by Paul Roberts. It's depressing, but utterly fantastic. Smile
0 Replies
 
Transcend
 
  1  
Tue 29 Jun, 2010 05:35 am
@Huxley,
Huxley wrote:

Can you explain why you think it is moral to restrict yourself from eating animals? (that are not human, of course)


I said before, it's not about me, or my morals. It's just about the animals.
jeeprs
 
  1  
Tue 29 Jun, 2010 05:39 am
@Transcend,
Yeah I have not eaten beef, lamb or pork products for nine months now. Get cravings for bacon every so often, otherwise it's all good.
Transcend
 
  1  
Tue 29 Jun, 2010 05:40 am
@mark noble,
mark noble wrote:

If God hadn't wanted us to eat animals He wouldn't have made them out of meat.


I understand the allure of meat, Mark. The taste of bacon, lamb, chicken was something I particularly enjoyed. That's it though. There is absolutely no reason for me to eat meat other than for the taste. I can live (and have been living) quite healthily without it. It's senseless that an animal has to die for the nutrition we could get elsewhere and for the desire of their taste. Senseless. I sense some sarcasm here though, right?

Take care, Mark.

Mike
Smile
0 Replies
 
Transcend
 
  1  
Tue 29 Jun, 2010 05:49 am
@shewolfnm,
shewolfnm wrote:

religion aside, we are omnivores. We need things that are found in meat.
But we need them from healthy , free roaming animals. Not slaughter house, hormone pumped, exhausted, vitamin deprived starving animals.


What does religion have to do with it?
We are not strictly ominoveres. The 'we' implies entirety, and I'm part of that entirety.
We can get the nutrition from other places.

Quote:

There is a local farm here in Austin where you and several other people can pitch in to purchase a full cow ( duck goose goat pig what ever...)
You are REQUIRED to help care for the animal. You are GIVEN free range of their home. You eat the way you should. The meat is so much better tasting too.


Of course the better lifestyle is prefereable, but the fact remains that their life is cut short. I just can't get on board with that.

I understand that it is part of our conditioning that a lot of us are brought up eating meat. Many don't even question it. Why should they?

Quote:

Im not passing on judgment. Im simply stating what I have done and what I choose to do for much the same reasons as you


Humans are part of nature, are we not? We are nature. Why would we want to destroy ourselves?
0 Replies
 
Transcend
 
  1  
Tue 29 Jun, 2010 05:51 am
@jeeprs,
Hi jeeprs.

Why's that? You eat poultry then?
fobvius
 
  1  
Tue 29 Jun, 2010 06:09 am
@djjd62,
yeah love that show

i hope transcends veggie patch isnt an absolute shambles
0 Replies
 
jeeprs
 
  1  
Tue 29 Jun, 2010 06:45 am
@Transcend,
well I'm kinda easing my way out. I am not completely vegetarian, I cook about 3-5 vegetarian meals a week, but will eat chicken dishes also. I guess if I was really conscientious I would drop that too, but I can never see myself giving up seafood, and don't feel the same compunction about fish. I can catch a fish and clean it if I had too, I don't think I could butcher a cow.
mark noble
 
  1  
Tue 29 Jun, 2010 07:36 am
@jeeprs,
Hi Jeeprs!

I stopped eating pork for nearly two years. I watched an islamic docu' and realised that pigs eat carrion. Pigs will eat excrement and even you if they get the chance.
But I stopped this the other month. Bacon, gammon, sausage, ham - Oh they taste so good!
So I don't care what they eat anymore as long as I get to eat them.

Have a lovely day!
mark...
0 Replies
 
Jebediah
 
  1  
Tue 29 Jun, 2010 09:03 am
Quote:
There is no point, physiologically, in eating meat from slaughterhouses as it is not nutritious. ...veggies and other produce or packaged food at the grocery store is not nutritious either.


Err, what do you think nutritious means? You could eat meat from slaughterhouses and veggies from the grocery store your whole live and never be malnourished.
djjd62
 
  1  
Tue 29 Jun, 2010 09:17 am
@Jebediah,
exactly, i've seen reports that organic food is no more nutritious than factory farmed food, it's what it doesn't have in terms of additives or fillers that makes it better (pesticides, steroids, feeding animals animal protein as opposed to grains, grasses and the odd insect)
0 Replies
 
failures art
 
  2  
Tue 29 Jun, 2010 11:10 am
I eat a vegan diet, although on very rare occasion I'll allow for fish or aquaculture. I allow for them because of emotional reasons, not rational ones. The reasons I gave up meat, eggs, and dairy are all apply to fish as well.

There is a great movie about veganism that I got to see an advanced screening of a week ago. It is called "Forks Over Knives," and it makes pretty compelling case for adopting a whole food plant based diet. It's worth the watch when it comes out in the fall.

A
R
T
0 Replies
 
Krumple
 
  1  
Tue 29 Jun, 2010 11:20 am
@Transcend,
hey Transcend, I think it is great the decision you have made. It is not easy since just about everything contains animal products of some kind. I know a lot of people here will try to talk you into thinking that you need meat, but it's simply not true. I have been a vegetarian for almost fifteen years now and I don't have any problems. The only vitamin you have to be concerned about getting is B12, however the body stores a lot of it so you don't need it daily. But you do have to have a source of it occasionally. Other than that you don't need any supplements at all.

My diet consists of mostly fruit and veggies. I don't eat bread, rice or corn, no grains at all if I can help it. I don't drink any fruit juice at all unless I personally make it, but since i already eat a lot of fruit a lot of times it is pointless to turn it into a drink. I only drink water, no coffee, no soda, not even milk. I also try to eat veggies as raw as possible which actually makes preparing them much quicker. The body needs the fiber from them and if you cook them, you soften up the fiber and it becomes less effective.

I only have to eat once a day because my body gets what it needs so i am not hungry at other times of the day. The hardest thing is to drink enough water which im okay with but there are days when i don't drink enough. Other than that i have no problem not eating meat.

Good luck with your decision Trans...
0 Replies
 
Sentience
 
  1  
Tue 29 Jun, 2010 11:28 am
I am actually undecided on this topic, as its between evolutionary morality and the idea the animals feel pain as well. Either way, I (unless the food is prepared by another) only eat organic free-range food.
0 Replies
 
CarbonSystem
 
  1  
Tue 29 Jun, 2010 11:52 am
From my perspective, wholely organic foods are the only way to benefit your body completely with food. HFCS, hormones, aspartame, chemicals, pesticides, etc. are quite obviously terrible for the body.

But our culture is very much created with food giants in mind, not a longer, more comfortable life for the people.

I'm however not a vegetarian or vegan, though I would say I'm making slow steps each day. The less meat and dairy I eat, the less I desire it, and whoa does it feel better. I'm hoping by fall I'll be off it all together.

And of course none of that addresses the animal cruelty aspect of it. The warehouses and all the torture... ahhh
0 Replies
 
 

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