food Why do most humans eat meat?

[AlicornSpell 149]

Meat isn't good for you at all, and a lot of animals have to suffer in farms as a result of them becoming food. In my opinion, I think eating meat is wrong, but that's just my opinion.

 

This YouTube video shows that the world would be a better place if all humans stopped eating meat: 

 

[Lucky Bolt 35,271]

Um...because meat is good that’s why. I also believe humans were supposed to eat meat, along with veggies. We are omnivores, designed to eat both. That’s just my opinion though. 

No one can stop me from eating meat that’s for sure. 

[DubWolf 20,687]

Because it tastes good  .

Clearly the immediate, convenient benefits outweigh the long-term  .

[OptimisticNeighsayer 479]

It's a cultural thing mostly, although meat (and to a lesser extent dairy and eggs) is a major source of Vitamin B12. That vitamin is very, very rare in plants, so there are practical nutritional reasons for eating meat.

Meat, however, is overemphasized in Western diets, and red meat especially has an outsized environmental impact. I think a lot of the popular ethical concerns (the academic debates are another thing entirely) have more to do with the way meat production is currently practiced, and that meat does have a valid place in human diet and culture. I'd rather not risk derailing this conversation into even more hot-button matters, but I will say that humans make a ton of purely discretionary life-or-death decisions that many people wouldn't think of as ethically problematic. So I don't think eating meat is per se ethically wrong.

[Splashee 28,606]

I wish it was that simple! "Watching that Youtube video changed my life". Then it turned out that Youtube video was "secret advertising" for something "completely different".

 

But anyways, eating is important. It is possible to live with just vegetables. I can't. I love vegetables though! I eat plenty of meat and vegetables, and try to mix my food as much as possible, to stay healthy (it is working!).

 

My opinion: Animals and humans suffer, all the time. Changing a thing that sounds better in the long run might not make things better in the long run. There is never a perfect world. We can try though! Nothing stops us from trying to be better. (But please, I want some meat with my vegetables, just a little?)

[The Recherche 29,983]

Evolution, mostly. For most of human history, you couldn't truly afford to be picky with what you ate, especially during the time before farming. Back then, it was hunt and forage, or die. Modern meat consumption is largely just a tradition at this point, be it paltry, red meat, or fish, but meat consumption is nowhere near as necessary as it once was, if at all.

I do tend to agree that meat consumption is morally dodgy in the modern world, given the environment and ethics of animal treatment overall. That said, I don't think it is wrong in and of itself either, it's simply the circle of life; all life comes at the expense of another. I do think that treatment of animals should be more humane, but I am not against the idea of eating meat in principal, regardless of animal (except human). The main reason I attempt to keep my meat consumption modest is largely due to environmental factors.

[Here No Longer 5,290]

OP: "Vegan with an agenda here, and I'll lie while also saying you should stop eating meat"

Meat is actually quite necessary to a balanced diet. It supplies Iron, Vitamin B12, among other things that are either rare or literally not present outside of meat sources. And saying it's ethically wrong is hypocritical because technically there are also moral implications to eating fruits and vegetables as well. Technically, you're either eating part of their body or a fetus. And by vegan logic, this would be immoral enough. Also, yes, plants DO feel pain too. Sure they feel it in a different way, but essentially it's exactly the same thing.

The real immorality here is telling people not to do something hard-wired into us and other animals by nature because it is "immoral." Trust me when I say that there are a lot of animals that are not limited by that sense of false morality. They will eat other animals. And honestly, that's just the circle of life. Breaking it for the sake of a sense of false morality is, as I said, arguably the real immorality in this argument.

 

25 minutes ago, Lucky Bolt said:

We are omnivores, designed to eat both.. 

^ The facts as they are. The placement of our eyes and the shaping of our teeth are evidence of that. Most actual herbivores have eyes on the sides of their head so they can see around for predators, with the con of having less of an ability to focus their eyes. Most omnivores (with a few exceptions like rabbits and rats) and basically every carnivore in existence has their eyes like ours, close to the center so we can focus on potential prey.

[ggg-2 3,557]

Take a look at your teeth and then look up the word omnivore. Humans are omnivores. Beyond that, meat protein provides all the amino acids the human body needs. People that don't eat meat are especially vulnerable to neurotransmitter imbalances which can result in problems such as anxiety, depression and hyperactivity.

[ZethaPonderer 2,201]

Well logically speaking you are correct. Animals are living creatures and in Modern Day Ethics All Living Creatures have a right to live just as much as Humans. Hence why there's so much emphasis in nowadays case where Human Beings are being oversensitive when it comes to any discussion revolving around Animals and the Ethical Concerns of eating them in the first place.

However, I would like to present interesting problems that I suspect Vegans might have difficulties answering. The problems are "The Circle of Life" argument and the issue of what constitutes as a Living Creature when it revolves around Plants.

The Circle of Life should be the obvious one since it talks about Balance. If we stop eating the Preyed Animals (e.g. Chickens, Cows, Goats, Sheep, Duck, Goose etc.) who specialize on eating Plants, then we have to cater to their needs for eating the Plants just as much as ours. Plants and Vegetables, generally speaking, do take a long while for them to grow and mature. So how would Balance be achieved? Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't there be issues for Plants to sustain their growth production to accommodate for the needs of not just us, but for the Herbivorous Animals that we stopped eating (if it happened) as well?

And we have the Living Creature issue when it comes to Plants. Plants are alive just as much as Humans and Animals. So is it wrong to eat them when there are studies conducted by scientists that Plants know or are at the very least aware that they are being eaten by us and Animals? Sure they look like they don't give a crap if they're being eaten by us, but based on such studies (both studies that involve Plants feel Pain or the Plants don't Feel Pain) they prove that plants send messages to their kind to defend themselves from Living Creatures that eat them. In a way, this comes across as Plants have a sense of awareness which shows that they are living just as much as Animals and Humans. Maybe they are not Living Creatures in the same level as that of an Animal or a Human Being, but they are still living. So, based on Modern Day Ethics shouldn't Plants have a right to live just as much as Animals and Humans?

So what are we left to eat then other than drink water or simply breathe air?

This really sounds like a Damned if you Do, and Damned if you Don't situation.

In my case, I'm content eating both meat and veggies. I believe in maintaining Balance since that's what the Life we live in is all about.

Oh yeah and the strong possibility of the Overpopulation of Animals we've domesticated for food if we don't eat them. Overpopulation: Fact or Myth?

Edited August 8, 2019 by ZethaPonderer
Adding more in italics

[Xe__or 4,378]

Basically meat is too good to ignore in my belly   Annnnnd we're basically omnivores anyway, our canines have to be useful for something  

[Here No Longer 5,290]

1 hour ago, ggg-2 said:

Take a look at your teeth and then look up the word omnivore. Humans are omnivores. Beyond that, meat protein provides all the amino acids the human body needs. People that don't eat meat are especially vulnerable to neurotransmitter imbalances which can result in problems such as anxiety, depression and hyperactivity.

 

And also irrational anger, which is why we see a lot of very angry vegans.

[Will Guide 21,378]

1 hour ago, ggg-2 said:

Take a look at your teeth and then look up the word omnivore. Humans are omnivores. Beyond that, meat protein provides all the amino acids the human body needs. People that don't eat meat are especially vulnerable to neurotransmitter imbalances which can result in problems such as anxiety, depression and hyperactivity.

Exactly! We're omnivores meaning we were built to eat both meat and plants!

[Frostgage 7,985]

For the vast majority of human history, the answer would have been that it is essential for nutrition. Nowadays, many people eat meat because it tastes delicious and is often and inexpensive way to get calories/protein.

Alright look - I myself am a vegetarian. I don't much care about what is natural (i.e., humans eating other animals) - practically all of modern civilization is unnatural, such as technology and advanced medicine. Eating other living things is not something I personally want to do if I have another option, but I would never tell someone that eating meat is inherently wrong. It would be arrogant of me to try and tell someone how to live their life, especially concerning an issue like this, so I prefer to just live how I want to and let others do the same.

[They call me Loyalty 1,958]

It is basic nature. And nature is my regent and teacher above ideals, philosophies and beliefs.

[KatonRyu 1,036]

Personally, I eat it because it's absolutely delicious. From a biological standpoint, humans are omnivores. While it's true we could certainly stand to eat a lot less of it than we do, certain nutrients are very difficult to obtain from plant matter. Again, though, nutritious or not, I love the taste of meat and I'm not going to give it up any time soon.

[Steve Piranha 29,504]

We eat meat because we are supposed to. Many already explained why. Most of the problems caused by meat consumption could also be linked to overpopulation, but that’s another ethic problem. I mean, we can’t just go one-child policy, force some families to not have children or go all MCU Thanos 

well, the argument about the suffering of animals is another issue commonly presented. Sure, I’ll be happier if we were more humanly towards those animals, but remember that by doing so is more expensive, which would rise the price of the products. Besides, animals suffer quite a lot when predated by another animal in nature. Seriously, have you seen how a dragonfly larva eats fish ? Not pretty

[Cirrus. 1,093]

I don't have 4 stomachs and my eyes are on the front of my head- not the sides....

 

Which makes me think about the pigs on the apple farm for the first time...

.

"Oh, they're just here to eat them bad apples sugarcube, that's all!"

 

 

 

Edited August 9, 2019 by Cirrus.

[MidnightFire1222 2,345]

Humans are omnivores, as previously pointed out several times. You're welcome to believe what you wish @AlicornSpell, but even without watching that video you included, I know that the world wouldn't necessarily be better if everyone when vegetarian on the planet. You'd be asking Earth to produce enough plants for over 7 billion people, plus the animals that are already naturally herbivores, and the fact of the matter is, many plants are toxic to people so that automatically takes them out of the food pool. Plus it's been proven over time that overworking the land can leave soil unusable and unfit to grown anything in, much less the amount of food to feed so many people. This would lead to cutting down more and more trees to make more land for produce farms and the cycle could end up repeating itself.

And then there's the matter of all these animals that get raised just to end up on someone's table. If humans don't eat them, then some other predator will. There's a reason why farmers have had issues with foxes getting to their chickens or bears or wolves preying on their cows and sheep and other livestock. Farm animals would have a hard time surviving in the wild if we just try to set them all free. They aren't even native to a lot of places they're raised, and introducing non-native species to an environment can have drastic consequences on the local animal population. This has been proven more than enough times and that's why some places try to rid themselves of non-native species to try and preserve what was already previously existing there.

And saying it's wrong to eat meat is, in my pinion, like telling a tiger or a lion they can't eat meat because it's wrong of them to do it. Even omnivores like bears still eat meat, like fish. Whales like blue whales and humpbacks eat krill, but it's still sea life more like a fish, and therefore counts as meat. Insects could probably even be counted under meat for all the insectivore species out there like anteaters.

So, my point is, you're entitled to your opinion, but don't go saying that people who eat meat are wrong, because even vegans could be considered in the wrong by people that eat meat, because they're eating veggies and other plants that could have been food for the starving herbivore animals.

Oh, and you shouldn't believe everything you see and hear on the internet, regarding that video, because just because someone believes something doesn't make it right in the eyes of everyone. It wouldn't surprise me if there's a counter to that video where someone presents a case that the world would be a better place if everyone ate meat.

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 42,208]

One could see the farming of these different animals as cruel or whatever, but think of this: Because of that, there are BILLIONS of cows, pigs and chickens, to name a few. Needless to say that is pretty far from ever being endangered, even with human consumption taken into account. I'd say that is a pretty good silver lining for those against eating meat. As for me, meat's good. So I eat. Meat.

[Mellow Mane 5,931]

Humans are omnivores, we eat both plants and meat. Humans evolved to eat both of them and as a result of that we need both plants and meat for a healthy diet.

6 hours ago, AlicornSpell said:

Meat isn't good for you at all

This is far from true. Meat is good for you. If you don't eat (enough) meat you miss several necessary nutrients. The bad thing about the production of most meat these days is that meat is filled with antibiotics and meat farms are very bad for the environment. These are the two main reasons I usually buy biological meat and dairy products.

I don't think eating meat is wrong, the way it is mostly produced is wrong. Meat should become more of a luxury product instead of a very cheap product. If meat were produced in a more biological way and on a smaller scale, it would become more expensive which is actually a good thing. If the prices of meat increase most people would only buy the amount of meat they need instead of buying meat because it's delicious. People would then go from eating meat about 2 times a week instead of eating meat early everyday.

Everybody quitting eating meat would indeed be a lot better for the environment but it wouldn't be good for our health. A balance should be found so that everyone eats just enough meat with as little damage to the environment as possible.

[Gestum 2,493]

As long as you don't go completely overboard with it, eating meat is not really that unhealthy for you. As for the moral problems, personally I only eat meat from animals that I know didn't suffer more than absolutely necessary.

7 hours ago, Dustlicious said:

Also, yes, plants DO feel pain too.

No they do not. They react to stimuli, not pain. Plants lack nociceptors and most importantly brains, both of wich is required to have in order to feel pain. 

3 hours ago, Kyoshi said:

One could see the farming of these different animals as cruel or whatever, but think of this: Because of that, there are BILLIONS of cows, pigs and chickens, to name a few. 

So the positive effect of eating meat is that we are cruel to BILLIONS of farm animal as opposed to them being endangered or extinct? I don't really see how that's a silver lining to the meat industry. 

[Meson Bolt 2,651]

Personally, I eat beef so I can absorb its power and become a stronger human. We're apex predators for a reason.

Edited August 9, 2019 by Meson Bolt

[Jedishy 3,551]

There are many already stated reasons for humans eating meat. 

We are omnivores and as such designed to eat meat and plants. 

It is a dense form of calories that is hard to get in plants without massive amounts 

It provides nutritional components that are rare in plants. 

All of this means that outside of the first world with a fairly good income becoming fully vegan is difficult and even being vegetarian is hard. 

 

However that does not mean that we should not consider the following 

That we should reduce the suffering of other animals when possible and that means that our meat industry as is needs to be rethought 

That we should reduce the amount of consumption we engage in on many levels including meat 

That one should be willing to pay the cost to get something you want in life. Meaning if you are not willing to kill an animal for food yourself I seriously question the ethics of eating meat.

That it being a natural or instinctual urge does not make it ethical and thus we should scrap that sad argument.  There are many natural urges that we dont indulge in or demand be suppressed until proper moments/locations. In short the idea of it being a natural desire does not make it an ethical practice and is really a bad way to argue for it. 

 

So what do I think about meat consumption? 

First its a personal choice but it should be made with the knowledge of the risks and costs that come with it. 

That you should be willing to pay those costs if you engage in the practice 

That we should work to create sustainable harvesting techniques and as humane a method for said harvest as possible for the meat industry

That we should lower consumption and look into technologies that might make the practice less harmful such as cloned meat etc. 

 

Do I eat meat? Yes. I also hunt and eat mostly vegetarian meals with meat being reduced to one meal a day and often not even that. 

Do I judge others that eat meat? No. I obviously think that my rules are the way to do so ethically but that is opinion and nothing more. 

[Olly 1,016]

Because most people don't really put any thought into it. They just see a strip of bacon like they do any other item of food, and react to the taste. You'll notice most arguments people who eat meat make have "because it tastes good" somewhere, often as the only reason. 

[TBD 17,276]

We’re created as omnivores and we can’t help it when we hunger for flesh.