food Why do most humans eat meat?

[Jedishy 3,542]

On 8/10/2019 at 7:02 PM, TBD said:

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

We can crave any number of things that are not great for us. But that does not mean we need to indulge. Now mind you as I previously said I dont care if people eat meat and I eat meat myself. But its natural is a bad argument and we cant help what we crave is even worse. Alcoholics cant help that they crave the drink and its even got genetic components to the addiction so they could even be born with the risk. That does not mean they should indulge. 

So I think a better way to phrase the question is why despite the questionable ethics of factory farming and the risks of over indulging in meat products why do we continue to indulge in a habit that we often abuse? 

[A Small Bear 60]

As of last week I don't anymore. I feel like arguing over what's naturally present in certain food sources is kind of moot since you can get every nutrient you need in a pure plant based diet. Sure meat has a lot of protein and iron and essential vitamins and minerals but you can still get them from other sources. 

Of course I'm cutting meat and dairy out of my diet for health reasons. Animal agriculture as it exists is unethical and bad for the environment but if you're concerned about ethics in what you buy and use you're going to have a hard time in life. Eat what you want but be honest about it. Vegan diets aren't unhealthy and eating meat and dairy doesn't make you a murderer.

Oh, and to clarify, I of course still think something should be done to curb the negative impact of animal agriculture, but I dont expect millions to change their diets overnight. 

[Totally Nyx 35,467]

I can't speak for everyone else, but the reason I eat meat is simple. It's delicious.

[Prospekt 10,984]

I don't like all kinds of meat. Like pork and lamb, for example, which I tend to avoid. Not for any specific religious or cultural reason, but rather because I don't like the taste of them. But I don't mind other meats like beef, poultry, seafood, etc. They are a source of some important nutrients. While most of those nutrients can be found in plants, people have different tastes and I think we can use the power of individual choice to get meat from sources we deem ethical and support their practices.

[Flutterstep 46,189]

If humans were not supposed to eat meat, why do we have canines? 

[Dreambiscuit 8,021]

Humans need meat. We’re omnivores with incisors designed for that purpose. Meat has nutrients we need for balanced health and well-being. I do care about animals too, but most livestock that’s bred for meat wouldn’t be alive in the first place if not for the purpose of human consumption. I know that’s a bit of an excuse and I’m not going to deny it 100%, but I was not made to be a vegetarian and the animals I eat are not going to go running free if I change my diet. I like my meat and I’m not going to stop eating it. Sorry .   

[GlitterMoon 225]

I eat meat because humans are omnivores by nature and meat is actually good for humans. Yes, animals do suffer quite badly in factory farms, but I don't support factory farms at all and I only buy organic meat, which comes from animals that live good and natural lives. As for the slaughter part as long as they're killed quick and painless I don't really care. BTW, I am a HUGE animal lover.

On 8/9/2019 at 12:04 AM, Steve Piranha said:

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.

I actually pay more for meat, I only buy organic meat. For me animal welfare is the top priority when buying meat. I hate the way animals live on non-organic farms. If people keep buying organic it becomes less expensive.

[The Historian 515]

Why? I'll quote Denis Leary on this one: "Because meat tastes like murder and murder tastes pretty damn good."

[HeavenSunset 1,866]

Humans need protein to live, yeah you can get protein in other ways than meat but they tend to be low in proteins so meat is our main source

[Jon the VGNerd 842]

You'd go vegan, though vegan choices are severely limited or scarce. You might as well risk starvation just by not eating meat. I eat meat myself, though mainly chicken (sometimes hot dogs too, though not by much), and fish (mainly salmon, and sometimes lobster and crab). Bears, tigers, lions and sharks eat other animals too. Even bears eat fish too, and sharks eat other fishes too. At least I don't eat shark, rabbit, frog and duck. They just don't do well for me.

Sure you'd eat fruits and vegetables, though they're not gonna keep you full, that's for certain. If any, you're just going to be hungry for the remainder until you give yourself proper nutrition. Though of course, fruits and vegetables are, unfortunately, expensive, especially because of rising taxes and prices.

[ExplosionMare 18,007]

Animals eat other animals too (and some are cannibals ) so I don’t personally think people eating meat is too bad. Besides, you can’t eat anything that hasn’t been previously alive before since plants are alive too.

[Olly 1,008]

On 8/17/2019 at 11:57 PM, Dreambiscuit said:

Humans need meat.

We do not. And in fact, can get more energy and nutrients from plants and grain, and live longer, healthier lives by not eating meat. I'll quote this post rather than the whole thread, even though I could, because there's an awful lot of misconceptions here. The number of people who think that humans require meat or developed specifically to eat it is troubling, since it's completely absurd. 

Edited September 24, 2019 by Olly

[ShadOBabe 18,984]

57 minutes ago, Olly said:

We do not. And in fact, can get more energy and nutrients from plants and grain, and live longer, healthier lives by not eating meat. I'll quote this post rather than the whole thread, even though I could, because there's an awful lot of misconceptions here. The number of people who think that humans require meat or developed specifically to eat it is troubling, since it's completely absurd. 

Please tell us all why it is absurd then.

Because while you’re sitting there just telling people they are wrong, I’m moving my tongue over my canine teeth and remembering that video of a deer eating a bird.

[Olly 1,008]

5 hours ago, ShadOBabe said:

Please tell us all why it is absurd then.

I don't know where to begin. Almost every post here has something I could respond to. 

5 hours ago, ShadOBabe said:

I’m moving my tongue over my canine teeth and remembering that video of a deer eating a bird.

What is this even supposed to mean/imply? 

[ShadOBabe 18,984]

3 minutes ago, Olly said:

I don't know where to begin. Almost every post here has something I could respond to. 

What is this even supposed to mean/imply? 

Canine teeth are not for vegetable matter. And not that it matters, because even herbivores will consume and get nutrition out of animal proteins.

But perhaps I’m misunderstanding. If you’re just trying to say that “in general, it’s a healthy lifestyle”, then that’s a fair opinion. But I’ve seen way too many people that seem to think just because something works for them, it must mean it’ll work for anyone.

But still, you can’t just show up, say “you’re all wrong” and not back it up. Or rather, don’t do it and just expect that anyone is going to listen to you.

[Olly 1,008]

1 hour ago, ShadOBabe said:

Canine teeth are not for vegetable matter.

They're for holding food, and potentially for use as a weapon. Also, they can be used for vegetable matter.

 

1 hour ago, ShadOBabe said:

If you’re just trying to say that “in general, it’s a healthy lifestyle”, then that’s a fair opinion. But I’ve seen way too many people that seem to think just because something works for them, it must mean it’ll work for anyone.

A vegetarian lifestyle can work for everyone, or at least, most people.

 

1 hour ago, ShadOBabe said:

But still, you can’t just show up, say “you’re all wrong” and not back it up. 

I didn't say "you're all wrong". And if you would like me to "back it up" be specific. Ask me something, quote something directly, something.

 

1 hour ago, ShadOBabe said:

Or rather, don’t do it and just expect that anyone is going to listen to you.

This is a problem I see too often with this subject, defensiveness. I say there's misconceptions, and you respond like this. I will try to be as gentle as I can in how I word what I'm trying to say, but only to a point. 

Edited September 24, 2019 by Olly

[ShadOBabe 18,984]

49 minutes ago, Olly said:

This is a problem I see too often with this subject, defensiveness.

You said that everyone was absurd for believing something. If you approach people with that attitude of “UGH, you all have no idea what you’re talking about” and then just leave it at that, then the defensive response is your own fault.

And since you brought the “absurdity” up, I’m just going to let you pick where to start. What do you think is the most convincing thing you can say to a skeptic of your argument?

Edited September 24, 2019 by ShadOBabe

[Olly 1,008]

7 minutes ago, ShadOBabe said:

You said that everyone was absurd for believing something.

That sounds more like what you think I said then what I was saying. 

 

9 minutes ago, ShadOBabe said:

I’m just going to let you pick where to start. What do you think is the most convincing thing you can say to a skeptic of your argument?

We're not doing that. If you take issue with something I've said I'll address that particular thing, and address it to you. Not a theoretical person. 

[ShadOBabe 18,984]

1 minute ago, Olly said:

That sounds more like what you think I said then what I was saying. 

We're not doing that. If you take issue with something I've said I'll address that particular thing, and address it to you. Not a theoretical person. 

Alright. See you around then.

[Sunny Fox 5,929]

3 hours ago, Olly said:

I don't know where to begin. Almost every post here has something I could respond to. 

Get cracking. We'll wait. 

[BroomsNHops 260]

We're omnivores, sure you can survive a somewhat decent life if you decide to eat only plants  especially if you manage to find a way to get B12 in your system that's cheap. But this is how we evolved. Our teeth, our brain, our sight all got here from our hunting.  Our ancestors hunted to feed themselves. and followed large game animals while foraging along the way.  We can not ignore this part of our history.

Now I understand that the big push to being vegan and wanting others to do so is based on empathy placed on animals. Which is not a bad thing.  Yes some places do mistreat their animals, yes some people should not have animals in their care. But broad ideas like this causes alot of problems for people who are not mistreating their animals.  Good people depend on their animals and mistreating them will get them nowhere.

Example: An agriculture school was harassed for wanting to eat one of their oxen which was too old to continue work. The oxen had given years to the school and the school felt that consuming the ox would be the best course so that it did not go to waste. But when they tried to get it butchered they were attacked and eventually instead of 3 months worth of beef to feed the students the ox was left in the ground where it wasted. And the school was forced to buy beef from elsewhere to feed its students.

At the same time there is a demand that they get their year round veggies and fruit from the store. Which is normal, we do expect there to be bananas on the shelf for us in the dead of winter and grapes in early spring. The thing though is that if you're wanting to save the planet by being vegan then you can't be having food brought in from overseas or from out of state. The issue being the carbon footprint.   Therefor you're region locked into what is produced locally in a seasonal manner. Meaning that if you try to grow vegan that you'll need lots of land thats good for growing and to put in alot of work to protect those crops from animals that wish to eat it.

In the homestead reddit we see alot of folks, vegans, trying to sustain themselves this way. They buy enough land to grow all the food they need and go to town to buy extras for the winter and stuff. They do their best and sometimes they manage just fine. But some find that doing so is not enough.  Now these people are not bad vegans because after a while some end up eating meat, they simply came to terms that as long as they care for the animals and treat them to the best life they can have that they are alright with eating them. 

 

All and all my point of view on being vegan while it has it's good points, it falls flat on its face every time I see it mostly because there are people who either force it down peoples throats, flag wave their stance, or simply twist what it's about and focus more on the poor animals rather than the humans who have to grow and harvest their food and the carbon footprint.

 

If you want to be vegan, be vegan and follow through with the ideals of it.

 

I'm going to stop here before I go any deeper on this.

[Monsoon 1,648]

Because it tastes good.

[RDDash 18,847]

Cultural tradition mostly

[Sherem 4,807]

You are right to think that meat is not good for you, as long you have something to back it up (witch you can reply when you want) but in my opinion, meat is part of our cycle of feeding and it's necessary. People that do sports from any range that requires the extensive use of the muscles of the body require the feeding of meat to keep a blancanded diet, now meat in excess is bad, like everything else. And if you think about the animals, aren't they as well predators and prays and feelings such as yours are non existant to them? Does a lion stops and thinks about the feelings of it's prey, or does he think he must feed to survive? and if you call this stupid or barbaric you are calling all animals that are predators stupid. So hold on on your beliefs but I hope you can sustain them with real logic and not only with sentiment that rarely in the real world has any effect.

[Olly 1,008]

11 hours ago, Sunny Fox said:

Get cracking. We'll wait. 

why don't you contribute something since you felt the need to quote me.