Going Vegetarian

[Circadian 1,273]

Just a small question for you, who started this thread. I have Crohn's disease and the foods that cause my symptoms to flare (this can vary from people to another) when the disease is in an active phase are: foods high in fiber, gas-producing foods (lentils, beans, legumes, cabbage, broccoli, onions), nuts and seeds (peanut butter, other nut butters), most of fruits and vegetables (especially citrus, apples, berries, tomatoes, greens, peas, potatoes, avocados), whole grains and bran. So... If I decided to adopt a vegetarian diet, what the hay am I supposed to eat when the disease is active???

 

That sucks; I know a guy that has that. Here's a link I found on the matter. I'm sure you've seen something like this before, but it's worth a shot. :/

 

http://nutritionfacts.org/2012/09/13/dietary-treatment-for-crohns-disease/

[Homura Akemi 974]

I'm vegetarian because I have a health condition. I kind of hate it sometimes because I don't care if other people like steak or whatever. It's good. Humans survived at the dawn of time by killing other animals. I usually feel uncomfortable telling people I'm veg because then they'll think I'm like a Peta supporter or something. (I hate Peta) 

 

The only thing I do think is kinda gross related to meat though is that you eat it and then poop it out like all the other foods. Pooping out a dead animal's part, kinda gross. But hey, that's just nature.

Edited April 18, 2013 by тwιℓιgнт ѕραякℓє

[AppleJared 87]

Deep down though, the fact you eat meant bothers you a bit, doesn't it? I know the feeling; I used to eat meat too.

Eating meat secretly kills me on the inside. How did you know?

 

If there is one person on this threat that you can call a killer, then it would be me. Because I've killed to eat. Literally.

I went out and shot a deer just last winter. Grown adult buck, dropped instantly. You know what I did? I cut it open myself and sent it to get processed. I got it back in a week and I fed my family all winter. It was great.

 

So if you feel the need to hate on someone, please let these innocent bystanders go and focus your hate on me. Call me a killer, but these other people don't deserve that.

 

Oh and PS: I don't even feel bad about shooting it. That's pretty coldblooded don't you think?

[The Soldier 2,044]

But I love meat. I eat it not only for myself. I'm actually saving the world by eating cows which farts out gas that gives us global warming. D:

 

But anyways, I actually watch my meat diet for a bit at some time and eat vegetables at moments... So I guess I should not be moved by this because I already am taking a bit of action?

Edited April 18, 2013 by Psyche Clops

[Shanks 10,816]

Oh and PS: I don't even feel bad about shooting it. That's pretty coldblooded don't you think?

I think shooting animals for food is a lot more humane than sticking them in cramped factory farms only to still end up on someones dinner table. And though most people don't kill the animals they eat I don't believe not doing so makes them any more or less killers because they are still consuming dead animals and thus supporting said slaughter even though they didn't kill them.

[. eris . 1,661]

Eating meat secretly kills me on the inside. How did you know?

 

If there is one person on this threat that you can call a killer, then it would be me. Because I've killed to eat. Literally.

I went out and shot a deer just last winter. Grown adult buck, dropped instantly. You know what I did? I cut it open myself and sent it to get processed. I got it back in a week and I fed my family all winter. It was great.

 

So if you feel the need to hate on someone, please let these innocent bystanders go and focus your hate on me. Call me a killer, but these other people don't deserve that.

 

Oh and PS: I don't even feel bad about shooting it. That's pretty coldblooded don't you think?

 

This is really aggressive and sort of awesome at the same time. Still, it sounds kind of inflammatory. :3, don't forget, we're here for ponies!

 

Venison sausage is delicious...like majorly mouth-wateringly delicious

[Mephala 2,633]

As a stark vegetarian and species rights supporter, I refuse to eat meat at all. I believe that since we have the blessing of being able to make decisions that are ethical and moral, being (and this may sound bigoted) more intelligent than many other species, then we should take advantage of that. 

 

However, not everyone views that, and as a result, I wrote an essay on why cannibalism would be normal in humans due to the same logic of "it's normal to eat meat, living things must die for us to live, etc., etc.". Many other animals are cannibalistic, and (without the health risks), then why not slaughter and consume a human being? Same diff. You're still killing something that's living. It's all the same in my eyes. Maybe that sounds psychopathic  but it's true. I wouldn't be surprised if we start doing that based on where out world is headed.

 

I have no problems with people that eat meat. I reject it and strongly disagree with it, but it's your choice. However, people that hunt for sport and not for sustenance? That's not something I can condone with. Unless you're going to use every little bit of it for a purpose, then you shouldn't be killing it.

 

 

 

Eating meat secretly kills me on the inside. How did you know?

 

If there is one person on this threat that you can call a killer, then it would be me. Because I've killed to eat. Literally.

I went out and shot a deer just last winter. Grown adult buck, dropped instantly. You know what I did? I cut it open myself and sent it to get processed. I got it back in a week and I fed my family all winter. It was great.

 

So if you feel the need to hate on someone, please let these innocent bystanders go and focus your hate on me. Call me a killer, but these other people don't deserve that.

 

Oh and PS: I don't even feel bad about shooting it. That's pretty coldblooded don't you think?

Whoa, now, let's not get too inflammatory here.

Edited April 18, 2013 by Lara Croft

[Shanks 10,816]

I have no problems with people that eat meat. I reject it and strongly disagree with it, but it's your choice. However, people that hunt for sport and not for sustenance? That's not something I can condone with. Unless you're going to use every little bit of it for a purpose, then you shouldn't be killing it.

That is generally how I feel about people who hunt for sport, I just flat out don't like it. If I want to take out some aggression I pop in one of my gorier video games and have at it. Hunting for food I of course have no issue with and as I have said in a previous comment think it is far more humane than factory farming.

[. eris . 1,661]

As a stark vegetarian and species rights supporter, I refuse to eat meat at all. I believe that since we have the blessing of being able to make decisions that are ethical and moral, being (and this may sound bigoted) more intelligent than many other species, then we should take advantage of that. 

 

However, not everyone views that, and as a result, I wrote an essay on why cannibalism would be normal in humans due to the same logic of "it's normal to eat meat, living things must die for us to live, etc., etc.". Many other animals are cannibalistic, and (without the health risks), then why not slaughter and consume a human being? Same diff. You're still killing something that's living. It's all the same in my eyes. Maybe that sounds psychopathic  but it's true. I wouldn't be surprised if we start doing that based on where out world is headed.

 

I have no problems with people that eat meat. I reject it and strongly disagree with it, but it's your choice. However, people that hunt for sport and not for sustenance? That's not something I can condone with. Unless you're going to use every little bit of it for a purpose, then you shouldn't be killing it.

 

 

 

Hang on a second. You're comparing a sentient, soulful human being capable of dissecting giants like Shakespeare and Aristotle and Da Vinci to cows and chickens?

 

Wow...I'm a little bit insulted by that, to be honest. O_e

[AppleJared 87]

My last post was inflammatory, and if it hurt feelings I apologize; but I still stand by my life choices and actions concerning eating meat. I got my point across and will leave this thread unless quoted again.

 

I still support vegetarians and vegans alike and I am honestly proud they act upon their beliefs. I give a bro-hoof and salute to you all. I just don't appreciate the tone and elitism that this thread was started with.

 

For the record though, I still have best of wishes for whoever started the thread and have no hard feelings towards him/her.

[TomokoKuroki 1,707]

That is generally how I feel about people who hunt for sport, I just flat out don't like it. If I want to take out some aggression I pop in one of my gorier video games and have at it. Hunting for food I of course have no issue with and as I have said in a previous comment think it is far more humane than factory farming.

 

hunting is 100% humane if it is for food. It is the most natural way to get food. Survival of the fittest is how it goes in the wild. If you maim then of course you should just end it if it is suffering, but if you injure it and it gets away, that is just how it works. To argue that as inhumane is the same as saying any predator is cruel for what they do.

[Shanks 10,816]

hunting is 100% humane if it is for food. It is the most natural way to get food. Survival of the fittest is how it goes in the wild. If you maim then of course you should just end it if it is suffering, but if you injure it and it gets away, that is just how it works. To argue that as inhumane is the same as saying any predator is cruel for what they do.

Actually I said that hunting just for sport/fun is inhumane, not hunting for food because it is incredibly wasteful and unnecessary while hunting for food is actually more humane than factory farming because at least the suffering they do go through is at least over quickly.

Edited April 18, 2013 by EarthbendingProdigy

[Dusty Soul 2,611]

I would actually like to become a vegetarian, but I usually don't like eating vegetables, it's just not an enjoyable experience for me.

[Mephala 2,633]

Hang on a second. You're comparing a sentient, soulful human being capable of dissecting giants like Shakespeare and Aristotle and Da Vinci to cows and chickens?

 

Wow...I'm a little bit insulted by that, to be honest. O_e

Yes, yes I am.

 

Most of us act like chickens and cows anyhow.

 

I could care less about humanity at this point, to be honest. 

At the same time, I value no life over another. I don't think humans are more "soulful" or "sentient". If anything, we're just as "barbaric".

 

Again, it may sound weird and psychotic, but I've always been like that. The idea of killing anything that can feel pan makes me uncomfortable and upset.

 

If you couldn't look at it and shoot it/gut it/etc. with your own two hands, you have no right to eat it, in my opinion. I feel like the reason a lot of people have little feeling on this issue is because they don't understand what it can feel like to kill something. :x

 

(And no, before anyone asks, I don't support PETA, because they're idiotic, hypocritical buffoons who care only for their publicity.)

 

 

 

That is generally how I feel about people who hunt for sport, I just flat out don't like it. If I want to take out some aggression I pop in one of my gorier video games and have at it. Hunting for food I of course have no issue with and as I have said in a previous comment think it is far more humane than factory farming.

There's a lot of cultures that rely heavily on animals, so yeah, I get that. You don't need a fur coat in North America. :x

 

 

 

hunting is 100% humane if it is for food. It is the most natural way to get food. Survival of the fittest is how it goes in the wild. If you maim then of course you should just end it if it is suffering, but if you injure it and it gets away, that is just how it works. To argue that as inhumane is the same as saying any predator is cruel for what they do.

Well, I think it's cruel, because we are more sentient (again, sounding bigoted) than other animals. We understand that we're ending another life. That's what I have issues with. But again, people can make their own decisions. 

Edited April 18, 2013 by Lara Croft

[SBaby 660]

Okay, if you're just going to give up the debate because it made you feel bad about yourself, so be it. I never said what you think doesn't matter, friend. However, if eating meat truly didn't bother you then what I've said about meat eaters shouldn't matter to you in the slightest. Deep down though, the fact you eat meant bothers you a bit, doesn't it? I know the feeling; I used to eat meat too.

 

Translation:  I'm a vegetarian and you're not. Therefore, I'm better than you.  Sorry, but that's what it sounds like you're saying pretty much throughout this entire topic.  Maybe you didn't mean it this way.  But the way it's typed, that's what it sounds like.

 

 

I'll be honest.  I do eat meat.  Granted, I don't eat meat every day, but I do eat it (though not usually red meat).  The way I look at it is a little different from the way others look at it though.  The animal is already dead by the time I get to the supermarket to buy the meat.  Therefore, it would seem more practical to not let it go to waste.  But I also like salads, pickles and cucumbers by themselves, and even the occasional vegetarian pizza.  Hell, I probably eat more nachos than anything else.  And by the way, I haven't had any major health issues in the last decade.

 

Conversely, I do know a vegetarian, who constantly gets sick because she has a protein deficiency, due to the fact that she's essentially a picky eater.  The PROBLEM is that she's been off meat so long that it literally makes her sick if she even TRIES to ingest it at all.  We tried to warn her that this could happen if she didn't do her homework beforehand, but she didn't listen.

 

I didn't bring this up to argue against vegetarianism.  I've said myself that it's one of the healthiest choices out there.  I just brought this up to illustrate that it's not a perfect end-all be-all solution to all worldly catastrophes, like some people seem to think.  And it can be dangerous to just become one without knowing all the facts.

Edited April 18, 2013 by SBaby

[Ron Jeremy 2,032]

You do realize that the farming industry possibly has more "demons" than the meat industry, don't you? Following typical vegan logic that all lives are equally important, than which is worse, the animals slaughtered and eaten as sustenance by humans, or the innocent bystander insects that are killed simply because they get in the way of growing tofu beans? I'm sure those weevils, ants and other insects must have loving families that hold funerals for them and weep for them, and pose dramatically with a single tear streaming down their face for PETA brochures.

 

Oh, can't forget all the microorganisms that dwell in vegetables. Why, each bite of celery must be a holocaust to those microorganisms! How immoral of you! Oh, that's right, it's only when it's a cute cuddly animal being killed that vegans have a problem with it. My bad.

 

Don't call people who eat meat evil for doing so. You come across as arrogant and self-centered.

 

Some people choose to eat meat. Why not just let them enjoy their sandwich and milkshake while you enjoy your tofurkey and kombucha?

 

Another thing you failed to mention in the OP is how these "Humane" alternatives are way too expensive unless you're upper-class.

[The Soldier 2,044]

Oh and PS: I don't even feel bad about shooting it. That's pretty coldblooded don't you think?

Holy shit, man. I may be a meat eater myself, but... Just holy shit. I'm not THAT cruel to animals... Then again, I'm an animal lover (But, as you can see, not a strong one since I eat meat)

[Fender 1,283]

Sure it's unnecessary.

 

The internet is also unnecessary. Let's stop using it.

 

Killing soulless entities isn't cruel. I say that in this sense: I think a Rhino knows that it's a Rhino, but I don't think it ponders *why* it's a Rhino. Animals and insects, etc., all act on instinct above all else.

 

Now, we most definitely have souls. There is a reason we are so intelligent and creative. Instinct is basic, not imaginative. So again, it's not cruel, it IS unnecessary, and it is made to be a pleasure to us.

 

If cows willingly start protesting outside of McDonald's, I will gladly stop eating burgers; until then, it is absolutely bloody stupid to me to deny such a basic pleasure that *should* be enjoyed by people.

[. eris . 1,661]

Yes, yes I am.

 

Most of us act like chickens and cows anyhow.

 

I could care less about humanity at this point, to be honest. 

At the same time, I value no life over another. I don't think humans are more "soulful" or "sentient". If anything, we're just as "barbaric".

 

Again, it may sound weird and psychotic, but I've always been like that. The idea of killing anything that can feel pan makes me uncomfortable and upset.

 

If you couldn't look at it and shoot it/gut it/etc. with your own two hands, you have no right to eat it, in my opinion. I feel like the reason a lot of people have little feeling on this issue is because they don't understand what it can feel like to kill something. :x

 

Hang on. So show me a chicken that can paint a masterpiece. Let me see a cow that can write a poem worthy of Poe or Frost. I want to know if there's any pigs that can invent a Nook, or an iPad, or a computer. Are animals religiously or politically minded, can they have a constructive opinion on polls? Sure, us humans are dull-witted and harmful to almost everything we touch, but I do believe we're above animals at least intellectually.

 

I am a bit upset by this, so pardon if I sound nasty. I'm just...no. I am not on the intellectual level of a cow. If someone slaughtered and processed me, a human being who could possibly go on to write a great American novel, or become a world renowned journalist, or heck, give birth to the next president, that would be a crime. A cow's greatest ambition will be to eat grass, poop, procreate, and die. That is what humans do naturally, without any intelligent thought. That's our base need.

 

Check out Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Cows/chickens/pigs/what have you are on the base level: physiological. That means they're concerned about breathing, food, water, sex, sleep, warmth, and excretion.

 

Second level: security of: body, employment, resources, morality, the family, health, property.

 

Third level: Love/belonging: friendship, family, sexual intimacy.

 

Fourth level: esteem: self-esteem, confidence, respect by others, respect of others.

 

Fifth level: self-actualization: morality, creativity, spontaneity, problem solving, lack of prejudice, acceptance of facts.

 

Obviously this chart is vastly flawed in many respects, but do you see what I'm getting at? Animals are down at the base level - if you stripped away all intelligent thought from humans, then yes, we would be on the same level as other animals. But those four levels are what separate us from cows and chickens. We are on the top of the food chain for a reason. Even our mentally challenged people (and I'm talking about people with mental disabilities, not just Twilight fans, people) have more logic, reasoning, and soul than a cow does.

 

And don't assume that people who eat meat haven't killed something at one point in time. Many of us haven't, but you happen to be talking to a girl who bred many different kinds of animals for many years. Animals get sick. They get rapidly-spreading diseases that can wipe our your entire herd. We didn't have a gun, so the only way to put these sick animals down was to either break its neck or whack it with a hammer. I've killed animals before, although they were all mercy killings, not necessary for food.

 

No, I have not gone out with a bow and arrow and shot down my own food for the pure, unadulterated pleasure. But I have seen an animal in death throes...and I have felt the life leave it's body.

 

Please don't take me as rude for typing all this, as I am rather tired and a bit scatterbrained at the moment. I'm not trying to insult you in any way, but I am trying to explain the difference between humans and animals properly. And as I've probably explained elsewhere on these boards, I have many difficulties explaining myself properly through text. So I could be a bit helter-skelter in this argument.

[TomokoKuroki 1,707]

@Lara Croft

 

My whole thing though is that is the flow of nature. You must end the life of things to live on. Herbivores and vegetarians  are no different. Just because it doesn't have a face doesn't mean it is more okay for it to die than the other. We may be sentient beings, but that doesn't mean we can deny the facts of the cycle of life.

 

I am not saying that I approve of all animal deaths, there are some cruel ways for them to die and it makes me sad. It just seems this argument is so heavily biased on one side or the other. Yet both kill something for survival. Maybe I am not as sensitive to the discussion as you are, and we are all entitled to our own opinions, but the food chain cycle is not cruel. Just how some obtain it is.

Edited April 18, 2013 by Hayzelestia

[Descant 1,897]

My first thought was of this Colbert Report clip. 

 

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/417354/august-02-2012/thought-for-food---usda-meatless-mondays---plant-communication-research?xrs=share_copy

 

Seriously, though, vegetarians are fine. Veganism is ridiculous, but vegetarianism is acceptable in my books. I won't tell you how to live your life, but personally, I see no reason to deny myself meat on moral grounds. Animals eat meat. Why shouldn't I?

 

I don't eat a lot of meat, honestly. I don't eat many plants, either. I eat very little in general. I used to be practically anorexic, honestly.

Edited April 18, 2013 by Glaceon

[Metemponychosis 1,261]

Instead of trying to get people to not eat meat, it would be far more useful to humanity and our friend animals to lobby against the inhumane treatment that animals in the meat industry get. 

[Moog the Kvlt 1,460]

Look man, I can respect the fact of how you chose to be a vegetarian, but you can respect that I'm not a vegetarian. Eat whatever expensive alternatives you want, while I eat the real thing. Oh yeah surely enough, being vegetarian is more healthier, but so is to not eating sugar, yet a lot of us have our sweet tooth cravings. Sorry if I sounded a bit angered, because if I did then I didn't mean to. And besides you do raise good points, but I'd honestly just rather have a piece of steak than some slab of tofu that resembles one. And I'm also one of those people who thinks that if animals eat meat, then why can't I?

Edited April 18, 2013 by Sherlock Moog

[Descant 1,897]

Instead of trying to get people to not eat meat, it would be far more useful to humanity and our friend animals to lobby against the inhumane treatment that animals in the meat industry get. 

I agree. People will never stop eating meat, people. It would make much more sense to stop wasting your time with preaching veganism, and to fix the meat industry. Like you said. I was just agreeing.

 

That's one thing that really annoys me, though. How vegans and vegetarians always seem to consider themselves morally superior to everyone else.

Edited April 18, 2013 by Glaceon

[The Soldier 2,044]

 

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/417354/august-02-2012/thought-for-food---usda-meatless-mondays---plant-communication-research?xrs=share_copy

*Proceeds to watch the given link*

*Watches some video commercial ad before the video starts*

*Notices the commercial is about fast food breakfast burgers*