Is it wrong to eat meat?

[Orang Utan]

If I listened to my body I'd be dead or at the very least moribund by now

 

[soulman]

Not really.

Your body will generally be looking to fatten you up, for when the mammoth and roots supply isn't so good.

Yours might, mine doesn't.

 

[soulman]

If I listened to my body I'd be dead or at the very least moribund by now

Your body, not the drugs!

 

[weltweit]

If we did not eat meat, all the cows and pigs and chickens that exist to provide meat for us would not exist. Do they get any pleasure from their lives? If they do, then depriving them of their lives by not breeding them in the first place could be argued to be doing harm.

I am anti cruelty in farming, I think the way licenced slaughterhouses work is probably pretty good at the moment but I am not happy that some groups are permitted to kill their livestock in different ways. What is it halal or kosher? one of them kills animals by slitting their throats and bleeding them to death, I am not at all sure that this should be permitted. And if it is not permitted in normal UK licenced slaughterhouses then why are these groups allowed to be different, especially if it is cruel which I think it is?

I have worked on farms and helped in the slaughter of animals. I am therefore not squemish about the process. I eat a balanced diet, meat vegetables and fruit etc and am fairly comfortable with it.

 

[Orang Utan]

I don't think there's much 'pleasure' in being livestock. It's whether that pleasure matters that counts.

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

This will go well.

My two cents: yes, it is wrong to eat meat. I operate under a moral principal of doing as little harm as possible. I can survive quite easily without eating meat, so doing the unecessary harm of having animals killed for pleasure (not to mention the inherant cruelty and destruction to the environment caused by the international meat farming industry) would be an implicitly wrong act. I view regular meat eating as a very selfish activity.

And now, to prevent my blood overheating from the attacks on me and pitiful self-justifications by the meat eaters, I'll bow out. If you really feel the need to insult me feel free to direct it to my inbox because I won't be on this thread.

Bitchbitchbitch...leave.

The definition of the cheap shot.

 

[fogbat]

Your body, not the drugs!

You're aware, aren't you, that this is sounding like silly hippy wibbling?

 

[soulman]

You're aware, aren't you, that this is sounding like silly hippy wibbling?

What is?

 

[Agent Sparrow]

ah, but do you eat dairy bluey?

i'm a meat eater, but if i did give up meat, i'd go the whole hog and become vegan. i don't understand how you can defend eating dairy if you don't eat meat (for ethical reasons)

In the UK, it is very difficult to be vegan unless you cook and prepare all your own food (and it can be tricky then). Finding lunch time snacks such as sandwiches are the worst. Therefore there's a hell of a lot of people who think about what values they hold, what they can feasibly keep up with, and make their dietary choices based on the compromise. If someone wants to call that hypocritical they they can - I doubt there is anyone who isn't inconsistent or a hypocrite in some way, apart from those who have no moral principles in the first place. And it's not like many meat eaters don't have similar levels of what is acceptable and what is not (e.g. those who won't eat veal or foie gras). Tbh, this kind of hypocrisy hunting gets a bit annoying after a while.

 

[ethel]

In the UK, it is very difficult to be vegan unless you cook and prepare all your own food (and it can be tricky then). Finding lunch time snacks such as sandwiches are the worst. Therefore there's a hell of a lot of people who think about what values they hold, what they can feasibly keep up with, and make their dietary choices based on the compromise. If someone wants to call that hypocritical they they can - I doubt there is anyone who isn't inconsistent or a hypocrite in some way, apart from those who have no moral principles in the first place. And it's not like many meat eaters don't have similar levels of what is acceptable and what is not (e.g. those who won't eat veal or foie gras). Tbh, this kind of hypocrisy hunting gets a bit annoying after a while.

rose veal isn't unethical though! it's certainly better than exporting live calves to europe or shooting them at birth.

i don't think it's that difficult to be vegan any more. i've certainly managed to do it by accident for weeks on end. it just takes a bit of preparation.

 

[kyser_soze]

Semi-faecetiously, has anyone worked out how much extra methane and other gasses would be emitted if the whole planet went veggie? I doubt it.

 

[Spion]

Bitchbitchbitch...leave.

The definition of the cheap shot.

Oh, the irony

 

[girasol]

No, it's not wrong to eat meat for the reasons given by the OP.

What is wrong it to eat too much meat (wrong, and unhealthy) and also the intensive farming methods of modern society. If people had to kill their own meat they would value it a lot more and eat a lot less meat, etc...

 

[fogbat]

What is?

The whole "listen to your body" thing

 

[ddraig]

Semi-faecetiously, has anyone worked out how much extra methane and other gasses would be emitted if the whole planet went veggie? I doubt it.

if the fuckers weren't eaten then they wouldn't be bred would they!

 

[ddraig]

So the Inuit aren't included in this debate then?

what i meant was that they don't have a choice whereas 'we' do

 

[Spion]

if the fuckers weren't eaten then they wouldn't be bred would they!

you misunderstood the question

 

[Gmart]

It could be argued that if you value life as something special, to support with your well-earned money, then eating meat (which is strictly unnecessary), is inconsistent.

Then again everyone is inconsistent, and not accepting inconsistency seems to lead to expecting the world to be better than it actually is.

Disappointing that...

Thus I would suggest not worrying about it so much. Life is unfair, and eating meat tastes good. Get over it

 

[Gavin Bl]

In the UK, it is very difficult to be vegan unless you cook and prepare all your own food (and it can be tricky then). Finding lunch time snacks such as sandwiches are the worst. Therefore there's a hell of a lot of people who think about what values they hold, what they can feasibly keep up with, and make their dietary choices based on the compromise. If someone wants to call that hypocritical they they can - I doubt there is anyone who isn't inconsistent or a hypocrite in some way, apart from those who have no moral principles in the first place. And it's not like many meat eaters don't have similar levels of what is acceptable and what is not (e.g. those who won't eat veal or foie gras). Tbh, this kind of hypocrisy hunting gets a bit annoying after a while.

Fair point, but it cuts both ways - veggies are just as morally inconsistent as meat eaters, and anyone else for that matter.

 

[Gmart]

EVERYONE is inconsistent! The failure to accept one's own inconsistency is the problem!

 

[littlebabyjesus]

what i meant was that they don't have a choice whereas 'we' do

They do have a choice. They can move south. They're mostly either Canadian or US citizens, so there's plenty of choice. I'm sure there is lots of great veggie food in Vancouver.

In many cultures, including the Inuit, asking whether it is wrong to eat meat makes as much sense as asking whether it is wrong to breathe air.

 

[Gavin Bl]

EVERYONE is inconsistent! The failure to accept one's own inconsistency is the problem!

Indeed, excusing inconsistency in ones self, whilst attacking it in others.

 

[soloqi]

I love these repeat threads,
The title states Is it wrong to eat meat ?

Inflatable jesus dont you have your own thoughts and are you so confused of your choices that you must ask other what is wrong or right.

Who gives a flying fish if so peolpe say it good while others say its bad, Follow your heart

Why do so many peolpe concern themselves what otherspeople do,

Does anyone know what being an induvidual mean ?

 

[littlebabyjesus]

How do you know it is a repeat thread?

 

[inflatable jesus]

I love these repeat threads,
The title states Is it wrong to eat meat ?

Inflatable jesus dont you have your own thoughts and are you so confused of your choices that you must ask other what is wrong or right.

Who gives a flying fish if so peolpe say it good while others say its bad, Follow your heart

Why do so many peolpe concern themselves what otherspeople do,

Does anyone know what being an induvidual mean ?

Dude, did you read my original post?

I thought I outlined my position in some detail.

I'm not in any confusion. I'm just interested in moral philosophy and I was wondering if anyone could knock down my arguments. This is a philosophy board after all and if ethics are ethics then they are universal. Many people regard their diet as following an ethical imperative. I just wanted to explore that a little.

In case it isn't clear, I support anyone's right to not eat meat, dairy, pork, roots that kill the plants or whatever. I just don't see that there's a universal moral imperative not to so I look at it as a lifestyle choice of some sort. I do accept though, that there may be a moral imperative not to support industrialized farming for environmental reasons.

Actually, I wish Bluestreak would have stuck around. I'd like him to elaborate on the ethical ideas behind his dietary choices.

Ah well.

 

[inflatable jesus]

what i meant was that they don't have a choice whereas 'we' do

I'm still not with you on this one. Can you explain what you meant with regard to the lions?

 

[Gmart]

if ethics are ethics then they are universal.

Aren't ethics a purely personal thing? One might even argue that there is no such thing as universal anything apart from the physical world, and ethics don't seem to be part of that world.

 

[kyser_soze]

Many people regard their diet as following an ethical imperative.

Fuck them, let's go have a foie gras entreé, followed by a lightly peppered rib eye steak and something equally unhealthy (possibly involving rare plants) for dessert...

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

Oh, the irony

You wanna go?

Huh?

You wanna go?

 

[Agent Sparrow]

rose veal isn't unethical though! it's certainly better than exporting live calves to europe or shooting them at birth.

i don't think it's that difficult to be vegan any more. i've certainly managed to do it by accident for weeks on end. it just takes a bit of preparation.

You'd be surprised what products dairy and other animal products are in. Did you eat bread at all in these weeks where you've eaten vegan? Most commercial bread has non vegan products in it, and many vegans have to make their own. A lot of people don't know that though, and I've heard people say they've been eating vegan for the week as they chomp into a humous sandwich from tesco.

You're right, it can be done with preparation, but I'd hold that it still takes a hell of a lot of it rather than it being minimal. If you're ever out for the day, you often either have to always prepare food in advance, live off organic fruits (so as to not risk having coatings made from insects) or go hungry. Tbh, about 90% of the times I have to grab something out my options are cheese or egg. And eating out? Unless you're lucky enough to live near a good veggie/vegan restaurant and regularly persuade your mates to go there the veggie choice is usually covered in cheese, or is always fucking tomato pasta. I don't actually think it's possible to eat a properly varied vegan diet with any degree on on the hoof eating. Perhaps that is a sacrifice some people should make if they wish to follow that lifestyle choice, but it's certainly not an easy option which limits it's feasibility for many people.

Fair point, but it cuts both ways - veggies are just as morally inconsistent as meat eaters, and anyone else for that matter.

Well, depends on your moral reasons for not eating meat. If you don't want to eat it because you don't want to eat an animal that has been killed for you then it's not morally inconsistent to eat meat. If you don't eat meat because you disagree with farming methods, then perhaps it is. But as I said, everyone is inconsistent about something, and I'd still rather someone with beliefs make half a stand than no stand at all.