A question to vegetarians?

Question

I think most people are vegetarians because the object to the poor treatment of animals, and indeed, their unessicery killing (since we can survive fine on other foods).

To you guys I ask the question:

Would you rather lead a short, and pretty crappy life, OR, not have ever lived at all?

Effectively eating meat causes extra animals to be bred in order to meet demand. You're providing animals with a life they wouldnt have lived otherwise. So which is better?

Answer 1

Personally, I think that your original premise is somewhat flawed in that it stacks the deck towards only one of the many reasons for choosing to live this way. While ahimsa, non-violence is a huge and important reason for being vegetarian, I think it is a mistake to focus that only on the animals -- especially when so many millions of humans -- both childen and adults -- will die of starvation this year and evey year. Especially knowing that hunger hurts and is 100% preventable and yes, our choices do make a difference.

So if you were to step up your question to focus on the humans rather than the animals as being given the choice of life at all or life in the devastating cicumstances of stavation -- usually due to some political decisions rather than due to climate change and crop failure -- the power of the question and our response to it becomes more immediate and frankly, I think it changes things significantly.  

For me, I would still choose to live and no doubt suffer and yes, possibly die. And yes, life is pecious. In spite of it all, I would still hope to celebrate it.

Answer 2

not be born at all. In terms of "living", these a lot of animals are breathing yes, but the conditions and treatment of the animals is disturbing. I guess they are living to die, though.

Answer 3

If I had to live like those poor critters in factory farms, I'd pick never having lived at all.

Answer 4

I would rather not have a life.

If people continue to eat meat because they are providing animals with a life they wouldn't have lived otherwise, we shouldn't m********e, use birth control or contraceptives, or have periods (we're wasting an egg!)  The logic is flawed, and since overpopulation is a HUGE problem, we should be spaying and neutering more animals, promoting adoption (of both humans and non-human animals), and encouraging contraceptive & birth control use in humans, as well as providing non-human animals with contraceptives.

Answer 5

I would rather have not been born at all if I was to be born into that type of cruelty. The way that the animals are slaughtered just makes me sick. It's impossible to have the world as vegetarians, but if you choose to eat meat, you'll feel better deep down, knowing you're not harming another's life.

Answer 6

I think I'd rather not live at all. I mean you can be killed and tortured AND destroy the Earth all in one for little other than greed all you like butttt no thanks, not for me! =]

Although I can't really ask an animal how they feel about it can I...=S

Please note that this question will keep me up half the night -

Im blaming you.......=D

Answer 7

Never live if it came to living in a corporately owned factory farm.  Farm raised grass/grain fed without hormones, antibiotics would be a much better life.

Answer 8

why would anyone want to be born into a life of poor treatment?? I would rather not live at all.

Answer 9

Good question.

If I was an animal that was born into the factory farming meat/dairy industry I certainly would be wishing that I wasn't born at all.  These animals have no quality of life at all, their whole lives seem to consist of misery, suffering and cruelty and distress.  Who would want a life like that?  

If my life was remotely similar to theirs, I certainly would wish I had never been born!

Answer 10

WOW...i never would have thought of it that way but...i definately would not have wanted to be born....i mean whats the point of living when all your going to do is have to go through labor and die? its like giving birth to a child and then someone killing you on the spot so they can have dinner.....

Answer 11

Never born at all.

Think of it this way... if you were abused/mistreated/neglected all your life, kept in a tiny room with other abused, depressed, irritable people living in your own f***s, shot up with steroids, and then slaughtered violently... would you want to live?

Very good question.

Answer 12

LOL funny way to think about it.  It doesn't make sense to think about animals waiting around to be born, and missing the chance.  I do think it's better to stop breeding the animals than to keep breeding and killing them.  

A lot of people argue with me that the world would be overrun with cows if we stopped eating them, which is stupid.  Clearly if everyone stopped eating them we would also stop breeding them.  It's not like they're running around loose.  Like deer, that we have to kill because we've taken over their homes...  *sigh*  Sorry for getting a little off topic.

Answer 13

Never being born at all would be my choice. Haven't you ever heard the expression "some things are far worse than death?"

Answer 14

Good question. I rather never be born at all.

Most people are happy to have been born. But I have heard of a few humans with horrible birth defects. Some of them, I have heard, wish they were never born. So I guess horrible lives are not worth living to some's perspective.

Answer 15

Never been born at all, of course.