Considering it's cruel, bad for the environment and bad for your health, why do you eat meat?

Question

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/07/08/scimolecule108.xml

http://www.viva.org.uk

Answer 1

I like it. It is good for me. And it irritates the silly people.

Answer 2

I guess it is depending on your belief system and how much you yourself emphasise with animals, animal products and even plants for that matter.

We humans are a carnivorous animal species (i.e. we eat meat to sustain, thrive and to grow)

Animals that subsist on a diet consisting only of meat are referred to as obligate carnivores. (like our pet cats and dogs) - we provide meat for them (they kill the occasional mouse / squirrel by themselves)

If (as others argue) they also have a soul then they would never make it as a righteous creature of God - they are by default condemned to go to h**l for their sins...

So in other words : would it be considered in bad taste to take care of a pet cat or dog as you are feeding them meat? or even a fly catcher plant? - no I didn't think so..

just because we have evolved into thinking, self aware creatures that can uphold a believe system such as religion and a philosophy on the 'humanity' or 'sin' of eating meat doesn't take away that we are still reliant on meat products and we have to kill animals to get it.

Now I agree that animals should not suffer during live and slaughter, and that they are entitled to a pleasant life (as far as they can experience, as they have no frame of reference nor historical anecdotes to compare their quality of life) but it is us humans that tend to give 'humanlike' characteristics to animals that are unaware of a better life and thus take the life that they live here, now as what it is.

Killing them should be done with care and due attention to that exact moment of wellbeing the animal is used to.

Answer 3

It is a well known fact that if people stopped eating meat and became vegetarians, animals would be slaughtered anyway as farmers would have little use for them and they would cost too much. Farmers would become bankrupt and who will fill their pockets? The world governments.

Face facts, the world cannot cope without meat

Answer 4

It taste great and if you eat meat in moderation it is not bad for you.

Face it unless you are green and have roots in the ground you have to kill something living in order to live.

When you harvest vegetables you have end up killing insects and taking away food from other animals so why should you feel superior to those who eat meat?

I take it since you are concern about being cruel you must be Pro-life and against abortion too.  Right?

Or do human lives don't count?

Answer 5

It would be cruel and unusual punishment for me not to have my steak once a week.

Answer 6

I think you mean poultry and pork that are not cooked properly are bad for you.  Many people eat extremely rare steak and steak tartare (basically raw meat) with no ill effect - I'm one of them.  Undercooked ground beef does carry the slight risk of mad cow.  But I can almost gurantee that you will get sick from undercooked chicken.

Red meat is a good source of protein and once of the best sources for iron (edasily absorbed by the body).  Trying to get iron from spinach can adversely affect your health if you eat too much, and people who take blood thinners can't eat spinach.

If you think about it, harvesting our grains and fruits and vegetables kills plenty of animals that can't get out of the way of the farming equipment fast enough.  And there are the animals who are displaced from their nests when harvest time comes around.  Not to mentionthe toxic fertilizers that are used  and get into our ground water.  Sugar plantations are destroying the Everglades.  Shall I go on?

Only food raised by hand, without chemicals and harvested by hand are truly cruelty free.

Answer 7

There's also clinical evidence that meat is good for you.  I'm sure it has a lot to do with who's doing or funding the research.

Red meat, if not cooked properly, is bad for you.  Other meats, like chicken and turkey, contain nutrients that are essential for good health.  

If not eaten, livestock on farms can overpopulate, pollute the land, put a strain on vegetation as their food sources, and otherwise cause their own environmental concerns.  Don't think it can't happen - consider all the stray animals left to die in the streets.  "Have your pets spayed or neutered, or do something to control animal population.

My cat is a "carnivore" by nature.  His dry food is largely meat-based.  It might be cruel of me to withhold proper nutrition from my cat.  I'll continue to feed my cat his food so my wonderful pet will stay healthy.  I could keep from eating meat if I had to, but my cat cannot make that choice nor will I make it for him.

Answer 8

We eat meat because the media has been brain washing us falsely  about animal products proteins as essential for our well being but the point is do we really need that much proteins from animal products? it has been shown that  those who followed Atkins diet (proteins diet) ended up having heart desease and high cholesterol and clogged arteries so I dont think we need that much meat as the media has been telling us  ..The meat market is  a business worth billions of dollars making huge profits per year and the media would write anything false when paid properly , it is true that the meat is bad for our health responsible for cancers and for heart desease ... If the media would decide tomorrow to tell us the truth  that the meat is bad for our health and for the environment  then everybody would stop eating it! yogis who are vegetarians live much longer than meat eaters!

Answer 9

Because it comes so well cooked and I have been a meat eater since childhood. So put me away!!

Answer 10

There are actually quite a few reasons why meat eaters choose to continue eating meat.

One, meat is easier to produce. For livestock, all one has to do is raise them, fatten them up, and kill them. Cruel as it may sound, it is much easier than waiting entire seasons to grow plants, not to mention the fact that we are constantly running out of land to grow more crops. If meat was completely replaced by crops, it would be very difficult to grow them all because they would require a substantial amount of space, something we are currently losing. Due to this, meat tends to sell cheaper than most vegetables: someone can easily pick up a hamburger at a fast food joint for a buck or two.

Secondly, we are naturally considered predators and omnivores. Wolves, lions, tigers, bears, and other creatures have been hunting and killing animals for years. The same thing applies to humans. Our teeth are designed to devour both plants and meat.

Third, probably the simplest of all, is that meat is tasty, and many people would logically continue to eat something they enjoy.

Vegetarians and Meat-Eaters should seriously stop bickering about what's right and wrong. It is up to the person to decide what they eat, and no one has any right to change that.