Good points to defend vegetarianism?

Question

I've been a vegetarian for a while now for my beliefs in animal rights. I don't go out seeking for arguments with people who do not agree with me, but what are ways to defend yourself when somebody picks fights?

Answer 1

Refuse to have the discussion. Just say, "I just don't want to." You might also find that people won't question you if you say, "I don't like it" or you plead health reasons.

I think a lot of people, when they hear that you're a vegetarian for ethical reasons, instantly think that you're judging them. So their "picking fights" to them might be an attempt at defending themselves. Weird, huh?

Answer 2

You don't need to defend yourself.  I don't.  Just say that I am a vegetarian because of how animals are treated cruely and because it is a much healthier way of life.  Case closed.  It is your choice.  You don't have to explain it to anyone.  If someone is dumb enough to pick a fight then walk away.  People tend to make fun of people when they do something that goes against what they believe in.  It is a personal choice.  To each his own.  Tell them you hope they choke on their meat.  LOL

Answer 3

i always wondered why this topic has so many bad feelings towards it, and then fights break out, does this really make you feel good, like the diet is supposed to?

Answer 4

How to win a fight against a carnivore.

The Hunger Argument

Number of people worldwide who will die as a result of malnutrition this year: 20 million

Number of people who could be adequately fed using land freed if Americans reduced their intake of meat by 10%: 100 million

Percentage of corn grown in the U.S. eaten by people: 20

Percentage of corn grown in the U.S. eaten by livestock: 80

Percentage of oats grown in the U.S. eaten by livestock: 95

Percentage of protein wasted by cycling grain through livestock: 90

How frequently a child dies as a result of malnutrition: every 2.3 seconds

Pounds of potatoes that can be grown on an acre: 40,000

Pounds of beef produced on an acre: 250

Percentage of U.S. farmland devoted to beef production: 56

Pounds of grain and soybeans needed to produce a pound of edible flesh from feedlot beef: 16

The Environmental Argument

Cause of global warming: greenhouse effect

Primary cause of greenhouse effect: carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels

Fossil fuels needed to produce meat-centered diet vs. a meat-free diet: 3 times more

Percentage of U.S. topsoil lost to date: 75

Percentage of U.S. topsoil loss directly related to livestock raising: 85

Number of acres of U.S. forest cleared for cropland to produce meat-centered diet: 260 million

Amount of meat imported to U.S. annually from Central and South America: 300,000,000 pounds

Percentage of Central American children under the age of five who are undernourished: 75

Area of tropical rainforest consumed in every quarter-pound of rainforest beef: 55 square feet

Current rate of species extinction due to destruction of tropical rainforests for meat grazing and other uses: 1,000 per year

The Cancer Argument

Increased risk of breast cancer for women who eat meat daily compared to less than once a week: 3.8 times

For women who eat eggs daily compared to once a week: 2.8 times

For women who eat butter and cheese 2-4 times a week: 3.25 times

Increased risk of fatal ovarian cancer for women who eat eggs 3 or more times a week vs. less than once a week: 3 times

Increased risk of fatal prostate cancer for men who consume meat, cheese, eggs and milk daily vs. sparingly or not at all: 3.6 times.

The Cholesterol Argument

Number of U.S. medical schools: 125

Number requiring a course in nutrition: 30

Nutrition training received by average U.S. physician during four years in medical school: 2.5 hours

Most common cause of death in the U.S.: heart attack

How frequently a heart attack kills in the U.S.: every 45 seconds

Average U.S. man's risk of death from heart attack: 50 percent

Risk of average U.S. man who eats no meat: 15 percent

Risk of average U.S. man who eats no meat, dairy or eggs: 4 percent

Amount you reduce risk of heart attack if you reduce consumption of meat, dairy and eggs by 10 percent: 9 percent

Amount you reduce risk of heart attack if you reduce consumption by 50 percent: 45 percent

Amount you reduce risk if you eliminate meat, dairy and eggs from your diet: 90 percent

Average cholesterol level of people eating meat-centered-diet: 210 mg/dl

Chance of dying from heart disease if you are male and your blood cholesterol level is 210 mg/dl: greater than 50 percent

The Natural Resources Argument

User of more than half of all water used for all purposes in the U.S.: livestock production

Amount of water used in production of the average cow: sufficient to float a destroyer

Gallons of water needed to produce a pound of wheat: 25

Gallons of water needed to produce a pound of California beef: 5,000

Years the world's known oil reserves would last if every human ate a meat-centered diet: 13

Years they would last if human beings no longer ate meat: 260

Calories of fossil fuel expended to get 1 calorie of protein from beef: 78

To get 1 calorie of protein from soybeans: 2

Percentage of all raw materials (base products of farming, forestry and mining, including fossil fuels) consumed by U.S. that is devoted to the production of livestock: 33

Percentage of all raw materials consumed by the U.S. needed to produce a complete vegetarian diet: 2

The Antibiotic Argument

Percentage of U.S. antibiotics fed to livestock: 55

Percentage of staphylococci infections resistant to penicillin in 1960: 13

Percentage resistant in 1988: 91

Response of European Economic Community to routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock: ban

Response of U.S. meat and pharmaceutical industries to routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock: full and complete support

The Pesticide Argument

Common belief: U.S. Department of Agriculture protects our health through meat inspection

Reality: fewer than 1 out of every 250,000 slaughtered animals is tested for toxic chemical residues

Percentage of U.S. mother's milk containing significant levels of DDT: 99

Percentage of U.S. vegetarian mother's milk containing significant levels of DDT: 8

Contamination of breast milk, due to chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides in animal products, found in meat-eating mothers vs. non-meat eating mothers: 35 times higher

Amount of Dieldrin ingested by the average breast-fed American infant: 9 times the permissible level

The Ethical Argument

Number of animals killed for meat per hour in the U.S.: 660,000

Occupation with highest turnover rate in U.S.: slaughterhouse worker

Occupation with highest rate of on-the-job-injury in U.S.: slaughterhouse worker

The Survival Argument

Athlete to win Ironman Triathlon more than twice: Dave Scott (6 time winner)

Food choice of Dave Scott: Vegetarian

Largest meat eater that ever lived: Tyrannosaurus Rex (Where is he today?)

Answer 5

Here's a list of common questions / arguments related to vegetarianism, and good responses:

http://ar.vegnews.org/

The site is such a helpful resource. Some questions it addresses are:

-What about how other animals kill and eat each other?

-If God did not want us to eat meat, then why did he place animals on the Earth?

-How do you know that plants can not feel pain?

-If everyone becomes a vegetarian, then what will we do with all the farm animals?

Answer 6

I would love to hear the contrary point about how to get a vegan to stop pressing their morality on me for NOT being a vegan.   It works both ways

Answer 7

If you make this decision more about yourself you will not be questioned. For example, you might want to say that you're vegetarian because you don't like meat, or for health lifestyle/concerns.

Answer 8

Its such a personal thing that people get very easily offended, so  try not to be to in your face or u'll never get people to see it ur way, they'll just think ur crazy. lol

I would argue health, and not wanting to harm animals.

And like that one person said if you say u just don't like it u really don't get questioned alot.

good luck!  : )

Answer 9

I just tell people that the idea of eating a dead animal never appealed to me.