What made you not want to eat meat, what do you have against eating meat?

Question

God gave us teeth to bite and tear meat and animals eat other animals in the wild so what made you feel the need to stop eating meat?

Answer 1

You love meat. And that's great. However I do not. I hate it for the most part - I cannot stand the taste and texture of meat, it's just horrible! BTW, I believe we are omnivores in that we evolved to eat both meat and vegetables. I do not have a problem with other people eating meat, heck I'll probably get thumbs down for this, but I don't even believe that killing animals for food is wrong! People eat meat because it's healthy and to lots of people tastes delicious. And yes, I agree that with the teeth to eat meat and vegetables and I think that it's best if people ate a healthy balanced diet of both meat and veggies.

However, that said, I am still a vegetarian. Like I said before, because I do not like the taste of meat at all. I never have. People just assume that because you're a vegetarian then you must be some crazed animal rights activist or something, they don't really consider that there might be some other reason such as with me, aka not liking the taste/texture of meat, health concerns, allergies, religion, etc.

Answer 2

What made you not want to eat meat?

I read a book about the fast food industry. It contained a great section about factory farms. Once my eyes were opened to the atrocities animals go through during their lives and especially during the slaughtering process, it made me want to stop eating meat. After I read the book, I continued to research and found that there are a lot of health benefits to a meat-free diet. My family has a load of health problems that can be traced to a diet high in animal products. I want to live longer than 65 (which is about the age that most of my relatives pass away). I want to be better than that and have a higher quality of life.

I'm vegan for a number of reasons: ethical, spiritual, environmental and health-related.

What do you have against eating meat?

I don't like seeing animals suffer for the pleasure of human tastebuds. I also don't like the hormones, antiobiotics and additives that are in the meat, causing the people who eat it to be ill. I hate that our government is extremely lax with food safety laws and they are not concerned about the overall health of its own people. I could go on...

God gave us teeth to bite and tear meat and animals eat other animals in the wild so what made you feel the need to stop eating meat?

I don't think that God designed humans to eat meat. Our teeth pale in comparison to those of a lion or tiger. They are made to rip and tear flesh. Our teeth are not. Their bodies are designed to eat the meat raw. We have to cook ours first. Our digestive tracts are similar to those of plant-eating animals in nature. We have long intestines that are more conducive to absorbing plant-based vitamins and minerals. The digestive tracts of animals who are supposed to eat meat are much shorter and their stomach acid is way more potent than ours.

I don't think that God gave us animals to eat. He has provided us with plenty fruits, vegetables and grains that are wholeseome and nutritious. He certainly did not "give us" the animals to abuse. The God I serve would not condone factory farming and the horrible things that go on. We are all a part of His creation. Since we were blessed with more complex brain activity, then it is our duty to protect animals, not exploit them.

::EDIT::

Forgot two:

I don't eat fish. I don't eat anything that was once alive. I also don't eat anything derived from an animal.

I have found plenty of non-animal protein sources. The truth of the matter is that most Westerners eat TOO MUCH protein. Protein from animal sources is extremely hard on the human body in terms of digesting and absorption. It's especially taxing on our liver and kidneys. Following a vegan or vegetarian diet means that we are probably eating the correct amount of protein.

I hope I addressed all of your questions.

cheers.

Answer 3

I am not vegetarian because of my convictions, I avoid meat because of health reasons. The animals on most farms are given ridiculous amounts of growth hormones and estrogen. The FDA approved amounts are considered almost cancerous by a lot of endocrinologists.

I still like the taste of meat (I'm sorry if I upset somebody), but it was too much of a hassle to eat only  organic meat since I travel a lot for work and I have to eat in hotels.

Estrogen and growth hormones are really bad for anybody with a family history of breast/ovary cancer or blood clots, so I prefer being on the safe side.

Answer 4

If its got a mother i dont eat it

Answer 5

I love meat..any kind ;)

Answer 6

You say that God gave us animals to eat?  Originally, men didn't eat animals:  "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be food for you."  It was only after the Flood that some animals were acceptable to eat, and after the Mosaic Law ended that all animals were acceptable to eat.  True, God did say LATER that men could eat animals, but originally, men didn't eat animals and they were perfectly healthy.  This demonstrates God's knowledge that human bodies can be perfectly healthy without meat; otherwise, there wouldn't have been 1,000+ years of human history during which he forbid it.

God also commanded us to treat animals well.  It's a serious sin to not take good care of your domestic animal.  Paying someone else to harm the animal is pretty much the same as harming it yourself.

These are my main reasons not to eat meat:

1.)  To me, it is a moot point whether we were "meant" to eat meat (either because our God gave us permission or because we evolved to it).  I don't think that having a body suited to eat meat makes it acceptable to torture animals.  And, really, it is torture.  It may not be torture if the animals we ate were happy bouncing around in the world naturally until we gave them a painless death.  But that is not what the modern meat industry is.  In actuality, animals are crammed in tiny cages and really don't get to do anything they enjoy.  Also, slaughterhouses aren't perfect; often animals aren't properly stunned before they're slaughtered.  Whether God commanded us to eat animals or not, you can prevent this slaughter by not eating the animals.  (When you buy meat, you may not be directly torturing it yourself, but you're just paying someone else to torture it.)  It might be different if we absolutely NEEDED to eat animals to be healthy (like carnivores do), but we don't.  Humans can be perfectly healthy (some would even argue healthier) without meat.

2)  It hurts the environment.  It requires 2,000 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef, but only 14 gallons to produce one pound of tomatoes.  (Think about it.  If you just water the plants, you waste less water than if you water enough plants to feed the cow PLUS give the cow water to drink during the years it takes to grow to adulthood.)  Also, the wastes from factory farms.  You'd think that adding animal wastes back to the environment would be good for it (like manure), but it's not in such large amounts.  TOO much waste is getting dumped out.  There are already huge sections of the Gulf of Mexico that are devoid of life because of the pollution from factory farms.

There's a direct connection between animal abuse and eating meat.  When I buy and eat meat, it's basically paying someone else to abuse the animal for me.  That's why I'm a vegetarian.

Also, it's easy to get enough protein; the average American diet actually has about twice the recommended amount of protein.  (For example, a Big Mac has 97% of the daily recommended amount of protein for a 2,000 calorie a day diet.)  You don't even have to try to eat a ton of high-protein plant foods (like beans or legumes).  Did you know that a whole-wheat bagel has 9 grams of protein?  It's easy to get enough protein.

And you can just "look at a cow and see that it's big and dumb and full of meat and God intended for us to eat it"?  People once looked at black people and presumed that God meant for them to be workers.  You cannot look at an animal and presume to know what God meant it for.

Answer 7

Would you want to eat something brutally treated, and health threating?If your an omnivore, I'm guessing your answer is yes, correct?*sighs & shakes head*

  And by the way, you do know that animals in the wild eating others, is necessary, right? This is what they must do to survive. But, it is different with us beings. Us eating other animals is not necessary yet a choice; a cruel and depraved choice.

Answer 8

Even if your God approves of eating meat, I'm sure He would not support Factory Farming.

Are slaughterhouses 'natural'? Define 'natural'. The list goes on.

Live and let live. You are free to eat what you like, and I am free to enjoy my dietary preference too.

ps- I studied Philosophy at College and basically found that God's existance cannot be proved or disproved, and therefore raising the issue of ''God'' in any argument serves only to complicate the situation.

NO vegetarians eat FISH. Look at this link for info on protein, it may just surprise you. We get plenty of protein. Ever heard of protein deficiency in the Western world?

http://www.vegsoc.org/info/protein.html

Answer 9

Honestly, I LOVE MEAT. No offense to anyone here... but I stopped eating meat for health reasons.

I am lacto ovo vegetarian now, which means I can still eat dairy and eggs, but I don't eat fish or beef, pork, chicken, etc.

Since changing my diet:

I crave less sugar.

I am fuller longer.

I eat less than I did when meat was my primary food source.

I have lost 18 pounds in the past month.

The cons are:

I still kind of miss meat, and the meat analogues don't always compensate for just what I'm wanting.

I'm gassier now and have to take beano... but I've been told by my sister who's been vegetarian longer that it will subside when I get further into the lifestyle.

Answer 10

I think that a lot of people see it in a different perspective to you; they think that God made creatures to grow on the earth and we need to respect him.

Although, yours is a good point too.

I stopped eating meat because I saw the back of a van FILLED with slaughtered, upside-down pigs, cows, calfs and I think there was a goat in there somewhere too...

Answer 11

I myself have evolved.  God never intended us to treat animals the way we do.  It was kill to live.  Now there are alternatives and I won't support a meat industry that raises and kills animals like they do now.

God never intended for animals to suffer so much.  I actually feel like God likes vegetarians because we are trying to put an end to the cruelty by not creating more of a market for factory farmed animals.  

God hearts vegetarians.  You heard me.  God hearts vegetarians.

When people eat meat knowing what their life is like, they are supporting suffering and Christians aren't supposed to support suffering.  I believe that the meat eaters who knowingly eat meat and support that suffering will have to answer later if you know what I mean.

God sees this:  www.meat.org  It must make him cry.

Answer 12

GOD made me not want to eat meat.

He said "Thou shalt not kill"....not "Thou shalt not kill humans."

Try rereading Genesis....God did not intend for us to be omnivores in his perfect world (the Garden of Eden).  In the end the world will be vegetarian again as God says there will not be death and the lion will lay with the lamb.  

Many Christians pray the Lord's Prayer daily....think about what you're saying:  "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done....ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN."  How is it in heaven?  I doubt there is KILLING in heaven.....and you have to kill to get meat you know.  Are you living what you're praying?

Here you go:

"And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing

seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree,    in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be     for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat:  and it was so. And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day."  Genesis 1:29-31

The first two chapters in Genesis were before the fall of humankind....before sin, and before death.  As the website below states, "you can't have a hamburger without death."

You may also want to try speaking with some Seventh Day Adventists on this issue.....they are a Christian church who preaches vegetarianism.

Even if God wanted people to eat meat (which I doubt He does)....He would certainly not approve of the inhumane way that the majority of animals are raised for food today.  Think about it....would a truly compassionate God approve of factory farming and slaughterhouses?  Would the God YOU believe in support violence and death, or living with compassion and love toward his creations?

EDIT:  God didn't give humankind permission to eat meat until after the flood because there was no vegetation.  Even then He said that it would have to be free of blood.  It was at this point that the Bible states that animals began to fear humans.....they became violent because they had to defend themselves against US.  Think about it....if animals and people were eating each other, how the heck were they stuck together on an ark without tearing each other apart?  Humans and animals did not eat each other until there was nothing left to eat....which was a result of humankind's sin anyway!!!

EDIT: and WHEN was Genesis 9?? All together now... AFTER the flood.  Anyway, I am not intending to argue...I put the evidence out there (Actually, God put it there first) and it's your choice whether or not you read it and are open minded to it.  I really don't care if you are a vegetarian or not...but you asked why I am, and that's why.  BTW: sorry I don't accept emails, I really do enjoy a good debate.  Have a great afternoon (really)!!

We are both children of God and whether we eat meat or not makes no difference in that fact.  People have interpreted God's Word differently for a couple thousand years, and I wouldn't expect us all to agree all of a sudden! (Plus, where would the fun be in that?)

Here are my answers to your other questions:

Vegetarians don't eat fish...pescetarians do....so I don't eat it.

I get protein mostly from soy, but also beans, nuts, seeds, and various other sources.

I've always liked those sources, so the transition wasn't hard for me at all.  If you don't like beans, nuts, etc. or are allergic to soy I would think it would be a lot harder for you, but still possible.

Answer 13

i just didn't like the taste

Answer 14

first of all, not everyone beleives god gave us those things... evolution is a pretty solid theory at this point. and either way if you are looking for open answers you should keep in mind not everyone believes we even started teh way you do.

yes we posess the ability to consume meat.  but did god also create factory farms? he created the animals too didn't he?  do you think he wants us torturing them in factory farms?  for many vegs the issue isn't the consumption of meat, it's the process of getting it that involves so much pain and suffering to innocent beings.  if you believe in god and his creation of us why would you want to eat meat anyway knowing the pain that went into getting them on our plate?  also in the wild it is natural to kill and eat what you need... not have 3 fast food restuarants on every corner and eat so much meat heart disease is the top killer of humans.

Answer 15

I have alot against eating meat. It breaks a very important commandment (thou shall not kill), it is cruel, animals are treated horrible and my eating meat I would be supporting that horrible industry. I don't feel you should support something you don't believe in. God gave you free will to choose whatever you want to eat but he gave you compassion and the ability to know right from wrong.

Answer 16

I don't like the taste of meat and it is not healthy. Humans do not have to eat meat. Perhaps I do not want to bite and tear at flesh? I also love animals and I hate to see them murdered so that I can eat something I my body does not require.

Answer 17

Does it really matter. If we have a healthy diet everything else is irrelevant.

Answer 18

When was the last time you  caught and tore flesh from an animal?  Why is your business what I eat?   Does your God think it's also OK to look down on what others beleive?  

PS:  I am not in the wild and I have the brain capacity to make a choice on what I think is right..you on the other hand, depend on a book to tell you what to do.  Way to go...

Answer 19

Try to walk up to a cow and tear her apart; without tools, just your teeth. Cant do it? Thought so.

Answer 20

i learned about how they kill and slaughter the nimals and i relly loe animals so it epends on how you look t it some peopledont care but it makes me sad