Why is eating meat (even white meat) considered unhealthy by vegetarians?

Question

Thanks for your answers!

Answer 1

Ethical reasons...www.meat.org<== It's a must see site for people who want to understand why so many people become vegetarian or vegan.

Answer 2

I don't think eating meat is unhealthy, but I choose not to eat it for ethical reasons. But I do not think you need to eat meat to be healthy!

Answer 3

It's unhealthy because our bodies weren't meant to eat meat.  Why do you think that we are the only species on earth that needs to cook meat before we eat it?  Because our bodies weren't designed to handle it.

Answer 4

Because even the lowest fat meat and fish has more fat than plant foods, and the fat is saturated.

Answer 5

Vegetarians are basically attention seekers, who try to make them selves out to be good samaritans by not eating meat, when a lot of them just don't like the taste.

But what they don't realise, is that veg such as potatoes, brocolli, all of that was all a life once.

So obviously they don't care about killing for food, they just want to stand out.

Answer 6

most vegetarians i know that don't eat meat via religion or diet just cannot picture themselves chewing a creatures flesh.

but i can guarantee that they've bitten there tounge several times before

Answer 7

Most of us are veggies because we don't want animals to die. Those who are veggies for health reasons are veggies because among other things meat (especially red meat) has more fat than veggie protein options.

Answer 8

Meat is a rotting flesh and contains unhealthy saturated fat.

That's why :D

Answer 9

because they dont like someone who is eating meat(even white meat)  me too im a vegetarian and i hate people who eats meat or animals.

Answer 10

Most Americans eat TOO much meat - most "nutritionists" recommend eating only very small potions of the stuff.

Vegetarians and nutritionists are different!!

"Nutritionists" study the science of healthy eating while vegetarians abstain from the consumption of animals.

I, as a vegetarian can give you many sound reasons not to eat meat (mostly of the environmental & ethical variety), but if you health is your sole concern than you should consult a "nutritionist" and simply eat LESS meat.

Answer 11

i shouldn't really say this in this section but they're obviously delusional.

Answer 12

In response to the first answerer, it's most likely not those three reasons you mentioned, in regard to considering something unhealthy. It's more likely to be:

Nutritional.

Health.

Human physiology.

Environmental/ecological sustainability.

(with the first three being closely interlinked.)

Answer 13

Because factory-farmed meat is pumped full of antibiotics and has 5X the pesticide residue of plants.  You're also wayy more likely to get food posioning off of a dead animal than off of a plant!!  Dead animals are decomposing.  And people eat them.  Nasty.

Answer 14

I don't think they consider it totally unhealthy, just unnecessary.  I am a demi-vegetarian--I eat poultry and fish,  I don't eat red meat for health reasons and because I know I just don't need it to survive.

A lot of vegetarians do it for ethical reasons.  They love all animals and they can't stand the way they are treated before they are served up on our dinner table.

Answer 15

white meat isn't unhealthy, but red meat is high in saturated fat... most vegetarians are vegetarian for ethical reasons.

Answer 16

ethical reasons

religious reasons

they just don't like the taste

Answer 17

Red meat is known to have a high fat content. White meat such as chicken is lean/low in fat but most vegetarians are vegetarian because of ethical issues and not neccesarily becaue of fat content. The fact that it is a healthier less fatty diet is a bonus.

Answer 18

I want you to do me a favour...I want you to drive out into the countryside, find a paddock of cows grazing and pick the one you want to eat tonight for dinner...then I want you to leap on top of it, tear its throat out and it eat in on the spot.

I don't know about you, but I don't happen to have a set of razor sharp claws or canine teeth to do so.

-Humans are not designed for hunting.

Look at your flimsy fingernails in comparison to the claws of a cheetah. Compare your flat molars to the canines of a dog, designed to tear flesh and crunch bones.

-Human bowels are several times longer than that of a carnivore as well, which means that instead of being expelled quickly, meat that we eat decomposes in our bodies, if it hasn't already begun to do so. The saliva of a carnivore is acid, meaning that meat they eat begins to digest as soon as it enters the mouth.

-It takes enormous amounts of our energy to digest meat [as anyone would know after that Sunday roast] and has been linked to diseases such as cancer of the bowels and stomach, heart disease, and others.

-It is believed by some that you literally are what you eat, and that an animal in fear and pain as in a slaughterhouse situation, has adrenalin and other toxins coursing through their system as they die, which consumers then ingest.

-Many animals are fed antibiotics and hormones to maximise meat production, and this can cause resistance to antibiotics.

-Many feel that the animal industry contributes to the destruction of the environment, due to the huge amounts of water and grain being used for animals that are only going to be eaten.

Many vegetarians have found themselves to feel more

energetic after making the switch, some have lost extra weight and become leaner, others have found that digestion problems cease. Even meat eating doctors and nutritionalists have concluded that there is in fact benefit in a balanced vegetarian diet.

Sorry for my long answer =]

Answer 19

Let's stick to the question:

Why do some think it's unhealthy? Because they have been told it is. Despite all the evidence to the contrary, they will follow that single line because it agrees with what they are doing. That's why even after decades of propaganda from websites like PETA, vegsoc, vegansoc etc, the number of vegetarians still reamin static at about 2-5% of the population. Despite these nutritional chicken littles, meat consumption is in fact growing, not shrinking. However the quality  has vastly improved.

The American Diabetc Society says that eating lean cuts of meat and eating fish 2-3 times per week in conjunction with a healthy amount of fruits and veggies is the smart choice for a healthy living.

There are other reasons, ethical and moral reasons why vegetarians choose not to eat meat. But that is not the question here and I see the usual vegetarian fanatics answering with th usual mantra(complete with "reliable"website sources) not in context with the question.

Answer 20

The human body was not designed for eating meats because of the length of the intestines. Meat and meat products ferment and cause gases and lots of diseases. Animals that eat meat have short intestines so they discharge everything quickly. Also when you kill an animal for food that life is gone forever whereas when it comes to plants you pick the fruits and even when you use the whole plant you can use the parts to grow them again, such as onions and potatoes. This creates better balance in the universe.

Answer 21

Well, not everyone goes vegetarian for health reasons. And it's not just vegetarians who consider meat unhealthy.

Animals are almost the sole source of saturated fat. Humans have no dietary need for saturated fat. (Unsaturated, yes. Saturated, no.) In addition, animal products often contain cholesterol.

Lots of people question the use of hormones and antibiotics in raising food animals. (While I think they've cleaned up quite a bit, a few decades ago, there were some human health problems associated with hormone-treated food.)

Also, white meat isn't always better than "red meat." Dark meat from chickens (the thighs) are actually higher in fat than most lean cuts of beef.

http://www.beefitswhatsfordinner.com/nut...

Answer 22

Most meat comes from animals that are stressed out, wore out or diseased. As long as the animal can be forced onto its feet with a whopping serving of pain and fear, they can legally slaughter it and ship it's meat off to a supermarket.

It doesn't matter if the animal is full of tumors or pesticides, if it can get up and take a few more steps, its good enough for your plate.

Answer 23

because it is

it is supported by scientific evidence that eating a meat based diet increases the risks of cardio vascular disease, stroke, hypertension, certain cancers, ect.

most vegetarians, including myself have other reasons as well though.

i don't like the texture, taste, and the thought really groses me out.