I eat meat. I'm not going to stop eating meat. While I do like eating meat, there is a much better reason in my case. I can't not eat meat. After about three days I get very sick and start passing out. However I can go without fruit or vegetables for a week or so with no problems, so I eat less of them.

While soy is okay sometimes, It's not a perfect substitute for meat eggs and dairy, for a few good reasons:

One: It contains toxins which can harm you. CONCERNS REGARDING SOYBEANS

Two: While it is a complete protean, it's not the best one for you. Eggs are. Specifically the whites.

I really like this video, because it seems to explain some things well.

YouTube - ‪Veggy People‬‏

Mind you, I hate animal cruelty, and it needs to be stopped whenever it's found. Even if you're going to eat something it's not okay to treat it like crap first. Too many companies do this and it makes me a bit sick. I actually research some of the companies I buy my meat from before I'll buy from them.

I'm not bashing Vegans, or Vegetarians in general, but the little group at my college who likes to glare at me when I eat my sandwich... They need to go away. They're really not helping the cause man.

I must ask why it's okay for people to be pushy about me eating meat, but I'm not allowed to do the same to them about not eating meat?

It's pretty logical; Mother Nature isn't stupid. We are not built to live best off of foods we were unable to attain for 95% of our evolutionary path. I remember reading that Tooth Decay began appearing in human remains when Agriculture and specifically grain and wheat started becoming a large part of our diets. Heart disease began showing up mostly after artificial vegetable oils began to come out.

Vegans are among the unhealthiest of all people, despite that they claim to feel fine, they are pale, scrawny and weak. Protein needed for muscle development is not really found in non-animal products aside from say peanuts. Most Vegans actually have to take supplimental pills just to not die from their diet because they aren't getting essential nutrients from animals.

Also, I find it a bit hilarious but many vegitarians/vegans don't seem to realize that they shouldn't be eating bread by their own rules. (bread contains egg and milk)

I have a few friends who are vegetarian. We only invite one out to eat with us simply because she doesn't bash us for eating meat.

I believe if people want to be vegetarian or vegan that is up to them but if they wish to bash me for meat I will give them a lot of arguments as to why eating meat is better.
The only argument is is that technically meat is a waste of energy...but who wants to only eat fruit and nuts? Also the whole "animal cruelty argument" Isn't all that amazing. If we didn't eat them they would be shot as pests for eating our crops ect. Everyone refusing to eat meat wouldn't actually save the animals.

I really hate animal cruelty and if I can ever afford it will choose to buy free range ect but I will NOT stop eating meat. If we stopped eating meat should we stop our dogs from eating meat ect? I highly doubt that would happen.

I give my friend shit for it all the time. Same with any weird diet that isn't directly health-related.

I don't really care what people eat--or don't eat--so long as it's not other people.

I think it's absolutely disgusting how 'food animals' are treated, and sometimes I do have a rather guilty conscience when I eat meat. Does that mean I'll stop eating meat? No, probably never. If I thought not eating meat would make a major difference in the welfare of animals, sure, I would, but I don't think society will ever reach a point where the meat industry will go out of business. Hopefully it just cleans up its act a little more with time and exposure. It used to be such a big secret, but not so much anymore.

I find people who can commit to becoming vegan/vegetarian are admirable. Extremists who are certain meat-eaters are evil creatures drive me crazy, though. Either way, a diet is a diet. It's like telling someone eating chocolate cake is stupid because you don't like chocolate cake. Who cares?

This is one of the reasons that I love Kobe beef. The cows are massaged, and given beer (which for some reason they actually really like) Sounds like a pretty good life to me actually.

I think it's about as close to the animal from "restaurant at the end of the universe" as we will ever get. lol.

Except that slaughter, no matter how it's done, is never humane; particularly on a grand production scale.
And very few people can actually afford kobe beef.

I used to be a vegetarian. I'm quite young (still a teen) and I had to go back to eating meat because my mom didn't want to buy the iron/protein pills and I have an iron/protein deficiency (I'm anemic as well). There are a lot of reasons to be vegetarian and not be vegetarian. It's an opinion mostly. And I do agree that it is not right that the group on your campus glares at you when you eat meat. It's a choice. Personally, in a year I'm going back to vegetarianism. There are a lot of substitutes. Veggie burgers are quite delicious, there are iron and protein supplements and pills, soy food slash tofu is good (you said that there are proven toxins in it, so I believe if one were to eat soy food/tofu in moderation it wouldn't be a problem), and I personally prefer veggies and fruit. I'm not a big meat eater as it is anyways.
I do believe that animals are treated with a lot of cruelty when slaughtered. Restaurant chains such as KFC are particularly cruel to animals and I believe it needs to stop. Also, there was a research case proving that if American and other countries were to eat less meat, there would be less carbon dioxide in the atmosphere meaning less global warming.
I'm honestly not trying to argue. I think both sides have good points and in the end it is a personal choice and that is all it should be.

@Jupiter:

Stunning an animal correctly will provide better meat quality. Improper electric stunning will cause bloodspots in the meat and bone fractures. Good stunning practices are also required so that a plant will be in compliance with the Humane Slaughter Act and for animal welfare. When stunning is done correctly, the animal feels no pain and it becomes instantly unconscious.

As long as people are following the law the animal feels no pain, and does not suffer. It's more humane than the way we kill humans.

I try not to eat at places where they treat the animals poorly. I like to know where my meat is coming from. KFC has been out for years. I buy free range or family farm raised chicken and cook it myself. Same with beef.

And again, without something dying, you cannot live. That's just a fact.

Food production in general is pretty fucked up. Demand for cheap food has resulted in mass farming production that is focused purely on efficiency, not environmental or/and ethical farming which creates a whole heap of negative shebang like pollution, disease, effect on local wildlife and ecology. Laws and legislation in the US regarding the farming of animals are weak and inconsistent, and unfortunately animals that are reared for food are excluded from the animal welfare act. Inhumane farming is legal basically through inaction and general ignorance. The chicken meat in KFC is legal because debeaking, cage farming ect is legal. Eating meat is not a crime and I applaud anyone who is conscientious enough to ensure they buy free range meat. My beef is with the industry and how it is manufactured and the politics behind it.

Sadly enough people simply don't usually know what some companies do to their animals. If they did, I'm sure it would be stopped, or at least there would be a shift away from it.

When it came out about how KFC treated their chickens they lost a crap ton of business.

There have even been episodes of shows like Bones, that show how poorly some animals are treated.

@sarofset Enjoyed that video, thanks for posting! I absolutely agree - one of the most important things about being vegetarian is to make sure you're getting a balanced diet.
(and probably the most helpful thing for staying vegetarian is to make sure your food tastes good. Veggie burgers just don't cut it for me.. :XP )

I'm ovo-lacto-vegetarian, but have been so most of my life and don't believe in pushing my point of view onto anyone. I don't particularly mind if someone else in the room is eating meat.
What I do mind is the smell of cooked meat/seafood (actually, seafood in any form just smells like ammonia to me) - some smells are bad enough that they make me want to throw up, but to someone who actually eats the stuff, it apparently smells like heaven. In that sort of a situation, yes, you might catch me glaring at your plate :P . Thought I'd say that because I know I'm not the only one who feels that way about non-vegetarian food smells.

See in my personal case, I can't not eat meat, so the smell of it is good. Vegetables in a lot of cases taste like dirt to me. I have to eat them cooked in some way, which by the way does not actually hurt their vitamin content at all. Unless you boil them in water and then throw the water away.

I understand why it might make you sick to smell cooked meat, if you don't eat it. It's actually pretty normal.

I eat mostly meat and fruit. ...kinda a chimp diet. lol.

I'm never going to stop eating meat and I will never buy free range. Meat (depending on what type) is way too expensive for me to pay the extra for it to be free range.

We are higher than animals and they're going to die either way. Except if we stopped eating meat....they'll go the way wolves and the like-shot to protect our food. So instead of wasting it....let's eat it. And they're kill inhumanely? It's way better than those starving cows (and people) I've seen on tv in India.

It may not be pleasant either way, but it is a quicker death than starving. I'd rather be killed cruely than starve to death. Though some treatment is bad, but do you want cheap prices of correct treatment of animals that doesn't affect food production unless it is a dairy cow. Stress affects milk production.

On my campus, people have like dumped red paint and shit on people for going to the rodeo. So I can't be on the side of the humane treatment of animals when the rodeo is money that goes to paying for my university to stay open. Also, I know this isn't about pets but PETA kills most of its adoptable animals.....so even less reason for me to be on that side. Bunch of liars.

Though if you (anyone) has the money (and does) go vegan/free range.....good for you. Though I heard it takes more water for fruits and veggies and stuff (money wise) for human consumption than to just feed the animals the shitty stuff....so it would be (theoretically) worse on the environment for everyone to be vegetarian/vegan. Not to mention the fact that cows would be multiplying more around with deer (since some people hunt it for meat only and not sport). Same goes for other animals.

The thing is we have bred cows and such to the point where they can no longer survive on their own. If we were to say let them go, then they'd be dead in a few weeks. Wolves, bears, heck even large predatory birds would kill them all off in no time at all. It's really a matter of who you want eating them.

And I've had it argued that it's somehow better if an animal eats them because that's nature. The thing is, people are animals. It's what we are. We and everything we do is a part of nature as well. That's just a fact. And we're not he only animal that domesticates another.

Herding Aphids: How 'Farmer' Ants Keep Control Of Their Food

Interesting don't you think?

Originally Posted by Cat Eye

I'm never going to stop eating meat and I will never buy free range. Meat (depending on what type) is way too expensive for me to pay the extra for it to be free range.

We are higher than animals and they're going to die either way. Except if we stopped eating meat....they'll go the way wolves and the like-shot to protect our food. So instead of wasting it....let's eat it. And they're kill inhumanely? It's way better than those starving cows (and people) I've seen on tv in India.

It may not be pleasant either way, but it is a quicker death than starving. I'd rather be killed cruely than starve to death. Though some treatment is bad, but do you want cheap prices of correct treatment of animals that doesn't affect food production unless it is a dairy cow. Stress affects milk production.

On my campus, people have like dumped red paint and shit on people for going to the rodeo. So I can't be on the side of the humane treatment of animals when the rodeo is money that goes to paying for my university to stay open. Also, I know this isn't about pets but PETA kills most of its adoptable animals.....so even less reason for me to be on that side. Bunch of liars.

Though if you (anyone) has the money (and does) go vegan/free range.....good for you. Though I heard it takes more water for fruits and veggies and stuff (money wise) for human consumption than to just feed the animals the shitty stuff....so it would be (theoretically) worse on the environment for everyone to be vegetarian/vegan. Not to mention the fact that cows would be multiplying more around with deer (since some people hunt it for meat only and not sport). Same goes for other animals.

Animal cruelty is not justifiable because death inevitable, nor should is it acceptable because of its prevalence else where in the world. Suffering cannot be negated through a logical deduction. It is what it is. A starving cow from a distance land does not make it okay to abuse a cattle heard down the road. There is a difference between the suffering we witness in nature and the suffering we witness in animal abuse. The first is an act of God while the second is the conclusion and manifestation of humans abusing animals. The latter is what bothers me and it should when there are environmental and ethically friendly farming techniques in existence which ultimately makes the suffering of these animals completely unnecessary. So why not stamp out the bad practice instead of tolerating it?

The thing is, and this actually disgusts some people, but... happy animals taste better. Happy cows produce better quality meat, and milk. Happy sheep produce better wool. Happy animals grow faster as well.

The thing is that treating animals poorly produces a much poorer quality product. From a strictly business standpoint, treating animals badly is stupid.

Good point you raise.
It's not.
It's a double standard.
The way I personally look at this is I'm not abusing the animal so eating its spoils is like a good thing.
It's better to eat the meat than waste it, otherwise the animal would have been killed in vain.
Think about it if no one bought the meat the slaughterhouses produced then that meat would ruin, unless it was a butcher or other small company who sells the meat they cut themselves they would probably eat it.
Also another factor to consider is if people refused to eat any meat many butcher/meat shops would be out of business and many families would be living in poverty or even homeless.
I don't mind hunters because they help to stop deer from over-populating but its the hunters who don't eat or sell what they kill and only take a part of the animal for a trophy whilst the rest rots away.
I just find that disrespectful to the animal.
Also I'd like to note that cow farts help to deplete the ozone layer. LOL. There is a lot of methane in them and it is one of the largest causes of global warming.
I also never get how not eating meat stops animal cruelty.
Just because I'm not eating the meat means the owner will stop abusing the animal?
People only change if they want to, in my opinion.

I do not eat meat and don't take supplements. My vitamin levels and protein levels are fine. My point is that no, not all vegans/vegetarians are unhealthy. Yes, there are those who make poor diet choices and do get sick but the same can be said for those people who are unhealthy because they decide to chow down on a Big Mac for every meal. Whether you eat meat or not, the key to being healthy is variety and balance in your diet.

Soy is not the only source for complete protein in a 100% plant source. Grains like quiona are a complete protein. It taste yummy too.

I agree 100% on freedom of choice. I dislike those vegans/vegetarians who get ticked off if someone is eating meat in front of them. I find meat gross but that doesn't mean I'm going to tell someone to stop eating their food because I personally do not like it. That to me is just dumb and gives vegans/vegetarians a bad name. As long as they don't shove their meat in my face then I won't shove my veggies in theirs.

I also agree that from a business stand point, other than saving money, mistreating animals is stupid. Free range meat tastes better than meat from animals that are kept in a stall all day. When I used to eat meat I would always go for the free range. Same goes with eggs. Free range vegetarian fed hens produce better eggs. I never got why meat byproducts were introduced into an animal that thrives on grain's diet anyway. I let my birds free roam and they are spoiled rotten and produce some of the yummiest eggs I ever ate.

You can also get a complete protean from a peanut butter sandwich.

Your best protean will always be eggs though, and if you don't eat meat, eggs, or dairy then you have to take supplements, or you'll die. There's no other source of vitamin B12, and without it, you die.

I must thank you though. It's nice that you don't bother others about their choices. There are too many people where I live who complain about it. I've literally been called a murderer for eating meat.

If it's on wheat bread or combined with a grain then yes. Most kinds of nut butters plus wheat give all the amino acids needed. I was more or less referring to a single food source. I should have worded that better.

Nutritional yeast is a great source of B-12 and it's vegan. Although not sure if you'd consider that a supplement or not since it's used for flavor as well as being good for B-12 intake.

Can't argue with the fact that eggs are awesome for protein. I love my eggs for that reason alone. This is making me want eggs now.

Yeah, I honestly don't get the whole going after people for their choices. People need to just chill out. :P

The B12 is added, and it's produced by bacteria... which are alive, and can only produce it by feeding on meat, dairy, or another micro organism... which is also alive. XD

Sorry, I had to say it.

I don't bother people who don't eat meat, unless they attack me first... which has happened more than once. >.>;

Nutritional yeast is cultured with sugarcane and molasses Think of the bacteria eaten though! :P

Gross if you think about it either way.

I'm the same way with my veggie ways. Unless someone says something to me then I leave my attack cucumber at home. :P

Honestly I don't mind vegetarians. It's more vegans who tend to be the ones attacking me for eating an animal.

...though my favorite argument is still the "chimps don't eat animals so why do we?" one. It hurts my brain every time someone says it. lol. We're in college for God's sake... (it was a girl at my college who said it the first time.)

Lol wow...Its logic. :P

No offense to vegans but I don't get them. My hens are spoiled rotten and well fed. I eat their eggs instead of throwing them out. My one friend is a vegan and he was telling me that I kill chickens when I eat eggs. I have only hens and no roosters so the eggs obviously are not fertile.