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Is there any real reason to be a vegetarian?

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Original post by DannyYYYY
Then we better enjoy the Earth whilst we still can.

Amen.
I mostly agree with the OP, but I don't think vegetarianism is a completely pointless. Most vegetarians will still be causing less harm to animals than the average meat eater and they are generally more aware of where their dairy and eggs come from so the animal products they do eat usually cause the animal less harm. However, if a vegetarian just replaces all the meat they would have eaten with eggs and dairy then they're causing just as much harm to animals as meat eaters.
Reply 162
Original post by MattyR2895
The only real reason I can see to be a vegetarian is if you happen to dislike the taste of meat, and so you don't eat it, which I suppose technically makes you a vegetarian, but it's not on any kind of ethical grounds.
I'm a meat eater, so obviously I have no ethical *******s with killing animals to eat them, but most vegetarians do, and yet they still consume dairy and eggs? Those industries have the same implications for the animals as the meat industry. The cows that produce milk are killed after a couple of years when they are no longer able to produce the milk, usually they are turned in to meat for people to eat. Same in the egg industry, male cocks are of no use and killed.
I have nothing against people who are ethically against the consumption of animal products, ie vegans. We just share different ethics. I just think it's hypocritical to say killing animals is wrong and then contribute to the dairy and egg industry, as most vegetarians do.
Also any self proclaimed 'vegetarians' who still eat fish, gtfo.


There's vegetarian and vegan. I'm sure vegans don't eat they just breathe air and consume like photosynthesis. :dry:

Vegetarians just don't eat meat.

At least that's ^^ what a 'tarian told me when we asked why are they drinking milk :s-smilie: lmao
Original post by Rakas21
When i'm motivated enough to do so. For now there are still meats like Duck and Goose which i want to try.


I doubt you're ever going to be motivated to do it. I must admit it's an interesting way of dealing with the meat eater guilt. Most people try to deny that animals deserve moral consideration or try to find a fault with vegetarian (see OP) but you pretend you'll do something about it at some point so you can continue to eat it now without worrying.
Original post by ArtGoblin
I doubt you're ever going to be motivated to do it. I must admit it's an interesting way of dealing with the meat eater guilt. Most people try to deny that animals deserve moral consideration or try to find a fault with vegetarian (see OP) but you pretend you'll do something about it at some point so you can continue to eat it now without worrying.


I don't feel guilt especially. Besides, considering that my starting point (say 10 years ago) was very much the 'we are humans, they are for our consumption' i think I've made great progress.

Well, we shall find out eventually.
Original post by Zen Baphomet
I said a fifteenth, not fifteen.

1/15th not 15


My mistake.

That is still 2000 small mammals per hectare. With the average field size being around 5 hectares that is still 10,000 small mammals per field. That still seems way too high.
Original post by DiddyDec
My mistake.

That is still 2000 small mammals per hectare. With the average field size being around 5 hectares that is still 10,000 small mammals per field. That still seems way too high.


What did you use to calculate the amount?
Original post by Zen Baphomet
What did you use to calculate the amount?


My maths is still probably wrong. I used the 1/15th figure. Ever 15 potatoes cause one animal death. Therefore in 1 hectare there are 30,000 plants. So it comes to 2000 deaths per hectare. I'm pretty sure I'm right.
Original post by Zen Baphomet
I am fully aware, but the deaths would still outstrip the meat industry,

One potato kills seven living beings and would barely constitute a side portion for one meal.

One cow feeds up to twenty humans for a day.

This means a jacket potato is 410 times as deadly as a beef steak.

Edit:Just running away to find the exact sources for those stats, in the meantime it works of the principle that so many tens of thousands of living beings are killed pure square km of cropland, and each KM of cropland tends to produce x number of crop(in this case potato) so you can work out that each Potato is responsible for the death of X number of living beings)


According to Hank Green, in America at least, the vast majority of food grown feeds other food.
He quotes 80% of corn, 90% of soy and 70% of wheat. He also quotes 50% of the water as well.
Cutting all of the meat out of your diet wouldn't up your vegetable intake by such a dramatic margin. If everyone stopped eating meat tomorrow (wouldn't happen, but still) then although we would need more vegetables to hit the supermarkets, we wouldn't need to grow more, as we currently give so much food to our food.

Video link for reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtQj5bRORj4
Original post by minimarshmallow
According to Hank Green, in America at least, the vast majority of food grown feeds other food.
He quotes 80% of corn, 90% of soy and 70% of wheat. He also quotes 50% of the water as well.
Cutting all of the meat out of your diet wouldn't up your vegetable intake by such a dramatic margin. If everyone stopped eating meat tomorrow (wouldn't happen, but still) then although we would need more vegetables to hit the supermarkets, we wouldn't need to grow more, as we currently give so much food to our food.

Video link for reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtQj5bRORj4

Fair enough.
Is there any real reason to be a meat eater?
Original post by Blues Clues
Is there any real reason to be a meat eater?


It tastes really, really good.
Reply 172
Original post by Zappaisgod
It tastes really, really good.


Pretty much^

Posted from TSR Mobile
Many reasons:
•Dont like the taste of meat
•Dont want to eat dead animals
•Dont have the enzyme to digest meat
•For the lols


This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App
Vegeterian very good idea i practice it for about 6 month the most maximum , i felt lean and weak at first weeks but i was oust all the toxics ..

Its very nice you feel healthy ImageUploadedByStudent Room1406640491.796965.jpgImageUploadedByStudent Room1406640506.625762.jpg


Regards


Posted from TSR Mobile
Yes, health, don't like the taste, culture, religion, morals/ethics.

See, all ****ty and invalid reasons....lolololol..

And people who say "we evolved to eat meat!" so what? Evolution is dynamic and is based on current circumstances (variation, adaptation, speciation). I eat meat, but then to say our ancestors 1 million years ago did so we should doesn't account for the basis of evolution....
Original post by kimolozen
Yes, health

Which is somewhat debatable in most cases
don't like the taste

One of the few legitimate reasons, however I don't beleive that more than a handful of people don't like the taste of all meats
culture, religion

Let's clump these together, "culture" and "religion" are hardly justifications for things, especially on the part of religion, given how pick and choose it is.
morals/ethics.

If misguided.
Original post by Jammy Duel
Which is somewhat debatable in most cases

One of the few legitimate reasons, however I don't beleive that more than a handful of people don't like the taste of all meats

Let's clump these together, "culture" and "religion" are hardly justifications for things, especially on the part of religion, given how pick and choose it is.

If misguided.


er...you're misguided....

so people with hypertension or whatever who cannot eat meat...

taste...which is subjective...

religion, which isn't all pick and choose, most religions have absolute commandents...

but then yeah...it's good to debate stuff with ignorant people..
Original post by kimolozen
er...you're misguided....

so people with hypertension or whatever who cannot eat meat...
Please go look up the definition of "most" and try again

taste...which is subjective...

And what would you say if I claimed to dislike the taste of all vegetables?

religion, which isn't all pick and choose, most religions have absolute commandents...

Direct me to a religion which that expressly bans the consumption of all meats, there are often absolute commandments, but mostly moral as far as the ones that are listened to go. Please find me a Jew/Christian that strictly follows all the laws given in Leviticus (I'll let you ignore the other laws and commandments) and then you can say it isn't pick and choose.

but then yeah...it's good to debate stuff with ignorant people..

Definitively justify on a moral/ethical ground then?
I don't really see the hypocrisy.

I am vegetarian for ethical reasons but am not vegan. I am aware that the milk industry contributes to the death of animals. The fact is, I don't want the immense, lifelong slog and potential health effects of being vegan. But surely being vegetarian is better than nothing in this case? It makes absolutely no sense to decide that everyone should be 'all or nothing' - that if someone who disagrees with the killing of animals doesn't want to be vegan, they may as well eat meat all the time. That's complete rubbish. I am contributing less to the killing of animals by being vegetarian, so my actions fit my ethics.

My way of thinking is that if I can be vegetarian with very, very little hassle and no detrimental health effects, then I don't really have the right to not be vegetarian.

Furthermore, almost everything we do contributes to the death of animals. When we eat rice we're killing some water buffalo that's been worked to death in a rice field. When we fill up our car we're killing animals with oil spills and global warming. It is impossible to be a modern day human and not contribute to animal suffering. So everyone has to draw their own line and I draw mine at being vegetarian.

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