Year 12s: what will be the first way you research your future options? >>

Why are more people becoming Vegetarian?

Scroll to see replies

ChickenMadness

You're killing another living organism for food. How is that not a logical basis. Something dies so that you can live.

There are people who do follow such a line of argument. There are some fruitarians who will only fruit that naturally falls from a plant, so as to avoid harming the plant.

Some strict Jains will not eat root vegetables as harvesting root vegetables involves uprooting and killing the whole plant.

So there are some who do follow such reasoning.

ChickenMadness

No im saying eatinf any living thing is equally wrong. So theres no point making ethical arguments about it.

Many choose to draw the line in regards to sentience and ability to feel pain. Plants can be determined to not be sentient for a number of reasons. One reason is that plants are not motile. Organisms that do move around and are motile often have developed nervous systems that can feel pain. Motility allows them to flee any harm sensed by their nervous system. But having such a nervous system requires a lot of energy and it would be wasteful for a non-motile organism like a plant to have a nervous system capable of feeling pain, but unable to avoid the pain.

That said, the line of demarcation between sentient and non-sentient organisms doesn't draw nicely between animals and plants. For example, bivalves such as oysters, clams and mussels are not motile and are largely sedentary beings and appear not to have a developed nervous system and it would seem that they most likely don't feel pain. In fact, many of the arguments used against eating animals don't seem to be applicable to bivalves.

Reply 161

The Epicurean

Are you a vegan out of interest?

If you are, would you change your stance towards bivalves if it were proved without doubt that adult bivalves do not feel pain and are non-sentient? Ignoring subjective values like taste, they are a very nutrient dense food, containing large amounts of important fatty acids such as docosahexanoic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid and could make a beneficial contribution to most people's diets.

Odd, innit?

As others have said: a combination of our country being wealthy enough for us to think about the moral implications of our actions, and young people generally having much easier access to information. This means that people are researching and educating themselves quicker and more frequently, leading more people to stop eating meat.

People saying "we are omnivores though", as if that has anything to do with it, is silly. Something being natural does not make it morally right, just like something being unnatural doesn't make it morally wrong.
It's "natural" to murder, or rape. If we are going purely on human instinct. It's also unnatural to use a computer, or to take drugs to prolong our lives when ill. Something being natural or unnatural has no implications on whether it is morally right or wrong.

Reply 164

PrimeEpoch

I explicitly said in my personal opinion. Is really that difficult to understand that I was giving my opinion? I wasn't claiming mis-treatment either, I was saying I don't lie to people for that I don't lie for the sake of being 'polite'. As if that had anything to do with you anyway. Ass.

Reply 165

Absent Agent

Original post by PrimeEpoch

But you did lie though when you said that you were not bothered to look at the percentages of vegetarianism of different countries. You did look at them!

Reply 166

PrimeEpoch

Original post by Mehrdad jafari

But you did lie though when you said that you were not bothered to look at the percentages of vegetarianism of different countries. You did look at them!

Any particular reason you think I looked at them? I didn't, I'm no liar.

Reply 167

Absent Agent

Original post by PrimeEpoch

Any particular reason you think I looked at them? I didn't, I'm no liar.

You should have, if you didn't. That was the point of whole discussion.

Reply 168

PrimeEpoch

Original post by Mehrdad jafari

You should have, if you didn't. That was the point of whole discussion.

Sigh

Reply 169

m3m

I don't understand how people can give up meat. Have you all never tasted chicken before :eek3:

Reply 170

Absent Agent

Original post by PrimeEpoch

Sigh

No? You did bother to look up my profile to see what I have got to offer to you so that you could hold it against me but you didn't bother to open a link in front of your eyes? It doesn't make sense though.

Reply 171

PrimeEpoch

Original post by Mehrdad jafari

I can't recall looking on your profile or trying to hold anything against you. Please stop accusing me of being a bad person for holding an opinion.

Reply 172

Absent Agent

I'm not saying that it's hard, but that meat, especially red meat, provides a significant amount of iron in the diet. This is what I read in an introduction to nutrition book.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 173

Absent Agent

That's true, and this was almost my point basically. I was trying to say that the deficiency resulting from inadequate amount meat intake can easily be reduced by a diet containing a variety of fruits and vegetables.