Your views on vegetarianism!

[ekitten614]

So... I want to be vegetarian, but my parents won't let me. They say I won't get enough protein, iron, etc... but I think I could do it. There's more protein out there than they realize! What I think is unfair is that they make me do something (eat meat) that goes against my morals/ethics/beliefs, whatever. I think it's wrong to eat meat, any meat, because animals are living things too. We frown upon canibalism... A LOT... and yet, we eat animals all the time without a second thought. They have thought processes too, lives they're living, things to accomplish, even if they're more primitive creatures with not as much intelligent thought, or whatever. We don't eat people with mental disabilities, now do we? What do you guys think? *waits at computer for responses*  

[azrael the reaper_95210]

well, I am not a vegitarian by any means, but I see your points.

As for myself, I do not like to kill, and i generally avoid it as much as i can, including spiders, flies, etc.......

However, Id say beef is better than chicken, turkey, etc. since a lot of meat can come form a single cow, as opposed to a little meat from single birds, fish, etc.

and really, I dont consider humans any less primative. I mean, we can not even totally communicate with any other life on our planet, so how do we know of their thoughts? where as it seems like many wildlife can just fine. and, unlike the animals, who can live happily within nature, we humans tend to need to change it all up for our own purposes. so really, I feel that humans are the most primative.  

[Twilight Hound]

They're wrong to make you do that! It should be your choice.

You're right, vegetables give you protein, iron, vitamins--anyway, a lot more than what meat can offer. People are healthier. My friend lost 40 pounds by switching.

Why just not eat it and starve for a while. Well, not starve--just eat vegetables behind their back or something x3  

[DracosPrinny]

My thoughts?
Well, humans evolved as omnivores, and I behave as such. I like my meat and veggies too much to consider quitting either one.

Though, I do agree with azrael the reaper. Advanced as humans are, we're still pretty... Well, primitive.  

[Durrant]

This past May 1st was the last time I ate meat. So, I guess I could say I've been a vegetarian for 1 month. It isn't exactly easy, but it isn't impossible either. I've actually done some research into it. A healthy vegetarian diet is more difficult to maintain than one that includes meat, but it can be done!

http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs.xsl/governance_5105_ENU_HTML.htm

That site is very informative, and you can even download the pdf! It's a short enough document to be reasonably printed, as well. Perhaps if you show it to your parents, they will see that one: a healthy vegetarian lifestyle IS possible and two: you are actually really serious about this life decision. Maybe those two factors will help you out.  

[ekitten614]

azrael- I can see how beef could be better, making the most of one kill, I hadn't thought of that. I still think I would rather not kill any animal, but that's pretty interesting. I definitely think that humans interfere with nature too much and we cannot know their thoughts, I was just saying that from a scientific point of view animals are less advanced.

twilight- I was thinking of doing that, just refusing to eat meat, but I really don't want to make trouble, but I really want to stop eating meat... I don't know. I might try it, I don't know if they would actually force feed me meat... (they've threatened it)

dracos- You're right, we did evolve as omnivores, but we can survive either way, and it is proven that a vegetarian diet can be healthier (if you eat a good diet). This is why I don't try to make my cats vegetarian, they can't survive without meat. But I can... so why not?

durrant- Thanks so much! I'll have to wait until I get on the family computer to print that off (parental controls on my laptop) but I'll do that!  

[Iconoclast Enthusiast]

This 4th of July I will have been a vegetarian for 4 years. smile

I think it's cruel of your parents to try to force something on you that completely goes against your sense of morality. I can understand where you're at. My dad gave me hell when he found out, but I was determined. I'm 19 now and he still gives me crap about it, but I don't really care because I feel that what I'm doing is right.

You just have to be determined in what you're doing, sure of yourself, and stand up for yourself and your beliefs. I know it can be hard to stand up to your parents, but you need to let them know that they're hurting you. They're your parents and they love you, so if you take the time to explain yourself to them it should make them rethink what they're doing and hopefully change their perspective. It may be that they just don't know they're being cruel.

Kudos for wanting to go veg! wink  

[Khalida Nyoka]

Sparing everyone my ethics (mostly because I've been ignoring my homework too long already):

If you are under 18, your parents literally own you. They can do whatever they want. If that includes forcing you to eat meat, they are within their legal rights to do so.

Furthermore: some proteins and vitamins must come from animals. There are certain proteins and fats that plants do not make, and it is unhealthy for people to go without. If you are concerned with "thought" and "emotions" in animals, but are also concerned with actually being healthy, I'd suggest eating fish.

There is no evidence of fish thinking or feeling, ever. They do not remember things, they do not communicate. All they have are a bit of pre-programmed urges to eat and reproduce.  

[leiaki]

If the informative articles don't help, you may also suggest bringing your parents with you to speak with a physician or dietician who can help ease their worries.

Personally, I love meat and sorry to say, carnivores and omnivores in nature eat other animals (live even o.o) all the time. So I don't frown upon meat eaters, but I also respect herbivores XD  

[Iconoclast Enthusiast]

Khalida Nyoka

There is no evidence of fish thinking or feeling, ever. They do not remember things, they do not communicate. All they have are a bit of pre-programmed urges to eat and reproduce.

All living things communicate to some degree, and yes, fish DO feel pain, although they don't have the capacity for suffering that humans or even other mammals do.

Not that I'm totally disagreeing with you. I would find eating fish a lot less disagreeable than eating chickens, pigs, or cows, and I'd have even fewer qualms about eating insectoid seafood like shrimps, clams, etc.

Skate4Life Alex

vegetarians are mean! they hate meat!

I just like animals a lot more when they're alive. razz  

[-Less than Graceful-]

Skate4Life Alex

vegetarians are mean! they hate meat!

You my dear are an idiot.  

[-Less than Graceful-]

I disagree completely with anyone who says that a vegetarian diet is any less nutritional than a meaty one. I am 15 that means i've been a vegetarian for 15 years and i'm not dead yet. I am not unusually pale, my bones are not weak (hell I had an operation and they had to get the big adult drill to cut my bone!) or you know lacking in anything else, especially brains. I type that because one arugument i've heard against vegetarianism is that you do not get the 'essential' oils and fats that are needed for brain developement. Tell that to all passes on year 10 GCSE mock exams, and all A*s for GCSE science modules! My point is made.  

[Khalida Nyoka]

-Less than Graceful-

I disagree completely with anyone who says that a vegetarian diet is any less nutritional than a meaty one. I am 15 that means i've been a vegetarian for 15 years and i'm not dead yet. I am not unusually pale, my bones are not weak (hell I had an operation and they had to get the big adult drill to cut my bone!) or you know lacking in anything else, especially brains. I type that because one arugument i've heard against vegetarianism is that you do not get the 'essential' oils and fats that are needed for brain developement. Tell that to all passes on year 10 GCSE mock exams, and all A*s for GCSE science modules! My point is made.

At risk of seeming unkind myself, you do not count as a good cross section. We need atleast 1000 people from different social and ethnic backgrounds, and see if the diet works well for them.

There are certain proteins/vitamins that plants do not produce, and without either taking in synthetic suplements (I've noticed that a lot of vegetarians tend towards wanting "organic" foods), or eating the occasional animal, you do not get them.

It is possible that for you, your body either does not require those few "ingredients," or it requires less than the expected amounts. Either way, it points more towards your being an exception, not the rule.

I guess my question is: Why are you vegetarian? Was it imposed on you at a young age (sounds like it, if you always have been)? Is it because you and your parents think it is healthier, or that eating animals is wrong? If I'm prying too much, just say so.

~
Most arguments found for and against something like vegetarianism are designed to manipulate emotions, not to reason with people.  

[Khalida Nyoka]

Nemesis Erinys

Khalida Nyoka

There is no evidence of fish thinking or feeling, ever. They do not remember things, they do not communicate. All they have are a bit of pre-programmed urges to eat and reproduce.

All living things communicate to some degree, and yes, fish DO feel pain, although they don't have the capacity for suffering that humans or even other mammals do.

Not that I'm totally disagreeing with you. I would find eating fish a lot less disagreeable than eating chickens, pigs, or cows, and I'd have even fewer qualms about eating insectoid seafood like shrimps, clams, etc.

Another case where I should have more precisely said what I meant. When I said "feel," I had meant emotion. Though when it comes to pain, as far as the fish is concerned once it starts hurting, it is as if it has always been in pain. When the pain stops, it doesn't know that it ever hurt.

All I can really do is make an argument to the effect that some animals really are not worth your (or anyone elses) genuine moral concern. Those who argue in favor of the rights and feelings of some animals are either misinformed at best, or (worse case) misanthropic.

~
When it comes to animals in general, the only food-stock I really feel bad for are pigs. They are intelligent and emotional, and they are made to watch the other pigs ahead of them in the slaughter-line get their throats slit, and dropped into a vat of boiling water. Some of the pigs don't die of blood loss first.

Chickens are birds, and maybe only slightly more intelligent than turkeys (read: won't drown in rain). Ranch-chickens are only reactionary creatures. They don't get scared, or lament their lot in life. All they do is produce, and die. They can feel pain, but the birds are just too stupid to correlate things (e.g., "why am I feeling pain?").