what's the point?

I'm a vegetarian and I love it for the health benefits and the supposed animal rights I'm supporting. buuuut regardless of our little hipster fad of being vege, meat companies will continue to mass produce and our fat, american, football watching 'brethren' will continue to shove meat down their throats like there's no tomorrow. wouldn't it be more useful just to kill the CEOs of the meat industry? just sayin'.
:spam:

 

As you say that you are a hipster, should you not be more inclined to think "To each his own", the very right you would use to assert that being a vegetarian is somehow better is the same right that allows meat eaters to assert their beliefs. Do you not think that each human should enjoy freedom of choice? Because I am sure you certainly enjoy your ability to choose. just sayin'.

 

Vegetarianism is a personal choice.
Nobody else really cares what you choose your diet to be, nor should they.
Similarly, you probably shouldn't be very concerned with theirs.

 

im eating meat right now what the fuck are you gonna do about it?

 

"Hipster fad?" I think that was an insult. *Tickles r0llinstoned for being a doofus*

No, the meat industry is not going away overnight. And the omnivores have every right to take part in it. All we can or should do is stay out of it if we have ethical issues. Any more, and you become the dietary equivalent of a street evangelist: only making people dislike us and causing the saner herbivores to get crap from people about it without actually getting anyone to give up meat.

Me, I have a few issues, but mostly I have a food allergy. Meat makes me vomit. I feel all kinds of healthier sans dead animal. Therefore I don't eat it. Really, the most I hope for is that as people give up meat in larger numbers the industry will have to lessen. This is all. The country will never be entirely vegetarian, it can't.

There needs to be some meat for those who simply cannot do without. These people do exist, I'm married to one of them. I also knew a man who got as sick from vegetables as I do from meat. Whatever.

 

As much as 'hipsters' would like to think that they are incredibly open minded, they're not. They'd all prefer for the world to be one way and anyone who goes against that is 'disgusting mainstream trash'. Tell me I'm not right. (In regard to most hipsters, not all.)

 

See, you don't eat it because of a health problem and I'm sure (correct me if I'm wrong) because of that you respect the 'animal rights' aspect of not eating meat.
I'm trying to say exactly what you just did. Meat will never go away so why are some 'hipsters' so obsessed with 'eliminating the meat industry bleh bleh blahhh'? I feel like in order to be more proactive in animal rights, you should adopt a dog on death row or something (while continuing to be meat free).
This is just my opinion. Keep in mind I am vege but not for the reason most hipsters are.:2thumbsup:

 

I choose not to eat meat, because I don't want a dead animal in my stomach. I think that is a fair reason. I don't like the term 'hipster' also.

Besides, your reasoning is pretty poor. In the same way of thinking, people shouldn't bother going on anti war marches etc, because war will just happen anyway... yeah I'll stick to the way I do things thanks. Also - the spam icon... I think people could have guessed without that.

 

I know it all brings attention to animal rights and what not, but you have to admit that there are much better ways to help animals that actually directly do something for them.
I'm not saying that you shouldn't be a vegetarian. Just that being a vegetarian shouldn't give you any reason to say you are an animal rights activist, by any means.

 

There will never be an elimination of the meat industry, but people who value animal rights that highly tend to agree that some animals saved is better then more animals killed. If you are a vegetarian you can at least say that animals are not dieing for you specifically. Sure the meat industry is huge, but think of how much more meat would be consumed if every vegetarian starting eating meat daily again. That is a lot of meat.

 

The other day I walked into the place where I buy my food and for the first time ever they had rabbits. Whole rabbits. I totally wanted one but they were $20, too rich for my blood.

Asking, "what's the point if it's going to keep happening anyways," about anything is a poor attitude. The point is to be a living example. If you don't believe in violence, don't harm others. Sure others will continue to fight, but we all only have one life to be responsible for. We're not responsible for what others do.

 

valid point. but still, there are better ways to do it along with not eating meat.

 

We aren't, good point.

You're all very correct but I'm just saying you can't deem yourself some animal rights god just because you haven't eaten meat in a while.

 

Wait, what was the argument? I was just cheesed about being called a "hipster" for being veggie.

Dunno if "allergy" was the right word. I originally tried the veg diet for humanitarian reasons as much as animal rights issues. I just figured that the meat harmed the environment, screwed with my health in the forms that I could afford, used enough food to feed dozens of humans per pound of cow, and I could just as easily get the protein without killing the cow. It just seemed silly. So I cut meat out for a couple of weeks, and lost the enzymes to digest it.

I still believe in critter welfare, but I try to keep it sane. I don't throw red paint on people, but I won't wear fur. I would totally kick the ass of someone abusing a dog, as much as I would someone abusing a child. But I don't hate on livestock farmers.

I worry about my own species first, and other species second, but they are still on the list.

 

Once, when I was in 5th grade, my parents decided they wanted a dog.
They knew a friend who was selling boxer puppies, and we drove out to his country farm and found that there was only one left.
We took him home. I remember being left in the backseat with him while my parents went inside to pay the money and obtain the paperwork. He climbed up the seat onto the small platform under the rear windshield that most cars have. From there he would pounce upon my unruly hair, playfully nibbling loose blond strands and gently pawing my face with his fuzzy newborn fur. In the distance his worried mother stood resolute from behind the fence, looking fiercely determined to protect the last pup that remained to her, even though she knew all was already lost.

We had quite a large backyard back then. As a puppy, for some reason, my new dog was absolutely terrified of the far end of the yard, past the cleared section and into the woods. I used to scoop him up into my arms, walk down there, and dump him into the woods before turning around and running as fast as I could. As I ran up the hill, from behind me I could hear his frantic, frightened, pathetic little yelps as he desperately tried to keep pace with my long strides, he still stumbling over his wobbly new-born legs. Then I would go inside and hide, peeking out the corner of the window and would watch him look around for me, his only friend. During these times he truly thought he had been abandoned and thought he was completely alone in the world. It seemed to me that he was also quite aware that he was simply a puppy and not capable of surviving on his own. The expression that formed as a result of his twinkling, drawn eyes and flat ears as he stood there shivering in the wind was almost a form of self-laceration for me.
He's dead now.

I am an animal rights god.

 

^^^ nice story

for me the problem is less the killing of animals [though that is still a problem] than the way they are treated while alive in factory farms - and even sometimes by small ranchers who don't particularly care

hunted wild game i can almost cope with, especially given the stories you hear where i live about what happens when there's too many deer and antelope in a cold winter

humanely-raised animals? well, i suppose i'm okay with that as far as dairy and eggs go - i'm not sure what kind of person can be kind to their stock one day and kill them the next, even though i know quite a few people who claim to do just that

the rest of the meatmakers, probably most of them, ought to be locked up under existing animal cruelty laws

gotta go, pot of beans on the stove . . .

 

speak for yourself, this is not a 'hipster fad' for me. if we asked "what's the point?" about all the horrible things that happen in this world, well...it'd be a very sad place. Just because you can't make the masses change their habits, doesn't mean you shouldn't. if anything, lead by humble example, and you may be able to make a difference in more lives than you'd expect.

 

oh, i spaced out my last post, what i wanted to say was

anyone who advocates killing people in the name of animal rights makes the mistake of forgetting that human beings are in fact animals, and worthy of protection under the same umbrella of "humane" treatment

sorry for the long sentence, weird morning, getting weirder

 

Useful? I don't think so. If you wanted to eliminate carnivoria you'd also have to kill the hunters and the fishers and the livestock breeders and so on. And then you'd have to kill the children that they raised to like meat.

So quite apart from the violent nature of your proposal, I'd have to say that it's impractical.

I might also point out that your suggestion is based on the assumption that vegetarians are "right" while meat-eaters are "wrong". I personally do not consider that a "slam-dunk" proposition. My vegetarianism is based on a lot of assumptions about what animal do or do not experience.

In addition, while I choose not to participate in the abuse of animals I'm not going to claim that my hands are entirely clean. For example, I drink coffee, and that's probably carried back from the mountains on the backs of burros. Maybe. Who knows? I don't. I also use non-vegan soap because I can't afford animal-free soap. Oh, and I eat honey because I don't have a problem with that.

Therefore, I suppose, I'd have to be killed, too. Where would it end?