If we didn't eat animals they'd become extinct

I believe that humans are not meant to be carnivorous. Perhaps we are supposed to be omnivorous, but we are definitely not meant to consume large quantities of meat. For one thing, we do NOT have sharp teeth or claws (ever try ripping into the side of a whole cow with your "sharp" canine teeth and your fingernails?). Our jaws and jaw muscles, also, are lacking in the strength to rip, tear, and kill prey. And our digestive systems are not properly oriented towards a diet based on meat. It would be nice if people these days didn't consume animals, but most people don't want to change from the ways they were taught and brought up with.

 

Humans are omnivores. If you think back to the time we were swinging in trees our diet would of mainly consisted of fruits, nuts etc. We have a digestive system which is the same as all the primates. Most primates thrive on fruit, nuts and the occational insects. This makes us omnivore. Saying that we are true meat eaters because of our canines is a load of bollocks in my opinion. Our mouth is ill equiped to deal with meat like most carnivores. But it is excellent at one thing though. Bite through an apple and you will see. If you look at an animal that has evolved to eat purely meat you will see they have massive canines. One such animal is a cat. They have all the equipment needed to eat flesh. Not only that they have a guidence system which can help them locate their powerful jaws. We have a part in our digestive system that no carnivore has. That is an appendix. Every herbivore has one. It is used to digest leafy plants.

This is sidetraking from the original post. In my opinion farm animals won't go extinct if we all stop eating meat. Most farm animals would do what they do naturally. They would keep in a herd and graze. They will be perfectly capable of living in the wild as they would domesticated. So anybody who trys to pull that excuse on you doesn't know what they are talking about. If you think about a cow's wild cousins you can see what will happen. The only animals that will have difficulty are meat eaters. They need the skills to successfuly hunt in order to survive.
Matt

 

i agree, evolution arguments that we dont need to eat meat anymore are silly, and no one should try and force their own beliefs on each other(omnis or veggies).

 

x

 

now that sounds like someone who is NOT open minded and educated speaking.


It's about choice....let people decide what they want to eat, its ThEIR life.

The fact is, the overwhelming majority of people are not vegetarian, plesae dont tell me it takes education to be a vegetarian.....almost every professor i've ever had has been a meat eater.

It's a personal choice, just like anything else. Some agree with you, 90-95%+ dont.

 

Okaaay.... so let's discount some other being's life so we can eat them and use them for our own selfish desires?!?! That doesn't make sense. If it's about freedom of choice then where's the choice of the animal whose life your taking against his/her will? It should only be a choice if your not taking away the life of another sentient being. Oooohh wait... I'm sorry you did say " let PEOPLE decide what they want to eat". I forgot that many are under this ill concieved notion that people are better than all other life forms and therefore have the inherent right to take down whatever life we see fit for the taking. Hmmm.. well if that's the case then I hope that some cannibal somewhere close to you decides to eat you. For according to you that would be THEIR choice to make.

 

lol, the fact is that you are making the very same distinction that i am by deciding its ok to kill plant life and not animal life. i'm sorry, you did say "SENTIENT BEINGS." I forgot that so many people are under this ill conceived notion that humans and animals are better than plants and therefore we have the inherent right to take down and destroy whatever we want. Hrmm, if thats the case, i hope you catch some disease from a plant and it decides to kill you.

Seriously, what kind of person wishes death on another human being?

 

Well.. what kind of person wishes death to any being that's not human? We have to eat to survive. We don't need animal products to do so. We do need plantlife to do so. There's a major difference between plants and animals. in case you haven't figured it out it's called a 'central nervous system' and the ability to suffer, something sentient beings have that plants do not. Man your avatar speaks volumes for you.

 

how can people not eat meat? then there wouldnt be anyone here since people would have died out long ago since they would never have had any food besides what they grew or gathered to survive on, and that stuff doesnt last long.

 

a tree doesn't cry. animals do.

when somebody cuts your throat, it hurts so much, so how can you do that to animals? answer this.

 

hence my spinoff post to you saying, 'oh wait you said sentient beings.' I figured you knew what the world meant when you used it...

There are a lot of things in this world that we do NOT need to survive that are harming the planet.....i dont know, like, say this computer we're talking on....the internet we're using...the car we used to buy this computer....the paper we use to read our veggie cookbooks...hrmm, it seems just about everything human do causes suffering and death to this world. You believe that cutting meat out of your diet cuts down on that, good for you, i'm glad you're doing your part to save this world. Others of us will do it in other ways.

I sleep fine at night....

but i do have a serious question. I know that the thought of dead animals or animals suffering makes a lot of veggies sick to their stomach...do you get sick to your stomach everytime you use a car, use your lawn mower, heck, go to the bathroom? I'm just curious if its a learned response for some veggies to gag when they see a hamburger, or if they gag everytime they ride in their car also, knowing that they are killing other sentient beings.

 

most dont.

 

The notion that animals have "rights" bothers me. "Rights" are a human concept that developed to describe our relationships with each other. Extending that concept to animals is another example of anthropomorphism. How would one describe the relative "rights" of a wolf and a rabbit. Or a bear and a salmon?

Veganism is not a statement of humanity's conection with nature, but an expression of humanity's uniqueness. We are the only species that has the mental capability to "choose". I am not talking about a donkey choosing between two piles of hay, but the choice to discern a principle ("Do not use animal products") and follow it.

We are also the only species that can follow such a drastic path regarding food and not die off. As has been noted, modern technology is the only way that vegans survive. (What does that say about the notion that morality does not change?)

The power of modern tech. gives us more than the ability to reject animal products. It also gives us the power to shape a large part of the environment. The sweep of that power is so great that we have the obligation to decide how to realat to other species. "Use what you can, in what ever way you want." is no longer a sustainable option, even in the short term. In deciding on how we will treat our planet, I think that the notion that animals have "rights" is foolish. A program for managing the Earth should meet long-term selfish interests. Apealing to people that animals are almost people is less likely to succeed than apeals to the benifits to people's grandkids.

 

A) Only dumbshits use words they know no definition of.

B) No. Being a former flesheater I don't get sick to my stomach when I see a hamburger. Just because I don't eat it doesn't mean I never had a taste for it. I exercise self control through compassionate eating. Of course you're right about human beings being responsible for a lot of suffering and death to this world which is all the more reason to do what one can to minimize it. I definitely believe my not eating meat or consuming animal products helps to cut back on this kind of destruction ecologically and biologically... that's why I do it. I'm also fully aware of the fact that it's impossible to live one's life without coming across and inadvertantly becoming a part of this negative usage. But that doesn't mean one shouldn't try.

 

LMAO! I'm usually not this direct, but please, give me a break.

I'd like to know what show this was--Howard Stern? The idea that vegetarians are poor, deprived, miserable people was dismissed decades ago. Even conservative health organizations like the American Dietetic Association have concluded, "It is the position of the American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada that appropriately planned vegetarian diets are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. " Check it out for yourself: http://www.eatright.org/Public/GovernmentAffairs/17084.cfm

I'm guessing the guy you saw, if he was indeed serious, was suffering from an eating disorder or disease. As evidenced by the plenty of healthy vegetarians and vegans, plant-based diets can be very healthy. And considering there is no shortage of veggie parents, we certainly aren't incapable of being aroused!
And, it is true people go vegan for many reasons, some of which may sound shallow, (like being a "hippie"). But there is no shortage of shallow reasons some people have for eating meat either, like being "macho".
But to contend that all or most people choose not to eat meat in order to be a hippie is ridiculous. There are countless people, from grade school kids to senior citizens, who choose vegetarian for health and ethical reasons. Both of my parents are vegetarians, and they certainly aren't trying to be Deadheads. I suggest you look past the easy stereotypes and check out the much more complex reality of the situation.

 

Cows and other livestock can survive without the humans. Come to the Southwest and see wild horses, and free range cattle.

 

thank you, i couldn't have said it better myself.

and about this extinction nonsense, who says that just because we aren't eating the animals, means we have to let them go? factory farms could be converted into friendly farms, where animals are looked after and cared for, until they die naturally.

 

i don't get sick to my stomach, as in gagging and puking, but i hate doing those things because i know they harm the planet. and how does going to the bathroom hurt the planet?? unless you mean the water wasted flushing the toilet. in which case, i've read about methods to help cut down on that.

no one ever said that we're cutting out all harm to living creatures COMPLETELY. and if they did, don't listen to them, cuz they don't know what they're saying. cutting out all suffering and killing and death is IMPOSSIBLE. our point is, we're cutting back on the suffering, as much as we possibly can.