Things meat eaters say and do

[veganmike]

"Vegetarians and vegans must develop a better answer to that age-old meat-eater question--but you kill plants don't you? Raising the plant question is, in my experience, a first line of defense for most omnivores. Now, most seasoned vegetarians have their standard 10-point response about why it is better to eat plants than animals. They offer points such as the following: plants don't feel pain because they lack a nervous system, the experiments in The Secret Life of Plants have not been reproducible and even the author refused to perform the experiments again, omnivores actually kill more plants because cows eat plants, etc. This line of argumentation has its place, but it doesn't answer the question of whether or not it is OK to eat plants in the first place. Vegetarians have to look a bit more closely at why every single omnivore makes this argument and why we get so angry/defensive/exasperated with this argument. It is because there is something to it."

"Animal liberation and plant liberation. Broccoli vs. animals?" (http://www.vegetus.org/essay/plants.htm)

[wuggy]

Veganmike - I agree, there is something to it, that's why I find it tricky!! However, if pushed, I would/have used all of the above arguments, but it ususally boils down to the fact that the meat-eater can't think of a better one themselves! They are also total hypocrits to use it in the first place, aren't they? It's astonishing really!!

[wuggy]

P.S - I also hate the one about Vegans using more 'synthetics' - usually the person arguing drives a car, uses electricity, buys plastic-wrapped goods, etc, etc!

[Veggie4Life139]

Humans are made of meat too, why don't we eat them?
Not saying I'm a cannibal, but I do think eating meat is the same and as sick as eating humans.


I read a quote the other day from a (crap) British TV presenter - he said "If we weren't meant to eat animals, then why are they made of meat (ha-ha, gwauff)". This 'jokey' little comment made me so mad I destroyed the magazine!

[wuggy]

Couldn't agree more - by the way, it was Johnny Vaughan.

[John]

If someone brings up the suffering plants line I wouldn't bother arguing with him. It really is pointless. So what if you win an argument? Do you think that the person is going to become vegan? No need for snappy comebacks. You could say, "You got me. Your superior logic has defeated veganism. No need to bother me about being vegan again," or say nothing at all.

[Liz]

Hmmm.
I'd say that the only downside of being vegan is all the questions!!! It's like being in a court room! Of course it's best not to get too wound up - it's just a choice we all make. What does annoy me though is when people look at you like you're a total weirdo... ''No, I wouldn't like that thankyou, i'm a vegan...'' *GASP* (After ''what's vegan?!'') ''OK, what do you eat then?'' All very well, they're curious, but many just take it too far after that and make you feel so singled out... Ah well... Always the quiet ones... :-)

[TheFirstBus]

I'd say experiencing the people that got mad at me (I don't know why) when I stopped eating meat was a downside. Oh and I was in school and one guy asked "whats vegan" I didn't have to tell him my teacher said "you don't know what vegan is?"

[~*Blue*~]

this is from a forum i frequent (um...it's a non-vegetarian related forum), a girl posted about kfc and in a response to that post, one girl stuck this in:

"Indeed it's true, many vegetarians would be better people if they care a bit more about people and a bit less about animals (Brigitte Bardot the extreme right wing racist vegetarian, Nazis who liked their dogs more than people...). "

[gertvegan]

I got this today on another forum. Silly or not ?

It is a primeval instinct to eat those that you love. It manfests itself in the animal kingdom when spiders eat their mates, or when baby spiders eat their mother. Equally, it is paraphrased when newborn animals are licked by their mothers from instinct. When my son was born, my first instinct was to lick him.

Our relationship with animals has co-existed for thousands of years. Just because some people choose to eat meat, it doesn't mean that those people are hypocrites for claiming to love those animals that we don't eat as food. Love and eating is ancient forms of the same thing, and they co-exist along with our relationships with other members of the animal kingdom. Sometimes, one expresses love for another by eating them (e.g. cannibalism) and the instinctive licking that goes on between humans and other animals. It is a vestige of evolution

[Gorilla]

silly?!! how about a desperate attempt to assuage their guilt - are they honestly saying they'd eat their own children?!!! how is licking your child anything to do with wanting to kill and eat it? :confused:

[Roxy]

I am going to a work related BBQ later in the week, so I'll have something more to add to this thread after then. However, for starters a girl at work told me her b/f was going to bring 8 hotdogs to the BBQ because he gets hungry. Ugh!

[Trendygirl]

Q ‘So you think that animals are more important than humans’
A One of the reason that I have managed to stay vegan is because I know that I am helping people. More people can be fed on a vegan diet, there will be less pollution which effects humans and maybe diseases won’t be immune to anti bio tics because of over use in the meat industry.

Q ‘Isn’t it natural for humans to eat meat? We have k9 teeth’
A Yes and no. We are mainly built to eat plant mater but we can survive by eating meat. Our early ancestors only ate about 1% non plan mater i.e. insects and small animals (just like Chimpanzees and gorillas). Our teeth and digestive system is closer to plant eaters than meat eaters and our hands were designed for foraging and not tearing raw meet of the bone. Our teeth and jaw is designed for grinding up plant mater/seeds and looks totally different from the great meat eaters such as cats and dogs. Meat is very difficult to digest, that is why it must be cooked first as it starts to break it down. We only started eating more meat when we mastered fire and even then it was nothing like what people eat today. People think that early man was a great hunter and in fact he wasn’t.

Meat eaters have stomach acid 20 times stronger than ours in order to digest meat quickly and get it out of the body because when meat is digested it produces toxins. That is why meat eating animals have short intestines and we have much longer intestines. When animal protein is digested and makes these toxins it courses calcium to leach out of the bones as the body attempt to counter act the toxins. Hence weak bones.

We can survive by eating meat but our bodies have never evolved to using it efficiently. We thrive on plant mater like we always have! Only in hard times did we ever eat meat!

Q ‘Milk is natural’
A Who said it was natural to run up to a cow and fight with it’s calf to suck on it’s udder?

[gertvegan]

This was the reply I received when I asked on a none vegan forum how the distinction is made between companion animals and the meat on the plate.

"The companion animal is the one who I have nurtured and cared for and given a name. Someone I can talk to if I need. I wouldn't dream of hurting him. The meat on my plate is a necessity of my diet. I care about it being treated well before I get it. But I don't give it a name or try and talk to it."

[Trendygirl]

What I hate about some people is how they will call people in oriental countries cruel because they will eat animals such as dogs and cats, yet they think it is fine to eat a pig which has the same intelligence as a dog! Now I am vegan and I know the truth about animal exploitation, I feel quite angry about all the lies I was fed as a child! Often people tell me that I should feed my children meat (when I eventually have some) until they are old enough to make up their own minds. I was never given a choice when I was a child, I was lied to about where meat comes from so I am not going to lie to my children. They will know the truth, it will be explained to them in a way that is appropriate to their level of understanding. Some people ask me what I would do if my children decided that they wanted to eat meat. To be honest I can’t see that happening. I’ve never heard of anyone who was brought up veggie/vegan to decide they want to eat meat.

[uww27225]

This was one of the comments on another website in regards to a survey of Milwaukee's best restaurants. Someone asked about veggie burgers and this was some guy's comment:
"If humans weren't meant to be carnivors, we would not have cuspids.

Veggie burger is an oxymoron. If a place serves a veggie burger, it is my opinion that their "real" burger will inherently suck. Pandering to the minute vegetarian contingent reduces the quality of all of the establishment's offerings.

Long live Sobelman's!!! Please don't ever disgrace that wonderful bun with some awful tofu concoction."

Trendygirl, I hope you don't mind but I quoted some of what you said in my reply to him. :)

These people piss me off with their ignorance! Grr! :mad:

[Gorilla]

Trendygirl, i totally agree with what you say about the lies kids are told about meat and the hypocrisy of saying Asian countries are cruel to eat dogs and cats.

unfortunately i do know a couple of people who were raised veggie but decided to eat meat...both men if that has any relevance, perhaps they didn't feel it was very 'manly' to be veggie, but they sort of did it to rebel against their parents and never went back to being veggie :(

[Trendygirl]

Thats fine Milwaukee guy! Spread the word!

Gorilla
That so sad to hear about thoughs guys who eat meat now. This bringing up child thing sounds hard, maybe I won't do it? OH PLEASE DON'T LET MY FUTURE CHILDREN TURN INTO MEAT EATERS! Fingers crossed!

[TheFirstBus]

"your going to die from malnutrition", I know that means they are just uninformed but I get tired of explaining that no in fact I am doing quite well with my health and don't intend to die from malnutrition anytime soon.

[gertvegan]

On a non vegan forum where there is a thread " why aren't others vegan", one reply was "you have a right to your opinions but that doesn't mean to say you have the right to cause world wide chaos because of them." ??????

As you can imagine, it hasn't gone down very well.

[John]

I think that I am going to change my forum name to "World Wide Chaos."

[mysh]

Oh! Was that post referring to vegans causing world wide chaos? I thought it referred to the meat industry!

[TheFirstBus]

I read a Christians pamphlet today. It talked about treating you pets well and all the things god and cats do for you.

[gertvegan]

I'm as baffled about the silly comment I posted above as the next vegan in a funny kind of way.

[snaffler]

One I mentioned the other day - whilst chatting to another member on here on MSN - At work on B/days etc....people usuual bring a cake or something for all to share 80% of the people here understand why I do not eat most run of the mill commercial cakes and chocs etc but a few still need educating big time.

Well last week one of these people bought in a cake offered it around and bought me some "oh can't you eat it" I replied "I am like sorry I have said loads of times I do not eat any animal products" she replied "but theres no meat in this cake?" this was said with a serious look on her face...any how I explained for the millionth time to this person.

Later the same person said to me - "Do you think you will ever get better from the vegan thing you have" What the F***K!!!!!! sorry but some people are from Mars or out of touch.....