What's the lamest excuse you ever heard as to why people eat meat?

[Robinwomb]

Oh that's ok LouiseAbel I didnt take it as directed toward me at all! I agree with you wholeheartedly. I really struggle with the church since becoming vegan. I really have to separate out my own faith and spirituality from the teachings of the "church". I also find the attitudes of a lot of the Christians where I live to be quite flippant towards non human life. I have had horrible reactions from church members I have told about my veganism. People at work are supportive and interested and even at my doctors office they at least show a little interest but my "friends" from church have not been so nice about it. One said she thought I was wasting my time worrying about animals that were meant to be eaten anyway and that there were human causes that were more worth the time. Never mind the effect that mass killing and consumption of animals is having on us as a human species lot alone the horrific way animals, creatures created by God, are treated and the violence and damage we are causing the earth. There is an attitude among a lot of Christians that humans are the center of the universe.

[EpicLibrarian]

I have heard two similar arguments lately:

"I don't want to be 'that person,' but if baby cows drink milk, then how can it be bad for us?" *facepalm*

"I don't want to watch that Earthlings movie or talk about factory farms because then I won't be able to eat what I want." The person didn't say this exactly, but after a conversation, that was pretty much how it ended up.

[pinkbubble]

Tied between,
"I would be vegan, but my doctor won't let me."
and
"I don't eat the cute animals. But chickens are horrible! They deserve it."

The second one scares me a but more though; apparently she has evaluated the attractiveness of each being and has decided the ugly ones should die more?

[Jeorjette92]

My doctors have never questioned my Veganism, that is a lame excuse.
But the other one is just an evil excuse.

My mum said because she can't eat a lot of food that it would be impossible to get all the nutrients as a Vegan.
Considering she lives off of vitamins anyway I'm sure it wouldn't make a difference. (She fills up on too much bread!)

[Bjorn]

I think the most ridiculous excuse (and common) is 'I like the taste I couldn't give it up'

[LouiseAbel]

I think the most ridiculous excuse (and common) is 'I like the taste I couldn't give it up'

Really? That's the only excuse I don't think is ridiculous. I think it's selfish and quite appalling, but it's a fair excuse. "I like the taste more than I care about the welfare of animals". They just don't care enough. It's a subjective thing, so we can't really argue against it.

I think my brother is a prime example here. He knows the facts and could watch a cow being slaughtered and then eat it two hours later. He just has completely different instincts from me. Doesn't mean that we don't discuss the environmental reasons to go vegan and that I'm going to stop trying to influence him that way... Haha.

[Bjorn]

What bothers me with this answer is that they close the door straight away. they don't even want to consider the possibility.
And it annoys me. Probably because I also keep a curious mind towards almost anything before deciding.

I love the taste too, but between -loving the taste and causing suffering- and -discovering new favorite tastes or even same taste and cruelty free alternatives and not causing suffering-, my choice is easily made.

I've stopped trying to convince/influence people around me, I just let them know how/why I do it, if they ask more info they'll get it...
When you get this kind of answer, as you said, there is no door open for discussion, I prefer not to waste my time then.

[Robinwomb]

"I only eat real food"

I have been seeing this comment a lot lately in forums, magazines etc but I have had to deal with it in person too. Meat and dairy are refered to as "real food" while things like plant milks, soy yogurts, tofu, agave, etc are supposed to be highly processed concoctions of chemicals. Have these people ever really researched how meat and dairy are processed? I looked up how cheese is made and how bacon is made (one site advocates that bacon is good for you and fruit is terrible) and there is nothing natural about it at all. It takes as many steps to process meat and dairy to an edible form as it does tofu, if not more because of the danger of food poisoning if meat and dairy are under processed. Ugh!

It also shows cultural racism towards other cultures that are predominantly plant based and that have eaten the types of foods they claim arent real for thousands of years.

[Blueberries]

"I only eat real food".. natural...

That always makes me proper angry because 'real' and 'natural' are words that are bandied around so much by advertisers, who love them because they're not regulated so you can call whatever you want 'natural' and people will automatically think of it positively. There's an ad campaign on Irish tv at the moment for a company which makes processed meat products ie sausages, meat slices, which has children in a classroom being asked by their teacher to bring something 'natural' into class. Most of the kids bring in leaves and pinecones while one brings in a packet of processed dead pig, sorry I mean ham, slices and is praised by the teacher. Every animal product advertised, from cow's milk to processed dead animals is advertised as being 'natural' and 'full of goodness'. Strange that they'll tell kids that eating dead animals is 'natural' and yet won't tell them where the pink slice in their sandwich comes from :/

Sorry, rant over!

[Robinwomb]

My sentiments exactly Blueberries! Every time I see a billboard or advertisement showing a perfect looking cow or chicken in a pastoral setting with the words Natural or organic or real floating around I just want to scream.

[The_Westons]

I got told "I'm here for a fun, not a long time"??? Now that's messed up

[thegreenjudy]

"Life is too short to be vegan"

All these excuses just reveal their selfishness and actually make them look stupid,not us

[Blueberries]

I got told "I'm here for a fun, not a long time"??? Now that's messed up

Yeah, people seem to think that if you don't take care of your health you'll have a great time in life and just pass away quickly, rather than actually have to deal with the illnesses that result from bad lifestyle choices.

[Elielisa]

"You're black therefore you can't be vegan"
"We need to regulate animals on earth by hunting and eating them"
"You're part of a weird cult"
"Meat is too good and life is too short"
"I could only be a vegan if my health was at risk eating meat"

I know there are many more but those are the only one I can think about right now.

^^

[TheHRchannel]

"You're black therefore you can't be vegan"
"We need to regulate animals on earth by hunting and eating them"
"You're pa

Wow! Racist much to whoever said that? Lol!

[Elielisa]

As weird as it is I get it from black people as much as any other race ... ignorance is NOT racist ^^

[Blueberries]

"You're black therefore you can't be vegan"

Wow, that's proper ignorance! That's something that you'd really have to ask the person who said it 'are you serious?' and if they are being serious ask them why they think that, simply because it can't possibly be based on any kind of logic or reasoning!

[Cacique]

Elielisa, sorry you had to deal with such a racist comment.

I've heard the cult thing once, and let me tell you it boils my blood. I was born and raised in a cult, so hearing that makes me feel like an ignorant fool because I've spent so much time studying cult mind control and undoing the brain washing/mind control/fear indoctrination.

The lamest comment I've heard came from my friend. He helped his sister do a research paper on environmentalism and he ended up finding out all this info that I had told him or knew already, about how horrible animal farming is for the animals and the environment. That he understood why people went vegan and wanted to do it himself. He sounded so excited.

A while pass after I told him a few vegan meals he could prep easily to get him started. He says he hasn't done anything vegan because he's just been eating whatever his mom cooks. I wanted to smack him upside the head.

[Elielisa]

People are just serious and that's the worse. My ex even told me : "Why don't you like chicken? Cause where I'm from ( South Carolina ) all black people I know love chicken" He used to piss me off too when saying " You're a vegetarian! I keep on forgetting! " I broke up with not long after!
Ignorance used to drive me crazy but I just ignore people now and don't have much friends now cause they're were just being disrespectfull. I'm just sick and tired of people full of themselves so whenever people start saying nonsense things about veganism etc... I just quit and don't even try to convince them anymore as it usually turns into an argument. ^^

[Elielisa]

A while pass after I told him a few vegan meals he could prep easily to get him started. He says he hasn't done anything vegan because he's just been eating whatever his mom cooks. I wanted to smack him upside the head.[/QUOTE]

WTF??? What kind of bull.... is that?? I'm not even sure if this is laziness, ignorance, or just him being two faced!
See thats why I don't even try anymore cause I'll end up smashing people in their face

[Blueberries]

A while pass after I told him a few vegan meals he could prep easily to get him started. He says he hasn't done anything vegan because he's just been eating whatever his mom cooks. I wanted to smack him upside the head.

How old is he?? Tell him to pull himself together, grow up and learn to take care of himself!!

[Blueberries]

People are just serious and that's the worse. My ex even told me : "Why don't you like chicken? Cause where I'm from ( South Carolina ) all black people I know love chicken" He used to piss me off too when saying " You're a vegetarian! I keep on forgetting! "

I broke up with him not long after!

I'm not surprised! I hope he learned something from being broken up with over it!

[FaerieSuzy]

I heard a corker today. Made my blood boil. 'Well if I enjoy it, the animal didn't die in vain'

[EpicLibrarian]

I heard a corker today. Made my blood boil. 'Well if I enjoy it, the animal didn't die in vain'

Boo. Just replace the word "animal" with "person" and therein lies the issue. That is more of that twisted, selfish logic that would get you committed in any other situation.

[emmy25]

Tied between,
"I would be vegan, but my doctor won't let me."
and
"I don't eat the cute animals. But chickens are horrible! They deserve it."

The second one scares me a but more though; apparently she has evaluated the attractiveness of each being and has decided the ugly ones should die more?

I've heard the same one about pigs The person said that because pigs are cannibalistic and disgusting and so we should klll them.

[Jeorjette92]

In that case we should kill all pigs not breed them!
So stupid!!

[The_Westons]

I don't get much People asking me anymore but for some reason when I walk out of the house with a PETA shirt or jumper with Vegan on it I get the most evil glares... Me? I'm the one doing the right thing.

[Jeorjette92]

Haha evil glares for a word..
I bet you'd get less glares with a jumper that said c**t on it!

[ra1nbow]

#1 "But that's what teeth are for"
#2 "They're already dead, so might as well eat them or they'll go to waste"

Some people have sick thinking patterns.

[Katarzyna]

okay let me share ith you what I heard yesterday: Kat we have to eat meat to survive, I know you do this because of ethical reasons but that animal would die anyway! what your mum says? that you re not normal right? normal people eat meat. < aaa somebody shoot me >

[Jeorjette92]

Oh hey Kat, I am Crypriot!!
Yeah that is really stupid! Shoot you? You should shoot them! =P (Joking of course!)
My grandma is fine with my Veganism, my dad isn't though!
Dad seems to think it his right to eat the dead flesh of other beings.

[EpicLibrarian]

It is interesting because my husband and his parents all think that my diet is very good and read all about Eat to Live and The China Study and such, but cannot seem to break the habit. They always talk about how those animal products are bad and killing them, yet cannot seem to let them go. It frustrates me because they all have health problems, especially the in-laws. So I suppose the excuse is just not wanting to give up the comfort. And for them, I think it is the emotional comfort more than the taste or anything. But I can't get them to watch anything like Earthlings to appeal to their moral sense.

[Robinwomb]

I can't get my husband to watch Earthlings either. Recently we traveled to visit his family in central Minnesota. In this part of the state those long horrible chicken row buildings or whatever you call them (that truly look like concentration camps) abound. Usually they are all shut up so you cant see what is going on inside and there are no windows. We drove by one and the door to the one side was open and a huge fan was set up to blow inside. It was extremely hot that day. You could see literally thousands of chickens crowded on the floor all trying to get close to the entrance, and the sight was horrible. I wanted to photograph it but there were warning signs all over. My husband was the FIRST to comment about how awful the scene was. But a day later he was eating chicken at the dinner table at his parents house without a second thought. Sighs.

[CoolCat]

I wanted to photograph it but there were warning signs all over.

Yeah, it's an act of terrorism to photograph a farm from a public road... or something like that. It's some bonkers law that was passed.

[Katarzyna]

ha ha ha its not funny, but I know what you are talking about. I tried to push my flatmates to watch Earthlings once ( I know i shouldnt have... ), then they called me cruel person! Can you believe it? Someone who eats boiled dead bodies is telling me,person who eats vieggies and wants to save some lifes.. that I am cruel ;/ ;/ ;/ people dont wana see whats goin on out there becuase they might not like it and pizza with bacon will not be that tasty anymore...

[EpicLibrarian]

My husband was the FIRST to comment about how awful the scene was. But a day later he was eating chicken at the dinner table at his parents house without a second thought. Sighs.

I see this all the time. I work with a lady who kept asking me questions, so I told her all about milk and dairy. She didn't drink milk for a few days, and said that every time she saw milk she thought about how it had pus in it. But she is back to it now. Out of sight, out of mind I suppose. Even my husband knows about animal suffering and talks about how awful it is, but can't resist some pork bbq or something. What is it about these toxic foods that keep people so mesmerized?

[genisis]

This I heard on the TV yesterday...'We kill and eat baby deer not because they taste good, simply because we can!'

Oh my word!!! I am lost for words!!!

[made of sequins]

"I could only be a vegan if my health was at risk eating meat"

this one made me laugh. idk, it's just funny because of the absurdity! your health IS at risk from eating meat!

the most facepalm-y comment i've ever gotten was several years ago, when I was vegetarian--not vegan, but considering it and starting to read up on it.
"but we evolved to eat meat! the paleo diet is the only true way to eat. if you don't believe that, then you're completely denying science and living under a rock".

and this came from a dude on a blind date! lol. needless to say i didn't go out with him again. (and now i'm engaged to a guy that i absolutely adore, and as the cherry on the non-dairy sundae , he went vegan a few months ago. )

[DubXero]

It wasn't so much an excuse not to eat meat, but I was asked this yesterday -

"If you're vegan, how can you drive a car? Isn't oil made from animals that died millions of years ago?"

Cue me being told that there was no point in doing it if I can't "do it properly."

The same person has also told me that they love animals, but won't eat a single meal without meat in it.

[EpicLibrarian]

the most facepalm-y comment i've ever gotten was several years ago, when I was vegetarian--not vegan, but considering it and starting to read up on it.
"but we evolved to eat meat! the paleo diet is the only true way to eat. if you don't believe that, then you're completely denying science and living under a rock".

I have a vegetarian friend whose BF is trying the paleo thing. She keeps telling him how worried she is about him. He has lost weight, but he looks bigger because he looks asll swollen and pale/clammy to me. I can't imagine how awful he must feel.

The same person has also told me that they love animals, but won't eat a single meal without meat in it.

I hear this all the time. And from people who will actively speak out for animals rights. They even know all about factory farms, etc and work with rescue farm animals. But it is just too convenient to keep eating meat. It really lowers my opinion of people, but I am trying to be patient and understanding. Phew.

[Lentils]

Not exactly the right place for this I guess but:

I made some 'yorkshire puddings' and my mother said that she liked them, after that I said "good, that's one unhealthy thing replaced then" and she responded with "it's not about unhealthy or not it's just a different opinion, me and you have different opinions" to which I almost face palmed and wasn't even sure where to start lol.

How is 1/4 the calories, zero cholesterol and more of every vitamin and mineral an opinion? She is on a weight loss diet currently so replacing high calorie low nutrient foods with low calorie high nutrient foods is surely 'healthy'. The difference was egg, white flour, full fat milk and lots of oil vs whole wheat flour, gram flour, unsweetened soy milk and a tiny amount of oil.

[EpicLibrarian]

"it's not about unhealthy or not it's just a different opinion, me and you have different opinions

Yeah, I hear people getting "facts" and "opinions" mixed up a lot. Being vegan helps the planet in numerous ways: that is a fact, but everyone else would swear it was just an opinion. Animals suffer when we hurt and kill them: same thing. It is denial that has been fostered for generations, so it is difficult to reverse that programming. Really really difficult for some people!

[Blueberries]

Yeah, I hear people getting "facts" and "opinions" mixed up a lot

Haha, that's just life isn't it?

[Clueless Git]

One that I remember fondly .. It's a two-parter

1. Our brains only evolved to be big because our ancestors ate meat.

ERGO!

2. If we stopped eating eating meat our brains would start devolving back into little brains again.


Reason I remember that fondly was that I was presented with it in front of a large 'audience' of omnis by a good natured monkey that someone had carefully shaved especialy for the occasion.

The plethora of nonsenses it was based on led to me doing a one man comedy routine that had everyone (including the shaven monkey) pee-ing their pants for a good 15-20 minutes.

Obviously no animals were harmed in the process.

- - - Updated - - -

Yeah, I hear people getting "facts" and "opinions" mixed up a lot.

1. If you dont want other people to do something wrong then that it is wrong is fact.

2. If you want to do something wrong and someone else doesn't want you to then that it is wrong is opinion.

I simply find this to be an interesting example of the 'evolution' of language.

[Robinwomb]

I get so irritated with that argument too, that there is no such thing as a vegan because animal products are in everything from cement to houses and cars. A lot of us are trying to change that (there are actually all vegan bicycles out there now for instance) but in the meantime it isnt about perfection and purity, its making an honest effort to cause the least amount of suffering to others and lessen our carbon footprint and treat our environment and each other with more respect and less ownership. I wonder why that is so hard for others to comprehend?

I also know someone at work who claims to love animals and care about animal causes, but then watches horse races and chows down on chicken and milk chocolate at lunch. Right...

[hedgehoglovely]

Nevermind.

[pusskins]

I found out a couple days ago that a vegan I know is now an ex-vegan and is eating meat again. I do wonder what his flipping lame excuse is

[Blueberries]

I do wonder what his flipping lame excuse is

Ask him and let us know!

[MoonDance]

^ Yes, I agree with Blueberries, do ask him! I never know whether to feel angry at these people who 'quit' or to feel pity or something

[Katarzyna]

The doctors told her she could die if she didn't eat animal proteins

Goshhhh.. what kind of doctor was he/she ? Fortunatelly I have met only " well educated " doctors in my life. Poor girl indeed ;/

It's not an excuse but yesterday my "friends" tried again to show me how wrong I am and how harmful being a vegan is for me.. ha ha ha Im laughing but let's be honest - it's sad, I like that people and have enough proving and repeating myself every single time.. anyway, yesterday:

D: Kat! Have you ever considered that letuce may suffer too when you eat it ?
Me: Man please.. at least it has no eyes and it is not crying or trying to escape from me.
D: You are doing yourself a big harm you know that? you will be weak and sooner or later you will regret that decision.. we have watched one program about vegetarians and they had worse results in everything..
Me: Was it MTV ? ha ha.. do we have to repeat it again? have you heard about vegan athlets being the best..
D: No it's not true
Me: It is, check it!
D: No comments

We repeat this kind of conversation every single time we meet, Im not atacking them, Im peaceful and the only thing I do.. is saying "thank you" for the meatballs.. their excuses: S: I dont eat meat because I know that animals suffer, I eat only chicken < bitch please!> , D: I like meat.