30 Reasons to go Vegitarian

[Sammy and Peanut]

GoVeg.com > Features > Chew on This: 30 Reasons to Go Vegetarian

Wanna go vegetarian? No good reasons? Here are some for why you should.

[newpiggiemommy]

Thanks for sharing your opinion with us! I think it is great that you are so passionate about it!

[Ellen]

I didn't make it through all 30 reasons--I got to about 10 or so. I just can't even stand watching tiny clips of what happen in the meat industry...

Good points from what I saw, though. Especially "Parents shouldn't have to lie to their children about what they eat".

[newpiggiemommy]

Who lies to their children about what they eat?

[Ellen]

I'm sure someone's kid out there has asked them where meat comes from and how it gets there... Even if you the parent puts it lightly, the kid is still going to find out one way or another.

[newpiggiemommy]

My kids know they are eating dead animals. They don't have a problem with it. They just know that it is part of the food chain, just like when our snake used to eat live mice. My kids fed the snake and watched the snake eat the live mouse. It is all part of the food chain.

Before you jump down my throat about what I said, I will have you know that my family and I are trying to go meat-free for health reasons. I have been meat-free for two weeks and my children eat meat-free meals when at home. I can't control what they eat out of the house. My son has asked if he can still eat fish and my answer was yes for now. One step at a time! He is 10 years old and this is a major lifestyle change!

[Sammy and Peanut]

I am not sure who made this. It might have been the PETA. My mom finally said yes to me becoming vegitarian.

[Ellen]

Originally Posted by newpiggiemommy

My kids know they are eating dead animals. They don't have a problem with it. They just know that it is part of the food chain, just like when our snake used to eat live mice. My kids fed the snake and watched the snake eat the live mouse. It is all part of the food chain.

I'm not really one to jump down people's throats...but I guess I was more leaning to the side HOW the meat ends up on your plate (the process, how animals are treated during this process).

That is pretty impressive for your 10 year old!

[Sammy and Peanut]

I can't stand eating it. Yuck.

[thalestral]

Originally Posted by newpiggiemommy

They just know that it is part of the food chain, just like when our snake used to eat live mice. My kids fed the snake and watched the snake eat the live mouse. It is all part of the food chain.

Did you know that live feeding is illegal in the UK as it is considered to be so cruel? Humans and their treatment of domesticated animals is as far removed from the food chain as you can get. And I applaud you for moving to a meat free diet, it's just that the excuse of the "food chain" is common and completely wrong.

[cinnyminny]

I finally watched this video/ read the reasons and I decided to sign the pledge and try it out for 30 days. I tried about a week ago to be a veggie and I already failed. But after watching that I'm going to try harder because there's no excuse for it.

oh and I'm not looking for people to say "Good for you!!" or any sort of attention...I just want people to see that people who are "meat-eaters" are affected by these videos and do want to make a difference.

[Ally has U's]

If you can't read them or watch the videos it means you are not proud of what you eat and the way you live your life. If you cannot read them you are not ok with what you are feeding your loved ones. If you cannot read them it means you are afraid to know the truth.

If you cannot read them you should go veg.

[Pumpkin_RIP]

Wow, thank you for sharing this. I think i will become a vegetarian now because of you. It will be hard, especially since my whole family eats meat, but I will definitely try.

[NoCableIsSafe]

Originally Posted by Ally has U's

If you can't read them or watch the videos it means you are not proud of what you eat and the way you live your life. If you cannot read them you are not ok with what you are feeding your loved ones. If you cannot read them it means you are afraid to know the truth.

If you cannot read them you should go veg.

That's a rather close-minded view on these video's. Some people are extremely sensitive to video's of cruelty and can suffer short-term or long-term aftereffects of viewing them for crueltys sake.

Of course a video of an animal dying is going to be gruesome. Death is gruesome and it rightly should be - it's a horrible, final, fearful thing. It does not take a far-stretch of the imagination to realise what animals go through before they enter the meat industry as meat.

One should go vegetarian when one feels motivated to do so for their own reasons; whether it is health, moral, ethics or whatever their reason. Not because they made a human choice from freewill to not view a video highlighting the death and cruelty of battery farming. By all means, be aware; but if people don't want to listen then speeches like that have no focus or grounding to "convert".

[CF#5]

Originally Posted by NoCableIsSafe

That's a rather close-minded view on these video's. Some people are extremely sensitive to video's of cruelty and can suffer short-term or long-term aftereffects of viewing them for crueltys sake.

I have to agree with Ally. I've said similar things about people who wear fur and who refuse to watch the video of the animals being skinned alive. As far as I'm concerned, wearing fur is much worse than eating meat or wearing leather, although they're all terrible.

People who wear fur are killing the animals, just not directly. People who eat meat are killing the animals, just not directly. If they can't stomach what they're doing, they should stop doing it. Just because they're not personally killing the animals doesn't alleviate their responsibility. When someone goes to the grocery store and buys a slab of meat, that's basically the same as paying someone to kill an animal for you. That's not really any different than killing the animal yourself, and therefore, people shouldn't be allowed to escape the violent, tragic suffering they inflict simply because they're not inflicting it directly.

[Sammy and Peanut]

Originally Posted by Pumpkin_RIP

Wow, thank you for sharing this. I think i will become a vegetarian now because of you. It will be hard, especially since my whole family eats meat, but I will definitely try.

It is the same scenario that I am in, but I manage to scrounge something up when we have meat for dinner. For example, our dinner last night: Steak, mashed potatoes, corn, crescent rolls, and key lime pie(my uncle went to Florida last week!). This what I took: Mashed potatoes, corn, crescent rolls, and key lime pie, hold the steak. It's great to know how one person can make a difference.

[Res Judicata]

Yeah, one person can, although it can be hard. I do hate St. Patrick's Day because of my choice to be veg. I've always loved corned beef because of the spices. Smelling my husband's corned beef cooking all day was enough to drive me crazy. How I wish for a meatless corned "beef," and that the traditional family dishes didn't center around meat. No animal's life is worth tradition, no matter how good the spices make the meat smell.

[luvsgiraffes]

Originally Posted by Res Judicata

How I wish for a meatless corned "beef," and that the traditional family dishes didn't center around meat. No animal's life is worth tradition, no matter how good the spices make the meat smell.

Sometimes I do also feel like I m craving meat. I can honestly say that I could not describe or clearly remember how meat even tastes... but when I do feel tempted or want to just say... Oh, it smells so good... its already cooked... only one bite!
What I've gone out and done is bought the meat alternative. I forget exactly what it is called but there is a certain brand that sells ground beef meat alternative. My friends have made some and said that they can tell the difference but its not bad. (they are not veggies) so you might be able to substitute that into your recipie on st patties day.
I will go look up the brand for you and then post it. I'm in the US by the way.

I also just wanted to say that I find it very inspiring how passionate you all are about being veggie. I am not as passionate as many of you are so this may come of as offensive but I dont mean it so. I just feel like people need to choose to be veggie. For whatever reason works for them. I think it would be great if everyone was a veggie. But I also know this is impractical, and forcing people by telling them how gross it is etc and I think just maybe turns them even more against it and pushes them away. For me personally... I like to share my reasons and experiences and maybe gently show them that its not that bad. But that is just me personally.
(I have not gone to watch the videos yet though... I'm not sure I want to put myslf through it... )

[Susan9608]

Why is it impractical for everyone to be vegetarian/vegan? I'm assuming you are one, right? So why is it an impractical choice for everyone else?

It's not so much a matter of telling people how "gross" it is to eat meat; it's about exposing people to the realities of what meat eating means. Many people just don't know. And I think that those of us who do know have an obligation to education those who don't by whatever means possible.

Sometimes, the more disturbing images have a greater impact on people and do more to initiate change than all the gentle sharing of reasons.

[CF#5]

Originally Posted by luvsgiraffes

Sometimes I do also feel like I m craving meat. I can honestly say that I could not describe or clearly remember how meat even tastes... but when I do feel tempted or want to just say... Oh, it smells so good... its already cooked... only one bite!

I don't discriminate based on species, so to me, the only difference between a captive-bred cow and my own guinea pigs is that the animal from which the meat originated is unknown to me. I don't eat meat, because it's the same as eating somebody else's guinea pig. I wouldn't eat your guinea pigs and you wouldn't eat mine. The only consequential difference between a captive-bred cow living his miserable, short life on a beef farm and a homeless guinea pig in an animal shelter is the substantial physical size difference between them, nothing more.

Originally Posted by luvsgiraffes

I also just wanted to say that I find it very inspiring how passionate you all are about being veggie. I am not as passionate as many of you are so this may come of as offensive but I dont mean it so. I just feel like people need to choose to be veggie.

People learn when they're ready to learn, and not a moment sooner. People change when they're ready to change, and not a moment sooner. So you're correct.

Originally Posted by luvsgiraffes

But I also know this is impractical, and forcing people by telling them how gross it is etc and I think just maybe turns them even more against it and pushes them away. For me personally... I like to share my reasons and experiences and maybe gently show them that its not that bad. But that is just me personally.

Telling people how gross what is - eating meat, or the sacrifices we have to make to not eat meat?

It's only impractical because all the different species on this planet haven't yet spiritually evolved to a point where it would be a priority to make it practical. The volatile conditions that exist now make it imperative to persuade people for all the right reasons, i.e., as taking a step to promote animal rights. Too small a percentage of humans living today are vegetarians for people who don't eat meat for the wrong reasons to have a significant impact. Someone who orders a ground beef salad at Taco Bell only to shovel the meat off the plate and throw it away isn't doing any better than someone who eats it. The cow is still being slaughtered, and the customer is still paying for it. Those people who are vegetarian for hedonistic reasons are doing absolutely nothing to promote the collective spiritual growth that will be required before all of society decides to embrace all life. There's nothing wrong with that per sé, because nobody is under any obligation to promote animal rights. However, someone who opens a conversation by indicating that she doesn't eat meat, but qualifies it by adding that she only does it for health reasons and doesn't really care about animals she's "saving" is actually contributing to the discriminatory bias of speciesism, which is the largest primary reason that's used to justify common behavior and attitudes that are vile and abhorrent.

Originally Posted by luvsgiraffes

(I have not gone to watch the videos yet though... I'm not sure I want to put myslf through it... )

As far as I'm concerned you're under no obligation to watch the videos as long as you don't eat meat, for whatever reason. You're only true obligation is to not contribute to injustice.