I was raised as a meat eater, and because of my love for meat, I'm curious as to why anybody would choose to not eat it when it tastes so good. So I have some questions for you vegetarians:
Are you a vegetarian by choice or were you brought up as a vegetarian by your parents/guardians?
Are any of you ex-vegetarians who now love a nice bit of a meat? If so, what caused you to start eating meat?
Do you not eat meat because you dislike the taste, or the way the animals are treated? If the later, would you eat meat if the animals were killed in a more ethical way way? (I know they're killed in a pretty ethical way already, but yeah)
Or is it neither of those reasons? Please state if so.
And two questions for all meat eaters:
Have you ever thought about becoming a vegetarian? If so, what stopped you becoming one?
What's your favourite type of meat? I for one, love a good sirloin steak.
Like I said, I've got no problems with vegetarians. I'm just curious.
Also, some of that may be worded badly, I've got a banging headache and can't be bothered to think at the moment. My apologies.
Heaven makes me free of it,
and the rest is silence.
Proud supporter of a movement I'm not allowed to be proud of.
I'm a meat eater and haven't ever thought about becoming a vegetarian because a) I love my meat too much, b) it's the best way to get protein and I forgot what c) was.
I love steak medium rare (as I discovered in Paris) but I like roast chicken with stuffing and gravy and all the trimmings and... I have a few favourites. I won't go into it. I'm into um... classy food
I was brought up vegetarian (well pescetarian to be precise) by my parents. So I've never eaten meat (other than pepperoni pizza once when wasted, I promptly vomited everywhere, I blame the pizza rather than the booze!).
I don't eat meat because it just doesn't look appealing to me. I find the notion of eating flesh a little disasteful. It's expensive. It's so much unhealther to be a meat eater than a vegetarian, you are at increased risk of heart disease and various cancers. I don't know how to cook it and I damn good at cooking veggie food! Also eating meat is much less energy efficient and has a higher carbon footprint than most vegetarian food substances, cows for example are a large source of methane pollution (and yes I am well aware of the fact that so are rice paddy-fields)
I think back when my Mum stopped eating meat in the early 70's there was much more of an argument for not eating meat. However with the advent of schemes such as RSPCA freedom food and increased availability of free-range chickens and farm shops where local meat is sold so you can go down the road and see what kind of a life that animal had, I think all that makes it much easier to eat ethical meat nowadays. I don't think there's anything morally wrong with eating animals, but that those animals should be well-treated.
Interestingly out of me and my two siblings who were all brought up the same, I am the only one who has continued to eat the way I was raised, my little brother is an enthusiastic meat eater whilst my little sister has gone in completely the opposite direction and now is totally vegan.
I eat meat and love it always have i would never become a veggie have you ever tried quorn or tofu >< no but i see meat as a high source of protein and fats that the body needs plus we have the teeth to eat meat.
Veggie by choice, turned veg when I was about 8? - my whole family are whole-hearted meat eaters.
I really, really dislike the taste and texture of solid chunks of meat. I always have done, there's no real reason for it - and rather than saying 'yes, I eat meat, but only when it's disguised in something so that I can't taste it or feel it', I figured it was just easier to say that I was vegetarian!
I really don't miss it - my housemates all eat meat, and it just seems so much more expensive, risky, and unhealthy. I'm quite happy being veg, and really enjoy cooking proper meals :)
I don't really get people viewing meat as a necessity, though - my dad's like that, a meal isn't complete without a nice piece of meat, and it's just, I suppose, such an alien concept to me, haha.
My mum is better, though - she eats a range of both meaty and non-meaty meals.
Last edited by Dreaming. : 08-09-2009 at 03:13 PM.
I think back when my Mum stopped eating meat in the early 70's there was much more of an argument for not eating meat. However with the advent of schemes such as RSPCA freedom food and increased availability of free-range chickens and farm shops where local meat is sold so you can go down the road and see what kind of a life that animal had, I think all that makes it much easier to eat ethical meat nowadays. I don't think there's anything morally wrong with eating animals, but that those animals should be well-treated.
Hearing this from a vegetarian's point of view interested me. Whilst my family are, always have been and always will be, meat eaters, we still eat ethically. We refuse to eat eggs from caged hens, we refuse to eat caged hens for that matter. We buy as much of our meat as possible from local butchers, and if we can't, we buy meat that is British reared (and most if not all supermarkets say where the animal has been reared)
I am a meat-eater, couldn't live without a good piece of meat. However, I don't require meat with dinner, I'm happy to have a bit of variety. If I'm cooking (which is rare) then I'll usually do a veggie meal simply because it's quicker, easier and usually a bit cheaper.
I don't eat meat because it just doesn't look appealing to me. I find the notion of eating flesh a little disasteful. It's expensive.
That's fair enough, and I agree, some meat is seriously pricey.
It's so much unhealther to be a meat eater than a vegetarian, you are at increased risk of heart disease and various cancers.
I wasn't aware of the cancer risks, I'll have to look into that. Also, it's only unhealthy if you buy the cheaper cuts of meat. A good cut of meat from a healthy animal that has lived a happy life isn't unhealthy at all, provided it's been cooked well.
and has a higher carbon footprint than most vegetarian food substances, cows for example are a large source of methane pollution (and yes I am well aware of the fact that so are rice paddy-fields)
If the cows are being bread/killed for meat at the same rate they would breed/die naturally, then there is no problem?
I don't think there's anything morally wrong with eating animals, but that those animals should be well-treated.
Agreed, I'd be put off eating a meat if I knew the animals were being treated poorly.
little sister has gone in completely the opposite direction and now is totally vegan.
I really don't see the appeal of being a vegan, but if she's happy being a vegan then that's fine obviously.
Red text is my replies, obviously.
Heaven makes me free of it,
and the rest is silence.
Proud supporter of a movement I'm not allowed to be proud of.
I was brought up in a meat eating family. I now only eating chicken or turkey on occaisions and don't eat red meat at all but tbh meat just doesn't look or taste that appealing to me. I used to eat it all the time but that was just to be polite to whoever had made the effort to cook, now I'm living on my own I only eat chiken/turkey if I'm getting a sandwich from the supermarket. It is partly due to my views on animal cruelty and my eating problems/weight issues too though, its not just down to one thing.
Amy x
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Oh eyes like wild flowers within demons of change ♥
I'm not a vegetarian, although I've thought of becoming one. But not because I don't like the way the animals are treated- I just really don't like the taste of most meat. I like chicken and fish, and I can handle some red meat occasionally, if it's cooked a certain way, but most red meat I don't like, and I also pretty much hate all pork products. I'm just a picky eater in general.
and has a higher carbon footprint than most vegetarian food substances, cows for example are a large source of methane pollution (and yes I am well aware of the fact that so are rice paddy-fields)
If the cows are being bread/killed for meat at the same rate they would breed/die naturally, then there is no problem?
Lol this made me giggle. Well obviously there wouldn't be as if cows weren't bred for meat there would be a hell of a lot less cattle in the world. Cows actually only breed when the farmers put the bull out with the cows, or artificially inseminate them. So actually if people didn't eat meat the carbon footprint caused by cows would reduce vastly. I think you've misunderstood the way agriculture works just a little bit here. It's not like there were millions of herds of cattle just randomly roaming the UK that farmers then captured and housed in fields, the amount of cows only exists because of the meat industry.
I turned veggie for 2 years whilst suffering from anorexia.
Although the reason i gave to people was that i didnt think it was right eating meat if i couldnt kill it myself. I actually think a large proportion of those with eating disorders are vegetarian...
Now recovered im a fully blown eat meater. Although as a family we only buy free range and/or organic meat. We also buy locally so the animals havent travelled far. I like to know that the animal has had the best possible life before it ends up on my plate.
Last edited by espoir : 08-09-2009 at 04:59 PM.
Reason: added
After all this has passed, i still will remain
After i've cried my last, there'll be beauty from pain
Im not a veggie, but i only really like beef, and even then im not a huge fan.
I hate chicken, refuse to eat it if possible. Dont much like pork.
Lamb is ok.
People tell me im a really picky eater, i dont think i am, i just dont like a lot of the common food that people put in meals.
Like chicken and cheese.
Id probably be fine turning veggie.
I only eat meet when im at other peoples houses because i cant be arsed cooking it myself anyway.
I really don't miss it - my housemates all eat meat, and it just seems so much more expensive, risky, and unhealthy. I'm quite happy being veg, and really enjoy cooking proper meals :)
You can have a proper meal with meat lovely =p
I swing wildly, i can't cook meat, so if i cook, it's meant free, whereas if my boyfriend cooks it may have meat in. although i don't eat very much meat these days, unless of course i get drunk & then i need chicken nuggets.
I like eating meat but on a day to day basis eat mostly vegetarian - reasons of health, cost & environment. Am more concerned about welfare/humane/environmental farming than animal rights as such. On the whole I try to have food as unprocessed and local as possible for the above reasons
One of my ex-boyfriends was a vegan, so I was under a lot of pressure to be at least veggie! But while I respected his opinions and enjoyed great vegan meals when we ate together, I just don't see the moral issues in the same way, and like the taste of meat
Thought about it, but couldn't do it. My family eats meat too much.
I like to try and feel better by thinking that it's dead anyway, and it'll just go to waste. Plus, I'm not going to stop or change anything if I do, so I might as well be easy and just eat it.
There will always be a happy ending. If its not happy then its not yet the end.
I'm a vegetarian by choice, I've only been a vegetarian for a couple of years. I wasn't a big fan of meat anyone and usually just ate chicken so, when I was told about all the health benefits of being a vegetarian, I thought it was a good idea. I also found out a lot more about how animals are treated and that put me off meat completely, some people think the way they are killed is fine and have no problem with it, I just think it could be done in a much kinder way. But, yeah, just my opinion.
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