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If you actually could chase it down and kill it with your bare claws, and rip it with your canines, you might have a valid argument, but that's simply not the case. Without guns and traps, humans are not capable of competing with true carnivores, and are truly pathetic hunters.
I'm just stating facts. We would live much longer, without partaking in the flesh of animals. I am not a vegan, not even a vegetarian. I eat some meat, but it's a small part of my diet. If I had a serious illness, I would probably go raw or close to it. It's simply healthier, and I believe better for the spirit. Sorry if that's too emotional for you. http://www.vegan-nutritionista.com/humans-are-herbivores.html
Sounds like we have to tie our brains behind our back, too. I have caught fish and ate it raw before. I've seen people catch catfish with their hands, too. I've caught pigs, cattle, sheep, frogs, snakes, turtles, and a cheat'n wife. hahaha I can also build a fire with my hands and cook meat and veggies.
It's a simple fact that we can eat meat, we can digest it, and get nutrients from that source.
I tried a vegetarian diet for 2.5 months. It just didn't work for me. I couldn't digest some vegetables, cooked or raw.
BTW, pigs, chickens, and deer can and will eat meat. Deer? Yup.
Humans are omnivores. Also a proven fact.
It's not pretty to kill and eat meat as compared to eating veggies. But there is a need/want for it.
Also, if we had to grow, harvest, and eat veggies with our "bare claws"....I know it would be tough for some. There would be less people on earth, cause people would starve to death. Not a bad thing to have less people......tired of the traffic. Just a joke.
If we were all vegetarians, the world would be a much more peaceful place to exist.
But just think of all the poor plants that would die. Why are people so concerned about an animal being killed, but not concerned about killing a plant. I feel they are equally important. That is why I treat all my food with respect. Most of the things I eat have given their life to provide me sustenance. And I am appreciative of that.
I think that the closer the animals are to humans, useful for other purposes, the closer they are thought of as 'mini people', and you would not eat your friends and relatives, would you?
As we evolved to make use of some animals, on a personal level, we learned to appreciate their individuality and once you think of the animal as another individual, killing it is taboo.
So, horses, dogs and cats are verboten to eat by most cultures unless they are absolutely desperate.
If pigs, who are very intelligent, were prettier and could live in our houses, practically, or be of some use to us, we would not be eating pork.
On farms children were discouraged from playing with the animals or getting to know them too well.
I remember my uncle liquidating his farm for retirement and he had one last old cow and whenever we drove past that cow there would be a little tear in his eye because the cow was too old to be of much use to anyone and would eventually have to be killed.
Why do most people have no problem eating cows, but get repulsed by the thought of eating horse or dog? And what makes cats so special that they can't appear on our dinner plates? And why do some vegetarians eat fish? Are fish not animals? I understand the people who eat no meat, by why do those who do eat meat feel that some animals are ok to eat and others are not?
Sounds like we have to tie our brains behind our back, too. I have caught fish and ate it raw before. I've seen people catch catfish with their hands, too. I've caught pigs, cattle, sheep, frogs, snakes, turtles, and a cheat'n wife. hahaha I can also build a fire with my hands and cook meat and veggies.
It's a simple fact that we can eat meat, we can digest it, and get nutrients from that source.
I tried a vegetarian diet for 2.5 months. It just didn't work for me. I couldn't digest some vegetables, cooked or raw.
BTW, pigs, chickens, and deer can and will eat meat. Deer? Yup.
Humans are omnivores. Also a proven fact.
It's not pretty to kill and eat meat as compared to eating veggies. But there is a need/want for it.
Also, if we had to grow, harvest, and eat veggies with our "bare claws"....I know it would be tough for some. There would be less people on earth, cause people would starve to death. Not a bad thing to have less people......tired of the traffic. Just a joke.
For those who remember him, Yogananda ate meat and so does the Dali Lama and Tibetan Buddhists.
I, too, tried vegetarianism. Three times, seriously for about a year each. Each time I became ill with some sort of cold or virus and that I could not shake. I broke the illness with chicken. Maybe it's the antibiotics in chicken feed that remain in the chicken that overcame these illnesses. I also had to visit a holistic doctor who diagnosed me with allergies/sensitivities to dairy and fungus, so no cheese or mushrooms.
I think India is vast and very complex. The religion has many aspects and people follow the aspect that most favorably suits their constitution. There are sacred cows to some of them. Some will eat no meat, some will eat chicken or goat. Some eat fish.
Someone once told me that cows became 'holy' because it supplied a family with milk and cheese. Getting enough dietary protein is a big problem for poor people. The cow, in India, probably saved many lives and there is a traditional cultural gratitude for that.
I think India is vast and very complex. The religion has many aspects and people follow the aspect that most favorably suits their constitution. There are sacred cows to some of them. Some will eat no meat, some will eat chicken or goat. Some eat fish.
Someone once told me that cows became 'holy' because it supplied a family with milk and cheese. Getting enough dietary protein is a big problem for poor people. The cow, in India, probably saved many lives and there is a traditional cultural gratitude for that.
Cows became sacred because they were expensive and provided milk. Cows were also a good source of protein and were reserved for royalty and warriors (since they could afford to eat them). To this day, decedents of royalty and warriors eat cow.
The wealthier the sub-caste, the more meat they eat.
Personally the things I consider when deciding whether to eat meat from an animal are:
safety: will eating it endanger my health
intelligence of the animal: the more intelligent the animal, the less likely I am to eat it: that is why I would not want to eat dolphin or a primate. Even pigs make me a little uneasy b/c I have read that they are pretty smart
taste: self explanatory
cultural mores: this one is really subjective, but I think it plays a role. Some animals just seem "gross" (rats and insects for example) and that makes me less likely to eat them, but in my head I realize that as long as they are safe to consume it shouldn't matter. Also, the closer the animals relationship to humans, the less likely I am to eat it. For example I think dogs really do have a special place in our world as the most domesticated animal out there, and I don't think I would eat a dog unless my survival depended on it. Similar story for cats, although not to the same degree.
treatment of the animal: I think the animals should be treated humanely and suffer as little as possible
Where I was raised, squirrel was hunted, and eaten, and for some, including myself, was considered excellent eating. When I moved to another state, and my boss asked me what we hunted back home, and I said squirrel, he had a strange look on his face. It was funny because he considered "fry sauce" good eating there. To each their own, I guess. In Louisiana nutria are hunted, and eaten, but they are considered by some to be nothing more than a big water rat. Armadillo, I was told, were eaten during the depression, and were called by some people " Hoover Hog" since they taste very similar to pork. We used to make head sausage from our pigs, and if someone knew what went in it, I have no doubt they would refuse to eat it. I also knew someone who would eat deep-fried chicken feet. Of course shoe leather is probably palatable deep fried. I remember a boy in my Junior high English class that had to enact a scene from Homer's Odysey, and he chose the scene where the Cyclops is attacking and eating the men. He brought two dead blackbirds to class, and ripped them open, eating parts of them in front of the class. After that, the teacher changed her lesson plan, if I remember right.
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I have caught fish and ate it raw before. I've seen people catch catfish with their hands, too. I've caught pigs, cattle, sheep, frogs, snakes, turtles, and a cheat'n wife.
hahaha I can also build a fire with my hands and cook meat and veggies.
My Favorite Explanation
? And what makes cats so special that they can't appear on our dinner plates? And why do some vegetarians eat fish? Are fish not animals? I understand the people who eat no meat, by why do those who do eat meat feel that some animals are ok to eat and others are not?
