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Just curious, because I am single and not particularly interested in dating men who eat meat. I don't even like to walk by the meat counter at the grocery store, it all looks like dead animals to me.
I live with one. I wasn't a vegan yet when our relationship started and, between us, that's never been an issue.
There are two unwritten rules though:
1. If we're to eat the same meal (no matter who's cooked it, me or him), it must always be vegan.
2. When I go grocery-shopping, I won't buy meat/fish no matter how much he wants it. He must buy that himself. I do buy milk and/or eggs for him though, although rarely so.
We've managed pretty well so far. It's fair to say, however, that his diet has had less and less animal products in it since we've been together...
my wife's vegan so...if I ever was looking again, I really doubt I could live with a meat eater. I like partnering with someone with similiar values. There is going to be a large chasm betweeen us if you think eating the flesh of dead tortured animals is ok. I would date someone who ate meat but it wouldn't become more than a casual thing. I would never say never but at after years without meat I don't want dead animals cooking in my kitchen or sitting in my fridge. If I did end up getting with a meat eater they would have to be ok with having no meat in the house. That IS a deal breaker. If that wasn't ok we couldn't live together.
I think similar values are important as well. When I have gone out to dinner with someone who orders a steak I just keep wondering if he knows how an animal has suffered in order for him to enjoy that steak. Does he not think about it? Or just not care?
One guy that I dated for a short time actually told me that he considered himself a "semi-vegetarian" because he didn't eat meat at every meal.
So, do you think most vegetarians are vegetarians because they feel sorry for the animals, or do some have other reasons?
If I thought that my not eating meat whould make any difference whatsoever in the meat industry, then I would be one too.
So, do you think most vegetarians are vegetarians because they feel sorry for the animals, or do some have other reasons?
If I thought that my not eating meat whould make any difference whatsoever in the meat industry, then I would be one too.
One individual can't change the world, for sure, but if you think the meat industry should stop killing animals (which is, I suppose, why you would NOT eat meat if it made a difference), but let's put it this way: wouldn't it be more in tune with your own ethics, feelings or thoughts not to help them profit (no matter how small your contribution right now) from those dead animals? It would made a huge difference in your life and in the life of those around you. Even by reducing your monthly animal intake you're helping change something.
As for why we're vegetarians/vegans, in my case it's as much "feeling sorry" (although compassion and empathy are extremely important emotions, IMO) as it is considering the logics of speciesism to be fundamentally flawed. So it's an emotional and a rational lifestyle choice. I know it sounds weird or extremist but it's not. If you're interested in philosophy, law, animal rights, fundamental ethics, etc, there are books by Evelyn Pluhar, Tom Regan, Gary Francione, Peter Singer, Steve Sapontzis and Joan Dunayer that might be worth looking into.
One person not eating meat will not shut down the cruel meat industry. However, many people not eating meat will make a difference. And vegetarianism/veganism is growing. I have been vegetarian for many years, and I am amazed how many more vegetarian options are available at restaurants and grocery stores.
And I refuse to contribute to the cruel treatment and slaughter of animals. By purchasing meat I would bear some of the responsibility.
I actually overheard a woman at a restaurant talking about how she hated factory farming, and the way animals are treated before slaughter. Her companion asked why she was eating steak if that bothered her, and her answer was that she wasn't the one who killed the cow, it wasn't her fault.
I recently adopted a dog from a local shelter that is very overcrowded. Jasper is a beautiful dog with a gentle temperment, and he is one of three rescued pets that I currently have. People have asked me what good it is to adopt Jasper, when there are a hundred more there that will be euthanized. Like adopting one dog won't make a difference. But for this one dog, it made all the difference in the world.
So, do you think most vegetarians are vegetarians because they feel sorry for the animals, or do some have other reasons?
If I thought that my not eating meat whould make any difference whatsoever in the meat industry, then I would be one too.
I do think it makes a difference. I'm voting with my dollar. I am not giving my hard earned money to an industry that is responsible for such evil and misery. The average meat eater eats several dozen chickens alone each year. If all the estimated 1 billion vegetarians worldwide starting eating meat we would need to torture billions more animals every year. Also I think of my vegetariansism like throwing a pebble in the ocean, at it is just a tiny ripple that eventually causes a wave. I also love this little story that is a great metaphor for those who think that they can't make a differance. The Starfish Story by Loren Eiseley - MuttCats.com
One person not eating meat will not shut down the cruel meat industry. However, many people not eating meat will make a difference. And vegetarianism/veganism is growing. I have been vegetarian for many years, and I am amazed how many more vegetarian options are available at restaurants and grocery stores.
And I refuse to contribute to the cruel treatment and slaughter of animals. By purchasing meat I would bear some of the responsibility.
I actually overheard a woman at a restaurant talking about how she hated factory farming, and the way animals are treated before slaughter. Her companion asked why she was eating steak if that bothered her, and her answer was that she wasn't the one who killed the cow, it wasn't her fault.
I recently adopted a dog from a local shelter that is very overcrowded. Jasper is a beautiful dog with a gentle temperment, and he is one of three rescued pets that I currently have. People have asked me what good it is to adopt Jasper, when there are a hundred more there that will be euthanized. Like adopting one dog won't make a difference. But for this one dog, it made all the difference in the world.
That is such flawed thinking. The animal was killed for her and those other flesh eaters like her. It's like hiring a hitman to kill someone and then claiming that you didn't actually kill the person..epic logic fail a great example of some of the mental olympics many go to to justify (to themselves)their consumption of flesh.
How about the argument that animals raised for food would otherwise never have been born anyway? Does this have any bearing on anyone's feelings about the meat industry? Or the argument that using fur, meat and leather is truly a "green" way to live.
I could not kill anything to eat it unless maybe my children were starving, so you are right that if more people really thought about the source of the meat in the grocery store, they would stop eating it.
I am set in my ways, and do not want to live on grains and berries and vegetables, so I guess I will just continue to turn a blind eye.
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