Humans eating animals...

I'm American Indian.......I grew up on meat and don't intend to stop. I don't know any Indians that don't eat meat. I am a "old sage" in the culture and we like our meat and i also practice my heritage's view of the Great Spirit.

The meat that is raised for food is not the same meat that the poachers go after. They have deer & elk hunting to thin out the heards otherwise they would end up dying due to lack of enough food to feed off of, thus giving the hunters an opportunity to hunt & the deer/elk (the majority of them) a chance to live a good life.

The farmers & ranchers that raise the meat for the people in the country to eat do not abuse their cows. I know my dad's family farms cattle in Nebraska & all my neighbors where I live now raise cattle for food. The slauter houses are under control to keep them from abusing the animals when they kill them. Some animals are raised for breeding & some are raised for food, it's the way it's been forever in this country & the people who really care about the animals will not harm them or let them dye a painful death even though they are all specifically raised for food. They raise goats, cattle, chicken specifically for taking to market. Then there is also the animals that are hunted to thin out the flocks so they can live a quality life.

While I would never hunt not could I even kill any animal that I have gotten to know their personality, that doesn't mean that meat shouldn't be raised & taken to market. Remember, there are many people in this country (US) who's job it is to raise the meat that those of us who aren't vetitarian will eat. I tried to do vegitarian for a few years, but only ended up sicker than I already was. The human body is formed to need specific nutriants & vitamines that can only truly be derived from the eating of meat.

The good thing in this country is that we have the choice of what we want to eat & also have the vitamines & suppliments that we need to take when we aren't eating the meat that our body needs.

Poachers on the other hand are very bad people (scumbags of the earth in my estimation). To illegally kill an animal that is not needing the heard thinned down only for their own financial gain......sorry, but my thoughts.....we need poachers who are out to get the poachers & put them away for life (IMO!!!!!!!).

Hi, my name is Angel, registered Navajo.
Now you do.
My wife is registered Spokane and she is also a vegetarian.
That makes two.

I was pescetarian for awhile about a year ago (fish was my only meat). I joined a site where there was a discussion group for vegetarians, and I posted something in it about my diet. Somebody came back at me with a rant about how it was pathetic that I still allowed myself to eat fish, blah blah blah. My argument was, I could either allow myself to eat fish and stick to my diet, or I could fall off my diet and go back to eating all animals.

I agree with Kaika - they say that soy is a great replacement for meat but too much soy isn't good for a person. In my case it has the potential to increase my risk for breast cancer since we have a family history of it.

Fish is wonderful Indie but please be careful not to eat too much, due to mercury poisoning. The larger the fish, the more risk. Remember that actor on Grey's Anatomy - he got sick from mercury because he ate too much fish. It's sad because if this was years ago, an all fish no meat diet would be fine. I'm just telling you this because I care.

Thanks Lynn I don't eat a ton of fish, nor do I eat a lot of meat either. Hmm...what occupies most of my diet I wonder? Junk, probably. Thanks for caring (((hugs)))

There is an exception to every situation, like I said "I don't know any"
but, if you can do without meat it is a good thing. I like meat and don't eat a whole lot of it...my wife and I usually have at least 3 days in the week where we don't eat any meat. We never eat fast food of any type and limit our eating out to maybe 3-4 times a year.

Thanks for your input.

Way i see it- Killing an animal, quick and painless, for food, that is ok. It's part of the food chain, humans are omnivores, animals eat each other every day... However, torturing an animal, killing it for fun, or no purpose... that is just cruelty, and not only does it make the animal suffer for no reason, it hardens the hearts of people who do it... The meat we eat from a grocery store, that is from farms who are specially designed to give cows and chickens and whatever other animals a healthy life and a quick and mostly painless death. Nothing wrong with that.

Humans are omnivores: if we weren't meant to eat meat then we would be exclusively herbivores.

I should clarify, however, that hunting is not bad. "Killing an animal for fun" can be hunting, I mean't torturing it to death was wrong. Shooting deer and birds, (whichever is in season) helps their population not get out of control, and helps their species in the long run. Although, I don't think I would ever go hunting...

Has anyone ever watched Earthlings? It is a very good, but extremely graphic, insight into what can and does go on in different industries, pets, farming, fur, etc. While what is shown is not ALWAYS the case, it DOES happen, otherwise they wouldnt have been able to produce such footage. I challenge anyone to watch that, be able to sit through the entire thing, and then say that they havent at the very least had their eyes opened as to what can happen. There are a lot of places that do care for the welfare of animals, there are equally as many places that dont. As long as cruelty keeps happening, it can be virtually impossible to know the condition your food was kept in while it was still alive. I make the choice to be vegetarian, Ive made that choice for a decade. But then that is my choice. If people choose to eat meat, thats THEIR choice, and I am not one to try and change that. Eat whatever you want. I do though, suggest that people who do eat meat perhaps gain an insight as to what really goes on for your own knowledge. Because you dont have to be a vegetarian to care about the welfare of an animal. It is perfectly fine to be a meat eater and say 'Im not okay with this and this'. We cant presume they are always treated perfectly fine, when it is not always the case. And as long as there are critters out there who are treated inhumanely, I will keep refusing to eat them. As I said though that is a choice of my own.

I think a lot of the talk about how humans are meant to eat meat misses the point. I understand about the food chain and how animals eat other animals. I don't have a problem with that. The point for me is that most animals raised for meat these days suffer bad treatment, are overcrowded, and not killed humanely.

I've been a vegetarian for 11 years because I don't want to contribute to animal suffering.

I can live with the idea of hunting as long as it is for food and done quickly, and I don't have much to say about eating meat from animals that you know were raised humanely. I don't do those things myself, but I can't argue with it if the principle is to prevent suffering.

Pretty much nobody wants animals to suffer of course, but it's important to be aware that the meat in your average grocery store has probably come from a place that is not kind to animals.

Why are you giving people who hate animals an easy out?

What do you mean?

That's exactly how I see it too. I do not agree with killing, let's say deer, so you can hang their heads on your wall. That is just awful to me. But I do not have a problem with killing an animal for food.

Humanely? Do you really expect people to have compassion, sympathy or consideration (the definition of humane) for their food?

er... yes? not for their food but for the animals before they are food.

well maybe I don't expect it, but it would be nice.

It would be very nice. I've seen enough animal slaughter though to know that this is not the truth. In order to protect themselves psychologically speaking the person who works as a slaughterer has to distance themselves from the animal being killed. I don't blame them... it's a survival mechanism to prevent them feeling awful for killing a living creature. But I've seen it happen again and again.

I'm not prepared to eat anyone who I'm not prepared to kill. If I was starving to death I might resort to animal slaughter... but I don't have to in the society I'm living in now. So, I don't eat animals. I don't blame those who do, and I don't blame the people who kill the animals. It's just a tragic mess that we've somehow found ourselves in.

I've done my own thinking on this issue and continue to eat meat, although I do appreciate animals. I also appreciate nature and my place in it though. I think it's very natural and healthy for me to eat meat. When I die, I'm comfortable with the concept of something eating me. That is life and how life is sustained.

As someone who appreciates nature, I also believe heavily in conservation. This is why I do not approve of poaching. You often find that some of the biggest conservationists are hunters, because they have a vested interest in maintaining the wildlife and ecosystem in their area. Poaching is not sustainable harvesting.

My main problem with the meat industry is that I'm also a proponent of animal welfare (NOT rights! Big difference there!) and I think there are changes which need to be made in the industry. So I prefer harvesting a lot of my own meat, researching where I buy from, and getting stuff that's a bit more in line with my values. Although it's not always affordable. It's something I still need to work with and will invest more time and energy into after graduation.

I enjoy eating all kinds of animals.

I quite agree. I see humans like bears. Bears eat meat too, but the majority of their diet is composted of mostly plants. I believe humans are supposed to live this way as well. Just because we can eat both doesn't mean we have to eat meat everyday.

I love animals, but have never sworn off eating meat. However, I didn't like the taste of texture of how my parent's prepared it so for a long time I didn't eat it. I didn't think it would do anything, but now I might possibly have vitamin deficiency anemia. I still don't eat a whole large amount of meat, but I try to have a meal consisting of it at least once or twice a week. As a teenage girl meat is extremely important in my diet.

I also understand that a lot of not eating meat is to not support the way animals are treated. I've seen videos of cows getting their throats slit, and mutated chickens stuffed in cages. My family is all very aware of the treatment, and the extra chemicals, and do try to stay away.. but we still need it to live. I know I could get my vitamins else where, and all of us do take supplements or daily vitamins.. But I don't want to have to die or grow up with severe health issues to save an animal..

Personally I think we should go back to our native roots (even if you aren't native at all). Some have said it's impossible to expect the entire world to respect their food, but as far as I was aware, the natives used every single part of the animal it killed. They respected the animal and thanked it for giving its life. They respected and cared for what they ate.. If they could why can't we?

I like to look at it through a biological stand-point. Look at a dog - almost every tooth in that animal's mouth is specifically made for chewing raw meat. It's body and digestive system are made for eating raw meat.

Human's have 4 canine teeth. Everything else (molars specifically) are made for grinding and chewing grains, vegetables, fruits etc.... We have the right parts to eat meat but not to the extent of other animals.

That said, I was a vegetarian for over a decade. It had nothing to do with me feeling bad for eating animals. It had everything to do with their treatment before being slaughtered. I grew up on a farm. We killed animals to eat them. However, we did not keep a dozen chickens to a cage to live in their own filth. I refuse to buy meat or eggs from a company that does not raise their animals in a cage-free environment and vegetarian fed. I will not support anyone who participates in animal cruelty. Personally, the workers that abuse those animals deserve to be taken out back, shot and eaten themselves. Feed them to the chickens.

However, groups like the WWF and PETA are also jerks (IMO). I do not agree with throwing blood on celebrities because they wear a fur coat. WWF has programs for conservation of lands that essentially annex people's land and kick them out. They're no better than the animal abuse companies.

The best thing you can do is buy local. As for animal testing: there are 2 very separate thoughts when it comes to ethics of this. Do the ends justify the means? You really want to save rats that reproduce like crazy so that people continue to live with cancer or other diseases? Cosmetic companies have largely moved away from using animal testing. And it says right there on the label if they don't do it. Support companies that support your beliefs.

You are allowed to think however you like. And if we're going to start talking survival of the fittest - that has nothing to do with anything in this topic. Many people do not really understand what that means. Humans do not follow that idea whatsoever. Neither do any caged or domesticated animal. We have essentially created a world where that doesn't apply to a lot of things. If it were the case, most of us would be dead by now, most likely. And a lot of us would never reproduce.

And Kriskira - if only you knew the kinds of things those grocery store companies did to the animals before killing them. There has been video taken (undercover) of employees straight up punching live turkeys like punching bags. Another man was filmed reaching his entire arm into a chicken to pull out an egg only to throw it at another employee. Many farms have chickens dead in the pen without removing them, then having other chickens feed on it. They will give them anti-biotics and all kinda of drugs. Feed them grain which uses an additional 100,000 liters of water simply for feed to make them fatty.

Do research on any company you choose to support.

Just a random fact, dogs are actually omnivours, their teeth structure is very similar to ours. Cats are carnivorous and the structure of their teeth is different to that than a dog. They also have different nutritional needs, cats HAVE to eat meat due to the essential amino acids they require, but in dogs they are not essential, as they are able to synthesise them like we do. This is why dogs CAN actually live as vegetarians, just like humans, but cats cannot. As for the comment about the rats breeding like crazy, wild rats and laboratory rats are 2 completely different animals. Domestic rats were bred from lab rats over 100 years ago, everything about them, size, shape, personality, is different to that of a wild rat. They are not the disease spreading rodents you find under the cupboard. Lab animals do tend to be inbred, and breeding is controlled, with males and females being completely separate until breeding. I know this because I spent a lot of time in an animal lab while studying the welfare and control of animals in laboratories. Animals used for animal testing are bred and contained for that sole purpose, they are disposed of after they been tested on.

I did forget to mention that an animals teeth do not solely represent what that animal eats, pandas have a carnivorous tooth structure and are actually classed as carnivors, but their diet is vegetarian. I know thats kind of irrelevant to the conversation, but I thought Id bring it up because its fascinating.