• Question: are you a vegetarian and if so do you believe that your consience tells you it is wrong? My friend is a vegetarian and thinks that us eating meat is wrong but i am trying to tell her that we can eat meat if we want and we wont take the blame for animal cruelty? I think not cause i buy organic meat- but can vegetarians eat anything because it is all harmed in some way or another- like crops being chopped or cows being hurt to get milk? i love meat and eat it like 3 times a week- do you like it too?

    Asked by alicejoanna97 to Mariam, Leo, Jo, Iain, Gioia on 19 Jun 2010 in Categories: . This question was also asked by hannahandkatiexxx.
    • Photo: Mariam Orme

      Mariam Orme answered on 15 Jun 2010:

      I’m not a vegetarian because like you, I really love meat! But I do feel a bit bad about it, so I don’t eat it too often, maybe once or twice a week, and I try to make sure it’s from animals that have been treated well (I think the RSPCA’s ‘freedom food’ stickers are a good indication that the meat isn’t from animals that have been mistreated).

      So it seems that you and I are pretty similar when it comes to meat!

    • Photo: Iain Moal

      Iain Moal answered on 15 Jun 2010:

      I’m not a vegetarian, but I do have a lot of concern for animal welfare. I try and eat meat that only comes from animals which have been reared and slaughtered in the most humane ways possible. I would rather eat less meat, but make sure that I’m eating meat from animals which have lived a good life, than eat more meat from animals whose lives have been a misery.

    • Photo: Gioia Cherubini

      Gioia Cherubini answered on 16 Jun 2010:

      I’m not a vegetarian and to be honest I don’t feel guilty for eating meat, because at the end of the day we are an omnivore species.
      This doesn’t mean of course that I don’t care for the way animals are treated and I make sure that the only chicken that we eat was a free-range chicken and that the fish was sustainably sourced.

    • Photo: Joanna Watson

      Joanna Watson answered on 16 Jun 2010:

      No, I’m not a vegetarian. I do try to buy meat from animals that have been kept in nice conditions while they were alive though.

      I think whether or not to eat meat (or use other animal products) is quite a big decision and we should all find out as much as we can about how our food is produced to help us decide.

    • Photo: Leo Garcia

      Leo Garcia answered on 19 Jun 2010:

      Wow – what a long question! Let’s see if we can answer some parts of it:

      >>are you a vegetarian

      No, but I have been in the past.

      >>do you believe that your consience tells you it is wrong

      I have never believed that there is anything intrinsically wrong with eating meat. I was vegetarian because I didn’t feel comfortable with ME eating meat.

      >>we can eat meat if we want and we wont take the blame for animal cruelty?

      Not sure what this means – do you mean we should or shouldn’t be concerned with the treatment of animals that we eat?

      >>but can vegetarians eat anything because it is all harmed in some way or another- like crops being chopped or cows being hurt to get milk?

      Not sure why crops being chopped down corresponds to anything being ‘harmed’ – remember that plants have no nervous system or consciousness like animals do, so do not feel pain. Cows milk IS an ethical problem though, and intensive factory production of milk is a pretty grim system.

      >>i love meat and eat it like 3 times a week- do you like it too?

      I am pleased that you like your food – and it sounds like you would make a good chef! I like some kinds of meat, particularly fresh fish.

Comments

  • Photo: alicejoanna97

    alicejoanna97 commented on :

    Hi (I’m that friend btw) I am vegetarian for several reasons; the way animals are treated, particularly cheap supermarket brands and large fast food outlets. It is also because it is good for the environment; the greenhouse gases produced by the transportation and using of meat is larger than all the rest of the transport in the world true!:O And also for my health I think that eating meat is morally and physically wrong, I don’t particularly like the smell of burning flesh! I am a part of the PETA young people’s programme, and I don’t buy from outlets that use minimum wage, child or slave labour, e.g. Primark, Nike, GAP e.c.t I think that saying cutting down crops is wrong isn’t true; they don’t have personalities, feel pain or whatever! As for milking cows, thisis only natural and cows produce too much milk anyway and would be diseased if some was disposed of. I am not making anyone become a vegetarian, but happily I have converted a few people to trying ‘meat free mondays’ which is arranged by Sir Paul M . I don’t even like meat, when I did eat it I found a huge lump of fat in a sausage–gross!!!! Joanna xxx