Thinking of turning vegetarian

mulciber

Hi everyone,

I've always liked the thought of becoming a vegetarian but I never really took that step because I was young and was told that you had to eat meat to grow strong, be healthy, etc. But now I'm 16 and I believe that this is the time in my life where I make the choice: Meat eater, vegetarian or vegan.

I've recently watched some videos about where our food comes from and I watched some horrific videos of animals being slaughtered alive by mistake because they weren't stunned properly and videos of the awful conditions in which some animals are kept. These videos have really made me think: Will my morals allow me to eat something that has suffered and has been killed just so that I can have an enjoyable tasty meal?

But on the other hand, aren't these animals just part of the food chain? I know it sounds terrible and barbaric but, in essence, we are animals too and, as animals, we are part of this food chain. So, should I just eat the meat because it's the easiest and more "natural" thing to do?

I just don't know what to think about this whole dilemma that's going through my head and I just thought that I would come here for you guys to express some opinions that would help me make up my mind, if you'd like to that is.

So, in short, should I eat meat because it seems to be the natural thing to do or should I not eat meat because of my morality and because they're just being killed to fill my stomach?

Any opinions would be greatly appreciated. Also, I don't want to start a meat eater vs. vegetarian/vegan flame war so, please, no fighting.

Thank you,

Robert.

PS: If you want a link to one of the videos please PM me because I think the videos are too gruesome to be displayed publicly.

sweet-rasmus

Just to give you a cartoon suggestion to counter the idea that meat is 'natural' to eat. I quite like it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05zhL1YUd8Q

Everyone has their own reasons for becoming vegetarian/vegan and I can see you are identifying with at least two reasons there.

- Animal rights/compassion for animals.
- The range of choices we have as a 'rich' nation means we have the choice not to eat animals and can easily live on a diet not contributing to their death.

Given that this is the vegan and vegetarian forum, you are going to get arguments for vegetarianism/veganism here. Arguments against vegetarianism may upset many of our readers, so do be sensitive with what you write to you wish to promote the latter.

Finally, you may read some interesting ideas here as to why some people became vegetarian: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=61743802

Shenshen

Personally, I always felt that while it is natural for us to eat meat, it is in no way morally defensible to treat the animals the way we do before we slaughter and eat them.
That is in fact the most important reason why I turned vegetarian, I thouroughly disagree with modern meat "farming" methods.

Also, I think that it's important to keep in mind that something being natural does not equat to it being desirable or ethically right, or for that matter even necessarily good for us.
After all, humans "naturally" don't live to much older than about 40 or 50, by which time they would "naturally" have lost most their teeth. Parasites are natural, but does that mean it's of any benefit to us to have them?

Yes, for a lot of people there is no viable alternative to eating meat. They do not have the luxury of being able to select freely year-round from fresh vegetables, fruit, grains, pulses, nuts, let alone meat-substitute products.
We do have that luxury. We can live a healthy life without having to make animals suffer and die for it.
With that choice come the moral responsability, I think.

It's a choice, at the end of the day, and a very personal one at that.
But the question about "natural" eating behaviour shouldn't really come into it, I think.

Mark Hamill

mulciber wrote: »

But on the other hand, aren't these animals just part of the food chain?

I think people always get this the wrong way around. Animals are part of the food chain because we eat them, not the other way around. The food chain isn't a physically existing thing, its not some ideal diet we are supposed to stick to - just look at the varying food chains in different cultures, some cultures have insects and squid as part of their food chain and some dont, we simply eat what is available to us.

mulciber wrote: »

I know it sounds terrible and barbaric but, in essence, we are animals too and, as animals, we are part of this food chain.

There were cultures that ate humans. Are they "natural"? Would you eat a human?

mulciber wrote: »

So, should I just eat the meat because it's the easiest and more "natural" thing to do?

Lift something (small and cheap preferably) off your desk and let go. You see how it falls? That is the easiest and most natural thing for all things to do, so by your argument should everyone just fall down and stay down?

mulciber wrote: »

So, in short, should I eat meat because it seems to be the natural thing to do or should I not eat meat because of my morality and because they're just being killed to fill my stomach?

"Natural" isn't some magic ideal that everyone should attain to. Just because something is natural doesn't mean it is the best possible solution or even a good solution. There were no humans a few million years ago and that was perfectly natural. A few billion years ago there was no life and that was natural. We have put millions of man hours into fighting natural deaths and altering the natural world around us to make it easier for us to life in it. We can make decisions outside of our base animal desire to eat any other animal we can catch, kill and cook. Nature is fear and suffering and death and we can do better.

Breezer

Hi Robert,

You sound like you're in a similar situation to me when I was around your age. Like you, I'd pretty much always wanted to be a vegetarian, but my mother's concern thought otherwise. And at 15 I reckoned I was old enough to make my own decision on the matter.

Congrats on looking for advice. But I think you're looking at eating a vegetarian diet the way people look at moving house or getting married. While obviously it's a very personal choice, it's not like those examples, for the simple reason that if it doesn't suit you, you can stop, whenever you want.

In the end, we can't tell you what's right or wrong (although plenty of people on both sides of this, and every other, argument, like to preach). My advice to you would be: try it. See if it feels right for you. See if it makes you feel good, and if that outweighs your desire to feel 'natural.' If it's not right for you, you can stop. Well done for trying, and if you want to try again later, you can.

Bear in mind though that you're breaking a habit of 16 years. It probably won't be easy at the start. But you'll know if it feels right or not.

Just make sure you do it properly, don't just cut out meat, replace it with other foods like beans, lentils, green leafy veg, etc. (Eggs too, if you're opting for vegetarian rather than vegan. Actually in that case, I found Quorn products great for easing the transition, because you just put them in instead of meat and don't really have to think about it).

Let us know how you get on, ok?

mulciber

Hi everyone,

Thanks for all of your replies, they've really helped me make up my mind.

I'm going to do a trial run and if I feel good with it I'll keep up with it but if it's making me feel weak and tired I think I'll stop but I hope that eating more things such as lentils and high protein/iron veg will keep me going. Do you guys reccomend any nutrient suppliments?

The hardest thing will be coming out of the blue and saying this to my parents because they'll have to change a lot of their shopping list to let me do this.

Anyway, I'll try it out for a few days and I'll let you guys know how I get on.

Thank you,

Robert.