Is it time to stop eating meat?

Gwynplaine

I wouldn't last a week without meat.

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

2forjoy

meat in moderation same as everything else

prinzeugen

Angel Crow wrote: »

What about eagles? Side eyes and predators = flawed logic.

Last time I looked, birds of prey, look forward.

Google Kestrels, Buzzards, Eagles, Owls, etc etc

I am still waiting on someone to say that meat is made in a factory so we don't need to kill animals....

wakka12

Fake meat, produced in laboratories using stem cells will replace animal meat. Meat production mostly cattle farming is hugely harmful to the environment and if we want the planet to survive then it simply needs to stop

Angel Crow

Patww79 wrote: »

Yeah meat is the only factor towards that. Absolute rubbish.

Who said it was? Meat with every meal is desperately unhealthy, and unnecessary. And I'm not a vegetarian.

Angel Crow

prinzeugen wrote: »

Last time I looked, birds of prey, look forward.

Google Kestrels, Buzzards, Eagles, Owls, etc etc

I am still waiting on someone to say that meat is made in a factory so we don't need to kill animals....

What do evolutionary traits have to do with the lifestyle of the modern human? We didn't develop thumbs to use iPhones. Not sure forwards facing eyes mean we simply have to eat meat.

Gorillas being a good example.

Graces7

eviltwin wrote: »

Doesn't have to be all or nothing. Even cutting meat out just once a week is good for the environment and your health. Anyway it's a personal choice. No one should be made feel bad for eating meat or not eating it.

Amen to this. Why labels?

I have stopped eating more than a very small occasional bit of any meat over the years. Nearing 80 and the body changes! Also living deep rural does affect how we see critters. Hand raising twin lambs saw to that.

Red meat is totally out now. For me.

Partly it was the cost. On a pension you think of these things. Partly swallowing problems. And as others have found, you soon lose the taste for meat.

Sometimes a yen for eg bacon and eggs which I do eat occasionally...as in one rasher! And my critters, cats, are obligate carnivores so they get raw chicken every day. I used to eat some of the white meat but have even all but gone off that now.

It is a process. Not an event. And no way would I ever preach etc; this is totally personal choice.

Graces7

MarchFreeze wrote: »

We aren't gorillas, we need red neat for optimal health.

marksdailyapple.com/will-eating-red-meat-kill-you/

Not true. One size does not fit all in human terms. Meat makes you sluggish as it takes a lot of digesting. To me now, meat is...yukk!

Shenshen

prinzeugen wrote: »

Our eyes face forward, as do cats, dogs and other predators. We are supposed to hunt and eat meat.

If our eyes were on the side, like bunny rabbits, then we should eat veg.

Evolution baby!

So.... sharks are herbivores? And koalas hunt and eat meat?

Humans are omnivores, the reason our eyes face forward is because we evolved from tree-dwelling monkeys. You don't get far jumping from branch to branch if you don't have depth-perception.

Eat what you like, but don't pretend that you don't have a choice because bad science.

andekwarhola

I approach my food like any other sector of my life: avoiding lunatic extremes of any hue.

Ol' Donie

Dr Crayfish wrote: »

Forget about giving up meat completely. How about halving what you eat? We eat way too much of it. Most of it processed, which contributes greatly to colo-rectal and bowel cancers. Why not?
This whole "LOL no way bacon tastes too yummy " is just ignorance at the highest level. Your kids will suffer the way things are going, we have no idea what their kids are in for. We consume way too much meat and meat production has a negative impact on the planet. Why would you not want to do your bit?

Another thing - why can't we just let our seas replenish for a few years? Subsidise fishermen, or do whatever we have to do to keep them happy, and just let our stocks grow again. Why is everyone so short sighted?

From what I understand, the greedy ruthless depletion of fish stocks is the more critical of two serious issues here.

Here's a tip for anyone wrestling with this (i admit I find it tough myself and need to do better): everything in the world tastes better with chilli. Buy some chilli flakes (or my beloved Inferno sauce) and lash it on everything from stir frys to cheese on toast. You can easily skip meat for many meals using this simple tip.

Shenshen

MarchFreeze wrote: »

In general yes humans need meat for optimal health as it has dense nutritional value. Liver in particular is possibly the single most nutrituous food you can eat, that and maybe oysters or sardines.

In general, we don't have a problem getting enough nutrients in the modern Western world. If anything, we have the opposite problem.

We have developed an infrastructure here where meat is a choice, not a necessity.
So if you want to eat meat, by all means, go for it. But please don't pretend that you do it because there's no other option.

Shenshen

MarchFreeze wrote: »

Tell me what non meat product can replace liver?

You seem rather obsessed with a particular piece of meat that, while healthy if eaten in small doses, can actually be fatal if too much of it is consumed.

Graces7

Shenshen wrote: »

You seem rather obsessed with a particular piece of meat that, while healthy if eaten in small doses, can actually be fatal if too much of it is consumed.

Agree totally. Too much vitamin A. I remember reading how little polar bear liver you can eat without death .

In days long since, they made folk with illness drink warm blood fresh at the slaughter house.

And within ( my ) living memory, raw liver was the cure for anaemia.

Thankfully we now have more sophisticated, scientific and accurate ways of providing supplements.

So we can choose no meat and stay healthy... I used to be anaemic and that was in my meat eating days. Am no longer so. Not eaten red meat in years.

By all means eat what you choose, as all of us can do . I have no deficiency issues. Used to love liver and onions; now the thought of it! Yukk!!!

Hande hoche!

In fairness it's more consumption of muscle meat than offal that is the issue. In some butchers they are practically giving the latter away.

Buford T. Justice XIX

Shenshen wrote: »

You seem rather obsessed with a particular piece of meat that, while healthy if eaten in small doses, can actually be fatal if too much of it is consumed.

Water is also fatal if too much of it is consumed.

Shenshen

Buford T. Justice V wrote: »

Water is also fatal if too much of it is consumed.

It is indeed, but it's harder physically to drink 6 litres in 3 hours than it is to eat 500g of polar bear liver.

Incedentally, it's recommended to eat no more than 50g of liver a week. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2004/jan/16/medicineandhealth.food

TeddyTedson

TeddyTedson wrote: »

However, having so many farmed animals on the planet is a major factor in terms of climate change.

Turns out they can massively improve that with changes in diet. They have found for example that feeding cattle with onion or garlic has a _very_ significant impact on the quantity of methane they fart out. The main issue at the moment is not reduction of the methane - but doing so without changing the flavour of the milk. Garlic milk is not really the top of many peoples list of breakfast choices it seems.

joejoe87 wrote: »

I'm conflicted , I love the taste of certain meats but I'm very aware of animal welfare and the general effects on the planet. When the lab grown meat becomes affordable I'd switch completely to laboratory grown meat and I'd definitely be willing to pay more for it

It is very interesting how many people say they would not switch - _even if_ the price and taste was the same. There is some quantity of people who just think there is something "ick" about the idea that no rational part of their mind can over come.

How many of those would "fall in line" once such products became prevalent however is anyone's guess. But my guess would be: Most of them.

What will be interesting is seeing if - when lab grown meat undermines most of the ethics we have around the consumption of meat - what will happen in and around the subject of the consumption of human meats. Much of the ethical and health concerns that form our moral repugnance for cannibalism maybe would not apply to a lab grown human steak.

A lot of people enjoy trying "exotic" meats - I wonder how many people would be interested to eat human - were such concerns out of the picture. I have to say - as someone who has already consumed a meal based on human placenta - I would have to give it due consideration if offered.

Mr. FoggPatches wrote: »

No meat, no fish? What's left?

A few sources I have heard seem to think insects of various kinds are the food of the future.

Peregrine wrote: »

But, no, seriously, it's vital that we reduce consumption. The current levels are just not sustainable. Most people would rather cover their ears than have to hear that though.

Consumption and waste reduction would both be great to see. I have several times been in houses where we were served a dinner of meat portions too big for anyone - and left overs were tossed in the bin - and another meat is cooked up for dinner the following evening.

In my own house things like steak are not too over sized - and all the left overs are cut into nice strips and included in a stir fry the next day.

And while I can not see myself ever turning vegetarian or vegan - 2 or 3 days a week I do cook meals without meat. And not even for moral or environmental reasons. Meat on every day - especially every dinner - is just _boring_ to me.

Grandeeod wrote: »

I've done the meat free week or two and felt ****.

There is a podcast I like and the owner of it was convinced of the philosophical reasoning behind going veggie do he did. Then in an AMA on reddit later he was asked how he was getting on. He said he had to admit it was not going well. A couple of weeks into it he just felt crap _all the time_. Not sleeping right, not feeling right, energy levels all over the place, embarrassing gastronomical issues, concentration varying.

He is still committed to the project - but involving his doctors a lot more in the process trying to find the right balance in his life. But it seems true to say that a quick switch does not work for everyone.

Dr Crayfish wrote: »

Who's f**king forcing views on anyone? I hate this. People get so insecure about the idea of eating less meat - it's immediately responded to with "JESUS CHRIST STOP RAMMING YOUR VIEWS DOWN MY THROAT".

I wonder - is ramming your fist down someone's throat doubly offensive to a vegetarian

Lady Haywire wrote: »

The only thing I can't abide is mistreatment of animals, so what meat i do eat tends to come from an organic butcher or direct from source. I've served my time in a meat factory too so I do know which places aren't as fussy about age/breed etc when it comes to beef.

I too try to source all my meat as ethically as the market allows me to. Where possible I even keep my own animals - or hunt them. We periodically have rabbit that I have managed to catch from the wild for example. Usually get them - keep them happily fed and entertained for a few weeks - and then have at them. And Christmas was based around Goose I had housed and cared for myself.

I certainly show no signs of ever _not_ eating meat - but there are certainly things people en masse could do.

Shenshen

MarchFreeze wrote: »

Water can be fatal if too much is consumed.

Edit: Someone got there before me.

Water can be fatal if 6 litres or more are consumed within 3 hours (roughly).
Liver can be harmful if more than 50g are eaten a week....

In other words, to harm yourself drinking water, you'll have to make quite an effort. Liver, easy.

Shenshen

MarchFreeze wrote: »

A piece of liver once a week is perfectly healthy and highly nutritous, what evidence do you have to back up your assertion?

The Food Standard Agency : https://www.theguardian.com/society/2004/jan/16/medicineandhealth.food

Shenshen

MarchFreeze wrote: »

I appreciate the back up but I tend to treat nutrition advice from government agencies with a healthy dose of salt. (Pun intended)

Your choice!
I do the same with nutrition advise from random bloggers.

ScumLord

Dr Crayfish wrote: »

Forget about giving up meat completely. How about halving what you eat? We eat way too much of it. Most of it processed, which contributes greatly to colo-rectal and bowel cancers. Why not?

I wonder which is worse for the environment, keeping a cow alive for a few years then eating it, or having to have exotic food imported from across the planet (often from countries that have little to no environmental protection laws) so that human can live an extra 30 years? I would have thought the human living longer would be much worse.

-=al=- wrote: »

When it comes to eating meat it's usually salmon and chicken + the odd sneaky rasher or sausage once in a while. Grilled salmon can be just as good as bacon and veggie sausages can be just as nice as the real thing. Quorn bacon isn't really the same but it does the job.

These two meats in particular have some pretty serious harm associated with them. Both are farmed in cruel ways, both end up with deformities because of their living conditions, both use a high amount of antibiotics because of the conditions they live in.

Irish beef is as organic as it gets in modern farming.

jameorahiely

No. Living off vegetables &/ soya needs more intensive farming and more land.


What's the carbon footprint of those vegetables that are imported from all corners of the earth? No one who really cares about the planet would give up meat .

Angel Crow

Angel Crow wrote: »

Who said it was? Meat with every meal is desperately unhealthy, and unnecessary. And I'm not a vegetarian.

Where do people get this nonsense, meat with every meal is not unhealthy. Also I'd have fish maybe once every two weeks so I suppose it's not every meal and its usually only meat with breakfast on weekends or during holidays.

Graces7 wrote: »

Also living deep rural does affect how we see critters. Hand raising twin lambs saw to that.

Don't think you will find many agreeing with that. Being from a farm in no way reduces my desire to eat meat.

inforfun

There are about 7 billion people on planet earth who for the most cant stand eachother.
Imagine if they all became vegan....... brrrrr.

There aren't too many farm animals.
We are keeping too many people alive for a too long time.

freshpopcorn

Graces7 wrote: »

Also living deep rural does affect how we see critters. Hand raising twin lambs saw to that.

If you had fields of lambs/sheep and the odd ram that you had to dose/dip and sheer as well as them constantly running into your knees they soon loose their cuteness!

Graces7

Addisyn Tiny Coyote wrote: »

Where do people get this nonsense, meat with every meal is not unhealthy. Also I'd have fish maybe once every two weeks so I suppose it's not every meal and its usually only meat with breakfast on weekends or during holidays.



Don't think you will find many agreeing with that. Being from a farm in no way reduces my desire to eat meat.

I am not "from a farm." I live among sheep and cattle with no vested interest and no thought of eating them. So I enjoy them.

The happiest years of my life were on a small island where I had a pet goat for milk and cheese, and kept her in milk all those years without putting her in kid. Hens, ducks, geese for eggs , free range, and Jacob's sheep for their wool to spin and knit. I grew my own vegetables.

I raised more hens as I needed them; exchanged with others to change the genetics.

oh someone mentioned exotic imported food as if not eating meat meant that that was needed. It is not. I eat simply enough.

Graces7

freshpopcorn wrote: »

If you had fields of lambs/sheep and the odd ram that you had to dose/dip and sheer as well as them constantly running into your knees they soon loose their cuteness!

I had to shear my own lambs. And I would not farm, period. I have no ambitions in that direction. Cuteness? No thank you. My two were orphans.

But i certainly would not eat them !

ScumLord

inforfun wrote: »

There aren't too many farm animals.
We are keeping too many people alive for a too long time.

Indeed, eating hamburgers and dying middle aged is probably good for the environment.