Can vegetarians and meat eaters get along?!
Can vegetarians and meat eaters get along?
I have been reading ALOT of posts about vegetarianism, and it seems to me, that meat eaters and vegans just seem to not get along. Is it possible to be friends with the opposite eating preference? When you become friends with someone do you take into account what they eat?? I just think it's dumb.
Answers:
I have family members and friends that are vegetarians and we get along just fine. We pretty much leave out the meat from any meal they join us for as a courtesy. We respect each others choices. There are no hate fests going on here. It really depends on the people. Some people are extremists and if you don't agree with them it's ON.
I think it's easier for true life friends to get along. When you have people with conficting points of view online the remarks and ratings can be quite bitter. I agree, I think it's silly that the battle between the two is so intense here when in out in the world we can get along with our friends and co-workers.
My fiance eats meat and I don't... we get along just fine....
I agree. In real life, I have no issues with people about my food, aside for some really small minded people, who I avoid anyway. On here, tho, the bashing goes both ways, and frequently. I go out to eat with friends, and have no issues or concerns about what they eat. They have no concerns about what I don't eat.
Well
I can tell you this much , i enjoy a great steak as much as
the next person , and i have many freinds that i grill vegtables
for rather than a steak , and we all get along just fine.
Food is food , be it meat or vegies , so hope this helps you out.
depends on what kind of meat the vegetarian is eating,get my drift?
I think that sometimes vegetarians get a little carried away with their self-righteousness, it can be a bit much. That being said, meat-eaters can be a stubborn bunch, unwilling to admit that there is anything wrong with a meat-heavy diet.
At the very least, everyone should agree that factory-farmed meat is VERY bad for the environment and completely unsustainable. The amount of vegetable matter, water, and fossil fuels required to raise 1 cow is shocking, let alone the millions upon millions of cattle, pigs, chickens, etc. required to satiate North America's appetite for meat.
It's like everything else, maybe a bit of moderation would go a long way.
They can!
My best friend in the whole wide world is a vegetarian, and me and my family are definite meat eaters. We have barbeques all the time, and we just make her stuff she can eat. And I have a sister who is also in and out of being a vegetarian. It's cool. I kinda want to try it myself, but I really like steak!
Vegetarians and meat eaters can get along just fine as long as they don't judge each other for what they eat or don't eat. Yeah, there's a lot of bashing on both sides, but in my experience the vast majority of vegetarians believe themselves to be morally superior to people who eat meat and are very "preachy" when it comes to vegetarianism. There are exceptions to the rule, of course (like my cousin, who is a strict vegetarian but she doesn't talk about it unless asked) but everyone else I know who is a vegetarian seems to take great pleasure in pointing out the evils of eating meat. If that's your preference, that's fine -- you shouldn't go around trying to ram it down anyone else's throat.
I am civil to people who eat meat, I can be friends with them, and all that stuff. But we see the world in ways that are not compatible. Meat eaters see no problem in killing close to 50 billion animals worldwide for no their reason then because they like the taste of flesh. Wile I have no problem having friend who eat meat, I would never date a meat eater because it just would not work out.
I don't hate these people, there are many societal reasons for their behavior. If we lived in a world that did not commodify and exploit animals most would not eat them. I don't see it as so much of a character flaw as I do an upholding of the status-quo.
When it comes to non-food issues we can get along, but otherwise, I don't think we can.
This is just a forum..people hide behind Avatars and are able to say things that they would not say in reality.. In real life, there really isn't an issue. None of my friends are vegetarian but we both respect each others decisions.
You just get extremes on the internet. Coming from a small town in the Midwest if I chose my friends like that....well, I wouldn't have had any. Its just takes respect, and maybe some harmless ribbing, and a sense of humor. At least, that's what I've found.
Yes, vegetarians and meat eaters can get along. My grandma is a vegetarian and I'm not. Its also matters on what kind of vegetarian they are,there one where they don't eat pork and another one is that they don't eat any thing that comes from a animal. But say you go out to eat at any place they alwayss have food for people that don't eat meat and if he or she is coming to your house alway make a salad.
Of course they can man! or Woman! My best friend from high school was a vegetarian and I eat meat like its going out of style. He didn't care and neither did I. Actually he turned me onto a lot of seafood that I didn't eat prior to knowing him. Anyone who would give you sh!t about being a vegan or meateater doesnt deserve friendship, seeing as how it is so petty and pointless. They must have boring lives to be able to get fired up over something like that.
Well, my sister is a veg and we get along just swell
but then again we are sisters
but i do have other friends who are vegans and it doesnt get in the way... so yeah it is dumb...
its not like all you talk about is food
maybe once in a while but...
KitKat and Matt H. hit the nail right on the head.
This isn't really reality. The avatars make it easy
for people to say things about one another's
views and diets that would not be said face to
face. I too get along with meat eaters just fine.
I would not try to date a meat eater because
it wouldn't work out. Both our different lifestyles
would cramp the other's.
However I've not dropped or loss any of my old
friends from my pre-vegetarian days.
All of my friends are meat eaters . . . we get along fine thank you very much.
The only person I know who is veggie who I have a lot of contact with is my mum!
when you choose to befriend someone, you first think of his personnality because, whatever they eat, it's gonna come out from the other end (no offense), whereas the person is GR8
believe I'm a semi-vegetarian (only eat seafood) but I still get along with all the people around me...and those that I can't get along with, it's just because they're annoying or something but not because they eat meat...
when you choose to be a vegetarian, you just do something food to YOURSELF, and to others
get my point?
Bilateral respects are enough in this regard. However, sometimes, it creates some odd scenario when everyone in a table eats meat and one is not.
To be a vegetarian is one's choice but in no way, they should feel proud or supremacy above the meat eaters. If someone feels the killing an innocent life for food is a sin, he/she should not kill any mosquito or insect and take antibiotics to kill the innocent bacteria (because, God made them to survive on eating your body cells). If they can't do that, their love and conscience for innocent animals are just bogus and fake.
i have friends who eat meat, they accept me fine, but i have a hard time when they eat meat, it's hard to watch, oh well live and learn i guess
side note, i can never date a meateater, no matter how hot she is
the people who you are talking about are generally angry, opinionated people, and probably don't have a lot of friends who don't share their beliefs, anyway. being friends with anyone is largely about diversity and respect. would you really want to be part of a world, or even group of friends, where everyone was the same? sounds boring to me.
Of course, ia the only vegy in my family, and i have many friends that are meat eaters, vegans, vegys, pescatarians, etc.
It does not matter, the thing that is so annoying on here is that it is the vegy/vegan section, right? And so alot of vegys hang around here to help people with recipes, etc. Then meat eaters come along and take the mick out out of us and disrespect our opinions, and a fight starts.
We wind each other upo i guess.
I can be friends with anyone, as long as they respect my opinion. However, i do get a better impression an d a higher opinion of them if they are vegy. etc.
Do you take into account someones beliefs when you choose your friends ? I have family and friends that are meat eaters and I Love them , but they are very respectful of my lifestyle ..I realize that you can not understand what it is to a vegetarian (who is for moral reasons) to see someone eating meat ..you do not just see the neatly wrapped up burger..you see and feel the pain and suffering the cow went through ... to many it is murder..to slaughter a helpless animal.....as if you saw someone beating a dog or cat with a hammer......would you want to be friends with them.....the difference is we realize that many people do not know what factory farming is and are brought up to believe eating meat is OK..... and they eat animals out of ignorance of the truth ..... it is not like I want pasta and you want a salad ..that would be dumb.....you need to understand this is a very strong belief and not about food ......
of course it's possible its just that some people don't respect the others who don't eat that same thing they do-it's pathetic
i too have friends and family members that eat meat, fish, poultry etc. we get along
although they do seem to tease me sometimes about it ,but i know they're just joking around, i do the same thing to them :]
That is a good question. Most of my friends are are meat-eaters and they are ok with the fact that I'm a vegetarian. When it starts getting bad is when the meat-eater starts criticizing the vegetarian for not eating meat saying stuff like "wtf, you don't eat meat, i can't do that". It makes you feel uncomfortable. It is better when you are around veggies because they understand how they feel about animals and just very easy talk to.
I'm not vegan, I'm vegetarian (just to be sure that's clear). I've got no problem with what folks eat both in here and out in the real world (elaboration later).I don't think I've ever slammed a meat eater unless they slammed me first. I live in the 'middle of nowhere' beef country and I doubt there's another veggie within 50 miles (at least). I was pleasantly surprised to find that they don't hassle me (I expected it) and they were surprised to find that I won't hassle them (they expected it
(elaboration
What I *DO* pay attention to is their honesty. That gets to who's eating habits I *do* pay attention to. I will always slam anyone that isn't a vegetarian but claims to be one or uses any term that confuses the meaties about what a vegetarian is and what we eat! If you claim to be a demi-, semi-, flexi-, avia-, pesca-, pisci- and attach the suffix -arian to the prefix I'm going to bash you because folks think you represent what real vegetarians are. If you eat ANY animals from land, sea or air and claim to be vegetarian I'll nail you to the wall every chance I get (verbally! I don't do physical violence, *ever*) until you stop lying to the world and yourself.
Make sense?
I respect that everyone has made a personal choice that works for them just as I hope people respect my choice. All of my friends eat meat and we get along fine. As long as no one tries to convince the other that they are right we do fine. I know what you mean though, it seems there is a lot of anger when it comes to talking about food choices. It's silly. I love that I have friends that are all different from me. It's way more diverse.