How do I have a discussion with a carnivore?!
Answers: I'm a vegetarian turning vegan and i have a friend who argues with me everytime this is brought up. He says drinking milk is natural,good for you and its been done for years,and killing animals is healthy and you need meat and it was done before eating veggies.I say if most ppl that ate meat had to kill their own animals,they wouldn't do it.And the only milk humans should drink are from their human mothers,not cows etc.,Also albert einstein said a vegan diet is the best for the world because of the deforestation that it causes for grazing land,and world hunger since it takes 16 pds of grain for one pd of beef...how do i make a good convincing argument?
goldench - your answer isn't an answer...just a disturbing reminder there are people without souls.
No brainer - the vegan would last....if you didn't have modern tools to help you. With tools, it wouldn't matter if we were in the wild or not. That deer did OK. duuu.
how to discuss - listen to what they're trying to convey, then stay logical in your answers.
For example.
Milk-natural .......Even sucking the milk straight from a wild cow isn't "natural"...only for an infant........and infant cow.
And once they've given the cow a slew of drugs then pasturized and homonigized the milk it isn't natural.
I have been taught that they are immoral.
Perhaps you should agree to disagree with them. There are some issues that people will never see eye-to-eye on, simply because of how we're raised. Making sure your knowledge is correct and up to date could help you if you want to discuss your views with someone who's an omnivore. (Carnivores are people who eat ONLY meat, not meat and veggies.)
It's an intractable argument, circling around a central moral question, is it ethical to kill sentient beings for food? You both have different answers to that question, and compelling evidence rests on either side.
We have co-evolved with certain species to the point that our existances are intertwined. Modern poultry, cows, and swine could not survive in the wild without our intervention. To flip a switch, and have everyone in the world suddenly turn vegan, is to condemn these species that we have selectively breeded (and outright genetically manipulated), to extinction, illness, or a grisly death at the paws of other woodland creatures.
Encourage him to buy meat from a local producer that uses sustainable, grass fed practices. Encourage him to offset the higher cost of the meat by eating less of it, less frequently. Buy him a copy of "The Omnivore's Dilemna" by Michael Pollan. And take solace in the fact that even these small steps are far more responsible than the national CAFO standard for raising meat as a commodity.
You most likely will not be able to convince them to change their ways, so don't try. Would you want me to constantly try to convince you that what you are doing is wrong?
I eat meat and yes, I do kill it myself. And I am confident that for every argument you have for being vegan, I have one for being carnivorous.
you cant. they have tunnel vision. they believe they are right, you are wrong. i know. im married to a meat eater who has spent 20 minutes telling me how bad my food is. but he always looks longingly at my speciality veggie curry. and he eats boring steaks and tries to tell me im missing out. ignore your friend. you know best.
Argue that your choices are YOUR choices...
I eat lots of beef, chicken, pork, and drink lots of milk, and I'm healthy...
I couldn't imagine not eating what I do, or drinking what I do on a daily basis...
I've tried tofu, soyburgers, and some other stuff... If you like it, GREAT, I don't...
Do your thing, let me do mine... That should be the discussion in my opinion...
if there's no way to get around that argument then maybe you guys shouldn't be friends anymore.
there's people that hate me because i'm a strict vegetarian for moral reasons. but i also have friends that do eat meat and wear leather and we get along because they know i have my standards but i'm not going to rub it in their face.
if that person cant' live with your choices and they only like to argue about it, just don't be friends with them and move on.
Respect each other and stop arguing. Nothing good is going to come out of dialogues like this unless there is mutual respect.
Check out some articles on the website I gave a link to, it has plenty of articles on how to talk to people. It may be under "Dealing with Parents", but the info. will be just as useful when talking to friend. Veggie Power to you too!=)
I went deer hunting as a scamp with my grandpa and I watched him gut, skin and dress the meat right there and put it on ice for transport back home. Guess what else? I tasted it's warm blood. It was delicious. Yes, I'd kill an animal in a heartbeat to have meat and I don't feel bad about admitting that. Let's see who would last longer in the wild...an omnivore, or a vegan. No brainer.