Meat eaters: why do you eat meat?!

For a number of reasons.

I was raised that way. Grew up eating it. I enjoy eating it. Ive tried to go vegetarian, but didnt feel well. Never satisfied and weak. I have a son and a husband to feed, and it's just easier. My husband would never go vegetarian, and he would never allow our 3 year old to be. (I would happily support my son if he ever decided to go vegetarian/vegan) Its also just habit. I also feel its natural. Its right for me, however it might not be right for you. I totally respect vegetarian's and vegans. It's not out of the question for me to one day be a vegan, but for right now it just wouldn't be feasible.

Animals eat other animals, its nature. You see it happen all the time on the nature channel. people need to realise that we are animals too and kill for food just like all other organisms on earth, it doesnt make us grotesque, inhumane or cruel because we are ending the life of another animal, we're playing a part in the animal kingdom

^Buying processed meat from the grocery store isn't natural. Unless you go out and hunt your own food, I don't see how you can use that argument. I bet you would view your meat a lot differently if you actually had to kill the animal.

I eat meat because it tastes ******* delicious.

I have never pretended to have (nor have I ever pretended to need) any other reason.

I eat meat because it's good. Period.

They're too dumb to know any better..

No vegan has ever made me 'feel bad' for eating meat, so no worries there. I eat animals because it's how I was raised. Being raised on a farm, you have a lot better grasp about the reality of the circle of life and how animals fit into our lives. I won't eat the house cat vs. a cow or hog because it's my pet; it stays at my side when I'm indoors, and it's with me constantly. Do you as a vegan eat roses when you're in the store browsing for flowers for Mother's Day? No. Same scenario.

You're personalizing animals. Animals do not wake up every morning and groan about having to go graze out in the field or complain about waiting in a tree for a rabbit or mouse to appear. They just eat and breed by instinct, nothing else. They don't have wishes and goals. They are smart in some ways, but when was the last time a group of ferrets donned hard hats and built a 24 story high rise?

I do love the thumbs down on answers people gave as to why they eat meat. Just goes to once again prove the 'holier than thou' attitude, and continue the stereotype.

I eat meat because it's my natural diet. Proof? You need vitamin B12 and you can't get it from any reliable plant source.

Smart has nothing to do with eating animals.

No, animals don't have a life "just like humans." Domesticated livestock have lives humans have bred them for. They don't go shopping at the mall, they don't celebrate birthdays, they don't plan for their children's education......

I like cats. There are two around here. Some HUMAN cultures eat cats. So what's your point?

If you, your mom, and your baby sister got hungry enough, you'd kill an animal.

Maybe I could live without meat. Why should I? I don't like to take pills. The question is: Can you live without supplements? And cereals are supplemented with B12. Don't pretend they are "natural". Are you willing to spend the time and money necessary to live without meat? Most "veg*ns" aren't. They go back to meat eating pretty quick.

If I became vegan / stopped eating meat here are some of the problems I'd face--

Choline: It's found in high-moderate amounts in a few select foods -- eggs and beef liver, salmon, and chicken being the highest. Cauliflower, wheat germ, and navi beans contain small-to-moderate amounts- I would have to eat them consistently in very large amounts (400-450 mg is the amount of choline I -- and most other females -- should be getting daily, cauliflower contains 60 mg per 100 grams, navi beans 20 mg per 100 grams, etc) everyday for the rest of my life. Choline supplements aren't an option -- I take a certain type of medication that would be adversely effected by this.

Over half the sugar in the US is refined with bone char (a non-vegan product, obviously). I'm not a junk-food addict by any means, but sugar is in almost everything, just regular things, too -- juice, bread, pasta sauce, soup, nut butters, etc. It's virtually impossible to know whether or not it contains sugar refined with bone char. I cannot afford to shop at health food / speciality / vegan stores or buy organic products, so that's out of the question.

Very few foods are fortified with vitamin b12, the only ones I'm aware of are -- soy milk, cereal (most cereal fortified with b12 is not vegan- it usually contains sugar, vitamin d3, milk products, etc), faux meats (which are very expensive), nutritional yeast, and marmite (which is not sold in my country), in addition to this, I would have to eat these products everyday for the rest of my life as I can't take supplements.

Shoes would also be a problem- most shoes are made with glue containing animal ingredients, I would have to purchase 100% vegan shoes which are quite pricey.

Also, the salt in my country is not idiozed meaning I would *have to* take supplements, which I'm unable to do.

Despite popular belief not all omnivores are “dumb”, lazy and shoving their face with Mcdonald's everyday. I have real reasons why vegetarianism / veganism is not an option.

I think you need to word your question better. You might say you are not calling us evil in the first paragraph but follow it up by personalizing animals as innocent creatures, our friends, liken them to human children, our children, and ask how we could kill and eat something when you "vegans" could not. You may not come out and say we are evil but imply it, and this does reinforce the omnivore attitude that vegans are preachy and self righteous.

That being said. I eat meat because it tastes good, is nutritious, and honestly believe it is the most natural way to get essential vitamins, by that i mean with no supplements or artificially fortified foods. Please don't post vegan statements about how we don't need b12 or how vitamin d is found in vegetables, non vegan science says otherwise. For every argument for something there is an argument against it and we are not going to convince each other to go either way.

Animals are not smarter than children, one of the animals i would consider smarter is a dog, my dog stopped being smarter than my kid when he was around 1. Before that is debatable but at around 1 my son learned the concepts of cause and effect, something my dog still has yet to do at 4 years old, and had double the language understanding capacity of my dog.

I agree they are alive, but wild animals are not friendly, i would like to see you try petting a wolf, a wild squirrel, fox, raccoon, etc. Petting zoo animals do not count.

Animals also eat other animals, however most animals, like humans, rarely eat their own species. We are just obeying the laws of nature.

I can't say why I eat meat, because I am now a vegan. In my meat eating days, however, I believe that I chose to eat slaughtered animals because I was ignorant to the horrors forced upon them in factory farms, and I was selfish, because I claimed to be strongly opposed to the needless taking of a life, however my fulfillment of taste was much more important.

I was also very ignorant to the fact that all essential vitamins and nutrients and be found in plant sources of one conducts simple research on various vegetables, grains, nuts, herbs, fruits, yeasts, and plants. Not to mention the fact that basically anything can be fortified or supplemented(not natural, but it works nonetheless). . .

Here are just a few reasons I eat and study meat.

1) It tastes good
2) It's filling
3) It's fairly cheap
4) Many culinary uses / applications
5) Complete protein profile - convenient not having to worry
6) Many different flavors / textures / aromas (not to mention from cooking methods)
7) Byproducts of the meat production are used almost everywhere!
8) Animals raised for meat recycle agricultural waste products
9) Support keeping people employed
10) Great source of Iron! The iron in myoglobin is very easily absorbed by the body compared to non-animal sources.
11) I like to experience what the world has to offer.

See Profile.

I LIke the flavour, the complete protein that it provides and the chewiness. Animals aren't innocent. We are animals just with larger brains. Let your monkey drive the car. How about sending the dog to do a week's shopping. Let the goat breast feed the baby.

Be a vegetarian, that is fine. just make sure that you are getting all your vitamins and minerals so we don't have to make you eat raw liver when you are anemic!

I know how animals were alive before being served as meat for humans to consume, but the taste and textures are specific to only meat and protein is an essential part of the diet.