Do you as a vegetarian/vegan believe ALL meat is just plain bad for humans?!

I don't think meat is "bad" for you. I think that things were better before factory farming came along and made meat the main course (in addition to all the hormones, antibiotics, and awful treatment of animals). Meat used to be expensive. Something that families only had once in a while, when they hunted for it themselves, or on special occasions. Now it's the main focus of every meal. Animals on farms used to be treated with care because they were how farmers made their money. They got to live a pretty good life before slaughter. Now they are raised without any consideration for well being because there are SO many of them that their health and well being are no longer factors in money made. If farms were like the movie, "Babe" I'd be a lot more satisfied with farming. I could also say a lot more about what factory farming is doing to the land (massive pollution).

I think America is facing this huge obesity issue (along with other health issues) because of the junk food, fast food, processed meat and snacks and candy, etc. Plus, exercise is becoming harder and harder for the average working American to incorporate into their day. Americans don't really eat fruits and vegetables much anymore either. The numbers fluctuate up and down year to year, but in general, processed junk has replaced fruits & vegetables in a lot of people's diets.

I think hunting and eating meat makes more sense than eating eggs or milk though. Milk is meant for a baby animal and eggs are intended to be another chicken/turkey. What disgusts me is how easy it is for some people to kill like that. If you look at some Native American cultures, they would praise the animal because by taking it's life it could provide food, clothing, etc for their family. There was respect. They prayed to some of these animals, etc. There is no respect among many omnivores for animals now.

Vegan

I don't believe that all the meat in the world is bad for you..I just don't eat it because it grosses me out that it is animal flesh. The meat that is bad for you is like the stuff at walmart where it was produced in huge factories and the animals are abused, mistreated and stuffed with hormones and medicine. As for the meat that is natural where they live on a farm and are happy and not fed hormones they are much better for people! If you ever watch "meet your meat" thats what grossed me out..

Yes and no. While factory farms load their animals with antibiotics to promote
abnormal growth and make you more likly to get food poisoning wich makes it much worse still meat eaters are 50 percent more likly to get heart disease,40 percent more likly to get cancer, 88 percent more likly to get diobeties,achne,and have more body odor, also meat takes 18 hours to go through your system and shortens your life span by 10 years. Why do you think doctors allways tell people to cut out meat not just factory meat but meat in general, so yes all meat us bad for you but if you want to eat meat (it's your choice) PLEASE get local organic meat not from factory farms

Thank you

Vegetarian for two years

Yes. Both for health and other factors (such as the fact that eating/producing meat contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions which means our home is in a really bad state etc).
Meat isn't even healthy. Yes, it has iron. But many other foods that people shouldn't eat have good things in them. Some poisonous wild plants are rich in vitamins but that doesn't mean we should eat them ^^ It has healthy components but they don't outweight the unhealthy components :)

Good question, though :)

Vegan.

I agree that most overweight problems are from sedentary lifestyles and the horrible processed garbage our industry is selling (especially to kids!).
But I DO believe that some of this issue is coming from the excessive meat included in the standard American Diet. Who on earth brainwashed people into believing they need meat at EVERY single meal or EVERY single day?
I know you and many people believe that the meat we receive from the grocery stores are "natural" and "fresh" but honestly, they're not a neat and tidy as you think. And yes, I admit, if the meat sold around the US was more lean and taken good care of when processed, then meat would probably be much better for us.

no i dont

all fast food is bad for us all, doesnt stop most of us eating it tho

i dont 'blame' meat for anything, i 'blame' us, we are responsible for our own problems, we are the ones that let them add all that cr*p to our foods and get away with it, and we are the ones that regardless of how bad for us it is, we eat it , far too much

No. I'm vegan because I wouldn't want to be treated the way animals are treated. Even if someone killed me humanely I would still be murdered against my will, but I believe that humans can be quite healthy eating lean meat in moderation and there are millions of people to prove it.

I don't think most veg*ns are veg*ns because of the fast food industry. The majority of veg*ns I've talked to think eating meat is morally wrong.

Well I am a vegan for compassionate reasons, so my answer to the question is no, it's not nutritionally bad.

I think meat is good for you yeah, but I choose not to eat it because I feel sick at the thought it was once a living breathing animal with blood etc.

The more meat we eat, the sicker we get.
That's the bottom line.

No I don't isn't it nasty eating poor animal flesh I hate junk food too btw I just want to be healthey k bye

Not bad, no. It should be eaten with moderation.

Unbelievable! I haven't been to V&V in *months* and you're still trolling over here. Some things just don't change;-)

No, I don't believe ALL meat is bad for humans. There is some nutritional value to some of it. I don't eat it because I can live a very healthy life without harming another living, feeling being.

How many meat eaters only eat "natural fresh lean meat" anyway? Not too many.

ADD: Oh, silly me. The name "Deer Hunter" with a big dead animal head in the avatar threw me off. *Of course* you're not trolling the Vegan section. Lol.

I do believe that some meat in ones diet can be fine, the same as minimal sugar, saturated fat, salt, etc will not do any harm in the long run. I don't think meat is evil, just unhealthy in the amount consumed by the average person

Obviously, fresh, natural lean meats are not as unhealthy as other options, but this does not mean they are healthy(in my opinion).

We agree on on the fact that most people's life style does contribute to many health related issues and the current obesity "epidemic". Most people live off of junk food, overly processed food, food filled with hormones, fillers, preservatives, etc. It always amazes me at all the foods that are advertised as healthy, and a really junk foods in disguise. What amazes me more are the people that buy them and actually think they are healthy. I knew a mother that used to give her children nutri-grain bars for breakfast and refer to them as a healthy breakfast. These bars are nothing but sugar, and chemicals. I would never say anything, but it is mind boggling what people view as healthy, however it makes the obesity "epidemic" make more sense.

Anyway, back to meat... yes I personally view meat as unhealthy. While it is unhealthy I do think that it can be in a persons diet as long as it is in moderation. However, what other people choose to eat is their problem, and concern. I don't think it is healthy, but I am not the one eating it, so why would I care.

While everything adds to immediate problems from behavior choices and chemicals as well as poor food additives, you can't discount the impact of the other. You are assuming that Vegetarians are all of the same mind set. They aren't.

Something that may have been very good for you previously such as a bit of meat to help feed a farmer's body because he was doing all hand labor with no machines has become a death trap [adding blockages] because he sits all day on a tractor then sits in the house watching tv.

Some are health impacted vegetarians [that old heart attack has changed many a survivors tune] and some are ethic vegetarians. Don't assume all have the same reasoning.

Also Evil is a relative term. What is evil to one is not to another and an object ie meat cannot be evil in and of itself. You might want to use the term bad for you. A person can be evil. See serial killers as a reference. Actions can be evil. See Nazi gas chambers. Objects cannot. A tank in and of itself is not evil. It is the actions of people who make this evil.

And point me in the direction of fresh lean meats that haven't been fed GHs and antibiotics and other assorted goodies which are then fed to those who eat it. It's actually hard to find grass fed, organic meat which has not been fed some sort of chemicals by way of injection or feed.

No I don't think that at all, If you can get hormone free and mercury free then some of it is fine, for me its pork and beef amongst others that are not. The content in them consumed regularly in excess puts you at health risks which I see everyday on the cardiac floor of the hospital. I am a vegetarian because I cant trust myself to eat a small amount of a certain kind of meat and then not make the jump to a steak. I love the taste of meat and always have. It just isn't good for me and you know what they say, go with what you know. So to eliminate the temptation of getting on a heavy meat diet again I don't eat any animals at all. But I am for the most part atypical. Would you object to staying at my house for a week or so and eating just vegetable dishes? I promise you would feel better and your energy lvl would go up considerably.

And I'm not attacking meat in general, its that I have seen what diets high in fat pork and red meat can do first hand. IDK what you eat.

RN

But the fact that you would spend time in here calling someone here a Hippie Tree Hugger does lead me to believe your neck may be a rosy crimson shade and you have few friends. Not a very popular person with anyone upstanding? Sometimes we are forced to look inward for answers.

I believe that all meat can be bad for humans if not consumed in a balanced way. Meat can absolutely be part of a balanced and healthy diet, just like chocolate and processed grains can be. However, eating too much of it isn't going to be that great for you.

You are quite right that there are issues beyond just meat consumption when it comes to overall health. Eating processed foods that are deep fried and full of sodium isn't good for you whether they are meat or not. Getting exercise is good for you, whether you eat meat or not. The main difference between vegetarians and non-vegetarians seems to be that vegetarians have a lower risk of heart disease.

Nevertheless, meat consumption is linked to health problems, regardless of whether it is processed or not. If you look at the studies conducted by the Seventh-Day Adventists, vegetarians tend to live longer than non-vegetarians. The difference is less dramatic in their study than in others, but it is still there. (A large difference, as you point out, is often the result of a combination of lifestyle factors. Vegetarians live longer because vegetarians typically eat more fruits and vegetables, are less likely to smoke, and have other healthier habits.)

Bad eating habits are just one cause of health problems, and eating too much meat is just one example of a bad eating habit. It definitely isn't the number one problem in the world (or even the country), but it still is a problem.

Here is a study that may interest you: http://www.ajcn.org/content/70/3/516S.fu…

Here it is again, in a clearer form. Even though this is on a vegan page, it is worth reading if you don't want to wade through the scientific article itself. (Vegan Health is honest and does admit that none of the studies show that being a vegan is the healthiest choice, though it does offer some reasons as to why that may have happened.)
More analysis, plus a look at how to interpret the information given the outside factors: http://www.oxveg.veggroup.org/articles/1…

I agree with you completely. The fact is, what most of us are eating just isn't food.

EDIT: I don't mean veg*n food isn't food. I mean crap like Twinkies and Poptarts can't be counted as real food. If someone from 200 years ago was placed in one of today's grocery stores, they'd have no idea that most of what's there is meant to be eaten.

i think its definately the processed foods as apposed to the meat as itis the rubbish bits of meat used and what they put in it. but also i think a huge problem is the amount of meat people eat it should be limited to once or twice a week not at every meal this is a target area of a lot of health problems waiting to happen

no, i chose it because of health reaons, not animals