Why Vegetarian When It is Ethical to Eat Meat

Why vegetarian? Not only is it ethical to eat meat but necessary for people to do so, for over 2 million years people have been eating meat to nourish their bodies. The reason why livestock and game animals are on this plant is to provide food.

Of all the great minds through out history Plato, Descartes, Epicurus to Thomas Aquinas questioned wither nor their was a God but never question if it was ethical to eat meat. Aristotle had already settled the issue.   

Nature never did anything unnecessary. Then in the same way, this animal is in charge of that animal, and likewise with plants and animals together. Ladder of life has eleven rungs, at the top of which are humans. – Aristotle

It is ethical to use animals as nature intends. In a recent essay  Dr. Temple Grandin (professor of animal welfare at Colorado State University) explains the symbiotic relationship between cattle and people.

Our relationship with the cattle should be symbiotic.  Symbiosis is a biological concept of a mutually beneficial relationship between two different species.  There are many examples of symbiosis or mutualism in nature. One example is ants tending aphids to obtain their sugary secretion and in return, they are protected from predators.  In the cattle industry, I know many people who are true stewards of both their animals and their land.  Their relationship with both the animals and the land is truly symbiotic. It is mutually beneficial to both the animals and the environment.  Killing animals for food is ethnical if the animals have what the Farm Animal Welfare Council in England calls a life worth living. – Temple Grandin

Why vegetarian? When it as been proven that it is not only ethical but necessary to eat meat. Nina Planck is the author of the Real Food series and The Farmer's Market Cookbook explains the importance of true B12 only found in animal proteins. 

Vegans may believe it’s possible to get B12 from plant sources like seaweed, fermented soy, spirulina and brewer’s yeast. Alas, these foods contain mostly B12 analogs, which, according to the health writer Chris Kresser, “block intake of and increase the need for true B12,” a vital nutrient for mental health.

Mr. Kresser argues that this is one reason studies consistently show that up to 50 percent of long-term vegetarians and 80 perent of vegans are deficient in B12. “The effects of B12 deficiency on kids are especially alarming,” he writes. “Studies have shown that kids raised until age 6 on a vegan diet are still B12 deficient even years after they start eating at least some animal products.” In one study, the researchers found “a significant association” between low B12 levels and “fluid intelligence, spatial ability and short-term memory.” The formerly vegan kids scored lower than omnivorous kids every time. – A Choice with Definite Risk

Why vegetarian simulated foods? The simple fact that vegetarians make food that resemble real foods like vegan turkey or hamburger patties tells me how important eating meat is to people. Anyone attempting this lifestyle has to try to trick themselves by eating fake food their bodies know it needs to have for nourishment.   

Why vegetarian is bad for the environment. A recent study by the Cranfield University found that switching from beef and lamb to meat substitutes such as tofu and Quorn would increase the amount of land cultivated destroying forest.   .

Why vegetarian will not save the world. There is a book written by an ex-vegan Lierre Keith called The Vegetarian Myth. She does nice job explaining the importance of eating meat and damage it does to your body by not. She is hard on modern day agriculture and over dramatic. I hope she continues to learn and explore modern agriculture and what it has contributed to world of today. 

(On being vegan) Eventually, the rubber hits the road. There is a whole generation of us here who believed in it and tried it until we did permanent damage to our bodies. It was all for nothing. It’s pointless suffering. And I want to stop the young ones from doing the same thing.  - Why Vegetarianism Will Not Save The World

I have been considering writing something about why vegetarian for years, but never have. Mainly because I didn’t believe it was true. I never thought once that those who proclaimed vegetarian was being honest. I figured it was something they announced as some kind of badge of honor, but when your back was turned ate your hamburger.  So I never felt like it was important to do so, but now I think it is time to set the record straight.