To think you can be an animal lover and eat meat?

[MyOtherUsernameisaPun]

I know I'm going to be flamed, have donned protective gear...

But I think that it's hypocritical to eat meat and claim to be an animal lover. That isn't to say meat eaters don't deeply love their pets - I fully accept that they do! But I think that in those cases they only love certain animals, not animals generally.

We know that pigs are far more intelligent than dogs. We know that cows form close social bonds with specific individuals within the herd. We know enough to confidently state that there is no reason to separate pets from any other species except that we are conventionally accustomed to doing so.

I think everyone is free to make their own choices and whether or not I approve of them is totally irrelevant. But I don't think there is any logical grounds for a meat eater to claim that they are an animal lover when they're happy for some kinds of animals to suffer and be killed.

Title should say can't not can, whoops!

I love animals. I enjoy eating meat. My qualm is with animal welfare in regards to animals for food.

If I needed to I would kill an animal to eat.

Yes. I adore my pets. I enjoy animal documentaries and conservation programmes. I worry about wildlife and pollution.

I love meat. I didn't know the random cow I am eating and though cows are great, they also taste great. I do make sure I only buy local meat where I know exactly how it was reared though.

I am an animal lover and an environmentalist but I also believe that biologically humans are supposed to eat meat and that there is no need to sentimentalise this. I believe in high welfare standards and am against practises which cause unessary suffering.

Can't vegetarians be vegetarians without feeling compelled to openly judge everyone else?

When people say they are an animal lover they tend to only like certain animals. This means animals such as rats and slugs are excluded as well as farm animals. So no it is not hypocritical unless you decide to take everything everyone says literally.

I like animals very much but I also like eating them. I prefer to eat less meat but pay more to know that the animals have been well treated and not pumped full of antibiotics.

Animals in the wild don't live romantic disney lives. For most wild animals they live short lives that end by being eaten by something else or they are maimed and die that way.

Animals on good farms, live content and happy lives, where they are well fed, have plenty of territory to roam around and the vet is called if there is anything wrong with them. They don't understand death, so they don't worry about dying and if killed humanely, there will be very little suffering - if any at all. Humans usually suffer more on the way to their deaths than most farm animals.

I think it definitely helps a lot of people are ensuring that the meat they buy is as ethical as possible - I absolutely don't think those things are worth nothing. But to me, it doesn't change the fact that animals suffer (both those who are killed and those whose habitats are destroyed to make room for the grain production required to sustain the meat industry). I think any decision to eat meat requires the eater to accept than animals have suffered to enable it.

@TooTrueToBeGood I don't openly judge, I judge anonymously on forums like mumsnet

You don't even have to eat the animal to cause it suffering. It's the destruction of habitats and the need to cull local dangerous animals, to be able to grow Farmed animal Feed.

It really annoyed me when the fuss was made about the Gorilla having to be shot to save the child's life, last year, but it's fine for those people to make choices meaning lots of Gorilla's die.

Likewise, Ricky Gervaise wanting to kill a man who was killing a dof to eat. So hypocritical.

However, I think the way to change people's thinking is to congratulate any changes they make to live more Ethically and encourage them without needing them to go 'all the way'.

A cause is never furthered by alienating and attacking people.

What tootrue said

If you don’t want to eat meat, fine, go ahead, no one is forcing you to. But please stop telling everyone else how wrong they are.

I have pets, they are an extension of the family and I love them dearly.
I love nature and watch animal and conservation programmes on tv. I'm interested in environmental issues and have worries about pollution and how our wildlife may suffer because of us.
I believe in animal welfare and don't wish any animal to suffer unnecessarily.

But we breed animals to eat and I do and will continue to eat meat.

I don't think it is hypocritical, I look for high welfare meat and ideally eat only meat I know has had the finest life possible and best departure from it. Unfortunately current regulations and market conditions make this difficult as if legislated for it would price meat above what people seem to feel reasonable for what they regard a staple food rather than a treat.

Animal lover who loves meat.
I don't like seeing a lion take down a gazelle and applaud when gazelle escapes. But that means the lion and it's pride won't eat today.
Death of any living creature is grim but I love meat and feel healthier and stronger eating it.

If anyone is interested in environmental issues you might be interested to learn that just giving up beef would reduce your environmental impact more than giving up your car!

Animals weren't put on this planet to be loved. They were put on this planet to be eaten.

@Asdf12345 I think it's interesting that so many view it as a staple - historically that certainly hasn't been true for the vast majority of humans. It would help enormously if more people would see it as a weekly treat rather than a daily necessity.

A related point - it isn't true that humans require meat, nutritionally. There is no nutrient in meat that can't be found in a plant based source (though I accept it might take more effort). Also for most of history, the staple diet for most people didn't involve meat (because it wasn't available for the poor).

MargoloveButter do you watch many programs about animals? When their young die, or are taken away from them?
They have the range of emotions that we have, not all to the same depth, but there is suffering.

"Animals on good farms, live content and happy lives, where they are well fed, have plenty of territory to roam around and the vet is called if there is anything wrong with them."

The slave owners (of all colours) used to and do say the same thing, because they'd decided that slaves should be content with their lot.

It's like Zoos. I believe that they are necessary for the breeding programs, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't recognise that there is still suffering inside them.

Yes and poor people were small, malnourished and average age expectancy was 40.
Farming production meant mass produced meat was cheaper and the masses started bulking up and living longer.

You are being unreasonable, and stupid. I love animals but I love to eat them too...it’s a food chain love. As someone from a farming background I can tell you without meat farmers wouldn’t breed as there’s no real profit in dairy it’s the meat and eggs where the moneys at.

@UnicornRainbowColours what's stupid about my point? You can assert all you like that you love animals and also eat them but that doesn't answer my point which is that it's hypocrotical. If you love something you aren't content for that thing to suffer because of you.

I have no issue with farmers choosing not to breed if people don't eat meat. As a consequence the price of dairy would skyrocket and people would find alternatives. That would be good for animals and good for the environment.

@Queenoftheblitz but the range and quality of plant based food that is available now wasn't available then. We have access to an incredible variety of grains, pulses, nuts, fruit and vegetables. It's more than enough to allow for a complete diet where all of a person's nutritional needs are met. Eating meat is a choice, it's not required (obviously excluding anyone who might have specific illnesses requiring them to eat meat).

Animals don’t suffer tho, you buy responsibly, humanely bred meat. My grandfathers cows never suffered a day of their lives. It’s stupid to say it’s hypocritical unless you’ve lived in a meat producing farm you know nothing of which you speak so yes very stupid.

Birdsgottafly, I'm sure animals have a range of emotions that we don't fully understand yet and once they are fully understood, if there is anything that can be done better, then I'm all for making the changes necessary.

I grew up on a farm and we had the greatest respect and care for our animals but we still ate them. They never suffered from the illnesses of old age or from any infirmity at all in all honesty. By the time the lambs were moved on they weren't suckling anymore and if the ewes were distressed, they didn't show it in any way I could see. Same for the pigs and piglets. Our hens seemed very happy too - until the fox ate them or bit their heads off, but then I guess the fox had a full tummy that night and maybe it's cubs survived. Which animal should or shouldn't suffer there?

People with pet dogs can't always let them run freely - is that distressing for the dog? Does the dog suffer a bit - probably. But that's the way it has to be sometimes.

Life is full of pain and suffering and we should try to alleviate it where we can. Sometimes there has to be a compromise.

When I go shopping for my meat I buy it from a butcher who Family has been selling and butchering meat for over 100 years. I make sure I know where my meat has come from and how it’s lived. that’s how I can say I am an animal lover who eats meat.