To believe that eating meat should be illegal?

[BySpoonyBlueScroller]

The environmental damage and animal cruelty outweighs the cultural or personal benefits. AIBU to think it’s time to outlaw meat production?

Really? I don’t. I’ve killed animals to eat, and would be happy to do so again. Farm animals are not humans and do not have human feelings, you’re just anthropomorphising them. I think the thing vegans miss is that most of us do not think it is ethically wrong to eat animals. We just don’t agree with you. I enjoy meat, and think there is absolutely nothing wrong with farming and eating it. There’s no absolute moral argument you can make, and as far as environmental issues go there are many things far worse. So no.

FFS! Have you no concept of the "collateral damage" animals killed to feed the cow in the first place? Dearie dearie me.

I am veggie since birth, but I would rather see delicious and healthy veggie food popularised. Not the horrible fake meat I am always offered, and won't eat.

This. The ecological disaster that is arable farming needs to be acknowledged.

It’s hilarious that vegans think that all farm animals will just run off into the wild and live their best life if we banned eating meat/animal produce.

I take it you don't own any pets, OP. I eat meat sometimes, but not every meal, and always try to buy free range etc where I can. Why should I be denied that whilst my neighbour's pet dog, who presumably eats pretty much only meat (of goodness knows what provenance) 2-3 times a day, is still allowed? Or what about my other neighbour's cat, who terrorises the local bird population? Or are you suggesting pets be banned too?

I don't think animals have human feelings, but they do feel pain, they do feel fear, and as we don't need to eat meat, we don't need to make animals suffer.

Can't see countries such as China getting on board with this if I'm honest. Same as all this net zero nonsense, without the big polluters participating it's completely pointless.

So would 100% of the population be able to be totally vegan with no need for supplements?

No vegan that I know thinks this. We think they would simply stop being bred. There may be pockets of fields with some sheep and cows and pigs, and a few chickens too, but on the whole, the country won't be overrun with wild once-were-farmed animals.

I agree, I don't think there's anything wrong with eating meat either. But as a population we are heavily reliant on the luxury of industrially farmed low welfare meat. You only have to look at what's on offer in the meat aisle to see endless bloated chicken breasts with brusing, bleeding or discolouration to realise how shocking it all is. And I eat chicken, because its convenient, lean, low cost and everyone likes it. Do I think many people have the time, knowledge and inclination to go out and start killing what - foxes and rabbits and pigeons? I don't think so. I think they'll just go to the same aisle and buy whatever cost effective, bland protein they put there instead. The wealthy will continue to eat venison but this was never an environmental or welfare concern in the first instance. To return to Morriseys argument, he might contend that nobody would seriously entertain the argument that there's no point in outlawing child abuse because it happens anyway. It would of course happen anyway. But why on earth wouldn't we take a measure to significantly reduce the sum total of suffering.

Yes, OP.
In that case, I would make sex illegal as well.
👍

Are you going to make it illegal for all animals to hunt also? Make a little cat prison for the mouse catchers?

We've eaten meat since we first evolved. Ecosystems depend on hunter to pray ratios. If we stop eating them the cows, sheep etc will have to be slaughtered and just wasted. You can't set them free, they're domesticated. They don't have the skills to survive and if they did there would be too many of them for the food available. They'd starve to death and population crash. The predators that would hunt them would balloon in number then crash as well.

People don't realise deer hunting etc is targeted to control population levels so there aren't too many which would encourage spread of diseases and starvation from lack of food.

What we need is sustainability.

If your intent is to kill off a lot of humans, including entire cultures.....I guess you could.

Not seeing the moral superiority in genocide, but perhaps someone could explain.

Cheap, mass produced meat should be curtailed and small local farms, with ethical farming practices should be encouraged. The cost implications would drive a reduction in overall consumption and the environmental impact would reduce. but outlawing meat altogether seems exceptionally unlikely

Nah. Reconstituted bug meal will be a perfectly adequate source of protein without the environmental harm

But only furry cute animals though?

the beetles and flies, mice and moles can fuck off?

And even the plants themselves have to be killed for us to eat them. I know they don't have faces (although corn has ears and potatoes have eyes) and probably don't feel pain or enjoyment of life in the same way that animals do, but it's still incumbent on us to rip the life away from other living organisms that cannot consent to our killing them if we ourselves want to continue to survive.

I think pets should be banned. Why do we anthropomorphise one set of animals, treat them like kings, and slaughter many others, just so that our chosen ones may live. I am all for weaning ourselves of this notion of animal ownership and dominance. I think it would be better for everyone and all animals all round.

And would mean no dog poo on the streets either. Win win.

Thankfully this is a million years from happening, which ever party did this would lose the next election and be out for a decade or more. I for one don’t want to live in a state that thinks they can control our lives to this degree, and anyway meat taste brilliant.

Is this a persuasive writing topic for GCSE English?

I'm also allergic to all nuts, most beans, lentils, chickpeas etc. So I'd be very very unwell if I couldn't eat animal products.

Yeah, I’m not keen on pets, either.

I'm vegetarian but don't think the government should pass laws about what people eat.
I certainly think that people eat too much processed crap nowadays but I put that down to not teaching Domestic Science in schools any more.

Veganism should be illegal. All those 'environmentalists' buggering the planet to process some form of microprotien or tofu into stuff that is shaped and made to taste/look like the meat or fish they apparently are trying to avoid.

At least vegetarians admit they don't want meat, and can do fabulous things with pulses, lentils and veg (oh, and proper dairy products) and are less likely to be flavouring and shaping stuff into meat/fish substitutes.