Non-vegan who believe themselves to be animal lovers

[Milake]

How do they ignore the obvious hypocrisy?
How do they live with the cognitive dissonance?

I am almost jealous of their ability to live in such a state that allows them to detach themselves from the reality of the consequences of their choices.

Humans are animals, and naturally omnivores. Animals eat other animals - I love my cats - they eat other animals! It's just nature, isn't it?

The same way vegans do. Vegan/ vegetarian food kills more animals than eating meat does.

I've been vegetarian for 35 years because of the ethics of the meat industry, but I still strongly believe the most ethical way of farming is small, mixed farming with small amounts of meat eaten. It is possible to farm meat ethically and sustainably if we eat a lot less of it and source it locally. Ditto clean killed game. I'd start eating it again if I hadn't lost the taste for it!

I recommend reading English Pastoral by James Rebanks for an account of this kind of farming.

I love animals but am unsentimental about them, like a lot of people who grew up in the countryside.

I love animals and if I think too much about eating meat I can’t stomach the idea, I have been vegetarian and vegan in the past. But I eat meat now, to be honest I just don’t think about it when I’m eating, which to be honest is how I approach most awful things in the world. If I dwelled on all the awful stuff happening I’d never get out of bed but I’m able to just push it out of my mind.

People mean very different things by “animal lovers- some just mean that they love their own pet animals.

I’m struggling with this at the moment. I’d like to stop eating meat and move to a very different basis for eggs and dairy (ideally my own chickens and cow-with-calf dairy only). It’s a gradual process especially as teen DD eats a restricted diet anyway. I don’t think I would be fully vegan as I think there are good arguments for local and ethically produced eggs and dairy being a better choice than trying to fulfil protein requirements through some of the imported options, which can also harm animals despite not involving eating them.

Why does finding it ok to kill and consume animals need to be justified? (it doesn’t).

What does need to be justified, and where you would achieve much more benefit by campaigning, are the conditions in which farmed animals are reared, housed and slaughtered as these are appalling. Campaigning for appropriate food labelling would also raise awareness.

Exactly this!

I have just as much issue with vegans being preachy about the environment and animals whilst wearing clothes and shoes made from plastic, and bought in Primark etc.

Don't get me started on eggs and honey. Buy high welfare yes, but chooks will lay eggs so might as well eat them. Bees will make honey whether you eat it or not.

Sustainable, local, high welfare, ideal from regenerative farms.

Maybe ypu should have name changed op, you've been talking about making the perfect roast chicken in your air fryer under this name 😂

How did you cope with loving animals while eating chicken?

I am environmentally conscious but I’m not living off grid.

I'm a hypocrite and I'm fine with it.

It’s a bit like asking how someone can enjoy long waving grass rippling in the wind and yet enjoy the smell of fresh mowed grass and glorious velvety lawn.

On this topic I’m really annoyed that it seems impossible to tell from a milk bottle whether the herd are kept traditionally in fields or in feed lots. Even if it has pictures of cows in grassy meadows)l it doesn’t have to mean the herd spends any time there apparently

"I roast a whole chicken in my air fryer last night. It was delicious. Succulent with perfect crispy skin. I've also made cakes in it."
👆

Your post from November

So you can answer your own question really. How were you able to? Before you became a born again vegan. 🤷

Why are you posting in the vegan section then?

I think that many people find it easy to love a cat and eat a pig. Not so much the other way round. I’m not sure that many people who declare themselves animal lovers really mean that they love all animals unconditionally. They just mean that they like having pets and watching David Attenborough. I don’t think Sir David is a vegan by the way.

Horses for courses (main courses if you are French!)

I think vegans (not all) don't realise they are being hypocritical themselves when they question why meat eaters say they love animals, only for the vegan to then preach that the person can't love animals.

Like "oh OK then you're right I can't love animals, ill stop my monthly donation to the local animal rescue and next time I see a mouse struggling in the overflowing pond near where I take my dog for a walk ill just leave it then shall I? I'd hate to be a hypocrit" 🙄

Its such a bizarre stance.

It just comes up in active conversations. Very few people pay attention to the section a thread is in.

🤣

How is the OP going to get answers if non vegans don't reply?

Given the use of “they” I don’t think OP is looking for non-vegans to reply, I think they want vegans to hypothesise as to why that might be (and given that most vegans used to be non-vegans, it should be quite possible to have some ideas on the matter).

Crazy isn't it?

If you're not a vegan then don't bother caring about any animals you hypocrite. Don't buy ethically because you're not vegan you hypocrite so you should buy battery hens and there's no point buying traceable meat you can be sure was treated well you hypocrite because you're not a vegan.

I would have thought that all vegans would welcome any and all even small ways animals lives are improved even if their ultimate fate is to be someone's dinner.

But no. Apparently to some (I stress some) their lives don't matter if their death is for food because shouting hypocrisy and insulting meat eaters is more important than working together to raise standards and improve the animals welfare in life.

Doesn't seem particularly caring to me but I eat meat so what do I know 🤷

@SoupDragon fair enough, but (and this isn't directed at you) people shouldn't comment so rudely - it's a bit like going on the black Mumsnet thread and being racist, or on the feminism board and being sexist.
Healthy debate is fine, some of the horrible posts from meat eaters isn't.

Oh, this is funny!

All asking why non-vegans are on the thread, it has shown up in active. Also the question is posed to non-vegans.

I think the answer is how we have evolved as a species to have empathy.

We find it most easy to have empathy with individuals we know closely. because they enables us to have those 'mirror neurons' which enable us to feel what they feel. The more distant a person is from personal interaction with us, the harder we find it to feel empathy,and the weaker is the empathy we feel (if any). This is why charities personalise disasters with stories of an individual. That sparks those mirror neurons which enable us to feel what we imagine that person is feeling.

So its easy to imagine the sensations our cat is feeling, but hard to imagine the sensations some random unknown pig is.

Also, at the end of the day, most of us are quite selfish. Most people put themselves above others. We do altruistic acts that are easy for us, we are far less likely to do altruistic acts that are hard for us. Such as changing our diets.

As PP said, most of us are the same with humans. We effectively pay companies to treat people in ways we would never treat someone ourselves, when we buy their products.