# Why aren't you vegetarian? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 2, 2010, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-you-vegetarian/559198 "2010-11-02T12:48:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-you-vegetarian/559198/101 "2010-11-03T15:16:29Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > My mother’s argument: “plants have feelings too! For a single meal, you have to abort a lot of green beans, but only one chicken.” Considering how much time and energy she devotes to her plants, we reckon she’s actually serious. I know at least one [Jainist](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jain_vegetarianism) who _is_ serious about the abortion of green beans. ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-you-vegetarian/559198/102 "2010-11-03T15:38:29Z")
Because humans’ brains grew from meat eating. I could not choke down enough protein shakes or beans and eggs and quinoa to keep me full after working out, so meat is a tasty and good choice. I don’t eat much, and probably never will though. ---
**Author:** ![jlzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/67e7ee/32.png) [@jlzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jlzania)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-you-vegetarian/559198/103 "2010-11-03T16:00:45Z")
> [@Trom](#): > > This would be a pretty powerful critique if pasture-forage production was actually practiced on an industrial scale. Pasture-forage production is about as far from the modern industrial factory farming processes as can be. > > For a quick snapshot of the environmental costs of the actual industrial meat production processes see [here.](http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/aug97/livestock.hrs.html) I’m very aware of\*\* all\*\* the costs of industrial meat production and if CAFO raised meat was my only option, it would beans and rice and cabbage for me. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-you-vegetarian/559198/104 "2010-11-03T16:03:37Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Thanks for the critique. > > BTW perhaps you should see a doctor and have him write you a prescription for “sense of humor.” > > I’m quite amused at the level of seriousness with which this has been taken. Were the options for “I like my food to have had a name and a face” and “I have a moral objection to killing plants” too subtle for you? Is this a _Poll_ in IMHO or a _joke_ in MPSIMS? It’s perhaps the worst poll we have had in a while. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-you-vegetarian/559198/105 "2010-11-03T16:05:33Z")
[I’ma bad person] I fell off the veggie wagon while pregnant, and have never gotten back on. Feeding a toddler is just soooo much easier when hot dogs are available as an option. . . ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-you-vegetarian/559198/106 "2010-11-03T16:08:49Z")
Meat is tasty. I do think there is a self-righteous element to some vegetarians but it’s a distinct minority. I wonder has anyone considered that these are generally prey animals (swine, cattle, sheep, deer, poultry) that we eat? ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-you-vegetarian/559198/107 "2010-11-03T16:27:11Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Is this a _Poll_ in IMHO or a _joke_ in MPSIMS? > > It’s perhaps the worst poll we have had in a while. What are you, **Mijin** ’s partner in the Poll Police? Why must it be one or the other? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-you-vegetarian/559198/108 "2010-11-03T16:40:12Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > What are you, **Mijin** ’s partner in the Poll Police? > > Why must it be one or the other? Because we have different forums for different things. Now, certainly a little humor is not out of place here, and a funny choice or two for your poll is not so horrible. But your choices are all poor, and are also a poor attempt at humor. They are not even actually funny. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-you-vegetarian/559198/109 "2010-11-03T17:02:11Z")
Well you’re entitled to your opinion. It’s a ludicrous question to ask in the first place but clearly struck enough of a chord with several hundred people that they responded, including you. The vast majority of people who opened this thread were able to handle the poll or ignore it and offer their own perspective on the subject without shitting on it. How about you send me a copy of “ **DrDeth** ’s Guide to Humor” and I will review it and rewrite the entire thread to your liking, or if you ask nicely I’ll take the gun away from your head so you can stop posting in it.:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-you-vegetarian/559198/110 "2010-11-03T22:30:20Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Meat is tasty. > > I do think there is a self-righteous element to some vegetarians but it’s a distinct minority. > > I wonder has anyone considered that these are generally prey animals (swine, cattle, sheep, deer, poultry) that we eat? Meat that eats plants (and is therefore lower on the food chain) is generally tastier and better for you than meat that eats meat. Carnivorous fish have higher mercury levels than the fish they eat, for example. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-you-vegetarian/559198/111 "2010-11-03T22:44:07Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Because we have different forums for different things. Now, certainly a little humor is not out of place here, and a funny choice or two for your poll is not so horrible. But your choices are all poor, and are also a poor attempt at humor. They are not even actually funny. If it was so out of place in IMHO then the mods would have moved it. The ‘why are you vegetarian’ thread was referenced in the OP, so that along with the daft poll options mean that everyone was aware it was a humourous copycat. It doesn’t really matter whether you thought the options were actually humourous or not - they obviously weren’t meant to be serious. And the OP made it clear that he is a meat-eater too. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-you-vegetarian/559198/112 "2010-11-03T23:17:21Z")
> [@scifisam2009](#): > > The ‘why are you vegetarian’ thread was referenced in the OP, so that along with the daft poll options mean that everyone was aware it was a humourous copycat. But given the existence of the serious thread which this thread supposedly counters, it seems like it’s trying to make a point. That is; vegetarians have good reasons for being vegetarian, meat-eaters do not. > [@](#): > > It doesn’t really matter whether you thought the options were actually humourous or not - they obviously weren’t meant to be serious. A good proportion of the respondents have taken it at face value, partly because it falls flat as a joke. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2010, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-you-vegetarian/559198/113 "2010-11-04T02:28:31Z")
> [@rachelellogram](#): > > I am just chiming in with an “other” answer: Supposedly animals who eat plants are more palatable and healthy than animals who are carnivorous. I am omnivorous because if I get eaten by something, I want to taste as bad as possible. Now that is awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2010, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-you-vegetarian/559198/114 "2010-11-04T02:36:17Z")
I like meat and hate vegetables. Also, eating meat tends to cheer me up. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2010, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-you-vegetarian/559198/115 "2010-11-04T03:43:59Z")
First off, I love vegetables. I have eaten, and can cook, really good meals that consist of vegetables. Or truly vegetarian meals (no meat broth to season the veggies). Or truly vegan meals (no animal products whatsoever). And they are very good food, propery prepared and spiced and so on. There is a Portuguese restaurant in Mineola, Churrascaria Plataforma, that will keep bringing you very nicely barbecued meat until you surrender. It tastes like heaven. (The Brazilians do Rodizio also, they just don’t do it quite as well. Look for a local installation of Foga de Chao if you are in the medium sized cities, it’s catching on chain-style). I eat meat because it’s seriously delicious. I don’t have any ethical problems with it. I think killing another living creature _in order to eat it_ is one of the relatively few legitimate reasons for killing another living creature. It should be done with respect. The purpose of the animal being preyed upon is not, or should not be, that it exists to be prey. I have less problem with hunters than I do with factory-style farming. And yet… yeah I don’t cease to buy my pork chops and chicken breasts and filet mignons at the grocery store. I don’t seriously consider you as a potential prey because I’m in favor of a mutual agreement that we of the same species don’t eat each other. Aside from that I don’t exempt myself as a possible target for predatory activity. If the leopards or the tigers get at me, I understand that they need to eat and that they are carnivorous. I won’t like it and I’ll fight back but I understand their motivation. (Yeah easy for me to say in Manhattan, I know) ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2010, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-you-vegetarian/559198/116 "2010-11-04T05:33:02Z")
I knew one vegetarian who pretty much lived off of ice cream and potato chips, but he still thought he was eating healthy. Of course, he also ended up spending some time in a psychiatric ward, more than once. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2010, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-you-vegetarian/559198/117 "2010-11-04T05:49:10Z")
Meat is delicious. That’s my main reason. I do feel terrible about the state of AFOC…err… w/e that acronym for the factory-meat process, but it doesn’t bother me enough to stop eating meat. Vegetarianism on a massive scale has its own share of problems, so veggie-for-ethical-reasons peeps better be growing their own damn produce. ---
**Author:** ![lshaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e36b37/32.png) [@lshaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lshaw)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2010, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-you-vegetarian/559198/118 "2010-11-04T06:32:54Z")
Sometimes I wish I could be, for the sake of my health. I like meat, and I generally consume more than I should… but man, the way that it is raised and prepared in America is so nasty. I feel a little bit better eating it here in Japan, because I feel like their standards are higher. And anyway, even if I wanted to be vegetarian, it would be fairly difficult in this country. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2010, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-you-vegetarian/559198/119 "2010-11-04T08:48:02Z")
> [@Blalron](#): > > Sure, that’s the nature of the world we live in. But just because we can’t prevent all animal deaths doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to prevent any. It does mean people shouldn’t try and claim Vegetarianism/Veganism as being somehow morally superior to a “normal” diet, though. And the other thing to bear in mind is that the way the food industry works in many Western countries, not eating meat doesn’t actually “save” any animals- it just means the food products from those animals go in the bin instead of someone’s stomach. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2010, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-you-vegetarian/559198/120 "2010-11-04T11:04:32Z")
Yes, meat is delicious. And I don’t care that animals have to die so that I can eat meat. Plus being a vegetarian would require me to be a pain in the ass to my friends and family at family gatherings. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-you-vegetarian/559198.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-you-vegetarian/559198.md?page=7)