Welcome to Gaia! ::

i'm not angry about having the teachings explained to me. when Byaggha explains it to me and shares the sources she finds with me, i am overjoyed! biggrin the difference is that i don't like being treated as though i have no credibility, or that i am somehow "wrong" to believe what i believe. i don't realy care if you think that of me, but it's the way you say it that bothers me. like you think i'm some kind of monster. i realy just find myself very irritated with your elitism.

I'm still trying to work through the whole vegetarian thing(as in figure out if its necessary to me or not), maybe when I have time I'll read through this whole thread so I can get more views from other people on it!

I eat meat on occasion, although normally only when I feel my body needs it (I wouldnt really be able to afford it otherwise anyway.)
I kind of think its natural for us to eat and need meat every now and then, I think our bodies need those vitamins etc. that you get in meat sometimes. My Mum told me not long ago that my Dad used to be a vegan, and apparently when me and my sister were kids we were not as healthy as we should've been because our bodies werent getting whatever it is you get from meat to help us grow a bit more. Our Dad stopped being a vegan just for us! 0_o

I'd say I'm still mindful in spite of eating meat though. I wont eat meat unless its free range. I think its ok to eat an animal if its had a good life/been treated with respect.

As I said before though, I'm not completely certain on the subject, since many people oppose the idea. My friend thinks its stupid that I would treat any other animal with the same respect as a human, but will still eat animals.

But I guess my argument to that is that I think you can still eat an animal and respect it's life... there's the idea that of course we can all help each other out in this world, maybe animals are sometimes helping us by being a meal for us?
I do wonder though, if I was faced in a situation where I had to risk my LIFE so that another animal would live, would I do it? Maybe if I couldn't, I should eat my words instead of meat!

It's good to see threads that last for years without going defunct. smile Sometimes I get the impression that internet forums are producing a form of ADD in the masses.

What do I have to say on vegetarianism? Hum. Well I eat meat. I eat a wide variety of things. My understanding of human biology tells me that my species is largely omnivorous. We have forward-facing eyes and bi-focal vision, comparatively short and small intestinal tracts, a single stomach, a variety of different kinds of teeth, and many other reasons. I accept this reality.

I am aware of people who become ill from eating meat, or dairy, or eggs, or fish, and other animal products. I am also aware of people who, if they do not consume meat, become ill, even deathly so. I accept the reality that not all members of my species have the same nutritional needs.

At our level of sentience, we are capable of choosing what we eat for reasons other than the nutritional. This is interesting. As a species, it was our consumption of meats and animal fats that allowed us to develop brains capable of such intelligence. That is not to say that vegetarians will one day regress into chimpanzees. Such a notion is absurd.

For me, I have chosen the route of greatest practicality for my survival, health, and enjoyment of life (in that order, most of the time). As such, I remain omnivorous in behavior. This does not mean that I do not love animals, nor that I do not care for their suffering. I wish that all animals were raised in a clean, respectful, enjoyable environment. I wish that there was less waste produce by the animal product industry. I wish I was wealthier and lived in a more hospitable environment so that I could afford all local foods all of the time. Perhaps, someday, some of these wishes will become a reality. For now, I eat what I can afford and what is practical at the time.

I did not have a vegetarian phase as a child when I found out where meat comes from. I understood that cats eat mice, and lions eat gazelles. I understood that if a lion or tiger were to catch me, I would die and it would eat me and I would have no right to begrudge the animal my flesh. I know that if our positions were reversed, cattle would eat human flesh. It just so happens that we trod along this evolutionary path and they did not. History and retrospect will tell us if this is a good thing or not. Nevertheless, I am happy and grateful that I won the DNA lottery for this life.

Yes, I know the consumption of too much meat is hazardous to one's health. So is the consumption of too much of anything, including water. The greatest carcinogen known to man is oxygen. I have, on occasion glutted myself on meats and sea foods and suffered the digestive consequences of that. When I do stupid things like that, I meditate for awhile on my distress, thank the creatures that taught me this lesson and put me back in my place, and promise not to eat such a large quantity of meat again. Like all humans, I still sometimes forget. For that, I'm grateful too. If I ever achieve perfection, I shall have nothing left to look forward to and work towards. The thought of such a boring existence terrifies me.

I benefit from fruits and vegetables and plants brought to me from far away. I live my life in the north where no oranges and other high-citrus fruits grow. There are no rice-paddies in Canada. I have eaten chicken, turkey, duck, crab, lobster, fish, cow, pig, rabbit, moose, deer, clam, lamb, veal, eggs, milk products, horse, and even dog. Would I eat human if it were offered to me? Yes. I would take it and gratefully eat. I would wish to know the name and history of the person that I might pay proper respects to their spirit and family. I would even eat it if there were other things available for the sheer fact that the flesh would otherwise go to waste when it might benefit the lives of others. Of course, no one would eat someone who died of a disease. One would not eat an animal that died of a disease either. It makes sense.

I would not begrudge my flesh to others when I'm not using it anymore. I would rather that people not kill me for my flesh in the way we do to animals. How do I address this policy ethically? It is my belief that it is alright to raise, kill and eat creatures that are not the same species as myself.

I know that we are all part of the same ecosystem and in that spirit we are all one. So eating another being is rather like eating a part of myself. Strange to think of, yes. But wise. We are also all battling it out for a finite amount of nutrients circulating within that ecosystem. I value my life above everyone else's for while I am not alive, I can do no more good for the world nor indeed affect it or experience it in any way. This I believe until any afterlife should come along and show me the truth of things. Does this fit with Buddhist teachings in any way? I do not know. But it is practical.

That is all I have to say on vegetarianism for the moment.

That one's actually a Taoist story, although I'm not sure of the original source.

That's something that really strikes me..I like that a lot. can you elaborate on it?