I am contemplating becoming a vegetarian but I am torn...?

ha ha you are more empathetic towards animal abuse than child abuse. the statement, "I am seriously considering becoming a vegetarian" is one of the funniest things I've read in a while. why stop at vegetarianism? you know all of the Vegans make fun of the vegetarians, just like the vegetarians condescend to common meat eaters.

I like how you want to believe in something but you're not quite sure. its cute. You should protest war or something. or maybe Tyson meat processors. You should try to make their life suck because you just got a cat and your feelings matter.

speaking of leather shoes, you should protest Nike and sweatshops and child labor. and protest child porn while you're in asia. and human trafficking. and opiates.

there's all of this struggle and strife in our species alone but you just got a cat. I use all natural hemp shampoo that hasn't been tested on animals and its only $50 a bottle. that's where my beliefs stop. I would buy the $100 shampoo that's never been in a 100 foot radius of animals but that's for the stuffy uber vegans. I just bought this $400 cat brush that doesn't remove a single hair on it and is proven to never harm anything ever.

what if the vegetable have feelings and you're insulting them with every okra covered bite? what if a single mother of 5 could only get a job in a meat processing plant and the packages you didn't buy put them under and they had to close leaving her unemployed and she had to separate from her children and they grew up to be perverts and criminals just because you got a cat and started to feel feelings.

I have been a vegetarian for the last 2 years and at first went through the same difficulties. Ghandi has a great quote, "you must be the change you want to see in the world." I feel much happier being a veggie. I don't wear leather, wool etc. But I still eat some cheese and bread, stuff with eggs and milk. I am not a vegan but strive to one day be. I love animals too and believe anything is better than nothing. I never buy products that test on animals. If you go to the Peta web site they have a list of companies that do and don't. They will even mail you a pan-flit and a free vegetarian starter kit. Why not give it a try? I did and never going back.

I guess its up to you? How strongly do you feel about this?

It is a good thing to have empathy for animals, but remember that they still don't have the same sort of rights as humans, however intelligent or fun to be with they are they might not think twice about eating you if they were put in your position!

You might consider that your cats would not mind eating another animal, as they eat if they are hungry. Food can be broken down into nutrients which we all need to get somewhere, whether from nature, wild animals eat each other regularly! Or from the supermarket, like we do nowadays.

One of the good things about being vegetarian is that you pay closer attention to the kind of food you eat, but that is because you would have to find sources of protein other than meat, which is a good source of protein. Another good thing is that it entirely possible to live a vegetarian life these days, without having to eat meat if you don't want to.

Hope this helps!

we are omnivores this means we eat both animals and plants. we are supposed to eat them. not that i think they should be abused in the process of us planing to eat them. no reason to be cruel to your food. but still many people think that being a vegetarian will save an animal or think it is a healthier lifestyle. this is not always true. not eating meat takes out nutrients that you need. also some people go so far to be vegan which means they don't eat or use any animal product or byproduct. like milk and all that. it is your choice though.

also some vegetarians eat some fish and occasionally poultry for special occasions such as thanksgiving. it all comes down to how far you want to take it. if you are going to go all the way vegan i recommend you go to a dietitian or someone like that because there are special vitamins or expensive nuts you are going to have to eat so you don't get sick.

I feel the same way as you. I have been a vegetarian, but It did not last for long because my family are meat eaters and my mother would cook a lot of meat daily. Now, i am in the same spot as you...i want to be a vegetarian, i try to avoid meat as much as possible. I never eat pork, lamb, sheep or beef. Usually just chicken or fish.

Now i am trying to eat less and less of meat, it is not too hard, if you want it, do it. I know it will not stop the torture to animals, but you will feel better for yourself.

If you were to protest against animal killing, I would join you..lol

good luck

I was thinking about that today and I mean what are we but animals? Should we stop a snake from preying on a rat? Should we stop a lion from feasting on a zebra? At least when we slaughter them it isn't a slow and painful death (don't listen to PETA- they are screwed up!!! The say that going fishing is similar to tying a rope around a cat and the otehr end to your car and dragging it down the street. See how strange their minds are?). It's natural to eat meat- and if everyone went vegetarian it would only disrupt the food chain

Even though it's quite true: your becoming a vegan will not have much impact on the slaughter of 'meat' animals, still it's a start. A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.The larger issue is learning to live on planet Earth in a non-destructive way.

With freedom of thought I always draw the line only at MY choosing

No one expects any one person's actions to change the world. You have to understand that you are part of a group of people who seek to resolve some of the cruelty in this world. That is a goal worth participating in. But certainly not one that only one person can achieve.

Basically what you are deciding here is what group of people you belong to.

that is a good question.

I have contemplated this myself.

You need to stay true to yourself.

However, I gave up because I just don't like the substitutions and I rationalized it as I am one person so it really wouldn't make a difference.