OT - question about eating meat

Is it because that's what you've always eaten?
I have always been a huge carnivore,  Dad and grandpa raised chickens, pigs and a beef or 2 every year.  Theres nothing like fresh sausage, eggs and a steak off of a grain raised beef.

 is it because you like the taste? Yes, i love it,  exspecially alongside some fresh veggies.

 is it because you don't know what else you'd eat for protein?
No, i know i could figure the protein out,  just i was raised that God sanctified animals for food, Now, we are supposed to be  good stewards of them, but they are here for a purpose.  If not our bodies wouldn't have been designed to "need" nutrients they offer. I know it is possible to get those nutrients in other ways, just not sure those ways are as efficient.

 is it because you believe it's healthier for you than a vegetarian diet, or what?  I think its more balanced, i dont think any one food group should be excluded from our diets.  Like Atkins,  you have to be careful, running below a certain level of carbs in your diet consistently overtime can damage the kidneys.

And how do you feel about way animals raised for food are treated? Some people are not as good stewards as others,  it is bad, but the truth is not everyone can afford the higher priced more humane meat providers, and are able to maintain a vegetarian or vegan diet.

Or do you not think about how the animals are treated?  Honestly, i try not to think about it.  I dont have the money to buy the higher priced items all the time. 

I have some questions about the idea that God sanctified animals for food.  I'm not saying that's not true, I just have questions about it.

Did God only sanctify certain animals for food?  Or all animals?

If God wants us to be good stewards of the animals, if we buy meat at the grocery store which typically comes from animals that were treated very poorly, does that mean we are not being good stewards?  We didn't raise the animals ourselves but we are supporting those that did.  And does God think it's OK for us to be bad stewards, or support those that are bad stewards, in order to save money?

I certainly don't have a lot of money either, until recently my partner and I qualified for food stamps, and I've gotten my share of free food at the local food pantry.  The free range eggs I get from a local farmer cost about $3 more than the eggs at the grocery store.  If I don't have the extra $3 for eggs, then I don't buy eggs.

I'm not trying to say I am perfect.  I'm not.  I still buy dairy products from the grocery store because I have not been able to find a local farmer to get milk from.  I did switch to soy milk, but I am still eating regular yogurt.  I cut back some on dairy, I am eating much less cheese than I used to, but I still eat a lot of yogurt.  And I eat it because I want the protein and because I love the taste.

You are asking a question i am not sure of the answer on, if all animals are sanctified.  I know certain animals were called unclean in the Old Testament.  So based on that i would say no.

I dont really want to debate over what is or isnt a good steward.  It is hard for me to answer this question without sounding argumentative.  We are to give thanks over every meal whether its meat or veggies or a combination. 

How can i question the stewardship of a soup kitchen that is trying to make every penny count as far as the amount of people they can feed, if they buy meat from a store that supports less than my standard of treatment of animals.  In a perfect world all animals could run free until the day came that we neeeded them for fuel,  but in reality, thats not realistic.  In reality it is a business,  for EVERY farmer,  rancher, etc.  Away to put food on his families table. 

It seems to me that a lot of what we eat is a cultural thing.  In other parts of the world, people eat things that we would never think of eating.  For instance, we won't eat dog meat in this country because we've decided dogs are meant to be pets, not to be eaten.  And we don't eat insects because we've decided they are gross, and we also don't eat many parts of the animals we do eat because somehow we've decided that's gross, while in many parts of the world they eat everything.  You probably know the Bible much better than I do.  It doesn't say in there that we should not eat certain parts of an animal, does it?  Like various organs?  And while it says that some animals are unclean, that's a pretty short list, isn't it?  So it would be OK, Biblically speaking, to eat many of the animals that we do not typically eat in the US?

I understand the point you are making about the soup kitchen needing to make every penny count.  I recently read an interesting post on someone's blog (can't remember whose) where the writer was wrestling with the question of what food to purchase to donate to a food pantry.  If she bought cheap food, like nonorganic and food containing lots of chemicals and stuff, she could afford to donate more.  However, she would not buy that kind of food for her own family, she did not consider it adequate to feed her daughter.  So she thought it might be wrong to expect a mother that relied on the food pantry to feed her children that kind of food, but people that rely on food pantries typically can't be choosy.  She wanted to give the food she believed was the best quality, the kind of food she would give her own child, but she also wanted to give as much as possible.  I'm not sure what she eventually decided, but I thought it was a very interesting issue and it was something I'd never considered before.

While the soup kitchen needs to make every penny count in order to feed as many people as possible, I don't think that has to mean buying cheap meat from places that don't treat the animals well.  Why not just put beans in the soup instead of meat?  Beans would be cheaper than meat from any source, and then the treatment of animals is not an issue.

I understand that the humane treatment of all animals raised for food is not the reality now.  But why is it unrealistic?  I know it's a business, raising and selling animals for food.  But in this country we have many laws that regulate how businesses can do business.  For instance, we have  minimum wage, and we have laws about safety in the workplace.  We didn't always have those laws, at one time workers were often treated very badly and subjected to unsafe conditions at work, and that was justified by saying that businesses needed to make as much money as possible.  But these days, businesses make enough money while paying employees minimum wage and maintaining a safe workplace.

I don't mean to sound argumentative.  I'm interested in hearing what other people have to say on this issue.

i was a premmie and Mother said they put ground meat in my bottle as a baby. I've always blamed that for my love of meat.

I was vegetarian for a couple of years and missed meat and found it hard to balance my protein, that was back when they thought you had to eat everything at the same time.

I have a garden and eat out of the garden all spring, summer and fall. I love the variety of veggies, colors, textures, etc and still eat a lot of beans.

I do think about how it is raised but not very much. I plan on getting a side of beef from a local farmer in the next year but will still buy pork and chicken. Was raised on a chicken farm and have vivid memories of chicken killing days but it hasn't stopped me from eating chicken.

My families preference is for meat. It would still be here even if I didn't eat it.

I think vegetarian is healthier but will have to get healthy otherwise. I am seeming to need over 100g of protein to keep my level up so it would be very difficult without meat.

Meat in a baby bottle?  Wow.

I think buying meat from a local farm is a great idea.  I get my eggs from a local farmer.  I love that I can actually see the chickens and how they are treated.  Makes me feel a lot better about buying them.

I eat meat.  Not a lot. but I do enjoy a steak every now and then.  I think the fact humankind began eating  meat has to do with evolution.  Eat or be eaten. 

I had meat almost daily in my diet growing up.  After RNY, I found that steak meat was difficult to digest.  Some members of my support group are now vegetarians since they had a LOT of difficulty in digesting beef especially.  I do buy ground bison meat once in a while. It's pricey in southern CA, but I find it much easier to digest than ground beef.  Pre-made 1/3 pound patties and individually sealed are around $9-10 per pound.  But I get two "burger meals" out of each 1/3 pound patty. I grill in my Sunbeam Rocket Grill in their disposable parchement bags for 2 minutes. Cut patty in half for 2 meals.  Toast one piece of good whole wheat bread and cut in half.  Add mustard, place patty on toast, cover with other half of toast.  Nice small burger, higher in protein, lower in fat than ground burger.  BTW, most times I do eat even less dense forms of beef, I keep the papaypa enzyme close at hand to help in digestion. DAVE

I was raised in a meat and potato family.   Every meal consisted of meat.   In high school I was a vegitarian for about 5 years, and I didnt do it right.  I needed the protein of the meat back.  Then after getting married to a cattle ranchers son, beef is our main source of protein.   I know some animals are not treated right in some markert.  But the beef we eat is very well treated.  My inlaws spoil the crap out of their cows, and go above and beyond.  I know with the bad you hear about, there is also those good people who treat their animals with the respect they deserve.  Deciding to eat meat is a very personal decision, and if you want to venture out maybe try the organic poultry.   My inlaws cows are all organic, they just dont have that label on them because that all costs extra to sell it that way.  Good luck with your decision..

Aimee

I know that some animals are treated really well.  I think that's typically animals raised on small family farms.  Those raised in what is sometimes referred to as factory farms are not treated well.  I buy eggs from a local farmer, though, and these chickens are very well cared for and happy.  The hen  house is very clean and doesn't smell bad at all - I've stood in it before.  They can go outdoors anytime they want during the day, and have a pretty large area to stroll around and scratch for bugs and worms.  At night the door to the hen house is closed, to keep out predators, but chickens don't want to go out in the dark anyway.  They roost then.  The same farmer raises chickens for meat, and also raises beef and pigs.

I'm not considering going back to eating meat.  But if I was, I would definitely be buying it from a local farmer that I could visit and see for myself how the animals were treated.

I'm glad to hear your inlaws spoil their cows!  And I know many farmers, especially small farms, raise their animals or plants organically but can't afford the organic label.