It seems we've started on the wrong footing. There's so much personal attack and barely any meat eating discussion. I accept that my views aren't popular and I understand the consequences of that. People feel I'm attacking their way of living and they feel the need to attack me, the messenger, back. I will not reply to ad hominem attacks, they're a waste of time. I'm not interested in insulting anyone, it's not productive. If you feel insulted please re-read what I wrote and ask yourself if I was really insulting you or if the point I made stirred some anger inside of you. Am I being really self-righteous or are you out of arguments and a personal attack is all your hurt ego can muster? On a side note, bear in mind that English isn't my first language and I think I lack the tactile way of communicating in writing, hence the aid of smiley faces.

Our experiences and environment make who we are and we should all meet each other where we're at with respect and an open-mind. My views may be wrong, but even if so I feel it's healthy to challenge social conventions on a regular basis, to ensure that we do the things we do because we truly believe in them and not because of peer pressure. We'd be appalled at some of the things that were socially acceptable even just a century ago so it'd be naive to think that there's no improvement to be made to our current main-stream ethical values.

For those that argue that plants might suffer just as much as animals. If you feel empathy for plants as much as you care about animals, then that's one further reason to eat just plants since the amount of plants that it takes to feed an animal is an order of magnitude higher than if you eat the plants directly. If you don't feel empathy towards any of them, then ask yourself why and then try for a moment to put yourself in the skin of the animal you eat.

I'm asking very simple questions. Do we need to eat meat? If so why? Is there any scientific reason to eat meat or are the reasons purely based on tradition, what our parents fed us because their parents fed them because of their parents fed them and so on. Is it perhaps due to self-indulgence?

Let's take a moment of reflection, to put ourselves on the hooves of those we have chosen to prey upon. How does it feel to feel pain? If we were a non-human animal would we prefer life or death? If we'd prefer life why do we have the double standard for those who's flesh we eat? Has anyone heard of specieism? Why do we treat certain animals with love and affection while it's accepted that others exist for exploitation?

To end my point here's a 10min speech by someone way more eloquent than me. It's an excerpt of the debate Animals Should be Off the Menu.