That’s not to say you should be a complete asshole carnivore either. Ew.

If you eat meat you’re responsible for where your dollars go, and if they go into factory farming, you’re honestly more cruel than a vegan in that way, because the animals in factory farms live terrible lives from birth to death.

And I get this is why many people are vegan. I’m mostly plant-based myself. We all try the best we can.

But it’s just plain ignorant to think that as a vegan you’re living a cruelty-free life.

It’s ignorant to think that by participating in the food system, but opting out of meat consumption, you’re free from indirect responsibility for the loss of animal lives. You’re NOT free from it if your food is harvested by machines or packaged in plants.

If you eat food from a box, or a grocery store, you’re responsible, even if what you eat isn’t an animal.

You can grow your own food and get closer to the ideal, cruelty-free life.

And if you eat meat, for God’s sake, support local farmers who give their animals a good, happy existence while they’re here. Yes, it costs more but #1: it’s as close as you can get to kind while eating meat #2: it supports restorative agriculture if they’re raising their animals well and rotating pastures

#3: eating healthy animals versus sick animals means you’ll be healthier or sicker, too.

And who needs to eat animal protein with every meal? Honestly, practically no one. I say that because it’s good to be judicious with our superlatives. Meat is a sacred gift, a treat, eat it as you would a condiment.

Our ancestors had to work very hard to hunt and to eat, and a successful hunt meant a tribe-wide celebration. Imagine that kind of gratitude. Although we do not have to work that hard anymore, I think it’s important that we give that kind of thanks to anything we consume that sustains us.

Also, I read that some plants have a higher consciousness and intelligence than bivalves. So if you need to eat animal protein for health reasons, and yes some people do, you might want to consider scallops and such.

Also vegans take note of the above. That means the plants you eat very much know they are dying and/or being consumed. I think we all need to consider how we evaluate intelligence and consciousness, because there’s a tendency to write-off that which we do not understand.

It’s so easy to feast on a salad and believe we are free from consequence, but in reality it’s all consequence in this realm of life.

Amen to that. Meat once a week is enough and by not eating meat ever day, you don't have to buy the cheap stuff.

Omg preach

And in the US, migrant workers pick most of the vegs in fields and they are treated cruelly

What brought this on?

This reminds me of the good place system where even if you think you are doing good there is a huge chain of consequences you don't even think about. At least many more people are becoming conscious of this and are taking steps towards doing better

💫 No conscious consumerism under capitalism 💫

No such thing as a vegetarian let alone vegan. #bacteriaandmitesmattertoo

Plant forward is a decent choice, though.

100%. People are very against hunting and I'm not wh...

Sienia: that’s awesome about the elk

Factory farming is the villain

TillHapmouche: You know, we always feel sad taking a life. We've decided that if we're going to eat meat, we have to be involved in the process. It's humbling, sad & we respect what we are consuming SO MUCH more. When we thought about 1 life vs. however many animals we would contribute to killing each year by shopping at the grocery store it made sense.

Yeah, I have a family friend who’s a bow hunter who is very much about honoring the animal and making use of everything he can

We need life to live - plants live too [and are far more complex, genetically than any animal. Also, some of the things that vegans avoid to 'be cruelty free endangers the very creatures they want to protect - like bees - honey is less cruel than agave nectar.

gogolita yep, a lot of people forget about that

We should all probably exist on air alone so we don't harm anything. Oh wait. What about all those bacteria and viruses we breath in? Damn. We suck and nothing anyone does to try to be a better person is worth it. I am going to eat flesh forever because perfection is impossible

I personally think if you are going to eat meat you should be responsible for killing it and butchering it. Absent that? Do the best you can. Thats all

The snark is strong with this one!