From a Christian point of view, we know we live in a broken world. The world was broken by sin and the wages of sin is death. The nature of this broken world is pain and death, of course we all seek to avoid it. The world will not be restored until Christ returns. . . thereafter the lion will lay down with the lamb and all that happy clappy stuff, where animals won't eat each other. What I don't understand is jumping the gun, trying to live as if we already lived in that unbroken/ restored world, especially when it means missing out on a bacon cheese burger.
Heaven is within you according to your scriptures attributed to Luke. Why wait?
I don't mean to single you out. . so I am going to adress the following question to all ya'll vegetarian folk:
What is the worldview that makes you not want to eat meat?
We can not escape the simple fact that being alive comes at the cost of other living organisms. Plants are no less alive than animals, they just do not trigger our mirror neurons in the same way that an animal, particularly mammals do.
To me whether you are eating a spinach plant, or a chicken is fairly immaterial, something is dying either way.
There is no single worldview. Vegetarians and vegans have a variety of reasons. Some reasons will overlap while others may not.
-I do not wish to be the cause of needless suffering if I can avoid it, and I do not want to contribute to the slaughter industry if possible.
-Vegetarians are often healthier, as most people in developed countries eat far more meat than what is healthy.
-According to several sources, the beef industry causes significant environmental damage. There is some controversy here.
-The concept of eating animal muscle, skin, and fat grosses me out. The idea of drinking white fatty liquid meant for calves that comes out of the nipple of a cow does not appeal to me. Allowing said white fatty liquid to develop bacteria cultures or to coagulate to form yogurt or cheese and then eating it does not appeal to me. Eating unfertilized eggs that come out of a chicken is not appetizing to me.
-We all can define ourselves how we wish. I try to make my actions to be in alignment with my feelings as much as possible. I do not view myself as a predator, as a being that consumes animal flesh, and so I am not.
Others may have different views. For example, Hindus believe that God does not want them to eat flesh- it's not natural and it's sinful in their view. They try to be consistent in their nonviolent worldview.
microscopic creatures die by the billions so that i may live. All life kills other life to live. It is the way of the world.
We can not escape the simple fact that being alive comes at the cost of other living organisms. Plants are no less alive than animals, they just do not trigger our mirror neurons in the same way that an animal, particularly mammals do.
To me whether you are eating a spinach plant, or a chicken is fairly immaterial, something is dying either way.
Life does indeed necessarily kill other life, but not all life can suffer in the same way. Animals, especially mammals and birds, have highly developed central nervous systems.
-Lyn