Vegetarianism At Steak

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Katherine Mann  9LMR - I like sausages

Vegetarianism At Steak

The moral argument of animal rights has been discussed for decades. There are many types of cruelty to animals, including vivisection and animal testing, eating meat, hunting and farming. Campaigners risk their lives to protect animals, but some people are totally opposed to the idea of rights for them. Should we eat white meat and not red? Should we stop breeding animals for food? The fact is that although more than 25% of the British population doesn’t think eating meat is safe or healthy, only 4.5% actually avoid it. The arguments for vegetarianism include cruelty, health matters and taste. But there are almost as many good arguments against it for the same type of reasons. This essay will weigh up the various disputes over vegetarianism, concluding with my personal opinion.

What is vegetarianism? The dictionary definition is someone who doesn’t eat meat. But this is not the case with over 24% of the Great British citizens belonging to vegetarian groups. Many call themselves a “veggie” but eat poultry, seafood and use animal based or tested products. Some vegetarians choose fish burgers at fast food outlets as a meat-free option. Such people will claim not to eat meat for whatever reason, then perfectly happily devour a McChicken Sandwich with added Barbecue Sauce (containing gelatine - animal fat). One particular word that could be used to describe these people is hypocritical. Why do they eat one meat and not another? It is a fact that chickens are the worst treated out of all farmed animals, especially battery hens bred for eggs. If the reason is because they do not like the taste of some meats, then they cannot be titles vegetarians. I personally do not like Coca Cola, but does this give me a good reason to force my parents to spend £2 a week more for food shopping so as to avoid it and inconvenience anyone by insisting on only drinking uncarbonated drinks?

This point aside, there are a handful (4%) of vegetarians that do abide by all the “rules”. These are generally called vegans, and do not use any animals related products. This includes leather, milk and obviously meat.

Avoiding meat is a lot harder than one may think. Many types of pasta, for instance, contain egg which is from a chicken. All dairy produce derives from animal milk, meaning they cannot, or will not, eat yoghurt, cheese or butter. But doesn’t this just inconvenience themselves as well as others? Apparently not.

“Most people become vegetarian because they believe it is wrong to slaughter animals.” - The Vegetarian Society. This is a true point, most people believe it is not at all acceptable to kill an animal for food. But they believe it is right to slaughter an animal to find a cure for disease, or to kill an animal for its skin. What I am trying to say is, if you are going to not eat meat for one reason then you might as well at least think of another reason. Animals used in laboratories are worse kept than any farm animal, so why do they believe this is right? Because it is not directly affecting the people. They see meat in shops, and think of the animals being slaughtered. But when they see a cured person walk out of a hospital, or they find their headache has stopped after taking aspirin, they do not see a mouse with growths on its legs dead in a bin. I am trying to say that there is no point in just not eating meat, this is not going to help stop cruelty to animals. In fact, vegetarians alone are not doing any good at all. As Carla Lane, a writer and animal welfare campaigner, said, “It’s no good crying out against the [calf export] trade if you are going to have milk.” She is a vegetarian.

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Many communities live on meat. The Massai tribe of Africa is a good example of this, as in drought seasons they thrive on every part of the cow. After milking, the cow is slaughtered, then the tribe eat the meat and use the milk and blood together as a beverage. The bones are used to build structures and houses. They seem to find nothing wrong with this; the word “barbaric” does not enter their minds as this is their only means of food, especially if the crops are not growing well. The cow is considered sacred in these ...

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