0_Wizard
I am a vegetarian. I object to eating meat. What about you?
Many people object to eating meat out of respect for sentient life.
chosen_Vegetarianism_0
Vegetarianism
chosen_topic_0_Vegetarianism
Vegetarianism
Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, and the flesh of any other animal), and may also include abstention from by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism may be adopted for various reasons. Many people object to eating meat out of respect for sentient life. Such ethical motivations have been codified under various religious beliefs, as well as animal rights advocacy. Other motivations for vegetarianism are health-related, political, environmental, cultural, aesthetic, economic, or personal preference. There are variations of the diet as well: an ovo-lacto vegetarian diet includes both eggs and dairy products, an ovo-vegetarian diet includes eggs but not dairy products, and a lacto-vegetarian diet includes dairy products but not eggs.
Vegetarianism by country
This article deals with vegetarianism and veganism by country, comparing the prevalence of vegetarianism and veganism in each country when sources are available by the number of vegetarians and vegans, and listing food standards, laws and general cultural attitudes. Some countries have strong cultural or religious traditions that promote vegetarianism, such as in India, while in other countries secular ethical concerns dominate, including animal rights and environmental protection, along with health concerns. In many countries, food labeling laws make it easier for vegetarians to identify foods compatible with their diets.
Vegetarianism and religion
Vegetarianism is strongly linked with a number of religions that originated in ancient India (Jainism, Hinduism and Buddhism). In Jainism, vegetarianism is mandatory for everyone; in Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism, it is advocated by some influential scriptures and religious authorities. Comparatively, in the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), the Bahá'í Faith and Dharmic religions such as Sikhism, vegetarianism is not promoted by mainstream authorities, although in all these faiths there are small groups actively promoting vegetarianism on religious grounds. Most Indian religions have philosophical schools that forbid consumption of meat and Jainism institutes an outright ban on the same.
Ethics of eating meat
In most societies the great majority of people eat meat when they can get it, but increasing controversy and debate has arisen over the ethics of eating animals. The most commonly given ethical objection to meat-eating is that, for most people living in the developed world, it is not necessary for survival or health; slaughtering animals solely because people enjoy the taste of meat is argued by some to be wrong and morally unjustifiable. Ethical vegetarians and ethical vegans may also object to the practices underlying the production of meat, or cite their concerns about animal welfare, animal rights, environmental ethics, and religious reasons.
Diet in Hinduism
Diet in Hinduism varies with its diverse traditions. The ancient and medieval Hindu texts do not explicitly prohibit eating meat, but they do strongly recommend ahimsa—non-violence against all life forms including animals. Many Hindus prefer a vegetarian or lacto-vegetarian lifestyle, and methods of food production that are in sync with nature, compassionate, and respectful of other life forms as well as nature. The diet of Hindus usually does not include eggs, fish or meat. However, if included, Hindus often favor "jhatka" (quick death) style preparation of meat since Hindus believe that this method minimizes trauma and suffering to the animal.
Psychology of eating meat
The psychology of eating meat is a complex area of study illustrating the confluence of morality, emotions, cognition, and personality characteristics. Research into the psychological and cultural factors of meat eating suggests correlations with masculinity; support for hierarchical values; and reduced openness to experience. Because meat eating is widely practiced but is sometimes associated with ambivalence, it has been used as a case study in moral psychology to illustrate theories of cognitive dissonance and moral disengagement. Research into the consumer psychology of meat is relevant both to meat industry marketing and to advocates of reduced meat consumption.
History of vegetarianism
Vegetarianism has its roots in the civilizations of ancient India and ancient Greece. Vegetarianism is the theory and practice of voluntary non-consumption of the flesh of any animal (including sea animals), with or without also eschewing other animal derivatives (such as dairy products or eggs). The earliest records of vegetarianism as a concept and practice amongst a significant number of people concern ancient India and the ancient Greek civilizations in southern Italy and Greece. In both instances the diet was closely connected with the idea of nonviolence toward animals (called "ahimsa" in India), and was promoted by religious groups and philosophers.
1_Apprentice
I am not and I don't understand it. Can I ask why you made that decision?
0_Wizard
It's an ethical motivation! I believe in animal rights.
Such ethical motivations have been codified under various religious beliefs, as well as animal rights advocacy.
chosen_Vegetarianism_0
Vegetarianism
chosen_topic_0_Vegetarianism
Animal rights
Animal rights is the idea in which some, or all, non-human animals are entitled to the possession of their own lives and that their most basic interests—such as the need to avoid suffering—should be afforded the same consideration as similar interests of human beings. Advocates oppose the assignment of moral value and fundamental protections on the basis of species membership alone—an idea known since 1970 as speciesism, when the term was coined by Richard D. Ryder—arguing that it is a prejudice as irrational as any other. They maintain that animals should no longer be viewed as property or used as food, clothing, research subjects, entertainment, or beasts of burden.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA ; stylized PeTA) is an American animal rights organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. A nonprofit corporation with nearly 400 employees, it claims that it has 6.5 million members and supporters, in addition to claiming that it is the largest animal rights group in the world. Its slogan is "Animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, use for entertainment, or abuse in any other way." Founded in March 1980 by Newkirk and fellow animal rights activist Alex Pacheco, the organization first caught the public's attention in the summer of 1981 during what became known as the Silver Spring monkeys case, a widely publicized dispute about experiments conducted on 17 macaque monkeys inside the Institute of Behavioral Research in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Animal rights movement
The animal rights movement, sometimes called the animal liberation movement, animal personhood, or animal advocacy movement, is a social movement which seeks an end to the rigid moral and legal distinction drawn between human and non-human animals, an end to the status of animals as property, and an end to their use in the research, food, clothing, and entertainment industries. It is one of the few examples of a social movement that was created, and is to a large extent sustained academically, by philosophers. All animal liberationists believe that the individual interests of non-human animals deserve recognition and protection, but the movement can be split into two broad camps.
Steve Hindi
Steven Omar "Steve" Hindi (born ) is an American animal rights activist and businessman. He is the founder and president of the animal rights organization Showing Animals Respect and Kindness (SHARK). Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Hindi grew up in a hunting and fishing culture. In 1985, he caught a 230-pound Mako shark in a feat that received a writeup in the "New York Daily News". He ceased hunting and fishing after witnessing a live pigeon shoot in Pennsylvania on Labor Day, September 4, 1989. Shocked and disgusted by the sight of thousands of pigeons getting shot after flying from boxes, Hindi vowed to give up his hunting hobby and fight against it instead.
Animal Rights Without Liberation
Animal Rights Without Liberation: Applied Ethics and Human Obligations is a 2012 book by the British political theorist Alasdair Cochrane, in which it is argued that animal rights philosophy can be decoupled from animal liberation philosophy by the adoption of the interest-based rights approach. Cochrane, arguing that there is no reason that (nonhuman) animals should be excluded from justice, adopts Joseph Raz's account of interest rights and extends it to include animals. He argues that sentient animals possess a right not to be made to suffer and a right not to be killed, but not a right to freedom.
The Humane Society of the United States
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), based in Washington, D.C., is an American nonprofit organization founded by journalist Fred Myers and Helen Jones, Larry Andrews, and Marcia Glaser in 1954, to address what they saw as animal-related cruelties of national scope, and to resolve animal welfare problems by applying strategies beyond the resources or abilities of local organizations. In 2013, the "Chronicle of Philanthropy" identified HSUS as the 136th largest charity in the United States in its Philanthropy 400 listing. As of 2001, the group's major campaigns targeted five issues: factory farming, animal fighting, the fur trade, puppy mills, and wildlife abuse.
Veganism
Veganism is both the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products, particularly in diet, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A follower of either the diet or the philosophy is known as a vegan ( ). Distinctions are sometimes made between several categories of veganism. "Dietary vegans" (or strict vegetarians) refrain from consuming animal products, not only meat but also eggs, dairy products and other animal-derived substances. The term "ethical vegan" is often applied to those who not only follow a vegan diet but extend the philosophy into other areas of their lives, and oppose the use of animals for any purpose.