• Welcome to Religious Forums, a friendly forum to discuss all religions in a friendly surrounding.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
    • Access to private conversations with other members.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

ALL RELIGIONS: How do you justify meat eating?

The Anointed

Well-Known Member
I am not a vegetarian but I am Hindu. Like 550 million other Hindus of the world I eat meat and i've been constantly criticised for it.

The main argument is you're killing another creature for taste.

How do you justify it?

Cain was a vegetarian, and gave some of his harvest as an offering to God, which offering was rejected, while Abel slaughtered the first born lamb of one of the sheep of his flock and gave the best parts of it as an offering to the Lord, and the Lord was pleased with the offering of Abel. That's good enough for me. I love a nice roasted leg of lamb, with baked potatoes, pumpkin and beans, with gravy and mint capers, yummy, yummy.
 

Road Less Traveled

Active Member
I am not a vegetarian but I am Hindu. Like 550 million other Hindus of the world I eat meat and i've been constantly criticised for it.

The main argument is you're killing another creature for taste.

How do you justify it?

Some have said that the creature didn’t physically die in vain, or also that it’s better off to no longer have to suffer, battle harsh conditions to survive, run around in circles just doing what it was programmed to do. Or some have said the animal, without choice, made a selfless sacrifice to nourish.

What I cannot justify is the food chain in general. Such a farm factory, and always at the expense of something else. Personally, I’d rather not have to eat. Unfortunately this biological machine has chompers and needs satiated.

If the practice of others is due to texts, perhaps meat can refer to what is being consumed by one’s mind.

I personally don’t judge others by what they eat in a literal sense, as someone else mentioned that a lot of things vegetarians eat were also once living. And even without the food consumption... there are an array of products we use that most are even oblivious to that use the contents of animals.
 

Aupmanyav

Be your own guru
"Jeevo jeevasya Bhojanam" (One life form is food for another life form).

"Ahastāni sahastānām, apadāni catuṣ-padām;
phalgūni tatra mahatāṁ, jīvo jīvasya jīvanam."
Srimad Bhagawatham 1.13.47

(Those who are devoid of hands are prey for those who have hands; those devoid of legs are prey for the four-legged. The weak are the subsistence of the strong, and the general rule holds that one living being is food for another.)
 
Last edited:

sooda

Veteran Member
I eat very little meat (usually once to twice per week), and I would much prefer to be vegetarian but my wife cannot go in that direction because it negatively affects her immunity system. With me, otoh, I've gone for months without eating any meat, and I much prefer how I feel when I do that.

My family has always eaten small portions of meat and lots of veggies. For us its about moderation and balance.
 

Vinayaka

devotee
Premium Member
If the practice of others is due to texts, perhaps meat can refer to what is being consumed by one’s mind.

God on you for mentioning this.

The mental diet consists of TV we watch, books we read, discussion we enter. If an individual constantly watches violent TV, reads similar books, and enters discussion with like minded hateful individuals, surely he's to be avoided more than some random meat eater.

And yet we have as much self control regarding what enters the mind as what enters the mouth.
 

metis

aged ecumenical anthropologist
My family has always eaten small portions of meat and lots of veggies. For us its about moderation and balance.
Yep, and that's great, imo.

I actually prefer going avo-lacto vegetarian, and have done so periodically, but my wife has trouble with this because when she has done it with me for an extended period of time, it seems to weaken her immunity system. So, our compromise is to do what you're doing.
 

Wandering Monk

Well-Known Member
Wonder how other carnivores justify eating meat?

Humans have canine teeth for tearing things. We evolved to be omnivores.
 

Saint Frankenstein

Wanderer From Afar
Premium Member
I am not a vegetarian but I am Hindu. Like 550 million other Hindus of the world I eat meat and i've been constantly criticised for it.

The main argument is you're killing another creature for taste.

How do you justify it?
No need to justify it as we are animals and meat eating is part of nature. Humans are not above nature. All lifeforms must feed on other lifeforms to survive. I believe scientific research has shown that our meat eating habits helped our brains to grow so large. Vedic Hinduism wasn't vegetarian, either. They sacrificed animals like all Indo-European peoples did, as the Proto-Indo-Europeans were pastoralists who raised cattle for trade and sustenance. The popularity of vegetarianism in India seems to be a later occurance due to the influence of Buddhism and Jainism.
 
Last edited:

The Reverend Bob

Fart Machine and Beastmaster
In order to survive one has to eat. Now the question is how can you survive and at the same time cause less suffering to others? By eating just the single sensed beings you cause much less pain, hence attract way less karma than killing a 5 sensed animal. But yes everytime we do cut plants we will gain some karmic effect.
I don't believe in karma
 

Saint Frankenstein

Wanderer From Afar
Premium Member
Are you of the opinion that God loves only the human part of His creation and not the animals and plants on this planet or indeed life everywhere in His universe?
I assume this God created nature, right? So he created animals to eat each other. Take it up with him. Sometimes humans are eaten, too.
 

Saint Frankenstein

Wanderer From Afar
Premium Member
If i go out to the forest and pluck plants, it will create karma, but as human beings we do need to eat, and according to buddhist teaching plant is lower down on the karma rebirth cycle then animals , birds or fish. meaning that plants are not seen as higher form of beings (in my understanding)
And i do think you agree that we do need to eat something?
You don't spend much time around trees, do you? Some trees are thousands of years old. True ancients, but you belittle them.
 

Saint Frankenstein

Wanderer From Afar
Premium Member
Force is not the answer, but there should be a heavy taxation on non-vegetarian foods, at least doubling the price and increasing further (like wth tobacco).
It's already hard enough to get nutritious food, yet you want to punish poor people more. It's like how raising the cost of cigs is just punishing poor and working class people more. Upper class people can still afford those things and often pay more for higher quality products anyway. Fish, lean meat and chicken are very good for you so trying to punish people for eating it is unconscionable and extreme.
 

Saint Frankenstein

Wanderer From Afar
Premium Member
The appendix may have served a functional purpose milleniums back, but it does not have one now as humans have evolved out ot it.

Similarly with respect to the canine teeth.

There was possibly a time in prerecorded human history when cannibalism used to take place. Children possibly were especially cherished as targets due to their tender flesh. As human beings got civilized they decided to eat other animals and plants through agriculture rather than eat each other up.

Vegetarianism, I would say, is the next step in human civilization, to ensure growth in human sensibilities and cultural values.
You're wrong about the appendix: Your Appendix Might Serve an Important Biological Function After All

As for cannibalism, much of that was more likely eating of dead bodies and not actually killing people to eat them. It's hard to find accurate information about this since a lot of it comes from atrocity propaganda from colonialism or by some other enemy discussing a group.
 

Aupmanyav

Be your own guru
I eat meat regularly and I feel there is no need to justify the act. Food is food, period. If one wants to limit themselves as a personal choice (and yes, following one's religious tenets is a personal choice) that's their business.
It is also a matter of tradition. If my community is non-veg., then being non-veg. is no harm to me. Going any further than that is a personal choice. I would say it is good, if you can manage it. But I won't force myself to it.
The popularity of vegetarianism in India seems to be a later occurrence due to the influence of Buddhism and Jainism.
And even that is limited to 30% Hindus. 70% are non-vegetarians.
I don't believe in karma
You mean you believe your actions have no consequences? If they have, then it is 'karma'. :)
If i go out to the forest and pluck plants, it will create karma, but as human beings we do need to eat, and according to buddhist teaching plant is lower down on the karma rebirth cycle then animals , birds or fish. meaning that plants are not seen as higher form of beings (in my understanding).
If the Buddhists think that way, they need to revise their thinking.
Oh? When was my salt alive? And just once? Are you sure about that? :D
All the time and I am sure of that. The electrons, neutrons and protons in Sodium and Chlorine part of salt have always been whirring just like they do in a human body. 'All this here is Brahman' (Sarvam Khalu Idam Brahma).
 
Last edited:

Aupmanyav

Be your own guru
Plants and animals are different at the cellular level.
There are life forms which you cannot put clearly in either vegetable kingdom or in Animal kingdom.
Is it a plant? Is it an animal? Meet the organisms who don't like labels
https://www.google.com/search?q=life+forms+which+are+nither+vegetation+nor+animals
Some of the plants I’ve eaten from remain alive.
Ah, like the mango tree from which I got the mangoes. Just like the cow from which I got the milk for my tea. Best of both worlds.
"Murgā bhi nahin marā, aur khāne wāle ko bhi mazā āyā"
(The cock also was not killed, and the eater also got his pleasure). :D
 
Last edited:

ajay0

Well-Known Member

Well, I have seen people who have had appendix operations, years back, and they seem fine to me.

Laparoscopic Appendix Removal (Appendectomy) Surgery Patient Information

The appendix produces a bacteria destroying protein called immunoglobulins, which help fight infection in the body. Its function, however, is not essential. People who have had appendectomies do not have an increased risk toward infection. Other organs in the body take over this function once the appendix has been removed.
 
Top