This I find odd. Actually I find this entire thread odd. I honestly don't understand why anyone is interested in the reason behind anyone else's diet. I couldn't care less why you're a vegetarian, and I wouldn't expect you to care why I eat meat. Likewise I couldn't care less why my friends really like curry, and they don't give a fig for why I don't like it.
It's simply enough to know what people do and don't like to eat and drink, so that you can cater for them. No one needs to justify their diet, IMHO.
I can't believe the debate can generate such a long thread!
so you think there is no moral question to at least be discussed on this topic? what about deliberately and needlessly cruel (whether for taste, tradition, cost or sport) forms of animal consumption?
Personally, I acknowledge eating meat as a moral failing in myself, but take some degree of comfort from many of the arguments raised by meat eaters in this thread (most if not all of which I had already considered but perhaps not as in depth).
I will also not deliberately kill any animal, including insects. If an animal were to be threatening me with injury or death, that changes fast but for example I wouldn't kill a cat that was intent on scratching me a lot (but I'd probably hurt it to discourage it if I couldn't simply avoid it), but I will kill wasps and parasites such as mosquitos, fleas and ticks on sight. I will not kill a fly that is buzzing and irritating me, for example. I don't think all of these things are completely reasoned out in my mind yet. I will attempt to avoid treading on the snails that seem to surround our house after it rains, but do not know exactly what lengths I go to to avoid that...
One thought that does trouble me is what lengths I would go to to defend an animal from harm - if I saw a group of youths burning ants with a magnifying glass, for example, I would probably keep walking, but replacing burning ants with torturing a cat/dog and I believe I would react with a high level of violence (most likely preceded by verbal warnings, but depending on the situation) and one that I would have no viable legal defense for in a court of law (why did you break both of their arms? because he was torturing a cat - I can't see that getting someone off)
ETA: Also, I'm not sure exactly where I stand on trying to persuade others from their respective positions on the above - including when I might politely offer my argument against their action (i.e. if I went vegetarian and someone was eating factory farmed meat), or when I might verbally attack someone for their position (torturing flies or other 'lesser' creatures) and as I've said above, when I might use violence to prevent suffering or death of an animal...but certainly I prefer meat eaters to evangelical vegetarians/vegans
