Tuesday, September 15, 2009

The Art of Eating Meat in Front of a Vegetarian

Recently, as I was reading my University’s student run paper, the Rebel Yell, I found a rather amusing article titled: “From the other side: Veggie delights change social views.” How could anyone avoid reading such a grandiosely titled article? Hopeful to gain an insight as to how vegetables managed to change the perspective of human society and its views, I was left standing aghast by the end of the article. Basically, the author Shane Collins simple trapezes about the article gloriously announcing the delectable tastes of various vegetables and how he was proud that he and his vegetarian brethren are showing compassion and are “reducing [the] suffering,” of animals to quote his words.

Wait, wait, wait a minute. Reduce suffering of animals by becoming vegetarian? This smells like fishy PETA business to me.

I fully understand the concept of vegetarianism for those who follow a faith that calls upon it. I even begrudgingly understand those who are vegetarian for its supposed health benefits. But those who are vegetarian to respect animal rights and end animal suffering? That’s a laughable idea in my book.

Remember that one of the basic lessons in biology taught to us is that we as a human species are supposedly classified as mammals. We are also designed as omnivores. If you look at everything from our digestive organs to the way our teeth are designed, we are clearly built to devour both meat and vegetables.

With this in mind and using this ideology, don’t we as human beings have every right to eat meat from cattle as an endangered cheetah is entitled to hunt antelope? In comparison, the way we slaughter swine for consumption is similar in many respects to wild felines or dogs hunting its prey in the wild.

If the natural cycle that we learned in the movie, the Lion King holds true, why are vegetarians out there propagating this idea that eating meat is a guilty pleasure and that they are above such cruelty to animals. Ask any semi-coherent vegetarian (a possible contradiction), if a lion is able to sustain on a vegetarian diet. That vegetarian should answer you by saying no. You should ask them why not. Its because lions are designed to be carnivores, a beast that only eats other animals.

Then why should humans, a supposed natural creature of this world, be suppressed from living as it’s built to live: as an omnivore? The next time your sitting with a vegetarian friend who’s lecturing you about the barbaric nature of eating meat, remind that person you’re simply doing your part in helping reduce global warming by stopping cattle from releasing methane gas in their flatulence.

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