Should meat be illegal?

As much as I'd like to say yes I can't because there are many people who have to eat meat. I have a friend who has crohns and cannot eat a lot of plant foods without later needing surgery to remove part of her intestines that become blocked. Her body cannot digest plant matter. So she pretty much lives on meat and maybe bread. She will sometimes have veggies because she loves them but it always leads to stomach pain for her.
And I know there are a lot more other digestive disorders that are similar to this where the person cannot digest plants.
So to make meat illegal would kill these people. Instead of making meat illegal we need to make treating animals like they aren't living, feeling beings illegal. Killing to survive is a fact of life in nature. But killing in the way humans kill to "survive" is an abomination.

What a hot topic. I'm not going to answer the question per say. But here is my take. I believe in free agency. But I also believe that one should do there own dirty work. If you want to eat meat, fine, you raise it, kill it, clean it, and cook it. My prediction for the future, see Soylant Green.

my ethics say murder is wrong, slavery is wrong, genocide is wrong, rape is wrong, torture is wrong. and i force everyone in society to live by that ethic. what the hell is the difference between forcing rapists into jail and outlawing the murder of non-human animals? oh, boohoo, you went veggie for your own *personal* beliefs. some of our personal beliefs are for the common good, like believing hospitals have to care for everyone who walks in, not just those who can pay. yes, i would vote to make killing animals (whether for food or clothing) illegal and to prevent the import of such items. just because people will break the law doesn't mean we don't have them. we have non-discrimination laws though people are very good at breaking it.

and voltaire never said that thing about not agreeing but fightning for. it was one of his biographers describing a part of his life. it's a little depressing that people attribute it to him instead of his biographer :(

Definitely. Killing an animal should be treated the same way we relate to killing humans, it's murder. It should only be okay to kill an animal if your survival depends on their death. Self defense would be okay and hitting a deer/squirrel/etc on the road would not be charged either unless there was proof it was done intentionally.

To those who said "morality should never be enforced" are you stupid? Do you also think murderers, rapists, child molesters, etc should never be punished and allowed to continue their crime as well? I highly doubt it. Would you say the same thing back in the day about slavery? We cant force morals on people so let them have slaves? I question whether these people really want rights for animals or not. Doesn't seem like it.

Wow, just wow. Thank God for my son-I hope to teach him how to live a moral life. And I'll reproduce as my husband and I see fit. Your instance is isolated-there are those who admit their crimes. Now I see why you have no children. You really have no idea how you'd answer this until you do. Stick a fork in me, I'm done......

Have a child, meet someone who raped your mother, have contact with someone who hacked your best friend into pieces and thought it was fun, and then come back with your answer and I guarantee it will be different.

Yes, and let criminals roam the streets and steal our children in the middle of the night! Fun!

oh MK ..... now you want to know who builds jails ?
... that would be the same ones who
run the meats ... the banks , same as usual

.... but in my notional utopian daydream ,
believe it or not ,
we go beyond the prison ,
because there will be no more prisons ,
other than those in which
we choose to incarcerate ourselves in our own mindbodyspirits ...
freedom is a faraway space ....
and we are still very distant from that destination
if that is what we want ... for all

TryNotToHardenYourHeart

ok cool down the pace children ....
this always happens when y'all
start with your chatting-up-flesh-talk
on the slower level of things ...
i'm easily bored with slogans and labels .......
feeding the confusions of standards and convictions .....
is there a common intention ....?
i thought we supposed to be
getting tuned up
to a deeper level of human higher vibrationz

2 sides 2 every thing .... any one who has a heart will know that

i have to admit that some of the answers to this question disturb me. especially coming from those that are vegan. i fail to see how this has become the "hot topic" that it has, but it seems that it is pretty controversial. i think a more fitting question might be: "are animals food for humans?". for those that would claim to be ethical vegans, the answer should be an obvious "no". when you think of "meat", do you think only of chickens, cows, fish, and pigs? or do you also realize that "meat" would also mean cats, horses, dogs, and even people? of course, there's two types of vegans. there's the vegan that doesn't consume any animal products just for health reasons and then there's the vegan that is ethical. for the vegan that is vegan for mainly (or only) health concerns, i can understand that animals may still be viewed as source of food and there may be some rationalizing that humans have some sort of "right" to steal another being's life in order to have lunch meat or indulge in a steak. there's no regard or consideration for the actual animal's natural *right* to freedom and life outside of our very convoluted human culture. if you believe that humans have some sort of claim to ownership over animals and the natural world, then it makes sense that one might also believe that have some right to eat them... or for others to eat them. the bottom line is that no human society has any ownership over animals nor the right (outside of pure savagery) to eat them. we have no more right to eat animals than a man has claim to a woman as property. so all this talk of taking other's (human) rights away is morally errant... and it has nothing to do with human freedoms or laws. and it isn't equivalent to veg*nism being outlawed. i know that most of us that have the ethical conviction to be veg*n are not bound by any legal system that would dictate the boundaries of those convictions. i'm certain many of you would break that (ridiculous) law and never give it a second thought and just continue following your heart as you do every day. so veg*nism being outlawed shouldn't be a concern. by outlawing the slaughter and consumption of animals would -in now way, shape, or form- be a violation of human rights. meat consumption is unnecessary, unhealthy, and extremely gluttonous. the only rights being violated are those of the animals that are tortured, suffer, and die violently excruciating deaths.

[note: if you disagree, please feel free to write me a personal message. i'm always up for intelligent enlightenment.]

This is not a popular sentiment here..but here goes:

If you have the ability to outlaw eating meat, there is also the flip side that says being vegetarian can be outlawed.

Most people are not vegetarian. Are you ready to have your rights taken away because someone thinks you cannot think for yourself? If you are willing to have such a vote.....then keep your stance. However, if you want your rights, then others are entitled as well.

I do not believe in the killing of animals. There are people who feel you will die without eating meat. I diagree with them, but I do not feel my beliefs & theories rise above their rights to theirs.

I also do not feel this country needs, gasp, more legislation to counter "stupid". Yes, people are entitled to be stupid in our country. That does not equate to allowing rape or wife battery. The subject is outlawing meat eating, not allowing rape.

We need to win ideas with education. Making a law just says that we don't have the correct idea unless it is stamped with government approval processes.....well, look at where that gets us...ummmm the fda, a wonderful extension of our gov process which keeps us loaded up w/drugs & great food??......our president, no explanation needed.....the fact that technically, by not having the era pass, we as women do not have equal rights to men.....gay people in most states do not have equal protection under the law; in fact discrimination is legal w/jobs & hate crimes, etc.....

Need I go on??

Legislating lack of freedom is dangerous...look at what the last 8 years got us. A lot more laws and a lot less freedom. I don't want a government body in my kitchen, and that is what I believe you are asking for.

Yes!
But there'd have to be a program of filtering it out...like people who wanted to could eat meat currently in existence, at first it could just be illegal to produce more.

ok in one corner we have the animal being castrated and slit wide open from head to toe limb from limb...

in the other corner we have the poor human and his right to choose being threatened...

and some of you people (?vegans?), worry about the human? ..and vote No??? G's! Now i gotta watch out for vegans too.

I would vote yes. For any issue, I cast my vote in hopes of trying to change the world to be a better place to live in. Everyone does this with their vote in hopes of seeing things change the way THEY want them to change. That being said, I agree with VA and others. Hopefully in time we will see the "error of our ways" regarding animal rights just as we have with slavery, women's rights, etc.

I wish it could be illegal!!

i agree with Vegan Avenger 200%. murder is murder. harm is harm. torture is torture. be human on non-human animal.

I have a hard time wrapping my head around this in some ways. i think almost everyone on here believes animals to be their equals. i also believe everyone feels it's ok to have laws against killing humans. if humans and animals are equal, why shouldn't we extend the laws that protect humans to animals? If people think that humans should be protected from murder and abuse but animals shouldn't- I don't think they could really think animals are their equals. Perhaps that's the difference.

On the other hand, when debating meat-eating with my non-veg friends i always tell them that it's their choice, i would never force my opinion on them.

The thing is- i am not sure how much i really mean it. i think because i can't force my opinion on them, i may as well tell them that. nobody wants to be forced to do something they don't like. so let them think they have a choice and maybe they will be more likely to choose it.

I don't know what the answer is- I see parts of both sides, but my gut tells me that if it's right to prohibit murder against humans it should be right to do the same for animals.

absolutely not. everyone has a right to choose what they want to consume, and if it includes meat then let them be. i don't want someone telling me what i can or can't eat, so why would i want to impose that on someone else? i think there definitely needs to be more strict laws on the way we produce meat and dairy products, but making meat illegal? nope.

I wouldn't but if it were possible, I would make laws restricting how much land could be used for raising animals for agricultural purposes. I would make laws against factory farming practices. This would make things more enviromentally friendly and meat more expensive but resources could be spent on more enviromentally friendly options for certain proteins and vitamins that people normally get from meat. No more super poor and super obese, without the money to pay for the health problems caused by living off cheap fatty food exclusively. Meat would become too expensive for fast food.

Definately! We have laws that punish the murder of humans....the murder of animals should also be punished, if not moreso because they have no power, freewill, or voice!

No it shouldn't. However farming it should be if you want to raise, hunt and kill your own food then go head if you have it in your heart to see the pain and suffering as the fear of death sets in and can stomach the thought and actions of "cleaning" your meat than be my guest eat your meat but dont be a pussy and leave the dirty unseen work to to the farmers of the world. i dont think you should be able to have you cake and eat it to, with out a cow patty and the finacianl strain of rasing that one animal for a couple meals. then if you do that be my guest!

Yes, meat should be illegal !

Coralie

We are a group of forty people from different backgrounds who have been working on a project for which we'd like your advice and support. The project involves demanding the worldwide abolition of meat.

Meat causes more suffering and death than any other human activity. Eating meat implies either a denial of animals' ability to suffer, or simply indifference to their suffering. This denial and indifference are reflected in the lack of consideration given to sentience in general, both human and non-human. Meat-eating has a negative influence on people's concern for animals in many other contexts.

The history of human slavery, and campaigns for its abolition in the 18th and 19th centuries, has convinced us of the need to formulate a demand for the abolition of meat. This could take the form of a clear political demand, worded in a way that makes it acceptable to as many people as possible. Working together in a group online, we have agreed to use the following wording:

Because meat production requires the killing of animals,!

because their living conditions and slaughter cause many of them to suffer,

because sentient beings shouldn't be mistreated or killed unnecessarily, therefore, farming, fishing and hunting animals for their flesh, as well as selling and eating animal flesh,

should be abolished.

This resolution is based on a widespread belief, common to most countries, that sentient beings should neither be mistreated nor killed without necessity. Logically,
meat requires the killing and mistreatment of animals
meat isn’t necessary
therefore, meat should be abolished.

With your help we hope to launch this demand in 2008, the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Man, which abolished human slavery worldwide. We are hoping also that an international movement will be created to carry the message so that our goal is reached before the end of the century in some countries. This will not mean the end of all animal exploitation, nor of speciesism, nor of all animal suffering. However, it will be a real progress, and could be a basis on which further progress can be achieved.

We would be very pleased if you would support our resolution, and help us to publicize it.
Each participant or group will choose their own way of promoting the project, in the same way that the demand for the abolition of slavery was supported by very different groups and individuals.

Additional texts explaining the project are available on the personal web site of one of us:

http://meatabolition.blogspot.com/

You can read some questions and answers here :

http://en.m-eat.org/wiki/FAQ

Communication between the interested parties to this project is essential. Knowing each other’s opinions and debating them enables the different members of the movement to keep abreast of initiatives, strategies, problems, and means, and if necessary to pool their efforts. You are invited to join either the French discussion list:

http://fr.groups.yahoo.com/group/abolitiongroup/

or the international list (in English) :

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/meatabolition/

We would be delighted if some of you were to open lists or forums in other languages on the theme of the abolition of meat.:

Looking forward to reading your questions and reactions, either on one of the abovementioned lists, or at this address: contact@m-eat.org

Yours sincerely,

of the movement for the abolition of meat

well its a loaded question for me. I do agree in everyone having a voice and choices. But things we know are bad for you, have strict laws and or banned. drugs kill you, minors can't buy cigarettes... but red meat a dangerous thing is still out on the streets. I know it sounds silly, but I really don't understand/know of... any food laws out there. granted food is scarce in places and any food is better than none. but wealthy countries... I don't see why not. I mean pork is lethal!

That being said, I do think that meat is at the low end of the spectrum. In my point of view, I'd rather die quickly than to spend most of my life being tortured. If given the choice between meat consumption laws, and stricter animal humanity laws... I'd put my vote in the latter.

Nope wouldn't make it illegal but would outlaw and punish all the meat processors that violate animal laws that apply to pets. Why is a cow different then a dog? Factory farms, feed lots, majority grain feed, stun guns, battery cages, etc. I'd outlaw it all. I'd also require that slaughterhouses and animal facilities can't be totally confidential meaning you could "FOIA" (freedom of information act) an ag processor similar to the government and be allowed to tour the facility.

i am shocked and stunned at the amount of veg*ns that given the (hypothetical) chance to save millions an millions of living creatures would turn it down WTF!! rewording freedom of speech(speech being the operative word!!) quotes and concerns of a "meat black market" just don't come anywhere near an argument for what would be one of the greatest advancements in the role of humans on this planet

here i have another good answer...

ask the animals.

The animals life and freedom thereof has priority over a stupid humans' right to choose or not. As long as animals are dying because of humans: fuck human rights.

"I may not agree with what you say [or do, in this case] but I will fight for your right to say it [or do it]." Remember that quote?

I would vote no because people should have the right to choose. The point isn't to force people to do it but rather persuade them, inform them and let them make their own choice. As much as I want animals to have their own freedoms we can't take away human rights in the process.
As others have said below me, I would push for tighter regulations but nothing else. What vegans and vegetarians don't realize is that it is all about choice and informing others not pushing ideals on them.

The dissenters here keep referring to meat as "it" or a "thing." It's not a "what," it's a "who" and since this is hypothetical, I'll say hell yeah, outlaw meat! There is no real reason for it: a protein deficiency is hogwash and our bodies aren't even made to completely digest meat the way true carnivores are. And, of course, factory farming is awful.

absolutely YES without any doubt MEAT IS MURDER anyone with any doubt of this please watch earthling, meet your meat etc... it cant or wont happen over night but one day!!

At least in most cases, yes I believe so. Animals deserve the right to live their lives in peace as much as we humans do. It should be illegal for the same reasons that other forms of exploitation and torture already are or should be. Factory farming or small family farms, it's all exploitation that is completely unnecessary. Ideally, people would reach a level of consciousness where they would no longer find such violence and exploitation acceptable on their own, and in it's place would be harmony and peace, but until that happens laws are needed to protect those who need our protection.

I would vote no, and instead push for legislation geared toward treating all animals more humanely, such as a ban on the use of hormones such as rbgh, as well as restrictions on how much antibiotics can be used (especially since this can result in the development of more resistant bacterial species), as well as requiring farmers to treat their animals more humanely (larger living quarters, allow them to exercise, etc.)

No. It's up to each individual to consume whatever it is, be it meat, plants, junk, etc. The government is doing a good job of trying taking away our rights to organic produce and natural health as it is. Now what I would vote on is doing away with factory farming. The conditions in which these animals are raised is awful.

DEFINITELY.