Vegetarian Dilemma

Lately I have been thinking about Vegetarianism... I say lately, but I really mean I am always mulling it over in my mind. It is one of those hard questions that I refuse to give up on without truly understanding it. Felicity hates when Hayley and I talk about it because she is convinced that we hate animals, but we don’t. We are just trying to deeply explore all the different ways of looking at things without being for or against any particular view.

First off, I eat meat. Right now. It is what we grew up with, and meat is nutritious, and our ancestors only survived to be able to give us this chance at life by eating meat. Humans are omnivores.

A lot of people choose not to eat meat because they feel that it is wrong to kill animals. This stance only brings up more questions for me. Is it wrong to kill animals and eat them? Lions do it.. Is it wrong for them? Actually, in the wild ALL animals are eaten. They are killed by predators, disease, starvation or age, but something eats them all. It would seem that in the natural world all life depends on death. That makes me wonder, are we to be considered a part of the natural world? Are we something apart from it?

If we are a part of the natural world, then I suppose there is nothing wrong with killing an animal and eating its flesh. This brings up interesting feelings. Hard feelings maybe. Death is a hard one for us to ponder. It is another one of my hard questions.

So, are we, or are we not a part of the natural world? I sort of think we are, but different somehow. We have a choice, and we have an ever evolving mind that pulls us this way and that. We are also different from all the other animals in that we seem to have released ourselves from the life and death constraints placed on everyone else. We can protect ourselves from predators, disease, the weather. In some ways maybe we are not exactly a part of the natural world after all. We have insulated ourselves from it.

So, perhaps maybe, if we are not a part of the natural world, but outside of it in some way, then perhaps different rules apply to us.

Then there is this question I have about feelings. Why do we have such strong feelings of compassion for our prey when placed face to face with it? It is unusual I think. I doubt very much that eagles or crocodiles shed tears for their victims. It is interesting.

I think of a story where maybe our minds have a purpose for this. Perhaps our minds, deep down in there, understand more about what is going on in our world then we realize. Maybe this sentimental mentality is not just a misplaced cultural artifact. Perhaps we have adapted to have this weakness when it comes to killing because we secretly understand that this way of eating meat, the way we do so to excess, is not good for us, is not good for our planet, and is unsustainable.  Maybe we are putting road blocks up for ourselves to help us slowly shift to a different path.

I don’t know. I rarely find the answers.. just more questions.