Is it possible to love animals yet eat meat/wear fur, leather...

[xoxo]

so, just wanted to see what peoples' views are on this..do you guys think it is possible to do those things and still be fond of animals? or do you find that to be hypocritical?

i am vegetarian because i love pets and animals, i also avoid wearing fur, leather and all that..that's just me personally...

[DitaPage*]

Well yes it IS hypocritical. Which makes me a hypocrite because i eat meat. I have to, i went without for awhile and then i had an iron defiency. I dont wear animals though- i dont think fur is that great.

[xoxo]

syp, that is cool you don't like fur...i don't wear fur/leather and often i have a lot of trouble finding shoes because they all have leather...i end up buying funny cloth and plastic shoes but i'm in california where it's warm mostly so i don't mind lol

for iron deficiency sometimes you can take iron supplements too...

[sputnik]

i don't wear fur but i do wear leather and i'm a total carnivore and don't even want to think about not eating meat. but i also buy only organic meat and chicken. i love animals but i also think that there is a food chain and that it's simply biology that we humans consume animals. that doesn't mean they shouldn't be treated right and killed humanly though.
my problem with fur is that animals are killed just for that, unlike cows and rabbits where you eat the meat so i have no problem with using their fur or hides.

[olivia720]

I really hate fur and won't wear it . . . don't like to see real fur on others.

But I wear leather and eat plenty of meat. I don't like the idea of animals dying for their meat but I guess we're omnivores so whatevs. However fur is not necessary.

I do love animals.

[VanillaRice]

I don't wear fur or leather or anything like that but I do eat meat. And I love animals.

[moomies]

I don't wear fur, I find it disgusting. I try not to buy leather, I'd go for pleather/fake leather instead

I rarely eat meat, mostly just fish for me, which doesn't really make a difference I guess?

I prolly wouldn't call myself a total animal lover though. I usually find that I only like certain animals, dogs, cats, bunnies, squirrels, hamsters etc etc the ones people normally consider pets. I can't say that I love cows, pigs or chicken, I don't feel the same way about them. But I saw this thing on TV before where this goat farmer said he doesn't eat goat meat. I don't remember if he was farming for goat meat or for the milk but I thought it was interesting cuz he was like BBQing beef on the show. What I'm trying to say is, you get attached to animals you care for, while you may not for others you have nothing to do with. For me, there is a clear difference between pets and animals consumed for whatever use.

So IMO I don't think it is hypocritical and I believe that you can love animals (meaning some animals, not all) and still wear fur/leather and eat their meat. One can be sympathetic to the way animals are treated/mistreated but not obligated to stop eating or using them for various products.

I can understand giving up meat or only eating organic for health reasons but the moral/ethical reasons, the end result is the same, the animal has to be killed for it to be eaten, that I can't personally related much.

[UndercoverGator]

yawn, we already had this discussion on this board and all it did was create ill will and lots of grudges between different factions and various members..

[Grimmlok]

Ive always wondered how people can figure out a way NOT to wear leather when most shoes are made from it.

Leather is one thing.. its made from cow.. pretty much all the cow is used when butchered.. skin for leather, meat for food, bones and gristle for other things.. It's not like we're just killing the cow, stripping it, and then tossing 95% of it into a dumpster.

Fur, on the other hand, is a decadence. Raising little animals purely for their pelt and then chucking it once skinned?

Plus fur just looks hideous. Most coats look like a bunch of squirrel pelts stitched together.. ugly things.

[pinklilycat]

I agree with all Grimm said (and that way I don't have to form and type a opinion of my own!).
I'm feeling LOTS of love for all the animals out there but I also love a bacon sarnie and that's that.

[Butterfly]

Most people need to realize if the shoe is not leather it is held together with something, and that something is usually glue which is made out of animal.

I love animals I have two Siamese kitties, and a Min Daschund, I hate fur unless I’m threatening my naughty cats, by letting them know that they can be made into mittens. I like a chicken sandwich and a good steak… I don’t feel like a hypocrite at all. Now if I went off like the PETA people do and then do this: PETA Kills Animals | PetaKillsAnimals.com then yes, I would feel like a hypocrite.

[A*O]

Leather (cow hide), like wool, is a by-product. The animals are not killed specifically for it and therefore I don't have a problem as a meat eater. I'd be a hypocrite otherwise. And I'm very sorry but leather shoes are vastly superior to plastic ones for no other reason than you feet can breathe in leather and therefore don't get sweaty and stinky. Shallow but true.

As for eating meat - as I've said elsewhere, provided the animals are treated humanely and are raised organically and/or free range then as far as I'm concerned it's all part of the food chain. Having said that, I don't have any problem whatsoever with vegetarianism (I do it myself from time to time). Just spare me the All Meat Is Murder agenda.

[McJag]

I only eat organic meat & eggs-free range. I try to buy kosher whenever I can-its cleaner. I believe the world is set up as a big food chain, because that is how it is supposed to be! I hate it when elk,deer etc get over-populated & they end up having a wholesale slaughter. I eat beef,pork and mainly fish & seafood. I do not attach the same significance to a cow slaughter as I do a baby seal or domestic pet. You can drive your self nuts trying to give every animal a soul, but it's not there! I wouldn't touch fur but wear leather. I love our no-kill shelter here & volunteer. I have no problem with the way I view things . As long as things are as humane as possible, I feel we are doing the best we can.

[VenusInFauxFurs]

For me, I just try to do the best I can.

It is impossible to live a life completely free of animal exploitation. I am a vegetarian, because I have seen how animals live and how they die in the meat industry, it's inhumane and it quite frankly sickens and saddens me. ( No, before you ask, I am not some PETA fanatic, hell, no.)

I don't wear fur. I no longer buy leather shoes, but I still wear what I have. I wear pleather and I'm happy with that.

Fur on the other hand is just nasty, it's wrong to raise an animal just to kill it for it's pretty fur. Besides that, people look stupid in them, plus if it ever rains they smell like a wet dog.

I don't eat animals, but I really wouldn't say that I am a huge animal lover. I am for animal rights, but I certainly am not the type to have a gazillion pets. For me, I just choose not to eat them.

[Grimmlok]

.. its good that you dont eat your pets