Compassion For Their Pain Or a Feast Out of Their Flesh? A Case Against Red Meat

I was a meat eater. There were few things that I enjoyed more than a sizzling medium well steak with a side of mashed potatoes and broccoli. Then, a decade ago, something strange happened. I was about to eat a piece of meat, but I had a hard time getting it down my throat. Puzzled by the experience, I decided to talk to a friend of mine who was very wise and seemed to have all the answers to my strange questions. He explained that cows have to go through a terrifying death that makes them extremely fearful; the negativity involved in their death was trapped in their very flesh and would be passed on to those who ate it. He proceeded to explain that at a subconscious level, I perceived this negativity and rejected it. I was a good pupil and even though I wasn't really convincedwith the explanation, I gave up red meat. However, I first looked up arguments that seemed more convincing. This is what worked for me:

1) Red meat contains antibiotics, dioxins and other toxins that causes diseases. As we already know, red meat is a major cause of a variety of disease including cancer.

2) The absence of red meat in our diet doesn't make us weak. Elephants and many dinosaurs were vegetarians, so there's no relationship between eating meat and being strong.

Global Warming

3) Protein intake from grains and vegetable is a healthier alternative to red meat. A diet full of fruit, vegetables and grains reduce the risk of cancer, diabetes and coronary disease, among others.

4) The population of cattle is a major ecological problem.

-The chemicals fed to livestockcontaminated the soil and water as a result of digestive waste.
-It contributes to deforestation as farmers in many countries cut down trees to provide space to grow their livestock.
-Cattle consumes vast amounts of resources, water being of particular importance.
-They are a major source of global warming because of the powerful green house effect of methane from the gas they pass. Not to mention the use of transportation to support the agriculture that goes with it.

5) Most cattle in the United States live a miserable life as a result of factory farming.

-As I already mentioned, they are given all sorts of hormones, but rBGH (Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone) really catches my attention. It makes cows grow and produces excess milk, making their mammary glandsswollen to the point that sometimes they drag on the floor. That results in terrible back pain. I can relate, since I breastfed my two sons and suffered back pain myself. I can't imagine someone giving me hormones that would make me produce unnatural amounts of milk to be fed to someone other than my own babies.
-They are forced into unnatural diets to increase profitability.
-They are subject to massive cruelty from the time they are born to the time they are slaughtered.

6) There's a biochemical component to all emotions. That being the case, then it's pretty safe to conclude that a horrified cow about to be killed, actually passes on the chemistry of terror all through its body. This gives validity to my friend's argument about negativity being part of theirflesh.

I understand that the reason meat didn't seem to pass my throat wasn't a physical phenomenon; it was just in my mind. I could have ignored my intuition to avoid the pain associated with giving up something I enjoyed so much. I could have looked for arguments that supported my desire to keep eating meat and given them more validity than arguments against it. However, after an objective analysis, red meat didn't pass the test of reason or my intuition. (Neither did poultry or other sources of animal protein).

Compassion For Their Pain Or a Feast Out of Their Flesh? A Case Against Red Meat