Alternatives to Being a Vegetarian

I applaud people who do not eat meat and/or animal products. I wish that I had the will power to be a vegetarian. But I do not. And honestly, I don't want to give up meat completely. But that doesn't mean that I don't care about animals. It may seem hypercritical, but I encourage others to be vegetarians even though I am not. By following my example, you too can help animals without being a vegetarian.

Be an animal welfarist

Farm animals are often treated unfairly. And when restaurants knowingly buy from places like that then we need to voice our opinion that this is wrong. For example, some restaurants such as Wendy's buy eggs from places that keep their chickens in cages that are too small (Visit the Humane Society of the United States' website for more information). Just because these animals will be used for food or food production doesn't mean that they should be treated badly.

Animal medical research is also wrong and is another important cause to animal welfarists. Lab animals are abused in so-called research experiments that don't even further medical science. The same can be said for commercial products that are tested on animals too. Make sure what you are buying wasn't tested on animals.

Another way to help animals is by donating money to worthy animal causes (see the resource box for some websites). There are many wildlife habitats that are in danger of being destroyed and need your help.

There are too many issues surrounding the way animals are treated to list them all here. You could promote spay and neutering of pets to prevent overpopulation. Then there is also the problem of using real fur in clothes. Not to mention not eating baby animals such as veal or lamb.

Eat less meat and don't waste meat

I've seen it in my own house at times. People buy too much meat and then throw some away. An animal's life was sacrificed for you to have that meat. The least you can do is not waste meat. I read today that there was the biggest beef recall in U.S. history due to E Coli contamination. I appreciate the recall considering how serious that is. But 21 million pounds of meat was wasted! Maybe we need to encourage these companies to be safer and stop wasting meat.

According to recent studies, it would help the environment if people ate 10% less beef. Instead of less beef, though, eat less meat period. Imagine how many lives could be saved if everyone simply ate less meat.

Eat big animals

While all animals' lives are equally valuable, bigger animals provide more meat. I tend to eat meat from bigger animals because that means less lost lives. Something like shrimp for example, look at how many of those a person can eat compared to the meat from a cow. One cow would feed many people, whereas one person could eat many shrimp.

Be against hunting and fishing

Hunting and fishing is pointless considering that there are so many dead animals in the grocery store. Why take another life? Perhaps you like the taste of something that you can't buy in the store, but you could consider just saying no. Encourage others that you know to be against hunting and fishing as well.