Killing an animal to eat is wrong!

As my opponent states that an animal is any such LIVING thing other then a human being. Living is any thing with a living memory. My aunt and I had had a recent argument about this and she had stated that different animals can remember on different levels. Some seem to have just the basic genetic memories in the DNA provided at birth. I would like to ask my opponent a question as well as any reader that have and is intrested in thes debate. question: Could you kill an animal to eat? The fowlling link is to a video of how people treat amimals that they eat everyday. (www. youtube. com/watch? v=bJfXami4haU) Out of the amount of people in the world that eat meat what percent of that is actually killed by the person that is going to eating the amimal. I don't know the actually percent of that ,nevertheless most of the people (humans) in the US usally go to the store to buy the meat that they will be eatting. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ These are some of the reasons for me being a Vegetarian. >The Environment 1. Conservation of Fossil fuel. It takes 78 calories of fossil fuel to produce 1 calorie of beef protein; 35 calories for 1 calorie of pork; 22 calories for 1 of poultry; but just 1 calorie of fossil fuel for 1 calorie of soybeans. By eating plant foods instead of animal foods, I help conserve our non-renewable sources of energy. 2. Water Conservation. It takes 3 to 15 times as much water to produce animal protein as it does plant protein. As a vegetarian I contribute to water conservation. 3. Efficient use of grains. It takes up to 16 pounds of soybeans and grains to produce 1 lb. of beef and 3 to 6 lbs. to produce 1 lb of turkey & egg. By eating grain foods directly, I make the food supply more efficient & that contributes to the environment. 4. Soil conservation. When grains & legumes are used more efficiently, our precious topsoil is automatically made more efficient in its use. We use less agricultural resources to provide for the same number of people. 5. Saving our forests. Tropical forests in Brazil and other tropic regions are destroyed daily, in part, to create more acreage to raise livestock. By not supporting the meat industry, I directly reduce the demand to pillage these irreplaceable treasures of nature. Since the forest land "filters" our air supply and contains botanical sources for new medicines, this destruction is irreversable. >Personal Health 6. No deficiencies. There is no nutrient necessary for optimal human functioning which cannot be obtained from plant food. 7. High fat plus cholesterol. Animal foods are higher in fat than most plant foods, particularly saturated fats. Plants do not contain cholesterol. 8. "Carb" deficient. Meat is deficient in carbohydrates, particularly the starches which are so essential to proper health. 9. Vitamin deficient. Except for the b-complex, meat is largely deficient in vitamins. 10. Agricultural Chemicals. Being higher on the food chain, animal foods contain far higher concentrations of agricultural chemicals than plant foods, including pesticides, herbicides, etc. 11. Exposure to livestock drugs. There are over 20,000 different drugs, including sterols, antibiotics, growth hormones and other veterinary drugs that are given to livestock animals. These drugs are consumed when animal foods are consumed. The dangers herein, in secondary consumption of antibiotics, are well documented. 12. Pathogenic Microorganisms. There are a host of bacteria and viruses, some quite dangerous, that are common to animals. When I eat meat, I eat the organisms in the meat. Micro-organisms are present in plant foods too, but their number and danger to human health is by no means comparable to that of those in meat. 13. Shelf life differential. Plant foods last longer than animal foods. Try this experiment: Leave out a head of lettuce and a pound of hamburger for 1 day, which will make you sick? 14. Organoleptic Indications of Pathenogens. Plant foods give tell-tale signs of "going bad". 15. Heart Disease. Meat eating increases the risk of heart disease, this country's #1 killer. The correlation is an epidemiological fact. 16. Cancer prevention. Of all the natural cancer prevention substances found: vitamin C, B-17, hydroquionenes, beta carotene, NDGA, - none has been found to be animal derived. Yet most meats, when cooked, produce an array of benzenes and other carcinogenic compounds. Cancer is infinitely easier to prevent than cure. Soybeans contain protease inhibitor, a powerful anticancer compound. You won't find it in useful quantities in animal based food. 17. Disease Inducing. The correlation between meat consumption and a wide range of degenerative diseases is well founded and includes. .. .. Osteoporosis Kidney Stones and Gallstones Diabetes Multiple Sclerosis Arthritis Gum disease Acne. Aggravated by animal food. >Personal Finances 18. Health care costs. Being healthier on a vegetarian diet means spending less on health care. 19. Food costs. Vegetarian foods tend to cost less than meat based items. >Ethics 20. Love of animals. I love animals as I love myself. I have no desire to kill them or cause them harm. 21. Respect for Sentient Life. I show gratitude to my Creator(s? ) by eating as low on the food chain as possible. 22. Small sacrifice The sacrifice I make is nothing compared to the animals, its life. 23. Natural diet. Our hands, teeth, feet, intestinal tract. .. even our body chemistry is that of an herbivore. 24. I believe in nonviolence. (Slaughter isn't any diffrent. ) 25. World Peace. There can never be peace among men while men are declaring war on other highly developed life forms. 26. Clear conscience. I know what I'm doing is right. I feel good inside about my decision to remain "meatless" 27. Example. To live this way is to protect the underlying values of those around me. 28. Easy substitutes. There are vegetable based substitutes for every meat product imaginable. [Source: The Whole Earth Vegetarian Catalogue] R E S O U R C E S HOME The ALF FAQ Meat. org Video Animal Rights FAQ The Taste of Depravity The Abolitionist Project Animal Rights Resources When Meat Is Not Murder Low IQ Link to Eating Meat Meat Is Murder (The Smiths) Meat / Rheumatoid Arthritis The Post-Darwinian Transition The Slaughter of Animals for Food Meat and Bowel Cancer Resources Slaughterhouse: video (mp4: 5.55Mb) Red meat: the recipe for bowel cancer? British meat crisis: has BSE spread to sheep?