Note: For the purpose of this essay, vegetarians are people who do not eat meat, fish or egg. They consume milk products, plants and plant products.
“Against Meat” by Jonathon Safran Foer (2009, New York Times Magazine) is intended to educate current non-vegetarians on what vegetarianism is, the benefits of it in terms of health and animal rights, and also the struggles of consistently being a vegetarian. Although Foer does not specifically express what a vegetarian is we can assume he is going off the generally known definition of a person who does not consume the meat of an animal, as oppose to a vegan who does not consume any animal products at all. According to an article about vegetarian Americans, 5% or 16 million Americans classify themselves as vegetarian in 2015, compared to the 1% back in 2009, making vegetarianism a growing trend throughout the US (Raw Food World). Foer proves his opinion on vegetarianism by backing it up with facts from the USDA and his own personal experiences with his babysitter, growing up struggling with being a vegetarian that loves meat, and the decision to marry and raise his child vegetarian. Foer does, however, have a few gaps in his argument about nutrition, the costs associated with vegetarianism, and the lack of a definition of vegetarian.
In his article "Vegetarianism and the Other Weight Problem", James Rachels argues that meat eating is immoral and it is a moral duty to be vegetarian. In order to discuss the problems and come up with his conclusions, Rachels considers two arguments for vegetarianism.
Vegetarianism is a custom practiced in six out of the seven continents and has become more popular over the years. Vegetarianism can be defined as the exclusion of animal products such as meat and fish from one’s diet. Dairy products and eggs are often times excluded as well. Although there are many reasons one may decide to become a Vegetarian or follow such a code of ethics, the most common include: moral, religious or health reasons.
“The early Adventist Church emerged from a climate of religious revival in the Northeastern United States”, (Lechleitner, 2013). Its founder was the late William Miller, (Slick, n.d.). The Church was founded based on the idea of the Second Coming of Jesus, (Church, 2013). The Seventh-Day Adventism is a Christian faith with multiple fundamental beliefs such as the Sabbath. The Sabbath is the day in which God decided to rest after creating the Earth. For the Seventh-Day Adventists, the Sabbath is Saturday, as God rested on the Seventh-Day of the week. Ellen G. White, a woman considered one of the founding members of the Church and a prophetess, developed another fundamental belief of how “husbands should treat their wives as equal, the way they were created to be”, (Banks, 1992). As we can see, women play an important role in this doctrine.
Many studies about Jehovah Witnesses state that they are the strictest religion out there. They have rules that should be followed or the person ends up condemned. They do not believe in other religions whatsoever, in any shape or form. Jehovah Witnesses God’s name to them is Jehovah. The sociological concepts discussed will be social class and norms, a function and a dysfunction of Jehovah Witness religion, a symbolic ritual, and an aspect of this religion that entails conflict.
The Adventist tradition is based on its view of persons. They believe that the body is a temple of God and must be kept healthy. Adventists recognize that physical, mental and emotional pain and suffering are common. However, human suffering has no atoneable value, and no amount of suffering and pain can atone for sin.
and he began to push their social agenda. He was firm on his opposition of
The Seventh-day Adventist Church today still reflects the roots it had in the Second Great Awakening. The founding principles that the Millerites discovered as they broke away from the mainstream Christianity of their time, are still a part of what we believe today. The Adventist faith holds that anyone who comes to Christ is a new creation and can find salvation.[9] There is no predestination and once saved does not assure that we are always saved. But no matter what, anyone can come to God for His gift of salvation.[10]
According to the Vegetarian Times, only 3.2% of american adults are vegetarians, meaning the remaining 96.8% of the population consumes meat (Vegetarianism In America). There are a wide array of meats to choose from: ham, chicken, steak, turkey, plus many more. It’s common knowledge that meat can be deadly if not handled or cooked properly, things such as salmonella microbes can hide out on our meats and occasionally enter our digestive tract if the meat wasn’t prepared properly, which can be a serious concern for human and public health. But are people aware that not only harmful microbes can hang out on meat products? It is essential to be aware of the kind of microbes growing on our meat and how this meat should be prepared in order
“You are what you eat”, if you eat well, you will be well. We grow up with these proverbs, but are we determine that? after I moved to America since last May it is difficult to find Halal food. when I say that I mean it is hard to make sure the meat or chicken will be healthy and your body will get a benefit from it. It is hard to know how this lamp or cow was treated. Are they killed peacefully and quickly without heart them? If you eat that meat you will get a lot of adrenaline hormone. I am thinking to take that decision to be a vegetarian and that is not very difficult especially here in America. However, it is not only healthier for me, but it is also fair for the animals because they have a right to treat them humanely.
Shyam Bhatia, looks out the window as the seatbelt sign goes off and the pilot announces their arrival in Chicago. With bated breath, he stepped off, carrying the weight off his country and his family’s expectations. As a professor in New Delhi, he always wanted more. When an ad for a PHD program in America came in the newspaper, he jumped on the opportunity. Envisioning a new life in America he sat and took a long period of grueling tests. He got in the top 4 of the people who took the test and a free flight to America. He arrived in airport and started crying, thinking of his parents. How they would remind of his culture the reassuring words they would sing to him at night. Reading the Ramayana to him as he went to sleep, envisioning himself as Lord Rama saving Princess Sita from the evil Ravana.
It wasn’t until the 19th century that people began establish a vegetarian movement. The first long term vegetarian organization began with Reverent William Cowherd who founded the Bible Christian Church in Salford, England. He asked his congregation in 1809 not to eat meat as a form of temperance and advocated this change because of its health benefits and the fact it was natural to humans. He famously said, “If God had meant us to eat meat then it would have come to us in edible form, as is the ripened fruit.” After his death, the organization did not dwindle when prominent church members Joseph Brotherton, who led the church, and James Simpson, a wealthy industrialist, began to guide the way for the vegetarian society. Even more, the Alcott house, also known as “The Concordium”, began the launch of the vegetarian society. This boarding school near London had its pupils eat a foods completely free of animal products. In modern society, this
Case 1 – A boy age of 22, American, vegetarian, highly nerve strung, first came under observation in the Medical Ward in November, 1945, with symptoms of throbbing palpitation and insomnia. Kidney function normal; vessel wall palpable; B.P. 220/135; he was put on Serpentina tablets (1 tablet daily at bed time). B.P. after one week 185/120, after one month 160/90. Completely relieved of symptoms. Used ½ tablet daily for another month and then gave it up; felt very fit till August, 1946, when the symptoms again reappeared; B.P. in May, 1946, was 200/110; a few days’ use of Serpentina tablets again brought it down to 170/95 with complete relief of symptoms.
Christopher McCandless, a young American who was found dead in summer of 1992 in wild land in Alaska, wrote in his diary about his moral struggle regarding killing a moose for survival. According to Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild, Chris had to abandon most of the meat since he lacked the knowledge of how to dismantle and preserve it (166-168). Not only did he have a moral dilemma to kill a moose, but also had a deep regret that a life he had taken was wasted because of his own fault. He then started recognizing what he ate as a precious gift from the nature and called it “Holy Food” (Krakauer 168). Exploring relationships between human beings and other animals arouses many difficult questions: Which animals are humans allowed to eat and