I had to think a lot about this.

I'd have thought that coming from a background of discrimination would make you want to stop discrimination going on in other facets of life.

Hmm. No. Honestly comparing some of the shit I've gone through to animal discrimination is, frankly, a little insulting. And I'm also busy trying to stop the discrimination going on in the facets of my life.

I haven't chased anyone around with animal rights links though.

Dude. DUDE. Yes, you have. It's the whole reason anyone here is ticked off in the first place.

This is the first time I've heard this. Why do you think that?

It's easy for rich, wealthy White people to abide by Veganism. Minorities that are poor and have crappy access to food, have a hardy time becoming Vegans. But - and this brings up that "accusatory" thing I was talking about - by your definition, those people are shitstains for not doing a better job not eating chicken and stuff. You have to be in a position of privilege to be vegan. It's expensive as fuck and hard to keep up when you've got $20 to eat this week and the closest Sprouts or whatever is 30 miles away.

Do you think wanting to live compassionately towards all beings is elitist?

Again, this is what I'm talking about. It's passive aggressive as hell. Stahp.

I don't understand the connection.

I'm saying that when you go day in and day out wondering why don't people care about this as much as me?, you start equating that to them not caring about your cause whatsoever. Then you start to look at them negatively, then you get resentful and angry because they don't care as passionately about the same things as you do. And it's bad, not every White person is a racist sack of shit, not every non-Vegan is a cold-blooded reverse-Hannibal out to murder all the chickens in the world.

Don't have much else to say.

(my interpretation of thenewgreen)

Be proactive, not reactive.

Become a positive role model, not just in veganism, but in life, so that others respect the way you conduct oneself and are drawn to follow your way and voice because they look up to you, and not because you have browbeaten them.

I mean, sorry eightbitsamurai, but if we're going to bring up the metaphor that came up earlier:

Be fuckin' MLK, don't be Malcolm X.

(It's pretty extreme, I know. But MLK inspired people who had never experienced racism to join his cause because they respected and admired him; Malcolm X intimidated people who could have been his allies and drove them away.)

Twelve Ways to Win People to Your Way of Thinking (from Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People) The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it.

  Show respect for the other person's opinions. Never say "You're Wrong."
  If you're wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically.
  Begin in a friendly way.
  Start with questions to which the other person will answer yes.
  Let the other person do a great deal of the talking.
  Let the other person feel the idea is his or hers.
  Try honestly to see things from the other person's point of view.
  Be sympathetic with the other person's ideas and desires.
  Appeal to the nobler motives.
  Dramatize your ideas.
  Throw down a challenge. 

Who wants to talk about the ethics of eating meat? thenewgreen started a dialog for that purpose and it is almost entirely about organicAnt. I would like to discuss the subject rather than discuss the discussion.

Hubski has shared a few rich, detailed perspectives:

Meriadoc celebrates hunting but also has "conflicted feelings on eating meat."

pseydtonne suggests that we "Create a positive movement -- that diverse food high in fiber is cheaper, easier to spice, and feels good."

nowaypablo should tell us the story of hunting a wild pig.

elizabeth has been "making an effort to eat less meat lately."

BLOB_CASTLE gives reasons for having "cut back significantly" on eating meat.

organicAnt describes experiences leading to a vegan lifestyle.

mknod points out that there is "very little choice except to eat meat" in Alaska.

rob05c says "I don't eat much meat, and when I do, I feel bad."

bioemerl feels "zero guilt about eating meat."

caelum19 explains why "I've been vegan my entire life."

b_b has mixed feelings about using animals to benefit humans, but has the good sense to stay out of a contentious debate.

Most of the calmly-expressed opinions I have found seem to go against eating meat. Can anyone provide additional perspective for the other side?

Here is my view, and the reasons I have been reducing my meat consumption:

1) Most of the meat that we eat today is produced in ways that causes significant suffering.

2) Choosing to eat less meat is a realistic way for most people to reduce suffering in the world.

3) Therefore, most of us should choose to eat less meat.

4) The logical end point is that most of us should not eat most animal products, except in unusual circumstances where making that choice would arguably cause human suffering outweighing the non-human suffering (such as people with little access to plant food, hunters who love their sport, perhaps also people who love the taste of meat and choose sources that minimize animal suffering).

I will also mention that I think human suffering is more important than non-human suffering, and when a living thing has a primitive or no nervous system the word "suffering" may not even be meaningful. And I do not blame people who don't have the luxury of spending time online discussing this subject for making choices without weighing all the implications.