This appears to be standard practice on Hubski. At most, there are expressions of concern, but the majority of the discussion has focused on the tone of the discussion, or people in the discussion, or contrived exceptions to the central question.

I don't think that's entirely off-base, but feel that part of the matter is that many of these issues are complex, and that it is difficult enough to settle upon a clear opinion, much less successfully communicate and defend one. As a benign example, minimum_wage asked me whether or not I considered horse-riding to be unnatural elsewhere in this post, and I could not come to a satisfactory answer.

That said, it is useless gabbing about such matters if we can't make some sort of progress.

Reflecting upon my motivations to eat meat, and upon my feelings regarding vat meat, I think that a significant part of my choice has to do with my desire to eat it. Taste is a significant factor. However, I have gone for up to a week without meat, and I found myself feeling physically worse over time, and much better after I began to eat it again. I am sure there are psychological components to this, but I also suspect there may be physiological components as well. My wife grew up with a high vegetable, low meat diet (nearly the opposite of mine), and she feels terrible if our circumstances prevent her from getting her veggie diet for days. I am mostly Polish and Finnish by heritage, and my ancestors ate a lot of meat, cabbage, and tubers. I often wonder if that translates into a genetic preference for a diet. We do know what physiology does vary between different peoples and their processing of some foods. In short, I suspect that vat meat could satiate my need for it, regardless of how mental or physical it might be.

I knew that you would call me out about the voting. :) I don't feel dismotivated by the proportion of my small contribution to a meatless society, and I should have phrased that question differently. Rather than 'cannot be changed' I should have written something like 'cannot measureable be changed'. As I mentioned in my reasons for voting, I do believe in the power of collective action. Maybe that's part of why I would feel good about eating vat meat. I would know that I was contributing, and still feel like I was eating what felt right for me.

I would recommend trying hunting. Even if you use rubber-topped arrows, or a slingshot with soft wax bullets.