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.