Is it okay to eat meat that you did not buy?

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Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
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Is it okay to eat meat that you did not buy?

Post by Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz »

Yo.

As you can be see, I am an Ostrovegan. However, this week I was at a party where both meat and non-meats were served, and because of my diet and not wanting to hurt animals which can feel pain, I chose the non-meat options to eat. However, it occurred to me that if I am to ate the meats, it would not cause harm to the animals, as I did not buy them, and thus did not contribute to the suffering of animals. I did not eat the meats while I was at that party, but my question to you is, if I did, would it have been morally acceptable?
Is it okay for a Pescetarian to eat non-fish meats that they did not buy?
Is it okay for a Vegetarian to eat meats that they did not buy?
Is it okay for an Ostrovegan to eat non-oyster animal products that they did not buy?
Is it okay for a Vegan to eat animal products that they did not buy?
Is it okay for a Fruitarian to eat foods that are not fruit dropped from the ground that they did not buy?

Please.
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brimstoneSalad
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Re: Is it okay to eat meat that you did not buy?

Post by brimstoneSalad »

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz wrote:However, it occurred to me that if I am to ate the meats, it would not cause harm to the animals, as I did not buy them, and thus did not contribute to the suffering of animals. I did not eat the meats while I was at that party, but my question to you is, if I did, would it have been morally acceptable?
It wouldn't, because there are other people at the party who were eating the meat. So, the meat would not go to waste.

For example, you're at the party with Bob and John.

Scenario A:
Bob and John like to eat meat, and you do not eat the meat, so Bob and John eat all of the meat. When they go home they are full, so they don't buy more meat for dinner.

Scenario B:
Bob and John like to eat meat, but you ate a bunch of the meat, so Bob and John didn't get enough meat to be full. When they go home they buy more meat for dinner, which causes more animal suffering because you ate some of the meat at the party they would have eaten.

Another case is that the host of the party, Sally, will go to the store to buy more meat (or order more meat from the delivery restaurant) when she sees the plate is empty.
OR next time at the party (and every party thereafter), Sally will order less meat and offer more vegetarian items if she sees that this time fewer people ate the meat.

It's very tricky to eat "freegan" meat in a vacuum, because your actions influence the actions of others.

The best case for freeganism is the "secret freegan", where you only rescue the meat after it was thrown in the trash and nobody knows you did it (so they won't order extra meat next time).
If people know you will eat meat that's put in the trash, somebody might intentionally put extra meat in the trash for you to eat (to be nice).


There are some longer threads discussing freeganism, I will try to link you to them later (or maybe EquALLity or somebody else can who remembers what they were called).
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EquALLity
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Re: Is it okay to eat meat that you did not buy?

Post by EquALLity »

^Sure. :) Hm, I couldn't find topics that were that long about only freeganism, but I found this:

http://philosophicalvegan.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=1690&p=16613&hilit=freegan#p16547
brimstoneSalad wrote:Another way is called freegan. In that case, you may eat meat which you found in the rubbish bin that would be wasted and nobody else is willing to eat.
If you search the rubbish bin in a mall, or outside a grocery store, you may find meat which has been thrown away by other people who you don't know, and that you could eat without causing more animal cruelty.

You can NOT eat meat wasted by friends or family members, because they may throw the meat away intentionally in order for you to have it (this would cause more animals to die for you), and you can not eat meat which was given to you as a gift, or that another person wants to eat -- you should refuse it and allow other people to eat it instead.

The only meat generally available is garbage meat from people you don't know. However, not many people are willing to do this.

Another option is to only eat rope grown oysters. Oysters are a sea animal which has no brain, and probably can't feel any pain. The farming of rope grown oysters also does not harm the environment. The farming of land animals and fish is harmful to the environment.

A person who only eats vegetables and oysters is called a bivalvegan, because oysters are "bivalves", or called a ostrovegan.

You can read this article: http://sentientist.org/2013/05/20/the-e ... d-mussels/


So, today there are three choices:

1. Vegan
2. Freegan
3. Bivalvegan/Ostrovegan

Eating fish, chicken, pig, or cow which you have purchased or has been purchased for you is never morally acceptable.
The 'rubbish bin'? :P
I think it's a pretty good explanation. ;P
"I am not a Marxist." -Karl Marx
Take5
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Re: Is it okay to eat meat that you did not buy?

Post by Take5 »

A couple of years ago, whilst teaching in a care home, there were some cooked chicken breasts that were about to be thrown out - but I could see they were perfectly OK. At that time my mantra was "I don't want any animal to die so that I can live", and I confess I ate a couple.

Almost immediately, my osteoarthritis, which had been stable since I became a vegan 11 years before, flared up again. It slowly subsided over the next few weeks, but, boy, had I learned a lesson!

So, eat freegan meat if you like, but beware of the consequences!
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Re: Is it okay to eat meat that you did not buy?

Post by Deva »

Hey, I think its hard to know what to define as "right" or "wrong" and it mostly has to do with the intentions behind the actions. Also its important to remember that you are not perfect and will never be perfect. All that aside...

To me wasted meat is actually sadder than eaten meat, because... at least the animal's life is being used to sustain you or someone else rather than being devalued. (though at my job I do waste some meat sometimes, again with the not perfect theme...I'm figuring this stuff out)

But, I suppose that's a human notion anyhow, and will vary from person to person in terms of what they feel.

I'm only a reducetarian, and identify as such because hypothetically I'd eat meat from very humanely slaughtered/ raised animals or if I needed to survive. But I'd say people will overeat at the party, so a little meat will not make a difference for any animals. Maybe 1/1000th of a difference. At that point it is like accidentally stepping on an ant that I could not see. I'm not that careful. I eat the occasional small piece of meat at family meals just to taste.

You are already making such a drastic change by choosing to not support the animal industry, that I think it comes down to personal preference in situation you're talking about.
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