So what your saying is the Amish here that use horses instead of cars are slave owners? Some how I do not think they would agree. Those same horses are used to do the very hard labor of pulling old fashioned plows so that Vegetables can be grown, as most of them are farmers and not ranchers. Somehow at least for me, I would rather see this than see a huge gas guzzling tractor doing the work. As for the chickens, well none are force fed, most roam free and are cooped at night for their own protection as coyotes roam here. The cows are milked by hand and not hooked up to machines. This is friendly farming, farming with the least impact on the environment.

Now if I give up eating meat, there won't be any more hungry people? I think it won't change this fact. Actually, most third world countries seem to have been better off before they were westernized. Before we went in and told them what was wrong with their life style and made them more like us. The villagers took care of each other. Now they beg in the streets, wait for the rice truck and are malnourished. Who are we to tell them that what their ancestors ate is wrong? Who are we to change their culture?

Now I will totally agree that cattle on some ranches are raised in a bad way. Which is why I do not buy beef or eat it very often and when I do, it is from a local rancher. I make a responsible choice not to support the bad ranchers and farmers. Can you say the same about your vegetables? Do you only buy organic and local as often as possible? I do.

See the way I see it, you have to look at the big picture. Yes, death is a horrible thing, I have seen it first hand. My daughter died almost 3 years ago and I watched her suffer from a disease without any known treatment or cure. To me human suffering is far more important an issue than animal suffering. No one should suffer. Cattle are raised for either meat or dairy. It's what they are bred for, they would not make it in the wild, because they are domestic animals bred for food. Their death's should not be taken for granted so thanking them for their life is a good thing.

To say that just by eating a vegan diet you are helping hungry people get fed is not very realistic. To say that people that eat meat are causing hunger is just not a reality.

Yes, all choices we make, we make for everyone. That includes not just what we eat, but the choices as to how those foods are grown. Not just where we live but how we live. It's all connected.

If and when I choose to not eat meat any more, it will be because I choose what is right for me. That's the great thing about this Country, we get to choose.

I do thank you for your opinions and words, and believe me when I say, I am thinking about them. Maybe you have a point..Maybe I will go and research some more on this subject. Like I said I am just as happy with a meal of veggies as anything else. ^^, Meat is an occasional visitor not a mainstay.
Raised by farmers here. We like our veggies.

Now I have a garden to plant, and berry bushes to tend, and grape vines to trellis.

I thank you for your intelligent argument for vegans. One problem with being a vegan would be, my vegan friends would never leave, I make a mean Blackbean Pie.