For Those Who Don't Eat Meat

I was born and raised in the state of Ohio. The birthplace of aviation, known for our corn, our soybeans, our dairy, and Ohio State football are the important things you'll hear about in Ohio. You might be wondering why this is a letter to the vegetarians or vegans that don't eat meat. Did I mention I'm a rabbit meat producer?

Yes, I am 16 and raise rabbits for meat. It drives me a little crazy when I see people say something like this, "You're killing innocent animals." or, "Animals aren't meant for us to eat." So I'm writing these to debunk of few "myths" or things you've heard are "bad."

1. Not everyone harms their animals.

I'm sure you've seen the awful videos that circle around on the internet of large factory farms that abuse the animals they raise for meat production. Maybe you've even seen the terrible photos of poor animals that have been tested on for makeup. Not everyone harms their animals this way. Yes, the animals will die anyway but farmers take good care of the animals until they're ready to be butchered.

2. Antibiotics aren't all bad.

Yes I said it. With the researched I've done and articles I've read turns out sometimes you need antibiotics for one reason or another. With the amount of meat that needs produced nowadays it can be hard to raise a ton of cows without them. Imagine having hundreds of cows that are being raised for later meat production and one gets ill and passes it to the next. A domino effect. You now have hundreds of dead cows and dollars down the drain. With safe, regulated antibiotics that won't happen. Similar with poultry, farmers use antibiotics to protect from disease.

3. Farmers still feed you.

If you don't eat meat because you feel the animals are being treated wrong and we should not have to kill them please remember this. It really doesn't matter. The same farmer that raised the animals might have grew the corn you're eating in a salad or the corn salsa you put on your Chipotle tacos. Don't tell me you're not eating anything a farmer grew.

4. Yes, the population needs meat.

Only 2% compared to the 243.4 million in the U.S. are farmers. Only 2% of America feeds the other 98% of us. If some of us didn't eat meat we would all be stuck eating grass like the rest of the farm animals we're stuck with. At the rate America is growing we'd be doomed if most of us didn't already eat meat. Just imagine if we all only ate non-animal products. There are definitely not enough plants for us all to eat.

So whether you just don't eat meat or you're vegan just remember it's not an awful thing that our culture has made it to be. Don't look at me funny when I say "yeah, I raise meat rabbits."

Just remember and think that there are 2% of people still feeding you. They sure don't have to produce the veggies you're munching on if you choose not to eat their steaks.