“Vegans are going to take over the world, while Meat-Eaters are ruining it!”

We need to stop this.

I recognize and respect the choice to not eat meat- to live with Veganism even. That is all you and all the power to you for choosing to do so.

That is not me. That will never be me. Meat is an essential part of a healthy diet, and a frequented part of mine. This does not mean I do not love animals.

One of several arguments regularly given by vegans is that eating meat strips animals of their rights, as they cannot say “no,” and are not making the decision [to live] for themselves. An overwhelming majority of people on this Earth eat and enjoy meat and other products from a number of animals- cows, chickens or deer, and the list goes on. It is more than unreasonable to expect every meat-eater to stop eating it or every human to stop the use of anything that comes off or out of an animal because you do not think human lives trump animal rights. Human lives should always trump animal lives. We as a species, as a human race should look out for one another before other beings.

Another argument from vegans is that our consumption of meat and use of animal products is what is “destroying the planet.” That our continuing of what people have done since the beginning of time is harming the planet to the extent of global warming. Stop telling us this. While the consumption of animals may harm the planet a little due to the sometimes overwhelming farming techniques to mass-produce meats, we are not the primary reason for it nor will forcing us to stop eating meat help significantly. We have been consuming animal products since the beginning of time and not until recently has the planet experienced destruction like it is now. Instead of blaming those of us who consume animal products, turn towards the corporations spitting emissions into the ozone and letting their waste run into the oceans.

Lastly, I have seen and experienced vegans claim that omnivores are “heartless” and “have no emotional intelligence.” To be called heartless for carrying out an act of survival that is normalized is unacceptable. To be told you are unable to love animals because you lack the emotional intelligence is, as it supposed to be, insulting. You can hold endless amounts of love for animals- from horses and deer to rabbits and dogs. Whether you consume them or you feed and nurture them, you are able to love them. Yes, you absolutely love pets in a different manner than other animals. You choose to love your pets with your whole heart, nurturing and helping them grow. Just as you would love humans; You choose to love your people with your whole heart, whereas you simply love and acknowledge others.

The claim that meat-eaters are heartless and the placing blame on us for ruining the planet needs to stop.

It is possible to love animals and eat them. It is possible to have a heart and eat what is at our disposal. It is possible to get along- vegan or meat-eater, and not force our own ways of life down one another’s throats. No matter what I am told, I will always eat meat. And I am not sorry for that.