First off, let me start by saying "My name is Josh, and I'm a meat eater" Whew... it's good to finally get that off my chest.
Seriously, though, I feel as if I'm being looked down upon because I ingest animal flesh. It seems that many of you have strong opinions about why you do or do not eat meat.
I'm curious about why those of you who avoid eating meat have made the choice to do so. I've read about the numerous health benefits of eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables(I eat a lot of them myself, in addition to meat), and I'm also aware of the health risks of eating too much saturated fat. For me, animal protein with a full complement of necessary amino acids seems to make sound nutritional sense.
I'd like to think that I value my life at the same level as I value the life of a cow or a fish, but I think my ego keeps that from being true. Whether it's right or wrong, I believe that we're at the top of the food chain, and it's perfectly natural for me to hunt and eat meat.
Are you aware that our brains grew larger than those of our early ancestors, due in large part to the introduction of meat into the diet of early hominids? For those of you that value your brains (I think anyone coming to this site must place high value on their intelligence) how do you reconcile the fact that it was meat that made you smarter? The link below is just one of the resources I found by doing a quick internet search. I was originally introduced to this concept through a BBC book on human evolution (see second link).
Hominid Chronology Amazon.com: Dawn of Man: The Story of Human Evolution: Books: DK Publishing
I'm sure this doesn't shake the foundation of your decision to not eat meat, and I would imagine that this is not new information for many of you. For me, though, it put to rest my internal wrestling match over whether I should or should not eat meat. Our ancestors transitioned from being herbivores to being omnivores for a reason. I can say with confidence "My name is Josh, and I'm a meat eater".