In regards to eating meat

[βαθμιαίος]

I'll take a stab at your questions.

1. Is it as easy to butcher a cow as it to pull a carrot from the ground? What is the significance of this?

"Butcher" means cut up for food. That is a big job with a cow. Are you asking if it is as easy to shoot a cow as it is to pull up a carrot?

2. And, even IF plants did feel pain, how can that justify killing animals? (Especially when eating meat causes more death to plants, since plants must first be fed to the animals.)

I'm not trying to justify killing animals. I think it's a shame that we have to kill anything in order to eat, but we do. I just don't see a fundamental distinction between killing plants and killing animals.

3. The whole argument about plants seems to be skirting the issue, when we cannot survive without eating plants. But most of us, with a little education, can survive quite well without eating animals. Eating plants is necessary. How is eating animals ever justified, when it's not necessary?

I think it comes down to what we value and how we want to live. You have put not eating animals very high on your list of priorities, and I think we all respect you for it.

My priorities are different: I value self-sufficiency and local foods. For me, eating local meat is part of that, along with having a big garden, laying hens, and a milk cow. I have also found that my health and that of my family are more vibrant when we eat meat.