yes I would, I eat a fair amount of meat from the farm, so I know these animals, I also know how they have been reared, what they have been fed, what drugs they may have had, I try not to have to much to do with anything that im going to eat though,

I prefer meat from the farm, I do buy from supermarkets as well,

what can I say, I like meat, I prefer farm meat but when thats not availible, then I buy from supermarkets, I know who the local butcher buys his beef from, I wouldnt buy from him, the cattle are not as well looked after as I would like.
I do get dog bones from him though as I cant get them anywhere else.

A true vegetarian doesn't consume ANY animal products for which the animal had to die to produce. No non-veggie wine, cheese, the lot.
A true veggie does not eat fish or shellfish as they had to die. Those people are pescatarians.... or the conveniently undecided
I was a true, strict ovo-lacto vegetarian, ie I ate eggs and dairy, the sort that is generally meant by 'vegetarian'.

The biggest hypocrites are veggies who do eat fish or shellfish and still call themselves vegetarians..... or drink wine, cheese, yoghurt or all the other things with dead animal products in.

I don't need to justify what I eat. I eat what I want. I am answering the question as to why I eat meat.... and am also trying to show the main reason a lot of people who are true veggies (not the 'I'm a vegetarian but I do eat prawns brigade')don't eat meat, that they feel better for not eating it.

It's like veggies who say they don't eat meat as they don't like the taste. Well about all those other animal products that you don't even taste, the rennet, the gelatin, the blood powder in wine. If you are a veggie and you consume those then why?.... and if you don't again, why, because it can't be because you just don't like the taste. It's because you don't like the idea of where it comes from because of how it is produced and as such feel better, ie get self satisfaction, from not eating it, ie you would feel bad eating it. Not because you don't like the taste, not because you are allergic or for other health reasons, purely because not eating it makes you feel better, gives you self satisfaction.

Note the phrase 'self righteous' has never been used by me, a bit of word twisting going on here me thinks.

*Puts the toys back in the pram*

Yes, I feed a mainly raw diet too... my theory being I would not be prepared to kill and animal to eat it, whereas my dogs would kill to eat if needs be... vegetarianism is my lifestyle not theirs...

True veggie here then, am ovo lacto vegetarian, don't eat fish, fowl, flesh, only drink veggie wine, eat veggie cheese, no gelatine, no animal rennet/glycerine and I read all my food labels!! I am a nightmare to shop with!!

I have to say, I admire those who do it for the animals, its easy to be vegie if you dont like the taste/texture of meat, but if you do love meat and give it up on principle, then thats a bit harder to me.

Much respect! I've been there done that for over 17 years, my poor mother lol.
I can remember being 13 and her taking me to the GP when I became a veggie. He tried to ask me what I was eating and I knew far more about food combining to get complete proteins than he did, ie eating baked beans on wholemeal toast to get the amino-acids to join..... he was impressed, and Mum left me alone after that lol

Don't you find though, that you get to know which products/brands use meat products in their foods?

Yes, giving up as a matter of principle does seem harder that because you don't actually like it, IYSWIM? Giving up something you did actually like once would be harder.

Saying that, if I was told that for medical reasons I could no longer eat meat, I wouldn't find it a stretch to be a veggie. We don't eat meat every day, and I'm a good enough cook to adapt favourite recipes to vegetarian ones!

Yes, it also helps that most supermarkets tell you whether its veggie now though, not like when I first became a veggie, (I have been solidly one for 18 years but on and off for years before that, tuna was my weakness then!! )
I was lucky, my Mum isn't the biggest meat fan and my dad prefers fish, so she never forced me to eat meat... the family just said it was a phase I was going through, like my teenage angst... the phase has lasted a while now!!
I am not the healthiest veggie in the world though, as I have a weakness for chocolate and cheese, but I do love veg and fruit too... but don't really like much quorn or soya See, I am a nightmare!!

Tis funny,my mum found me sooo arkward at the time,now im the one who eats meat and she doesnt! lol.

I was a veggie who doesn't do nuts..... and can remember going round my Dad's for Xmas dinner when he produced a brazil nut roast
I just used to have all the veg instead, which is why now I eat so much veg, love it.

I was living in California too and it was not easy being veggie in the US. Even their baked beans had pork fat in them, so I had to buy vegetarian baked beans by Heinz.

Cheese is my killer too. I love cheese, could give up chocolate, but never cheese.