I consider animal life to be of incommensurably less worth than human life, myself. If I had to slaughter ten billion puppies in order to save a single human life, I would do so cheerfully (well, perhaps not cheerfully, but I would do that).
But this does not mean that I do not value animal life at all. I would not kill a puppy for my personal amusement. And while I am not vegetarian, I must admit that I am somewhat uneasy at the idea of, say, a pig or a cow dying for what is basically just my enjoyment...
edited 5th Mar '12 1:01:03 PM by Carciofus
But they seem to know where they are going, the ones who walk away from Omelas.Note to self: if Emberverse-type event happens, threaten to feed marauders to cats.* Also, purchase manually-operated grinder.
edited 5th Mar '12 2:21:38 PM by FarseerLolotea
I don't think people should have to justify their reasons for eating or not eating meat. I love animals, but I eat meat and never even felt like I needed to rationalize it. Some people love animals and decide don't want to eat them. I think that's sweet and admirable and I'll fight anybody who picks on them for it! With words. On the internet where I can't get bruises.
I'm not entirely sure if I understand pescetarianism...is that usually just for health, or are there people who feel compassion for just terrestrial vertebrates? Healthwise, I don't think you get a whole lot different from fish but a few vitamins. Seafood's also pretty harsh on the ecosystem these days, but what food isn't?
edited 6th Mar '12 2:19:06 PM by scythemantis
bogleech.com for my writing, comics and cartoons.Oh, neither do I. I wouldn't call that a form of vegetarianism though.
About the only mammal tissues I've liked were goat from this one Indian place here, expensive but fantastically delicious.
I always wanted to be able to cut meat from my diet because it really is unhealthy to depend on animal parts for food, but I love poultry, sashimi and frog's legs too much.
I do enjoy various meat substitutes, though. Tofu can be prepared so many delicious ways, and I find tofu hot dogs tastier than meat ones. I also LOVE mushrooms prepared like meat, especially sauteed.
edited 6th Mar '12 2:43:55 PM by scythemantis
bogleech.com for my writing, comics and cartoons.Well, I'm not entirely pescetarian — I'm just trying to limit meat to one day per week — but in my case, my main concern is health. But there is also a compassion factor — I don't enjoy the idea of causing pain to any living being, but I find the idea of causing pain to high-intelligence animals especially distasteful. While some fish is pretty bright, most if it is nowhere close to your average mammal, I think; and the same, just even more so, can be said about shellfish (although not about cephalopod molluscs, obviously).
Land vs. sea is not really the issue: for example, I am pretty much OK with snails (jummy) but, as I said, I'd be a bit more uneasy eating octopus.
But I am pretty much making this up as I go along, I do not have any particularly well-developed theory here.
edited 6th Mar '12 2:45:53 PM by Carciofus
But they seem to know where they are going, the ones who walk away from Omelas.Dammit, Scythe, you've gotten me wanting sashimi. I hope you're proud of yourself.
...or I could blame watching How To Train Your Dragon and thinking Hiccup was a wimp for getting squicked by raw fish. (Although, in his defense, it had kitty dragon slobber on it.)
edited 6th Mar '12 11:46:18 PM by FarseerLolotea
There are crunchy squid rings from a particular Chinese place I love, but I do feel bad just because cephalopods are like THE most majestic perfect things in nature to me. Octopuses I'd feel a little worse about than squid perhaps, they're more playful and kitten-like while squids are all business.
bogleech.com for my writing, comics and cartoons.

Cows I'm not so sure, but pigs are certainly more understandable of being more closer to humans in value.
And also, I believe specifically that "destroying one life is equally as bad as destroying many, or destroying any number of lives is equally bad, regardless of what that number is", I think that suffering and pain can be quantified so reducing the amount of torture is better.