Convincing a non Adventist to abstain from flesh could be quite hard. Jesus himself ate flesh and so did the angels when they met with Abraham. It would be hard to tell someone that they are committing a sin by doing the same thing Jesus did. It would seem to them that we are calling Jesus and the angels sinners.

It would be easier to convict them over the kosher diet, however, as that is found in the Bible.

I know that in todays aggroculture industry that chickens are given steroids to maximize profits by reducing the timeto fully grow in half. An example is that it takes 3 months to get a baby chick to look fully grown vs 6 months\1year.
Animals know when they are going to be killed since they can smell blood, and it may be very well possible that they hear what can be happening. They are not as stupid as many would like us to believe.
My point is that today meat is a risky thing to eat look at the avian flu, diseases caused by farming salmon, foot and mouth, mad cow, all sorts of stuff to do the following:
1. Supply the general public
2. Get the product (meat) out to the consumers in less time by using science..weird science if you will.

God has given man dominion over all the creatues and the land, and we are destroying it and abusing creatures. I would not eat meat because of the above reasons, and also kosher meat is tasteless from what I have heard.

The same proteins, and oils, and nutrients can be found in theplant kingdom.
God Bless & Happy Sabbath,
Will

Dave True, it would be easier to urge a Adventist-style meat eating diet (but it is in no way kosher! Ask a Jew.) But is easier God's way? Do we want to perpetuate what Sunday-keepers claim we are, "Judaizing Christians" on the "kosher myth" as well as our Sabbath-keeping??

However to make a non-meat diet a matter of salvation is not Adventist either. I think we should lead by example, not by what's easier. Yes, Jesus eat lamb and fish (that's all we have record of) but He also wore sandals and cloaks: should we? God sent the SOP for our day for a good reason, one of which is that the health reform message is vital for our day.

Willy Great reasons for not eating meat. Yes, kosher meat is pretty tastless (I worked in the food industry all my life and grew up with Jews), so that's one reason you see pickled meats and peppered meats, pastrami, corned beef etc. in kosher delicatessens.

[ May 28, 2005, 08:43 AM: Message edited by: Phil N. D'blanc ]

I think we as Adventists sometime get this idea that we are the only vegetarians. This could not be further from the truth, we are but a small minority of the vegetarians in the world. I associate on occasion with young people who are vegan/vegetarian for a variety of reasons; to protect the environment, a healthier lifestyle, preventing cruelty or they are living on a shoestring. (Paradoxidly (is that a word?) many of these same people will think nothing of smoking marijuana.) I guess what I'm trying to say is that if we want to convert people over to a vegetarian lifestyle there are many ways to convince them other than that we feel it is sin.

Redfog

I see the issue here is the way food is prepared. In bible times, unless it was a burnt offering, the priest and the person who brought their flesh offering both had a feast when it was sacrificed (and the fat belonged to the Lord--Lev. 3:16). This is why the best animals were offered--they were the greatest tasting and healthiest. The more solemn the occasion and the more offerings given, the more flesh foods were consumed.

Nowadays preparation is different. Chemicals and hormones are ruining just about everything. Even what we drink isn't safe. Speaking about unclean foods, our prayer meeting group last night had a discussion about "vitamin" D3 which is normally added to milk. According to a medical source http://vitamind.ucr.edu/milk.html people whose religion restricts what they eat have a dilema on their hands. "Vitamin" D3 may come from swine's flesh.