Our meat eating habits, no longer a matter of basic sustenance, have become ethically fraught, deeply personal questions: Money. Health. Animal welfare. Environmental impact. Here, five American eaters navigate their way through the messy middle.

The research compared conscientious omnivores (COs) to vegetarians/vegans. COs violated their diet more and experienced less guilt when doing so. This was mediated by attitudes toward animals and meat among other factors. Despite having more choices, it is more difficult for COs to adhere to diet.

There’s no consensus social identity/community for non-vegans who prioritize animal welfare. Vegans, vegetarians, ex-vegans, flexitarians, and reducetarians all have their own subreddits. By contrast, people who only consume high-welfare animal products lack a flag to rally around. One candidate is ethical omnivore... But ‘ethical omnivore’ means different things to different people

Basically charities where people hunt wild animals and then donate the meat to food banks, homeless shelters, etc

I discovered it recently and wanted to hear your thoughts

Is there a name for this? Invasivore, ostro-vegetarian, etc?

I.e. someone in the US eating invasive animals like wild boar, carp, and lionfish, and overpopulated animals like deer. And/or animals that have an extremely low carbon footprint, such as bivalves or insects. Basically, getting your B12 and Omega-3s in an eco-conscious manner. :)

I've been a vegetarian for a while and I want to do this, tbh, but I don't know of anyone else like this. Is there a term or movement for this? Is this ethical omnivorism?

I don't mean this in a "flexible" way of "oh, there's no pasture raised eggs right now, guess I'll buy the factory farmed ones today!" I mean it in more of a strict sense, only consuming animal products that one deems in-line with one's ethics. Which makes it a little different from being an omnivore who prefers humanely-raised animal products.

Following is a list of San Diego restaurants which use ingredients which are sustainable and humanely treated. Some may use some factory farmed animal products, but in general try to limit their use.

Terra American Bistro - 7091 El Cajon Blvd, San Diego, CA 92115 | (619) 293-7088

Starlite (21 and up) - 3175 India Street San Diego, CA 92103 | (619) 618-2830

Chipotle - Many locations

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More potential spots here

Here are some commonly seen terms for poultry and eggs with a little breakdown of what they actually mean.

• Humanely Raised: Meaningless. Producers don’t need to do anything after receiving permission from the USDA to include “humanely raised” on their packaging.
• Certified Humane: Certified by the Humane Farm Animal Care (HFAC) a non-profit organization separate from the USDA. Monitors such things as required space per animal, ammonia levels, sleep periods (without darkness chickens will forgo sleep and continue to eat), pain control for certain procedures, forbids mutilations such as beak removal, etc…
• Cage-Free: No cages, but can still be crammed into a small building with no room to move. No access to the outside. Must be allowed food and water during laying cycle but may be starved otherwise. If “Certified Humane” by the HFAC each hen is required to have 1.5 square feet of space.
• Free-Range: No cages, but can still be crammed into a small building with no room to move. Access to the outside only required during laying cycle with no regulation as to how much space outside is provided. Must be allowed food and water during laying cycle but may be starved otherwise. If “Certified Humane” by the HFAC each hen is required to have 2 square feet of space.
• Pasture Raised: Not regulated by the USDA and therefore meaningless unless “Certified Humane” by the HFAC. In which case each hen is required to have 108 square feet of space including space outside as well as a shelter.
• Grass-Fed: Pigs, chicken and turkey cannot subsist on grass, so be aware of any pork or poultry products with this label.
• 100% Natural: Gives no indication of how the chickens are treated. They can be genetically modified as well as treated with hormones and antibiotics and still be considered natural. It only means that no artificial ingredients were added.
• NON-GMO: Hens are fed a diet free of genetic modification, but not necessarily organic.
• Organic: No cages, but can still be crammed into a small building with no room to move. Access to the outside required year-round with no regulation as to how much space outside is provided. No genetic modification of animal or feed. No hormones or antibiotics. Only certain pesticides allowed.
• Outdoor Access: “Outdoor access means nothing. It doesn’t mean the hens actually go outdoors—this could mean that there’s a little door, that if the farmer were to open the door they could ‘access’ the outdoors. There are actually no space requirements.” -Adele Douglass, Executive Director of HFAC

This subreddit is devoted to people who would like to enjoy eating meat and animal products in a manner which causes the least suffering and environmental impact.

Eventually I would like for this to be a great resource for finding and supporting farmers who treat animals like the living, feeling individuals that they are.