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I've wondered this for a while. How does meat work in a furry world?

Assuming a furry world would be similar to ours, I could walk into a restaurant and order a burger and fries, right? Where did that meat come from? Am I offending somebody by eating it? What if I'm a cow?

There would be a LOT to tackle there !

For starters,  Does the world have feral animals or just anthros?  Are the ferals as intellegent as humans or just regular animals like the ones we have now?

I imagine our world, but humans are furries. Regular 4-legged animals are the same as they are normally.

Well,  i'd imagine carnivores would still eat meat,  but it would lead to interesting social problems.   Cows,  for example,  might quite dislike that their 4 legged counterparts are so popular for food.

Well,  i'd imagine carnivores would still eat meat,  but it would lead to interesting social problems.   Cows,  for example,  might quite dislike that their 4 legged counterparts are so popular for food.

well cows are sacred in india, and no one eats them their, but we happily eat them in america. so you might have things like that, just area's where it is and is not done.

So you think species would be likely to organize geographically and isolate themselves to some extent?

I would visualize it as being similar to the different races in humans. So, there may be some local clustering of a certain species in certain locations, and some may widely dominate larger areas, there will still be a pretty good mix of species in most places.

But I tend to visualize a furry/anthro world as being nearly identical to our world, the people are just physically different. Society would work pretty much the same.

As such, the anthros wouldn't have a real problem eating meat or anything. Diets would remain the same as what we eat.

And to follow up what Ziel said, you would have your vegan extremists that would hate someone forever if they even looked at a feral "wrong." You would also have the meat extremists. There would be arguments.

Depends also on what traits are taken over to the anthro world.  If they're just unusually shaped fuzzy humans,  it might not be a problem.  But wolves,  for example,  can get quite sick without meat and could have vulnerabilities to various foods.

Corn allergies would be quite common in malamutes... And corn is in almost everything we eat nowadays in some form or another.

Most canids would not be able to eat grapes or chocolate.

I usually assume it's something like the difference between humans and other primates; those animals are still there in that form, and anthropomorphic species aren't really thought of as a direct equivalent, but something that took a separate evolutionary path some time ago. Sometimes in more science-fiction oriented universes this happens because humans actually created the animal-races on purpose.

In a world where there were no other animals but 'furry' races, they would pretty much have to eat one another, or have done so until they were advanced enough to create alternatives. Otherwise you'd probably have most carnivores, especially obligate carnivores being extinct.

In a world where there were no other animals but 'furry' races, they would pretty much have to eat one another, or have done so until they were advanced enough to create alternatives. Otherwise you'd probably have most carnivores, especially obligate carnivores being extinct.

Alright, so first of all, why would you assume an anthromorph would have the exact same dietary needs and liver capacity as the animal it's based on? You'd think an anthromorph would be a much more highly evolved species.

Second, if the case was carnivorous furs actually did need meat, and couldn't have a substitute, how does it make any sense that they'd die out? They're obviously the tougher species, I'd bet you be seeing herbivores locked in cages at slaughterhouses just like you see here on earth. Basically if anthromorphs weren't totally feral, I think the carnivorous races would probably treat herbivores poorly, breeding them then killing them, and that would be a little bunnies life, huh?

Alright, so first of all, why would you assume an anthromorph would have the exact same dietary needs and liver capacity as the animal it's based on?

'First of all,' I didn't say anything was exactly anything. I would assume that in a non-fantasy world where evolution had taken place, adaptations would be there for a reason. For instance an anthropomorphic cat, with cat-like teeth, probably wouldn't have evolved on a primarily plant based diet. And if that was the case, it probably wouldn't have evolved a digestive system terribly efficient for living on a plant based diet.

You'd think an anthromorph would be a much more highly evolved species.

Well, I'd be disappointed in myself for thinking that, then.

Second, if the case was carnivorous furs actually did need meat, and couldn't have a substitute, how does it make any sense that they'd die out? They're obviously the tougher species, I'd bet you be seeing herbivores locked in cages at slaughterhouses just like you see here on earth. Basically if anthromorphs weren't totally feral, I think the carnivorous races would probably treat herbivores poorly, breeding them then killing them, and that would be a little bunnies life, huh?

Consider what might happen if all the creatures we lock away in cages suddenly had intelligence on par with ours, and a functional equivalent to hands. Then imagine we didn't have centuries of civilization as a head start. And recall that predators are outnumbered by prey. It would be like an ongoing war against someone whom you cannot eradicate without dooming yourself, but who could live on having eradicated you. Perhaps it might end up how you think... but I wouldn't want to bet very much on it, personally.

...And recall that predators are outnumbered by prey.

Part of the trick is to not let them realize that they outnumber you, and use phycological tricks that help keep them feeling weak. We've all seen this kind of thing. It's like how in a school setting a small group of bullies can continue to pick on a large number of the other kids; the other kids usually don't band together despite their greater numbers.

I'm a vegetarian, I see nothing worng with being a vegetarian. I need to get back on that diet because I was at camp for about a week. But I see nothing wrong with being a vegetarian.

...And recall that predators are outnumbered by prey.

Part of the trick is to not let them realize that they outnumber you, and use phycological tricks that help keep them feeling weak. We've all seen this kind of thing. It's like how in a school setting a small group of bullies can continue to pick on a large number of the other kids; the other kids usually don't band together despite their greater numbers.

I was also going to point out that if you grew up in a slaughter house, you wouldn't have any education.

Hey I'd like the idea there would be animals aside from anthromorphs to eat better though.

...And recall that predators are outnumbered by prey.

Part of the trick is to not let them realize that they outnumber you, and use phycological tricks that help keep them feeling weak. We've all seen this kind of thing. It's like how in a school setting a small group of bullies can continue to pick on a large number of the other kids; the other kids usually don't band together despite their greater numbers.

Even if most simply go along with it, a minority of them could be a pretty significant number. They wouldn't even have to win, just be disruptive enough to make the system unsustainable. To attempt this on a large scale would probably see the occasional resistance movements (including sympathetic elements of the dominant species), riots, and things like the uprisings in Warsaw. Supposing this situation was already set up, presumably after a long history of fighting and oppression, it must be something like having a society where the great majority of the people are imprisoned. I'd be highly doubtful we could achieve that even now... the cost and difficulty would be so great, for anything but an obligate carnivore it probably wouldn't be worthwhile, even before taking into account the extra difficulties faced by that society every time there were economic, political, or natural troubles that threatened to weaken the system. The first time something screwed up, which it always does sooner or later, could be the end of the whole thing...

I've dealt with this in my own fiction partly by limiting the number of species I work with.  So, there are anthropomorphic cats, dogs, otters, and a few others mentioned, but there simply aren't any anthropomorphic ungulates or birds.  So, the cats and dogs can raise cows, horses, pigs, chickens, etc. for food without it being too weird, since there are no anthro counterparts for them.

Of course, this doesn't work if you want to deal with a world that has anthropomorphic representations of all species at once.

...And recall that predators are outnumbered by prey.

Part of the trick is to not let them realize that they outnumber you, and use phycological tricks that help keep them feeling weak. We've all seen this kind of thing. It's like how in a school setting a small group of bullies can continue to pick on a large number of the other kids; the other kids usually don't band together despite their greater numbers.

I was also going to point out that if you grew up in a slaughter house, you wouldn't have any education.

Hey I'd like the idea there would be animals aside from anthromorphs to eat better though.

Aliens for food?

Truly, it is hard to imagine, seeing as it probably won't happen...

And hey, if predators are outnumbered, how are there more wolves/foxes than any other species on here? :3

You know, another solution is the classic science-fiction yeast vat trope.  Instead of growing animals to slaughter and eat, just directly grow muscle tissue in a science lab style vat.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_vitro_meat

I've always seen my anthro characters as existing in a world where there are intelligent animals, and unintelligent. Think about the Narnia books, where even some of the feral animals have intelligence, and tend to be larger than the regular "dumb" animals.

I actually have a made up fictional world where my stories take place. It has anthros of all species, along with dragons, elves, dwarves, humans, etc. In resturants, you walk in and they give you either the "Herbivore menu" for vegetarians, and herbivorus anthros, and then a regular menu if you are any other species. Also, some places have signs in their windows such as "Carnivores only" "Anthros only" etc.

A world with anthro and non anthro animals would be the best case. Otherwise I can see an all anthro world torn to pieces by a neverending war for survival between herbivores and carnivores. I seriously doubt the herbivores would just lay down and accept their fate as a food source.

A world with anthro and non anthro animals would be the best case. Otherwise I can see an all anthro world torn to pieces by a neverending war for survival between herbivores and carnivores. I seriously doubt the herbivores would just lay down and accept their fate as a food source.

Actually, that makes me think of the world depicted in the webcomic Kevin and Kell: http://www.kevinandkell.com/