I am not a vegetarian or vegan. I am not proud about this. I am not ashamed either. This isn’t a question of being proud or ashamed, I believe.
From time to time, the images of how animals are being mistreated and killed in slaughterhouse cross my mind. A few hours ago, I watched this video in the link.(The video is extremely disturbing) So, I decided to go ahead and create a thread about it. [Moderator Note - Link spoilered due to graphic and therefore NSFW content]
Relatively often, before consuming a meat, I ask myself if I am doing something wrong by consuming meat. I dismiss the thought quickly. I am not aware of how I dismiss it (the thought process and how neurons communicate etc. :D, but I do dismiss it. I like the taste of the meat. On the other hand, I also feel bad about consuming it. Maybe not bad enough to stop myself from eating it.
My question is, especially to those who consume meat: do you experience such thoughts? How do you cope with them? Would you be able to kill an animal to eat her? How can I (or we) feel better about consuming meat? Should I (or we) feel better about consuming meat?
I’ve killed animals to eat them: pigs, rabbits and chickens. The pigs were more of a problem (I didn’t do the actual killing or butchering on that one, I was on the sausages team), there is simply no way to kill them quickly and painlessly. For the chickens and rabbits, I was taught to do it as humanely as the person teaching me knew how.
Whether consuming meat or byproducts, I’m on the “I prefer happy hens” camp, but I still eat eggs. And chickens. And rabbits. And I’d be perfectly willing to kill any suchlike again.
I am probably not the first person who should be responding to this thread but I have never had any concerns about the way my food is treated. I mean in general, I’d prefer the animal not to be tortured before its shot in the head or has its throat slit but honestly that’s more about taste I find a free range grass fed animals to be tastier. I don’t really care about lab rats or bunnies having cosmetics tested on them either they are suffering to make life better for humanity just like that bull in the slaughterhouse.
I do kill animals to eat them and I have no problem with it and I’m trying to get my wife to let me raise some farm animals so I can kill and eat them. I would have not problem raising and caring for a bull for years to kill him myself and eat him.
As far as how to feel better most people seem to think as long as the animal was happy everyday before you cut its throat then it makes the killing ethical. So I guess focus on how much better the cow’s life if with antibiotics and a full belly every day and even its death in the slaughterhouse is better then that of being eaten by a predator so the life of a beef cow is better then its alternative life running around in nature.
I look at it this way… being slaughtered and eaten is the tradeoff that the meat species made (in a sense), as part of domestication. They get eaten, but at the same time, humans maintain their species in generally greater numbers, health, etc… than they’d otherwise be in the wild. I mean, we have almost 1.5 billion cattle in the world. How many cattle do you think there would be if they were just wild? A few million I’d wager.
Same thing with chickens, goats, sheep, wheat, corn, barley, etc…
And yes, I’ve killed several sorts of animals and eaten them, mostly fish and birds, but that’s more of a situation of happenstance, rather than any kind of problem eating animals like deer, etc…
Since eating meat is not necessary for our survival, and the only reason people do it is because, as mentioned in the OP, they “like the taste”, I think it’s unethical and immoral to eat animals (certainly the more intelligent ones anyway).
This is hardly a new question. The Bible finds it necessary to justify why people have an ethical right to eat animals (because Noah saved them from flooding).
I guess I’m in the “I don’t mind that animals are killed so I can eat them, but I do mind if they are tortured” camp. I mostly buy meat and eggs and milk from animals that lived a relatively normal live for their species.
Pastured eggs are a lot more expensive than standard eggs, but are still REALLY cheap for what they are. And they taste better – eggier – than the standard ones. Pastured meat is tougher but has a richer flavor than feedlot/enclosure meat.
I have mostly stopped eating pork. Pigs are intelligent social animals and they are raised in pretty awful conditions. The typical beef cow actually did start its life in a somewhat normal environment, living on grassland in a herd with its mother, before it was fattened in a feedlot for the final few weeks. The typical lamb sheep lived a mostly normal life, too. And chickens are too dumb and nasty for me to care, much. But pigs are often confined like chickens for much or all of their lives.
After doing some reading about factory farms, I became a vegetarian for a few years. At the time, I didn’t know any other vegetarians and really didn’t know what to eat anymore. I felt guilty about not going full vegan. I was also getting a lot of flak from my family, who didn’t appreciate being dragged along on my experiment. I lost more weight than I could afford to. Finally I broke down and returned to eating meat, which greatly simplified my life. I always thought that one day I would return to vegetarianism, but that day hasn’t come. It’s true that I am an unethical and immoral person. For my convenience, I ignore that.
Life in the wild is hard. Farmed critters’ lives are cushy, or at least should be. I am against tiny cages, however. I’d gladly let myself be killed and eaten if I was allowed to live a life of luxury.
The vegans I know are so obnoxious about it that I find it easy to compartmentalize and ignore. Not saying ALL vegans are like that but the ones I know do a bang-up job.
While I could easily compartmentalize killing, butchering and killing an animal (have grown up seeing it done from a very young age), I’d much rather not and often wish I could switch to being a vegan without missing the taste and texture of meat. That said, vat grown meat can’t come soon enough. I’ll switch to it as soon as it’s commercially available for human consumption.
I’m not sure what an “anti-vegan” is, unless you mean the people who are all “Oh, you’re a vegan? Mmmmm… this MEAT sure is GOOD!!!” in which case I heartily agree.
Do what you feel is right. If you don’t feel it is moral to consume meat produced by factory farming, then don’t do it. Factory farming has brought unbelievable amounts of calories and nutrition to an ever growing population. It is cruel.
I will suggest there are other, more expensive and humane options available. You could hunt your own meat. With proper technique, the animal suffers very little until death. Personally, I have seen deer that have lost consciousness within 5-10 seconds after being shot.
You could choose to purchase meat from a farmer or shop that emphasizes animal care during their life, and a quick slaughter to end it.
Or you could choose to abstain entirely. It’s great to have choices.
:D, but I do dismiss it. I like the taste of the meat. On the other hand, I also feel bad about consuming it. Maybe not bad enough to stop myself from eating it.