# Eating without killing **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 3, 2020, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-without-killing/927063 "2020-12-03T02:41:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Jillena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e495f1/32.png) [@Jillena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jillena)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2020, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-without-killing/927063/61 "2020-12-03T22:27:15Z")
Hahaha, yep. It’s certainly part of the moral dilemma. ---
**Author:** ![Jillena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e495f1/32.png) [@Jillena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jillena)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2020, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-without-killing/927063/62 "2020-12-03T22:28:44Z")
Yes, interesting… ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2020, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-without-killing/927063/63 "2020-12-04T00:36:08Z")
> [@Jillena](#): > > Where does God stand on that I wonder. I don’t know but he’s got a lot to answer for. > [@Jillena](#): > > Someday I hope we all are relieved from this angst. Nobody gets out alive. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2020, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-without-killing/927063/64 "2020-12-04T00:59:50Z")
> [@Jillena](#): > > Where does God stand on that I wonder. Why would any god design a world in which almost every life form aside from chemosynthetic bacteria depends on something else dying (and plants need nutrients usually provided by the death of other organisms) if it weren’t fine with that? Even minimal study of the natural world demonstrates that it was not designed to avoid pain or cruelty, but that is built into it. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2020, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-without-killing/927063/65 "2020-12-04T01:23:35Z")
@Jillena is new here, let’s not terrify her too soon. And for what it’s worth, I see nothing _wrong_ about wanting to do LESS harm, whether morally or ethically, whether or not God has anything to do with it. Having said that, @Colibri is right, it does seemed to be baked into the way the world works. And if we were to take a religious point of view, then per my upbringing (Reform Judaism) God has made it pretty clear what we can and cannot eat, that killing to eat is fine but to do it with a modicum of dignity and cleanliness. For that matter, most Jewish traditions allow for kosher laws to be void if it is a matter of life or death. Your religious views may be entirely different, and therefore assumptions about which foods are permitted as well. Going back to my first line though, it’s fine to look for options to do _less_ harm, but the devil is in the details. In many cases ethically sourced foods come at a cost that would lead the poorest peoples in the world to starvation and death. While less risky options such as farm-to-table restaurants and the like provide a much more ethically satisfying experience, they are regionally, seasonally, and cost constrained. And in many cases the ‘best’ foods come with horrible abuse of those at the origin of the food chain - whether it be labor by underpaid immigrants in the US, to out and out child labor and worse in areas overseas. As I said in my first post in this thread, it’s a profoundly complicated question and every person is going to have a different definition of ‘least bad option’, just hope some of the thoughts shared here can help Jillena and others. Good luck to all! ---
**Author:** ![Jillena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e495f1/32.png) [@Jillena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jillena)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2020, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-without-killing/927063/66 "2020-12-04T01:49:43Z")
But DPRK…Eating seeds/grains will prevent them from becoming a life…just like an egg. Minimising pain and suffering and balanced stewardship toward what we eat is i think sensible. ---
**Author:** ![Jillena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e495f1/32.png) [@Jillena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jillena)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2020, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-without-killing/927063/67 "2020-12-04T01:50:39Z")
Wowee ---
**Author:** ![Jillena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e495f1/32.png) [@Jillena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jillena)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2020, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-without-killing/927063/68 "2020-12-04T01:52:01Z")
Yes asahi I saw that too. Personally I’ve got a red flag about it though. ---
**Author:** ![Jillena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e495f1/32.png) [@Jillena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jillena)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2020, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-without-killing/927063/69 "2020-12-04T01:52:40Z")
I’m getting a red flag about it. ---
**Author:** ![Jillena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e495f1/32.png) [@Jillena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jillena)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2020, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-without-killing/927063/70 "2020-12-04T01:54:08Z")
Yeah I know. It’s all pointing to good stewardship of our food and drink, in my view. ---
**Author:** ![Jillena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e495f1/32.png) [@Jillena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jillena)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2020, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-without-killing/927063/71 "2020-12-04T02:57:51Z")
Hahahahaha ---
**Author:** ![Jillena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e495f1/32.png) [@Jillena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jillena)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2020, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-without-killing/927063/72 "2020-12-04T02:59:31Z")
Hmmm food for thought haha ---
**Author:** ![Jillena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e495f1/32.png) [@Jillena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jillena)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2020, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-without-killing/927063/73 "2020-12-04T03:00:42Z")
Too true ---
**Author:** ![Jillena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e495f1/32.png) [@Jillena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jillena)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2020, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-without-killing/927063/74 "2020-12-04T03:01:32Z")
Mmm…yes ---
**Author:** ![Jillena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e495f1/32.png) [@Jillena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jillena)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2020, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-without-killing/927063/75 "2020-12-04T03:03:42Z")
Hear hear Much love and good will to all ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2020, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-without-killing/927063/76 "2020-12-04T04:20:25Z")
> [@Jillena](#): > > if our existence causes pain; well I simply don’t want to live I hope you’re joking…also that you stick around. While avoiding causing pain or death is a noble and admirable goal, some of it is truly unavoidable: how many bugs and insects have you stepped on or squashed with a bicycle wheel? More to the point of the OP, if you’re OK with nuts on the list, you might want to make an exception for cashews: the pain and in many cases deformities they cause the workers (almost entirely women) who shell them are pretty awful. (The shells contain toxins.) Ironically, cashew consumption has skyrocketed (up 30% in 5 years) as more people embrace a vegan lifestyle. [Here’s a good article on it](https://metro.co.uk/2019/04/04/women-india-pay-price-cashew-nut-demand-vegan-diets-rise-9110415/). I haven’t looked into the number of farm workers worldwide who are hurt or killed while harvesting fruits or vegetables, but maybe that’s not a concern for you, since you’re talking about eating without killing plants or (non-human) animals directly. ---
**Author:** ![Jillena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e495f1/32.png) [@Jillena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jillena)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2020, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-without-killing/927063/77 "2020-12-04T06:31:36Z")
Thanks. Food for thought. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2020, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-without-killing/927063/78 "2020-12-04T07:10:59Z")
> [@Jillena](#): > > Food for thought. No thoughts died to say this, did they? /end joke ---
**Author:** ![Jillena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e495f1/32.png) [@Jillena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jillena)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2020, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-without-killing/927063/79 "2020-12-04T08:06:14Z")
Hahahaha yep … glad we both caught on. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2020, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-without-killing/927063/80 "2020-12-04T11:26:03Z")
“Well”, the farmer tells him, “A pig like that, you don’t want to eat all at once!” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-without-killing/927063.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-without-killing/927063.md?page=5)