As I’ve said before on these boards, I am a vegetarian in principle, but a meat eater in actual practice. But just because I eat meat doesn’t mean I don’t worry from time to time about the suffering the poor animals must endure for us to have our meat.
That is why I came up with an idea a couple years back. My idea was partly inspired by an urban legend that said KFC’s chickens were actually made from meat cultured in a petry dish. I was taking a class when this rumor came out, and my teacher was explaining how he tried vegetarianism for a while. Obviously the KFC/petry dish thing was just a hoax. But why not make chicken and other meats this way, I asked him? It would be completely cruelty-free, and it might be better for some practical reasons (no squawking chickens and no chicken poop to clean up, for examples). The science may not yet exist to do this though. That is why I came up with another idea…
Why not breed animals that feel absolutely no pain? We have been breeding animals to show various traits for thousands of years. So I am sure it would be easy enough to do. The only problem of course would be that the animals would run the risk chewing their own limbs off, etc. But that problem could be solved by completely restricting their movements in corrals. There the animals would be, kept in corrals yes, but feeling absolutely no pain. Even their emotional pain could be removed thru selective breeding–so thus they wouldn’t even mind being in the corrals. Surely even more diehard vegetarian would have trouble finding the cruelty in this.
Personally…I don’t give a good GD what animals think…(Think???) I love veal!!! Don’t really care if a cow dies at 6 months or a year and a half! They’re still tasty!
The OP poses an interesting question as it relates to animals feeling “no pain” - but what the hell, there are SO many meat alternatives that taste incredible and are more healthy, why not educate the public to that fact??
Creative idea, but I doubt that it would be possible in reality. I would think that trying to eliminate the nervous system would be incompatible with life. You’d have to wait for millions of years of evolution to create such a radical change, I would think.
Personally, i think it would be easier and more practical to focus on making realistic-tasting meat substitutes like Blonde suggested. Personally, I find “fake” chicken (AKA “Chik’n”) to be more palatable than real chicken. Personally, I like that fake meat eliminates the risk of getting sick from undercooked meat…as well as eliminating the risk of chomping on a piece of bone, gristle, or blobs of fat. Ew.
I have been to a slaughterhouse… many in fact. I have personally been the doom af many a farm animal including near countless numbers of chickens. One pig in particular I enjoyed killing… but that is a different story. I am not a soulless, evil person. I do feel compassion for animals (except for that one pig… and a great many of the chickens)… I do not want creatures to suffer needlessly. But at the same time I feel there is a lot to be said for that whole “food chain” thing. and friends… as I was eating pork at breakfast, beef at lunch, and chicken at supper it occurred to me…
I DID NOT CLAW MY WAY TO THE TOP OF THE FOOD CHAIN TO EAT SALAD!
sorry for the caps but I am passionate about being an omnivore (and part-time carnivore)
Morningstar veggie bacon is awesome; no fat, all the taste and it smells wonderful cooking.
I don’t get up on my vegetarian pedestal often, so hopefully other, more eloquent vegetarian posters will pile on.
The whole “food chain” concept is archaic in the year 2003. You haven’t clawed your way up from anything, verbenbeast; your ancestors from way back did so, but we’re living in a time where we can choose to save our health and the lives of innocent creatures.
Thousands die each day, why not put them to good use? Enough cooking and radiation will be sure to kill off any parasitic buggers, and what with modern chemestry, you could make it taste like anything.
(although slightly disturbed by the thought of one day ending up a snack cracker, I would try it, just to see how it tasted.)
To the OP, great idea, but I think there is no reason to try,. Fungus, and legumes have all the makings of fake meat, if one is inclined to take the extra effort.
Also, I do not belive that animals suffer in the same way we do. But there is no need to risk it, take care of your livestock.
the “food chain” is archaic? It is the natural order. Herbivores eat the green leafy vegetables, predators eat the herbivores, better predators eat both herbivores and carnivores… humans, like bears, are omnivores. we are basically laid out to eat both meat and veggies. ergo the cow eats the lettuce… I eat a burger with lettuce. Our respective roles are complete. It is the circle of life. Hakuna Matata.
Just such an animal was created by Al Capp in Lil’ Abner. It was called a Schmoo. The Schmoo loved people. It laid quarts of milk and eggs, loved to be kicked and it wanted to be eaten. The Schmoo also multipled faster than rabbits.
[ul] [sup]It has been many, many years so I may have some facts wrong, but basically it was the perfect animal.[/sup][/ul]
That is why you should be saying your blessing at meals; to thank that which has died so that you may live. In this regard Joseph Campbell said that “a vegetarian is someone who has never heard a carrot scream.”
I agree. It’s more practical and probably cheaper to just treat animals with nervous systems well rather than try to change their physiology so you don’t have to worry about how you treat them. I don’t eat meat, but I understand that others really like to, and if farms would treat the animals humanely and kill them quickly, I don’t think meat production would necessarily be cruel.
[sup]It has been many, many years so I may have some facts wrong, but basically it was the perfect animal.[/sup][/ul]
[sup]Is anyone going to believe I didn’t see that post? Honestly, I didn’t.[/sup][/ul]