Ethics of Eating Meat

[Liquid_Turbo]

This is not a thread about vegetarianism.

It just got me thinking after a discussion with a few friends.

What makes it suitable to factory farm cows and pigs and slaughter them on such massive scale? Is the same things suitable to say, Dogs or Cats?

What gives us the right to enjoy our bacon, but to frown on other cultures consuming dogs? Aren't we being hypocrites?
Keep in mind, in India, the cow is revered at a sacred animal, and they would absolutely be disgusted at how we eat them, the same way we (North Americans) view dog eating.

Would like to hear your thoughts on your matter.

 

[Volvo_ST1]

Raising animals in huge numbers for human consumption is a questionable practice since it requires resources that could be more efficiently used to feed people. I'm talking about growing grains and produce versus feeding and then butchering animals.

I do eat meat, but rather as a condiment than as a main dish. There are of course those people who eat mostly meat. They usually die prematurely, so I'm not sure their selfishness does really do harm to others in the long run. Dead people don't eat.

In a similar fashion, when land is used for growing plants that can be used for bio-fuel production, it may well be a misguided endeavor, since reducing the amount of food production easily results in higher food prices, and maybe even in food shortages.

What animals are acceptable to eat? That depends on your culture and where you are. When in Rome, do as the Romans. Please pass the guinea pig. I suggest cultural sensitivity. That means I wouldn't chow down a pork sandwich on an Emirates flight.

 

[Shannow]

When I was in high school, my teacher told us about her 6 months in the Phillipines shortly after graduating as a teacher.

She was billeted at a family, and they ate sparingly of meat, with whatever they could put in the meal, mostly bird etc. Family tradition was to save some food for the family dog.

When her 6 months was up, they had a banquet in her honour, roast meat, various meat dishes etc. They encouraged her to eat up, but she was arguing to save some of her portion for the dog...until she realised that there was no dog.

Had an impact on us year 10 students, and while we were initially repulsed, soon realised that meat is an ethical issue. Not many of my year (nor my teacher) became vegetarian (I prefer meats that ARE vegetarian 'though).

I pretty well understood the concept from year of hunting and eating rabbits.

I'm not a fan of intensive farming practices, (nor monoculture in agriculture either) I beleive it promotes disease, and not big on the antibiotics etc. Personally I'd rather that animals had a quality of life, and a decent living conditions.

Not a big fan of whaling at the present time, but if a sustainable harvert is possible, then can't logically argue against it.

 

[mechanicx]

I think certain animals like fish, poultry, cattle and pigs are lower on the food chain. Most of those animals are prey. Animals like dogs and cats are more intelligent and are predators. So I see it as being the level on the food chain and dogs and cats and other intelligent animals or predators are a different matter.

 

[Shannow]

I'd guess that by extension, insects, crustaceans, and invertebrates make even better sources of food...and a lot of people eat those as their staple protein/fatty acid.

 

[Silk]

Carnivores generally eat only herbivores....omnivores are less fussy.The Maori used to eat their dogs,but when they interbred with European dogs they stopped eating them,as they didn't taste nice anymore.

 

[crinkles]

you can eat anything that doesn't make you sick.

have been pondering not eating meat and fish for a long time. Would still do dairy and eggs though. but i'm such a devout caveman it will be really hard.

 

[d00df00d]

Originally Posted By: Liquid_Turbo
What makes it suitable to factory farm cows and pigs and slaughter them on such massive scale?

Well, what do you mean by "suitable?"

Cows as we know them today are dependent on farmers. They have evolved biologically to become food animals, giving up control of their reproduction and living environment in exchange for total security and unlimited food. At the same time, portions of our population (e.g. farmers) have evolved culturally to depend on cows for food. It's a symbiotic relationship. We may be shocked at the lives cows live on farms -- brought up in relative isolation, bred according to our rules, and then killed at their prime -- but at this point, that's almost like being shocked that ants have to crawl on their bellies and live in dirt piles. It's just part of what they are. If we cut them loose, they would die off. We would suffer, too, since large portions of our population have evolved at least culturally (if not biologically) to be dependent on cows for food.

Now, perhaps you meant to ask if it's "right" to have domesticated food animals at all. I think there's nothing wrong with it, and I'm not sure by what standard we could call it wrong since similar relationships are everywhere in nature. Besides, at some point, we have to kill something in order to eat. Why not kill an animal that has evolved for that purpose, rather than a wild one? Obviously, though, others would disagree.


Originally Posted By: Liquid_Turbo
Is the same things suitable to say, Dogs or Cats?

We certainly couldn't farm dogs or cats for food the same way we farm cows. Theoretically we could breed them into becoming food animals over time, but I can't imagine why we would do that.


Originally Posted By: Liquid_Turbo
What gives us the right to enjoy our bacon, but to frown on other cultures consuming dogs? Aren't we being hypocrites?

More or less. There's a slight difference in that dogs are not food animals in the same way that cows are, and they certainly appear to be more intelligent. Other than that, yes, I would say it is hypocritical.

I don't think it's "wrong" to eat dogs; I just think it's stupid unless there is no other food source available.

 

[chad8]

i stopped eating red meats 35 years ago.I still eat fish and poultry.
Not really for ethics but dietary reasons.
I also am very aware of the damage to the planet from raising meat to consume.
What societies have longer , healthier life spans?
It is an easy decision.

 

[mpvue]

I like bacon.


cows and pigs especially have been bred to be a food source, and the rest of the animal doesn't got to waste either. hooves, skin, etc all gets used.
pigs are much better suited to harvesting than a dog.

 

[Michael_P]

I've thought about it for years and have even cut meat out and gotten much healthier. But living in a meat culture, I've always gone back to my carnivorous ways. I will say, when I hunted, I used as much of the animal as possible down to the fat for lamp oil. For some reason I haven't made a permanent change. Like mpvue, I like bacon.

 

[tig1]

This ain't India.

 

[eljefino]

Wife keeps a chicken pen. At a nice number now, four chickens. 3-4 eggs a day in summer.

When they stop laying from age I can't tell who to "retire." So I take a wild guess and chop her head off. If we keep getting the same number of eggs, I was right. I'm a man so of course not often right.

I don't eat the birds I "off" as layers are bred for laying not tasty meat, and you can buy a whole chicken for a few bucks. However getting blood on my hands makes me less of a hypocrite, IMO, than someone who just buys factory farm meat. This makes me respect hunters, too, especially the bad [censored] ones who use primitive tools (black powder, bow & arrow) and no ATVs.

 

[Solo2driver]

We were given mastery over the animals, and can eat them now at will. I don't see any moral or ethical dilemma to consuming the renewable resources provided for our use. Shrug.

 

[d00df00d]

I feel I should clarify some of what I said.

"Unlimited food" was not a good choice of words. I meant to convey that cows on farms have access to as much food as they need, and will never experience a critical shortage.

I also didn't mean to justify the keeping of food animals on the grounds that anything that occurs in nature is right. Obviously not everything that occurs in nature is right. I just meant to say that there's no clear standard by which to judge the issue, and plenty of examples to indicate that relationships similar to our relationship with the cow may be just as natural and essential as eating. In fact, I would say that that kind of relationship is bound to develop on its own anyway, and that there's really no stopping it from happening. But that's another story.

 

[Al]

Originally Posted By: Volvo_ST1
Raising animals in huge numbers for human consumption is a questionable practice since it requires resources that could be more efficiently used to feed people.

I do eat meat, but rather as a condiment than as a main dish. There are of course those people who eat mostly meat. They usually die prematurely,
In a similar fashion, when land is used for growing plants that can be used for bio-fuel production, it may well be a misguided endeavor,
What animals are acceptable to eat? That depends on your culture and where you are.
I wouldn't chow down a pork sandwich on an Emirates flight.

Prettty much agree.

As far as feeding more people by not raising so many animals...true enough. But unfortunately feeding more people makes more people. Cold reality.

I wonder if stink bugs could be a food source in the future. Just found another one in the house. We find several all through the winter. Its scary.

 

[Solo2driver]

Originally Posted By: Al

As far as feeding more people by not raising so many animals...true enough. But unfortunately feeding more people makes more people. Cold reality.


I don't think that feeding people or making more people is a bad thing. It's the disease and shortage of food that comes with overcrowding that is the sad and cold part. I don't fall into the "limit the world's population to 350 million" crowd. But maybe that's another thread altogether.

 

[greenaccord02]

Originally Posted By: Liquid_Turbo
This is not a thread about vegetarianism.

It just got me thinking after a discussion with a few friends.

What makes it suitable to factory farm cows and pigs and slaughter them on such massive scale? Is the same things suitable to say, Dogs or Cats?

What gives us the right to enjoy our bacon, but to frown on other cultures consuming dogs? Aren't we being hypocrites?
Keep in mind, in India, the cow is revered at a sacred animal, and they would absolutely be disgusted at how we eat them, the same way we (North Americans) view dog eating.

Would like to hear your thoughts on your matter.


I don't see eating dogs and cats (or horses) as a bad thing. They're animals. You eat them.

 

[greenaccord02]

 

[d00df00d]

Careful, Arnaldo. Proselytizing IS against the board rules.