I've heard this conversation before. In formal and informal manners. It always amazes me that vegetarians get this holier than thou attitude because they don't eat meat. I have a question for vegetarians. Do you use toothpaste, leather, or anything containing gelatin? Ever? Even in your school or other none home settings? I don't see how refusing to eat meat but using those product and other animal products that I can't think of at the moment makes anyone any better than anyone else.
This reminds me of any time there is an animal attack, domestic or wild, and people cry because the animal is usually put down. Do you think animals say "Look, that other animal killed a human yesterday. That's so bad/I'm so sad", No, they don't. I realize, we have a conscience, but sometimes we over think things. A human life and an animal life, even pets, aren't the same.
We see the holier-than-thou attitude on many issues discussed here. I just smile, realizing those folks will eventually discover their halos aren't as nearly as shiny as they think, no matter how often they polish them.
We love animals here, but still eat meat. I do have to say I feel a little guilty when I have just ate some turkey and a wild turkey wonders into our backyard...LOL!!! I remember growing up my family hunting and we would eat venison...my mom made stuff with ground venison all the time, one time she made it with ground beef and I asked why it tasted funny... LOL!!!
Do you love flowers and ever pick them to bring inside?!?! Do you pick fruits that are "intended" for other animals??!
Of course it's possible to love animals and still eat meat. Give me a break.
Give you a break? The OP was asking a though-provoking question. What about the treatment of animals before and on their way to the slaughterhouse (not talking about the farms that take care of their animals, I'm talking about the huge corporate farms). As an animal lover, you feel that their treatment is fair?
I heard a little story once, and I can't remember it exactly, and I couldn't find it online, so I'm paraphrasing:
A man sees a cow in a cart headed for
slaughter, and the cow is crying out. The man says to the cow, "do not cry, this is your path and we can't change our destiny." (Now, either another man or spiritual entity appears to put the smackdown on this guy the other person says, "the cow's destiny is to go to slaughter, and we should show compassion and respect to the cow precisely because of this."
Anyway, I think it's entirely possible to love all animals and eat meat. I love cows, and I respect them and the people that care for them. I know that many farm animals are only in existence (as in, each individual is bred, born, and raised) because they are going to be eaten, and I'm okay with that. Personally, I buy buffalo, grass fed beef, and free range chicken, but I don't think that makes me better than anyone else. I don't think I hate animals because of it, either.
Humans are animals as well. In fact I just read about a study where they found rats show empathy to each other, even without a reward. That doesn't seem like too many degrees of separation to me.
Yep. Humans are animals. But what is being discussed is love of animals by humans who, ironically or not, eat animals. The OP is suggesting an either/or situation. Either you can love animals yet still eat animal flesh or you must hate animals because you ingest animal flesh. What animal empathy towards other animals has to do with it, other than possibly attempting to elevate animals to something near human status thus removing them from the human food chain, I'm not sure. How animals feel about being eaten is certainly a reason why some people do not eat animals, I agree. Still, I can't see a connection to the discussion about whether people can love living animals yet eat dead ones. I don't see it as the same discussion that's being had within the bounds of the original question. I don't know, show me some reasoning that I may be missing.
@ Cerek, you've gotten a little smudge of elbow grease or maybe polish on your nose.
I read a short SciFi story once about this. A man woke up one day in he was in the body of a cow. He was being led into a chute to where the slaughtered cows and he soon realized it. He could not talk anymore. The story was told through his thoughts. As he got to where they would kill he started to scratch out a message in the blood and sawdust on the floor. As one of the workers did the grisly deed he told a co-worker , "hey, its another one of those crazy cows scratching around in the sawdust and acting weird."
the other person says, "the cow's destiny is to go to slaughter, and we should show compassion and respect to the cow precisely because of this."
