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It seems strange to point out how well you are treating an animal when you are slaughtering it for consumption in the end. In fact that is the animal's only pur

It seems strange to point out how well you are treating an animal when you are slaughtering it for consumption in the end. In fact that is the animal's only purpose of existence.

21 9y ago
I think you look for purpose where there is little. What's the purpose of an animal living in the wild? Ecologists would say eat or be eaten, thrive, multiply. From an evolutionary point of view you could say that cows, chickens, pigs (and cats, dogs, horses) are one of the most successful animals, exactly because we eat (or pet) them.
spiderfarmer 9y ago
Maybe I, like all my predecessors, am not yet 'evolved' enough to give up on eating meat. In the meantime I like the fact that the animals are growing up disease free in relatively humane conditions.
- enraged_camel 9y ago
  It's not about being evolved enough, whatever that means. Eating meat is a conscious choice. Humans can do without meat. We are omnivores, not carnivores. I mean yes, in the grand scheme of things, treating animals well before slaughtering them is better than treating them poorly, but it misses the forest for the trees.
  - spiderfarmer 9y ago
    If you, by choice, never killed an animal, I absolutely respect that, but society is not ready to draw the line at the same height as you.
  - 21 9y ago
    I would be highly surprised if in 100 years we'll still do this. It's only a matter of time until lab-grown meat is as good and cheap as the original, and then society will turn. Eating real animals will be something like hunting is now, a tiny thing and with huge image costs.
    - YSFEJ4SWJUVU6 9y ago
      Hunting has huge image costs where you live? Are you sure it's not just inside your specific bubble?
      - riffraff 9y ago
        I'm fairly sure hunting is declining in all of the western world. As anecdata, consider the outlawing of fox hunting in UK, declining hunting love in France[0], and a similar decline in the US[1]. The more hunting becomes unusual, the higher the number of people who will consider it in negative light compared to those who view it favourably. [0] http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-37865215 http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-37865215 [1] http://deerfarmer.com/wiki/hunting-decline http://deerfarmer.com/wiki/hunting-decline
        YSFEJ4SWJUVU6 9y ago
        You should've spent more time sourcing that last claim, considering it was by and large the most bold one. Furthermore, whilst it may not be obvious in activist circles, seeing the topic was about eating animal produce, the obvious counterpart in hunting would be game animals, and not a sport (which fox hunting is, more or less). My (unsourced) guess would be that most non-vegetarians do not condemn hunting, and it would also be a somewhat hypocritical stance. Furthermore, meat consumption isn't exactly on declining in the world, but you can make your own conclusions about that. (I'm a city dweller, and haven't hunted anything in my life. I'm not saying that to validate my opinion, but regardless I know quite a bit about the realities of hunting that probably apply to most places, and the reason it is in decline may well not be because of a shift in the moral landscape. It is a consuming hobby, but that doesn't in itself imply that all non-hunters would automatically start to disapprove it more and more.)
        riffraff 9y ago
        sorry, I should have phrased it better, I don't mean that hunting is declining because of moral reasons, I mean that as it declines and people grow more detached from it it will be considered more morally reprehensible. It is obviously an opinion not a fact, but as an example, you can consider the attitude of people to eating animals that they ate in the past and not now (porcupine, turtle, cat, dog). Not only it's considered disgusting, but it's often considered worse than eating other animals.
- an27 9y ago
  I'm hoping to some day keep my own animals, to find out how the sausage gets made. I want to face the reality behind the sterile, bloodless chicken fillet I eat, and my apathy to animals. Perhaps that will convince me to stop eating meat. Meanwhile I have bigger worries.
bostik 9y ago
Flesh of an unstressed animal tastes better. I can dig the exact page from On Food and Cooking for reference if needed.
- spiderfarmer 9y ago
  Although I always believed that was true, I started having doubts when I saw "Topchef" candidates having trouble distinguishing cow and pig meat when blindfolded. Stress should be avoided, don't get me wrong, but I don't think our tastebuds are this advanced.
Paradigma11 9y ago
"In fact that is the animal's only purpose of existence." From the farmers point of view.

It seems strange to point out how well you are treating an animal when you are slaughtering it for consumption in the end. In fact that is the animal's only purpose of existence.

21 9y ago

I think you look for purpose where there is little. What's the purpose of an animal living in the wild? Ecologists would say eat or be eaten, thrive, multiply. From an evolutionary point of view you could say that cows, chickens, pigs (and cats, dogs, horses) are one of the most successful animals, exactly because we eat (or pet) them.

spiderfarmer 9y ago

Maybe I, like all my predecessors, am not yet 'evolved' enough to give up on eating meat. In the meantime I like the fact that the animals are growing up disease free in relatively humane conditions.

enraged_camel 9y ago
It's not about being evolved enough, whatever that means. Eating meat is a conscious choice. Humans can do without meat. We are omnivores, not carnivores. I mean yes, in the grand scheme of things, treating animals well before slaughtering them is better than treating them poorly, but it misses the forest for the trees.
- spiderfarmer 9y ago
  If you, by choice, never killed an animal, I absolutely respect that, but society is not ready to draw the line at the same height as you.
- 21 9y ago
  I would be highly surprised if in 100 years we'll still do this. It's only a matter of time until lab-grown meat is as good and cheap as the original, and then society will turn. Eating real animals will be something like hunting is now, a tiny thing and with huge image costs.
  - YSFEJ4SWJUVU6 9y ago
    Hunting has huge image costs where you live? Are you sure it's not just inside your specific bubble?
    - riffraff 9y ago
      I'm fairly sure hunting is declining in all of the western world. As anecdata, consider the outlawing of fox hunting in UK, declining hunting love in France[0], and a similar decline in the US[1]. The more hunting becomes unusual, the higher the number of people who will consider it in negative light compared to those who view it favourably. [0] http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-37865215 http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-37865215 [1] http://deerfarmer.com/wiki/hunting-decline http://deerfarmer.com/wiki/hunting-decline
      - YSFEJ4SWJUVU6 9y ago
        You should've spent more time sourcing that last claim, considering it was by and large the most bold one. Furthermore, whilst it may not be obvious in activist circles, seeing the topic was about eating animal produce, the obvious counterpart in hunting would be game animals, and not a sport (which fox hunting is, more or less). My (unsourced) guess would be that most non-vegetarians do not condemn hunting, and it would also be a somewhat hypocritical stance. Furthermore, meat consumption isn't exactly on declining in the world, but you can make your own conclusions about that. (I'm a city dweller, and haven't hunted anything in my life. I'm not saying that to validate my opinion, but regardless I know quite a bit about the realities of hunting that probably apply to most places, and the reason it is in decline may well not be because of a shift in the moral landscape. It is a consuming hobby, but that doesn't in itself imply that all non-hunters would automatically start to disapprove it more and more.)
        riffraff 9y ago
        sorry, I should have phrased it better, I don't mean that hunting is declining because of moral reasons, I mean that as it declines and people grow more detached from it it will be considered more morally reprehensible. It is obviously an opinion not a fact, but as an example, you can consider the attitude of people to eating animals that they ate in the past and not now (porcupine, turtle, cat, dog). Not only it's considered disgusting, but it's often considered worse than eating other animals.
an27 9y ago
I'm hoping to some day keep my own animals, to find out how the sausage gets made. I want to face the reality behind the sterile, bloodless chicken fillet I eat, and my apathy to animals. Perhaps that will convince me to stop eating meat. Meanwhile I have bigger worries.

bostik 9y ago

Flesh of an unstressed animal tastes better. I can dig the exact page from On Food and Cooking for reference if needed.

spiderfarmer 9y ago
Although I always believed that was true, I started having doubts when I saw "Topchef" candidates having trouble distinguishing cow and pig meat when blindfolded. Stress should be avoided, don't get me wrong, but I don't think our tastebuds are this advanced.

Paradigma11 9y ago

"In fact that is the animal's only purpose of existence." From the farmers point of view.