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I think it's good that people become aware of their dietary hypocrisy in their lives. Not many animals are treated more cruelly than pigs raised for food consu

I think it's good that people become aware of their dietary hypocrisy in their lives. Not many animals are treated more cruelly than pigs raised for food consumption with the exception of chickens perhaps. The problem is that culturally around the world, all kinds of animals end up on dinner plates that are unacceptable to other cultures. There is no right or wrong. The only solution is compassion for other animals suffering, and then making a conscious choice. If a person is really compassionate, they will not eat any animals. Until then, articles like this highlight the hypocrisy but that alone is not enough to enable change within human society on a whole. BTW, it is established that we do not need to eat meat to survive. People choose to eat meat because they like the taste, not for any other reason.

bigwavedave 6y ago
>If a person is really compassionate, they will not eat any animals. I had the opportunity to live in an impoverished area of the Phillipines for several years- I met many kinds of people, some of whom were the most compassionate and selfless individuals I've ever known. After seeing the meals of dogs and cats they need to eat to survive because they can't afford any other lifestyle, I can say with no reservations at all that it's absolutely ludicrous to assert that compassion and carnivorism are mutually exclusive. Your sweeping generalization is wrong, my friend; perhaps you should try to empathize with the people you deride.
- nojvek 6y ago
  True. However if they had better means they’d chose to go vegetarian right?
  - HashingtheCode 6y ago
    No. You see the abundant food choices in developed countries and yet only a small percentage of the population is vegetarian or vegan. The reason why people choose a vegetarian/vegan diet is also varied and sometimes has nothing to do with wanting to stop the suffering of animals. Losing weight, a healthier body, peer group pressure are alternate motivations. The decisive factor is not poverty. I was also in the Philippines, and I was able to eat quite well for my 3 months there. I ate rice, beans, fruits and vegetables. My costs were the same as a local.
    - bigwavedave 6y ago
      >I was also in the Philippines, and I was able to eat quite well for my 3 months there. This right here tells me that you were not living in or even among the truly impoverished individuals I mentioned. Not a single family I've referred to is "able to eat quite well". Do you honestly believe anyone would eat the rancid trash strays running around their tarp/salvaged wood hovel if they had any other option? Your inability to accept the reality of this kind of desperation and suffering tells me how much of this true compassion you actually feel.
      - HashingtheCode 6y ago
        > Your inability to accept the reality of this kind of desperation and suffering tells me how much of this true compassion you actually feel. Get a grip and don't try to judge my level of compassion or understanding regarding these people. I have been to worse places in India, where there is a large % of the population who are vegetarian and who live in abject poverty. If people are inclined to, they will eat vegetarian. The cost of meat is more than than rice/beans/lentils/dhal etc.
        bigwavedave 6y ago
        >The cost of meat is more than [snip] THIS is where you're misunderstanding- the stray dogs and cats these families eat are free; hard to find rice and beans that are cheaper than that. You're telling me to stop judging another person's compassion? The hypocrisy here absolutely reeks. Flagging my comment because a fact disagrees with your paradigm is certainly mature. I'm disengaging- I won't free you of your delusions. Good grief.
        HashingtheCode 6y ago
        My point before you went on this tangent of people living in slums, is that a vegetarian diet is cheaper and more compassionate. So here are some facts for your wazoo.... https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/country_result.jsp?country=Philippines https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/country_result.jsp?cou... Rice (white), (1kg) 51.41 ₱ 40.00-65.00 Eggs (regular) (12) 87.86 ₱ 60.00-120.00 Chicken Fillets (1kg) 194.91 ₱ 100.00-280.00 Beef Round (1kg) 304.93 ₱ 200.00-450.00 Apples (1kg) 127.25 ₱ 44.09-213.32 Banana (1kg) 73.52 ₱ 40.00-150.00 Oranges (1kg) 118.48 ₱ 40.00-262.60 Tomato (1kg) 64.46 ₱ 30.00-120.00 Potato (1kg) 86.40 ₱ 30.00-150.00 Onion (1kg) 88.76 ₱ 40.00-150.00 As you can clearly see, vegetables and grains cost less than meat. Your point, that killing and eating stray dogs, rats, cats, etc, because they are freely available, is an absolute extreme fringe case and you negate the fact that these slum inhabitants also earn money and they can buy vegetables and live a more compassionate life if they chose to. Also I did some research on your claims about slums, in the Payatas slum outside of Manilla city near Quezon, the couple in the below linked article with their 4 children eat food from dumpster diving known as "pagpag" even though they earn up to 1000 pesos per day. It is a choice they make to eat discarded meat. They don't have to, but they choose to. https://www.businessinsider.in/in-philippine-slums-meat-scavenged-from-dumpsters-feeds-those-short-of-meals-and-hope/articleshow/70797653.cms https://www.businessinsider.in/in-philippine-slums-meat-scav... You can try to make a point that eating free stray dogs is necessary for impoverished slum dwellers, but the facts seem to contradict your position. Killing is never compassionate. BTW, I didn't flag your comment, someone else who doesn't like the smell of your BS emotionally charged rant did. Oh and please disengage for all our sakes Dave.
- HashingtheCode 6y ago
  How can you hurt/eat any animal if you care about the suffering of all living entities? What you are describing is a type of isolated compassion but it is relegated to homo-sapiens, it is not a universal compassion of which i am referring to, to which the Buddha refers to. Compassion is sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it. This is the dictionary definition. This is essentially just referring to people's distress, of which you witnessed. Empathy. However, compassion is more complicated and detailed. "In Buddhism, the ideal of practice is to selflessly act to alleviate suffering wherever it appears." Note, wherever it appears, not just humans, everything. Suffering and compassion go hand in hand. If you see any suffering of any creature, you want to alleviate it. In The Essence of the Heart Sutra, His Holiness the Dalai Lama wrote, "According to Buddhism, compassion is an aspiration, a state of mind, wanting others to be free from suffering. It's not passive — it's not empathy alone — but rather an empathetic altruism that actively strives to free others from suffering. Genuine compassion must have both wisdom and lovingkindness. That is to say, one must understand the nature of the suffering from which we wish to free others (this is wisdom), and one must experience deep intimacy and empathy with other sentient beings (this is lovingkindness)." Therefore, I will stand by my point; that real compassion, real empathy to alleviate the suffering of any sentient creature will manifest itself in the form of vegetarianism/veganism. How can someone hurt another creature when they know it will suffer, when they understand the nature of the pain it will experience? Still not convinced? I can tell. Don't take my word. Listen to Master Thich Nhat Hanh explain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78qgek8GJ9k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78qgek8GJ9k
TheBigSalad 6y ago
You like the taste because your body needs it

bigwavedave 6y ago

>If a person is really compassionate, they will not eat any animals. I had the opportunity to live in an impoverished area of the Phillipines for several years- I met many kinds of people, some of whom were the most compassionate and selfless individuals I've ever known. After seeing the meals of dogs and cats they need to eat to survive because they can't afford any other lifestyle, I can say with no reservations at all that it's absolutely ludicrous to assert that compassion and carnivorism are mutually exclusive. Your sweeping generalization is wrong, my friend; perhaps you should try to empathize with the people you deride.

nojvek 6y ago
True. However if they had better means they’d chose to go vegetarian right?
- HashingtheCode 6y ago
  No. You see the abundant food choices in developed countries and yet only a small percentage of the population is vegetarian or vegan. The reason why people choose a vegetarian/vegan diet is also varied and sometimes has nothing to do with wanting to stop the suffering of animals. Losing weight, a healthier body, peer group pressure are alternate motivations. The decisive factor is not poverty. I was also in the Philippines, and I was able to eat quite well for my 3 months there. I ate rice, beans, fruits and vegetables. My costs were the same as a local.
  - bigwavedave 6y ago
    >I was also in the Philippines, and I was able to eat quite well for my 3 months there. This right here tells me that you were not living in or even among the truly impoverished individuals I mentioned. Not a single family I've referred to is "able to eat quite well". Do you honestly believe anyone would eat the rancid trash strays running around their tarp/salvaged wood hovel if they had any other option? Your inability to accept the reality of this kind of desperation and suffering tells me how much of this true compassion you actually feel.
    - HashingtheCode 6y ago
      > Your inability to accept the reality of this kind of desperation and suffering tells me how much of this true compassion you actually feel. Get a grip and don't try to judge my level of compassion or understanding regarding these people. I have been to worse places in India, where there is a large % of the population who are vegetarian and who live in abject poverty. If people are inclined to, they will eat vegetarian. The cost of meat is more than than rice/beans/lentils/dhal etc.
      - bigwavedave 6y ago
        >The cost of meat is more than [snip] THIS is where you're misunderstanding- the stray dogs and cats these families eat are free; hard to find rice and beans that are cheaper than that. You're telling me to stop judging another person's compassion? The hypocrisy here absolutely reeks. Flagging my comment because a fact disagrees with your paradigm is certainly mature. I'm disengaging- I won't free you of your delusions. Good grief.
        HashingtheCode 6y ago
        My point before you went on this tangent of people living in slums, is that a vegetarian diet is cheaper and more compassionate. So here are some facts for your wazoo.... https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/country_result.jsp?country=Philippines https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/country_result.jsp?cou... Rice (white), (1kg) 51.41 ₱ 40.00-65.00 Eggs (regular) (12) 87.86 ₱ 60.00-120.00 Chicken Fillets (1kg) 194.91 ₱ 100.00-280.00 Beef Round (1kg) 304.93 ₱ 200.00-450.00 Apples (1kg) 127.25 ₱ 44.09-213.32 Banana (1kg) 73.52 ₱ 40.00-150.00 Oranges (1kg) 118.48 ₱ 40.00-262.60 Tomato (1kg) 64.46 ₱ 30.00-120.00 Potato (1kg) 86.40 ₱ 30.00-150.00 Onion (1kg) 88.76 ₱ 40.00-150.00 As you can clearly see, vegetables and grains cost less than meat. Your point, that killing and eating stray dogs, rats, cats, etc, because they are freely available, is an absolute extreme fringe case and you negate the fact that these slum inhabitants also earn money and they can buy vegetables and live a more compassionate life if they chose to. Also I did some research on your claims about slums, in the Payatas slum outside of Manilla city near Quezon, the couple in the below linked article with their 4 children eat food from dumpster diving known as "pagpag" even though they earn up to 1000 pesos per day. It is a choice they make to eat discarded meat. They don't have to, but they choose to. https://www.businessinsider.in/in-philippine-slums-meat-scavenged-from-dumpsters-feeds-those-short-of-meals-and-hope/articleshow/70797653.cms https://www.businessinsider.in/in-philippine-slums-meat-scav... You can try to make a point that eating free stray dogs is necessary for impoverished slum dwellers, but the facts seem to contradict your position. Killing is never compassionate. BTW, I didn't flag your comment, someone else who doesn't like the smell of your BS emotionally charged rant did. Oh and please disengage for all our sakes Dave.
HashingtheCode 6y ago
How can you hurt/eat any animal if you care about the suffering of all living entities? What you are describing is a type of isolated compassion but it is relegated to homo-sapiens, it is not a universal compassion of which i am referring to, to which the Buddha refers to. Compassion is sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it. This is the dictionary definition. This is essentially just referring to people's distress, of which you witnessed. Empathy. However, compassion is more complicated and detailed. "In Buddhism, the ideal of practice is to selflessly act to alleviate suffering wherever it appears." Note, wherever it appears, not just humans, everything. Suffering and compassion go hand in hand. If you see any suffering of any creature, you want to alleviate it. In The Essence of the Heart Sutra, His Holiness the Dalai Lama wrote, "According to Buddhism, compassion is an aspiration, a state of mind, wanting others to be free from suffering. It's not passive — it's not empathy alone — but rather an empathetic altruism that actively strives to free others from suffering. Genuine compassion must have both wisdom and lovingkindness. That is to say, one must understand the nature of the suffering from which we wish to free others (this is wisdom), and one must experience deep intimacy and empathy with other sentient beings (this is lovingkindness)." Therefore, I will stand by my point; that real compassion, real empathy to alleviate the suffering of any sentient creature will manifest itself in the form of vegetarianism/veganism. How can someone hurt another creature when they know it will suffer, when they understand the nature of the pain it will experience? Still not convinced? I can tell. Don't take my word. Listen to Master Thich Nhat Hanh explain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78qgek8GJ9k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78qgek8GJ9k

TheBigSalad 6y ago

You like the taste because your body needs it