4 ms·

I'm all for cultivated meat, but I don't agree with the reasoning being that animals used for food experience pain and suffering. And I most certainly don't agr

I'm all for cultivated meat, but I don't agree with the reasoning being that animals used for food experience pain and suffering. And I most certainly don't agree with this assumption: "Factory farms are not what animals evolved for, so the unnatural conditions in which they're raised very likely induces suffering and pain in the raised livestock." What makes you think that "natural" means free of suffering? Nature is spectacularly cruel. Many domestic animals (think well-loved family pets such as cats and dogs) live lives incredibly free of the suffering of their non-domestic ancestors. It is certainly possible to raise animals for food where they have an easy life, and feel no pain at the end. I can't speak to whether it is economical (obviously, ensuring this would be expensive), but still. It is NOT impossible, or really all that difficult. If you want to make the argument that killing animals with brains is bad, fine. I can go with that, and would prefer meat that doesn't involving killing. But basing it on false assumptions about how much pain the animal must experience is just going to make me say "let's just make laws that say animals must be treated very well and have a perfectly painless and stress free death." Because I'm just not convinced, at all, that a well treated animal automatically suffers more than one in the wild.

zzkwa 5y ago
The issue with factory farming is that the industry has become extremely reliant on it, and the practice by nature demands the minimum legal effort to protect the well being and safety of animals. Farms often don't even meet that standard. Upwards of 90% of pigs and chickens are raised in factory farms in the US. There is simply too much demand in the country for meat to be raised in local, humane farms at this point. The current scale of livestock farming is dependent of factory farms, so the consumption of meat on a national level hinges on the abuse of animals. If you doubt that the animals raised in these conditions suffer, you can pretty easily find the details online and in documentaries. Industrial meat production is one of the most disgusting parts of our society.
luplex 5y ago
I think it's pretty clear that conditions in many of today's farms really do cause unnecessary suffering for the animals. If we treat animals better, we can't produce as much meat. So, in order to get the general public on board with better animal welfare standards, we need to provide alternatives to meat, at scale. In democracies, we (a few concerned people) can't just make laws. We can only implement solutions that can be supported across society.

zzkwa 5y ago

The issue with factory farming is that the industry has become extremely reliant on it, and the practice by nature demands the minimum legal effort to protect the well being and safety of animals. Farms often don't even meet that standard. Upwards of 90% of pigs and chickens are raised in factory farms in the US. There is simply too much demand in the country for meat to be raised in local, humane farms at this point. The current scale of livestock farming is dependent of factory farms, so the consumption of meat on a national level hinges on the abuse of animals. If you doubt that the animals raised in these conditions suffer, you can pretty easily find the details online and in documentaries. Industrial meat production is one of the most disgusting parts of our society.

luplex 5y ago

I think it's pretty clear that conditions in many of today's farms really do cause unnecessary suffering for the animals. If we treat animals better, we can't produce as much meat. So, in order to get the general public on board with better animal welfare standards, we need to provide alternatives to meat, at scale. In democracies, we (a few concerned people) can't just make laws. We can only implement solutions that can be supported across society.