Letters to the Editor
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humans are not omnivores or carnivores in any deterministic biological sense
people CAN eat most things but there is NO inherent need for people to eat meat, especially given modern technology. It IS necessary for people sometimes to kill animals however, this is where the peta people go wrong.
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I eat babies
Juicy human babies. At least they're not animals.
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Zealots, zealots everywhere...
Why does it seem that every personal opinion or lifestyle here(whether it’s sexual orientation, food habits or religion) has to be turned into extreme proselytism…? If you discuss vegetarianism with people from Europe, Australia, or India, they rarely try to shove it down your throat and tell you what a horrible monster you are.
Besides, unless you have totally opted out of food industry altogether, whatever vegetarian diet you have is drenched in the blood all the people who died for the cheap oil that permit its existence, and all of the fields animal population that get decimated by industrial agriculture, not to mention the delicate complex balance of our biosphere. No man is an island and no one lives in a vacuum… Human ARE omnivorous. Vegetarianism is a personal choice that is no more right than eating meat is wrong in essence. It is only a question of choosing your place in the order of things and whether or not you are willing to look into the Abyss (and there is nothing wrong with not wanting to either)…
As for this footage, it’s very likely that it’s only the tip of the iceberg. The food industry’s motto is to produce always more and cheaper subsidized food totally out of sync with any natural balance. Agriculture should have as little impact on the biosphere and animals lives as possible. Eating them is not monstrous, and it is a rare thing for animals to die of old age in the wild. It can be done (and is) in many grass-based farms which should become the base model for food culture.
In his book, Pollan quotes such a farmer saying “it’s a foolish society who entrusts its food supplies to simpletons”. It is just as foolish to entrust it to hardened sadists. Though I agree with whoever said that the worker grunts should not be the only ones to bear the brunt of punishment in the present case, all of the management of the company and the USDA should be held accountable as well.
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@anonymous at 10:38AM
Eating meat doesn't make anybody justify anything. Being attacked by vegetarian zealots makes some people feel the need to justify their actions. Eating meat requires no justification.
The question about vegetables always goes unanswered by vegetarians, doesn't it? Probably because they don't really want to deal with the possible implications of the answer.
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eating meat may require no justification
but torturing animals does
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looking into the abyss through someone(or something)elses eyes from a position of total confort and safety for yourself is
not the same thing as confronting the abyss yourself. Self congratulation based on this confusion is frankly embarassing.
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looking into the abyss through someone(or something)elses eyes from a position of total confort and safety for yourself...
My point, exactly.
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well
Whoever said cows aren't dumb or stupid is wrong and clearly has never worked in close proximity with them. Cows are incredibly stupid, though not nearly as dumb as chickens and other food birds.
But on the other hand, just because something is not particularly bright does not give us the right to cause it unnecessary pain.
I'm not a 'vegetarian' per se, but I am a highly selective omnivore. I don't eat meat that I don't buy and prepare myself, and I only buy local, free range meat from my home state of Montana, from ranchers whom I know and trust.
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Attack of the Self Righteous Vegetarians!
Firstly, I want to say that the video was disgusting, and such practices are an abomination to any civilized person. There is no need for such cruel and inhumane practices in order to slaughter or process meat. Supposedly we made progress since Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" (circa 1910 or so? I read it in Junior High, which was a long time ago too), but several successive Republican "deregulation" administrations have gutted the USDA, to all of our detriment. It's bad enough you can't eat a rare hamburger safely anymore -- we are indeed lucky we have not had any incidence of mad cow disease.
Someone mentioned the great writer and animal behaviorist, Temple Grandin -- I'd like to add the link to her site: www.grandin.com. Before you indulge some huge knee jerk "And I will never eat meat AGAIN!" tirade, I wish all of you would read her wise words about animals, and humane methods of slaughter. Autistic herself, and unusually sensitive to both people and animals who cannot communicate their fears, Ms. Grandin has designed some very innovative and intelligent systems for slaughterhouses, which need to be more widely adapted.
As far as the inspector here (a hero in my eyes) and the USDA: it seems obvious what is needed are STANDARDS, a government that will prosecute offenders and adequate numbers of inspectors with CLOUT who conduct thorough RANDOM inspections of plants. Cameras will do nothing, and corrupt processors (a minority I suspect, but still) will damage them or otherwise try to work around them. You need honest inspectors and real CONSEQUENCES to anyone who violates the law -- this is our food supply, for god's sake.
For those who are squeamish, but still prefer to eat meat, there are several options, and they don't cost 4 times more than the supermarket. For starters, if you live in an urban area you probably have access to a Kosher market or butcher shop: Kosher meat MUST be slaughtered in a humane way under rabbinical supervision. Because of this, the large processing plants are not possible (nor is there demand to make them practical). Kosher meat is only somewhat more expensive than supermarket meat, you can get it fresh and not frozen (unlike Niman ranch in most parts of country), and the quality is very high.
Death is part of the life cycle. Cattle are not human beings -- they are food animals and they literally would not exist if it were not for their food potential...they are not natural animals, they have been bred into existence for the sole purpose of being slaughtered for their meat. If people suddenly stopped eating meat (and how would this occur? would it be made illegal?), what would happen to the MILLIONS of head of cattle in this country, let alone other parts of the world? They would not suddenly be able to "roam the plains" and they aren't likely to become pets, what with weighing 1500 lbs each. They have no niche in the environment besides being eaten -- if simply "left to fend for themselves", they would die (wastefully and painfully) of starvation.
It's winter now, but come spring (like every spring), my cats will be outside. And they will be hunting -- they are predators. What they do isn't very pretty...they don't kill mercifully. They like to tease and play with their prey, even torture them. Many of the small animals I find have been torn limb from limb. (If I actually come upon them with prey, I try to get it away from them, but mostly it occurs when I am not around.) NATURE IS RED IN TOOTH AND FANG.
It's nice to try and imagine life...imagine humans....imagine animals...as soft and sweet and cuddly, and all laughing and playing together in a kind of children's book Eden. But it isn't true. That's not reality.
If you do not wish to eat meat -- fine. I will respect your wishes. But in turn, I ask you to respect mine and those of most people in the world. Eating meat -- even if you disagree with it, or don't wish to do it yourself -- is normal, and it's been done for thousands and thousands of years.