Quote:
Originally Posted by Cain
I disagree. Killing animals for food is something that won't go away. You don't have to be best friends with every animal that ends up on your dinner plate but you also don't have to make them endure hellish conditions just to get there.
Human sustenance comes first. You do what you need to do to get by. I would never criticize someone for doing what they need to survive. Once you get past that point though...I do think that a little compassion can be in order.
As for something to brag about...I agree. It isn't about bragging rights. It isn't about looking better than the other guy, but it is about recognizing that another organism is giving up their life to sustain ours, and respecting that and treating them accordingly before that moment. It isn't always possible, but when it is, I think it is important. And no, I am not a hippie, pretty far from it. Serial killers kill things just for that - to kill. Killing an animal for food and sustenance is pretty different.
Why defend obvious cruelty if it is not necessary? You can hide so many things under the "their culture is different and who are we to enforce our values on them" rug, but truly this one is a fairly easy one to find a compromise with.
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This.
Well said.
I eat meat. As big a dog lover as I am it kind of drives me crazy that they are meat in some countries but all I can ask...be it a dog or any other animal really....is that they are killed as quickly and as painlessly as possible. No animal, human or otherwise, should suffer in their final moments. That's my thinking.
I'm not a hunter but I love moose, deer, elk and all that meat. I just have no interest in killing them myself. If I could guarantee that I could swiftly drop an animal with no suffering I would do it, but I can't so I don't. It would bother me if I shot an animal and it didn't die right away because of me and suffered needlessly.
I'm not trying to be a hypocrite being a meat eater and I'm not naive enough to believe there is no suffering 'over here', but I think we as a culture are a considerably less tolerant of suffering, particularily for no reason.