Meats?

[spazzychic]

It all started yesterday when a friend of mine told me about a cat she had found dead in her yard. It appeared to have been beaten to death by someone in the neighborhood. She was crushed, and we both had the same question, "How could someone be so cruel to an animal like that?"

The question that has been stuck in my head though, is why cruelty caused to give me meat is anything different than that. There is a disconnect in America where the people who make the food aren't those who eat the food. The food makers are merchants, their meat the product. Profits come from efficiency. Efficiency does not leave room for any quality of life for the animals involved. Ever really consider the word "Livestock"? What makes food animals less worthy of life than a cat or a dog or anything else we recoil at the thought of eating because it's too cute?

I think I am gonna stop there. This is about the point in the discussions I've had where someone gets defensive. I am not trying to evangelize anything... I just want to reconcile something that's bothering me.

Amber

Comments

[gaelfarce.livejournal.com]

There isn't an animal on the planet that isn't considered 'livestock' by somebody. I was just reading an article about how the meat of the Bichon Frise is considered the best form of dog meat. There is a disconnect and it's an odd thing to witness.

[spazzychic.livejournal.com]

Meat is meat when you get hungry enough.

But I'm not that hungry. o.o

Vegan or Barbarian?

[selinawoman.livejournal.com]

I have long maintained that if we had to kill what we eat, we would ALL be way more vegan than we are now.

Being totally omnivorous though I think I would be more like the native in "The Gods Must be Crazy" and eat alot of fish.

I have apologised and thanked fish before. It was my job, at a young age to be the one who killed the fish we caught for a family of 8, I learned how to be swift and kind. I never liked it but I always appreciated what I did for my family.

I know it seems silly, but I think it's way more honest to kill what you eat.

I hate to kill and love to eat, maybe it would be the best diet for weight loss ever.

Can a twinkie feel pain?

P.S.

[selinawoman.livejournal.com]

I would like to find that neighborhood jack off and force feed him/her the cat they so savagely beat for "fun". A holes. So much rage and pain in this world. *sigh* Overwelming.

Re: P.S.

[spazzychic.livejournal.com]

It was discovered later when animal control ended up on the scene that the cat was hit by a car and had crawled onto her yard to die. Still sucky, but less directly brutal. It's more in the apathy/car driver didn't stop. However. the train of thought had already begun before the update.

Re: P.S.

[lironess.livejournal.com]

I also heard that a cat can get hit and appear to be fine and run away, then collaps. It still hurts a lot as the kitten was much beloved by many people. I wish they had kept it in the house. I am still too raw to comment on the question in this post, but I will when I can. I better news, today I found two of the new feral kittens that I need to tame an catch, perched in the palm tree in my front yard. The base of the frond makes a kitten sized cup but has thorns up both sides. They knew they were safe so they just stared at me with bits of tummy overflowing the sides. It was one of the cuteist things I have ever seen. It is amazing that the thorns don't bother them at all. Oh for a digital camera!

Re: Vegan or Barbarian?

[spazzychic.livejournal.com]

Since twinkies lack biodegradable parts... I doubt it. o.o

Yes, actually having to butcher something in order to eat it would make a difference. o.o My grandma had some chickens... they were sort of pets, and sort of for eggs, and pretty vicious actually.

My dad cut all their heads off one day with pruning shears and hung them across the fence upsidown in the backyard*. I was about 6 when I encountered them and I still occasionally have nightmares about it.

*No, I don't think it was with grandmas permission, but she was.. "special" so maybe it was.

Re: Vegan or Barbarian?

[lironess.livejournal.com]

I had pet chickens that were good with me but one of the boys would attack my ex husbands shoes. They knew thier names, one would sing, kind of a modulated hum and churping. They can but quite fun and interesting. Sorry about your dad, sometimes parents just suck and don't consider what the f they are doing to thier kids. My mom had a simualer experiance with rabbits at about the same age.

Re: Vegan or Barbarian? Or Twinkerian?

[(Anonymous)]

I don't think a Twinkie can feel pain (part of why so many fat people,no doubt,but I digress) I *do* think they may contain animal fat? I could easily be wrong....been a long time since I ate a Twinkie...

At any rate, shame on those who'dcause harm & suffering to animals "just 'cause" !! : (

Re: Vegan or Barbarian? Or Twinkerian?

[spazzychic.livejournal.com]

Yes. Twinkerian sound likes something else entirely.

Re: Vegan or Barbarian?

[lironess.livejournal.com]

Yeast gets excited and passes around electrical impulses when you feed it. Truley. So who knows. Maybe when the mold spores in the air land on the open twinkie, they feel pain when eaten. Can't worry about everthing, but try to be humane and kind. Even to twinkies. ;) P.S. I am sleepy and rambleing.

[postrophe.livejournal.com]

Okay, now add in the creatures we kill by accident - or for convenience, like rat traps and such.

Did I give you Always Coming Home by LeGuin? That book had a bunch of good things to say to an animal you killed, for meat or for other reasons. And it included the idea that even if you shortened it to something as meaningless as the "bless you" we say when someone sneezes, some Words for the Death were NEVER left out, even by accident.
When some vegan reminds me "meat is murder", now I'll have something to say that might make an impression...

',

[spazzychic.livejournal.com]

You talked about "Always Coming Home" quite a bit, but I didn't ever get my hands on the book. I should, it's considered a literaly staple of the genre.

Providing some homage to whatever life ends so I can consume it does seem like a good idea. I want to make an effort to avoid places with a higher likelihood of cruel food... I can't imagine food from an animal tortured for it's whole life would be terribly good for me either.

Speaking of books, I finished "Courtship Right" quite a while ago and I dunno if I mentioned it. Speaking of rituals for food. o.o The world was neat, the characters were pretty good, but I H A T E D the pat, easy, contrived ending. I wish I'd stopped reading it about 25 pages earlier.

[postrophe.livejournal.com]

ACH had a whole thing about what happens to those who are cruel to food or don't have words for the death (even for plants...)

What do you mean by pat ending?
The Kaiel pretty much Had to find out the truth about the Liethe eventually, to make a good coalition that could efficiently rule a world - even if they only hint at the discovery in the book.
I thought the "could you live with her?" bit was a Wonderful "Zonking The Rules" moment - I love any display of gleefully breaking a painiferous circumstance - and remember that their rules include breaking the rules, as long as you pay the price...

...and if you don't like too easy endings, maybe you shouldn't read ACH after all...

',

[spazzychic.livejournal.com]

Complicated endings aren't really required per se, I mean geez I've read almost everything by Mercades Lackey. *smirk*

[ironymaiden]

my family used to be food makers, so i've thought on this a great deal.

puppies and piglets are both born in such profusion only because we want to do something with them. the real question is, would you rather they had what you consider an icky life, or no life at all?

[lironess.livejournal.com]

Depends on the level of icky. Relive my childhood, no f-en way.

I hear that things are being improved, slowly, and seen some stuff on tv like free range chickens, and curved cow walkways to lessen fear, but it still sucks to be a food animal. I am very carniverous though and love a good prim rib.

This kitty was a one of a kind and very wonderfully special in looks and personality. I will miss him forever. If I met a pig as cute and sweet as he was, I'd buy it and keep it as a pet. However the only pig that came remotely close was Arnold and she was a one of a kind too.

[lironess.livejournal.com]

Also I neuter the ones that I can catch so I am a no life at all-er. I'd neuter every cat I see if I could, and a lot of people that I know.

[ayelis.livejournal.com]

I'll eat your cat! You only live twice, so there are only so many opportunities to eat a friend's cat, you know. =p

We are all cellular colonies, if you subscribe to the religion of "Biology". Go figure we would eat other cellular colonies!

[belied.livejournal.com]

'Civilized societies' have a funny way of cultivating a big disconnect. I imagine if people actually did seek out the missing links, they'd collapse beneath the horror of it all. Oh well... and so we have "SURVIVAL OF THE CUTEST".