I do think that everyone should have to slaughter a cow or pig or something once and then butcher it properly and cook it. The disconnect that we have from our food is sort of bordering on surreal to me. I don't have any problem eating meat, it's delicious, but I have started moderating it a bit. My parents basically have a piece of meat in every meal they eat, day in and day out. I don't think that's really necessary or healthy, or morally appropriate. I like to at least try to show some respect for the lesser animals I consume for pleasure.
The excesses of our North American culture are vulgar and unsettling to me.
INTARNETS R SRS BIZNESS REPLY:
This is close to my thinking. Similarly to Kazz, I too believe we are animals. But I also believe that we are living creatures
period. This includes bugs, plants, and even the planet itself. The whole goddamn universe and everything in it is alive to one degree or another.
I always find the human attempt to make petty distinctions like "sentient thought", "can feel pain", "is not made of rocks", etc. to be a very human thing on many levels. We're trying to control things in a way, by categorizing them. A sort of mental divide-and-conquer. But really, we're all in this together [insert cliche of your choice here].
Any attempt to make some
moral argument about the evils of simply eating meat (leaving aside the source) is to deny the entire life-cycle of most creatures. A good proportion of the things on this planet either consume other living creatures or are consumed by them. At the same time, I think anything that is unnecessary should be avoided. This includes excessive meat consumption, frivolous killing, or wanton cruelty, be it pond scum or cows. But there are simply times when some killin' must take place. Not just with regards to eating meat, but to harvest grains or other vegetables as well. If a mosquito bites me, or roaches invade my apartment I squish them, as they are predators to me (directly or indirectly) and certainly I should defend myself.
Really, I think extremes are what's really the issue - they're silly and dangerous things. It has generally been shown that the most efficient diet for humans is a generally vegetarian diet with a small but reasonable amount of meat. Not only is this best overall for human health, but it is best for the planet, as marginal land should be used for grazing rather than farming.
That said, I have no issue whatsoever with vegtarianism as a dietary choice. Yes, it leans a bit towards a supposed extreme, but only in a small way and the modern world has provided options that make such a choice easier than ever. And humans are closer to being vegetarians to being carnivores (you don't see too many people arguing THAT, now do you?). And without some deviation from an imaginary unobtainable middle line, we'd have a terribly homogenous, boring life. It's only when people start screaming about things, or get really crazy in their diets (like Sproutarians or other kooks) that things become objectionable.
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