Exactly! I think their attitude is counter productive.

Patrick

Whoops, thanks Doreen :-)

Exactly. Why is it that we are so afraid to do what is sooo natural? Animal predators frequently eat for fun, curiosity, and, you know, while their prey is still alive. We humans have created a world in which we don't ALL go out hunting every day, and instead some of us can provide food so the rest of us can advance society with cool technology and a better understanding of the universe thru study and research. That means sometimes we don't have control over how our food is treated before it becomes our food. Buy whatever makes you feel comfortable, and boycott whatever makes you uncomfortable, but don't ignore your nutritional needs to, like, protest the treatment of chickens.

I don't see eating meat as wrong. Torturing my meat before I cook it? A waste of time, energy and some seriously bad karma.

Not eating meat was slowly killing me. I spent 6 years or so as a vegetarian. It was a fast track to obesity, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes.

Well, I am not so sure about that.

But in any case, you cant say its not wrong because its natural.

Absolutely. The one solid reason anyone can have for eating meat is that it is nutritionally superior.

I don't have an issue with eating meat. I don't have an issue with animals being slaughtered for meat. I even buy the "cheaper" meat in the grocery instead of grass fed. Now, don't get me wrong, I love grass fed beef, but I just can't always afford it.

I would love to go 100% to grassfed. I think it tastes better. I also like the idea of the animals being treated in a manner that is more humane. It doesn't change the fact that they are still raised as a food source, but just because that's something's purpose, doesn't mean it shouldn't live in a more natural way - in a field, eating grass and not crammed into a filthy feed lot. If the only way to keep those animals alive is to pump them full of antibiotics, to me, there's obviously something wrong. I'd rather my meat come from a healthy animal than a heavily medicated and sick one. But...I just can't always afford it.

My dogs routinely were fine with holding it for 10 or 12 or 14 hours. I mean sometimes, even though it had been hours, they clearly didn't WANT to go out! I did take my one dog to the vet once, after he had not peed in almost 72 hours. But there was nothing wrong with him, and the vet said not to hold dogs to human standards, and it was really not a big deal for them to go ultra-long stretches without peeing, and that his own dog REFUSED to go outside if it was raining, and during long rainstorms had been know to go 24-36 hours without peeing, with no problems.

I confess I couldn't really cook for my dogs, but they got EVO Innova grain-free kibble as well as "pet meat" from the Amish farmer I deal with, which was ground beef ground up with all the bones and organs. But it didn't stop either of them from dying of cancer. <sigh>

I agree with this, though in my case it means I've made the decision to only buy grass-fed and/or pastured humanely raised meat. But since it's expensive that means I just eat much less meat. But a lot more eggs - which are from free-range hens from an Amish farmer.

Of course animals have feelings, as anyone who has ever lived with an animal can attest to. There's nothing innately "human only" about feelings, and I can't imagine why anyone would think so. It sounds like human arrogance of the highest order to me to think there is anything so "special" about us compared to other members of the animal kingdom.

Look at the way elephants raise their young and grieve when one of the herd dies. They even visit the bones of deceased members of the herd. It takes some kind of awareness and feeling for them to do that.

I'll buy meat that's been processed in any ranch Temple Grandin had a hand in designing and maintaining. Her standards insure that the animal suffers as little as possible.

Grassfed beef is disgusting - I try to by locally raised as often as money/time/availability allows. However, I still eat meat from the grocery store on a regular basis. I guess if I thought about how it was killed I would be very sad - so, it's easier not to. *puts head in sand*

Eh, it can't be any worse than being speared by a hunter/gatherer and chased down over a two-hour run. Or being eaten alive by a crocodile.

Did anyone stop to think that living in the wild is probably pretty terrifying at times for most animals not at the top of the food chain?

I find the taste of fully grass-fed beef to be revolting.

For the health differences, they are not as massive as we're led to believe I suspect, based on this article by a grass-fed rancher:
http://lowcarbage.com/blog/2010/11/...uth-about-beef/

And just because meat is sold at the store doesn't necessarily mean that the cow lived its whole life in a feedlot -- most do only the last 6 weeks, and they are not all like the horrors featured in videos. Read the link above, it's a good post.

PJ

FYI there are a lot of small farmers raising grain-fed humane livestock. Lemme know if you would like to know of some in the NY area.