I chose to write about eating meat because I would love to hear everyone’s opinion. No one ever considers what they are eating when they eat a piece of meat, whatever it is. They eat it because it tastes good and because that’s just what everyone does. Disregarding the fact that our bodies are not meant to eat meat and do not need it, how can anyone eat it while knowing at the same time these animals are poorly treated and killed. Personally it makes me sick. Maybe people don’t realize how inhumanely the animals are treated, or maybe they just don’t care. Before cows are slaughtered, protocol calls for them to be stunned which involves a metal bolt shot in the skull. If every farm did this properly the cow would be knocked unconscious before killed. However, the farm’s goal is to kill as many animals as possible, so they do not take the time to make sure every animal is stunned properly. More often than not, the animal is not stunned properly because farmers miss their mark while the animal is struggling and panicked. So whether they are unconscious or not, they are tired to the ceiling with chains attached to their legs. Next they have their throats stabbed open, and if the worker does not get a good cut, they remain conscious. Then they travel along the “bleed rail” where they bleed to death. Finally, their heads and legs are cut off and the remaining parts are thrown in scalding hot water. This description does not include the process of slaughtering chickens which are not required to be stunned when their beaks are cut off and throats slit. Just from hearing this, doesn’t it gross you out A LITTLE?? Most people probably think this is all made up, but I can’t take the chance of contributing to this.
hmmmm..http://zenhabits.net/lessons-from-less/
ReplyDeleteI eat meat every day, but I do fail to recognize what happens to these poor animals in order for the meant to be obtained. I do love animals, but I have been raised eating meat, so it would be difficult for me to give it up when it is often in meals. I truly wish people would find a much better way of killing animals for their meat. It is quite repulsive how they seem to treat them before the animals finally die. I wish there would be peaceful ways of killing the animals so they did not feel the pain, but I do not know if our society will take the time to make that happen. I hope that one day enough people will find a way to change this while keeping everyone satisfied.
ReplyDeleteYum is the correct statement in this instance. Now I do not condone the killing of animals, and I find it repulsive to slit anyone’s throat and let the blood seep out. I even almost passed out seeing my own blood... With this in mind I feel bad that the animals must die in order for me to enjoy a juicy and delicious hamburger, but I must argue on the side of the carnivores. So what if we kill cows? It sounds horrible, but it’s what they are bred to do. We have places where cows are specifically born for the purpose of eventually being eaten. This draws up the argument to whether we can even call them real cows at all because they do not experience the outside world. Without this experience they do not have natural or evolutionary traits to survive and would die anyway. It is up to debate whether they could survive without humans taking care of them, but since we have no evidence for either side I remain on the side of meat eaters. These cows would die in the wild if we just let them go free anyway, so why don’t we just gain from the inevitable death.
ReplyDeleteWould it be wrong in saying that I knew all of this, but I still ate meat anyway? Nonetheless, meat makes up a large part of my diet and I doubt I would be able to go one meal without devouring a piece of meat. I do think the people who kill the cows and chickens should be able to kill them in a more humane way however. I do feel that there is a reason we eat meat though. It probably originates back to the dawn of humanity when humans had to do what they needed to survive. Back then, they had to kill animals for what they needed, such as food, clothing, and other essentials, and this has carried on through the thousands of years. So basically we eat meat for our survival, we always have, and always will.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Amanda on this, I have eaten meat for my whole life, and honestly living off lettuce, other vegetables, and possibly tofu for the rest of my life would not satisfy me whatsoever. However even with this statement after reading your blog I would say that I had no been aware that they kill them this way, personally I don't like to remember that the meat I am eating came from a living breathing thing and therefore if I had witnessed it alive or didn't buy it in packaging I wouldnt eat that meat, it would bother me too much. I do hope they find better ways to kill the animals so that they dont suffer that way, but I most likely would still continue to eat meat even if they didn't.
ReplyDeleteGenetics are a funny thing. I am a heavy meat eater, mostly because I just can't stand most vegetables, unfortunately. I can tolerate lettuce, but I couldn't stand eating a whole salad. Lettuce is very bland to me, and I order all of my tacos and burgers without it. I also try corn every year in the hopes that I won't absolutely hate it, only to be disappointed and wanting to gag. It's just the way I'm built, I'm afraid. Speaking of being built a certain way, though our bodies may be able to function wihout meat, we were in face built to eat it. We human beings are omnivores. We have a few teeth in the back to help us chew greens and the other half up front are all specially built for tearing into flesh. After reading your blog, I will continue to eat meat because it is sort of a necessary evil in our society and it is my favorite type of food, but it sounds to me like we still could use more control and reform in our food industries.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I will start off by saying that yes, I do eat meat. While I do believe that the treatment of animals in the ways that you've described above is horrific, I do disagree with some of the statements. I think that such poor treatment happens far less frequently than many pro-vegitarian articles describe due to the bias of the author. I also disagree with the idea that we do not need to eat meat. Historically, in certain regions of the world our ancestors only source of food would have been to hunt for their food. Yes, other regions would have supported a non-meat diet... but not all of them. So, over time humans just became accustomed to having options.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the poor treatment of the cows that you described is concerning, it is not as horrific as it sounds. Animals do not think the same way that humans do - they are not expecting anything other than survival. Dying is a tragic thing, but if a cow is raised for its meat, then its imminent death is only a natural consequence. The stunning, although somewhat painful if dont improperly, can be looked upon with indifference when we realize that this was not a cow that was raised in a nurturing environment only to be surprised by unfair treatment. it has adapted to an unfortunate lifestyle and therefore does not view it as unfortunate. Its cause of death is not of much consequence.
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