.jpg)
.jpg)
I was following a radio program, probably on radio national which talked about the ethics of eating. And it mentioned that meat eaters don't think too hard and don't want to think too hard about the food we ingest. It's true - back in the day, all I knew was meat came neatly pre-packed from the supermarket. I didn't think too hard about why Old MacDonald *had* a farm. Nor I hadn't yet seen the Far Side 'truth' behind whipped cream. As I grew up though, I got into fishing and practiced several ways to "deprived the fish of water" - a Buddhist euphemism condoning fishing. Some of these water deprivation techniques involved trying to quickly incapacitate the fish - fish that were apparently incapable of feeling pain but were wriggling like no one's business.Nowadays, when I go from catching to cooking, I have to move past the remorse by making sure the food is cooked well, not oversupplied, accompanied by a lot of greens and we eat just enough for sustenance. Above are two photos of my son with no problems in the catch and kill department.
Links
--
The Associate Woman | The WA 6000 Daily | The Anti-Bully Paper | SuperParents on FB
To receive updates on all SuperParents events go to subscribe.SuperParents.com.au
I think that's an overgeneralisation. I know exactly where my meat is coming from - I raise and kill my own chickens. Between them, the eggs and legumes we buy very little meat or fish. We have considered getting a poddy calf but don't have a freezer big enough. We're not alone, as you can find anything online there are communities of people working on self-sufficiency even in cities.
ReplyDeleteEthically, are we different to a lion? Are they bad for painfully killing an animal? That is how life works, food webs are completely natural and necessary, without carnivores the environment would be in a lot of trouble. And in a very real sense we are only here because our ancestors ate meat. Yes we can make a choice which the lion can't, but it isn't yes/no.
The choice not to eat meat means you have to eat something else. I'm not convinced that intensive agriculture is any better for the environment than pastoralism, in fact I suspect it is worse. It doesn't produce any inputs but only takes nutrients out. It requires more land to produce the same nutrients. It requires more resource inputs such as fertiliser and pesticides. And it has to be transported the same way as meat. It appears to be a choice between an individual animal's welfare and the environment that includes all animals and plants.
Do western diets tend to include a lot more meat than they need? Absolutely - they include more of everything. Do I dislike the way animals are transported and slaughtered? Absolutely - I dislike most intensive farming practices. But there are 7 billion people to feed.
I think meat or vegetables is a distraction. If you are talking generally about thoughtful eating and resource use I agree completely. To me the real question is how do we equitably make sure the whole world is fed without making the environment uninhabitable. I could easily be wrong, but I suspect the answer will involve meat.
Hey Deb
ReplyDeleteYeah, I don't really have a problem with eating meat, and becoming vegetarian isn't high on my priority list. What I think is beneficial is what you say about being more thoughtful when you eat or use resources.
I've not read much into ethical eating but I don't think I need to go killing all my food to justify eating them. What I do like however is having respect accorded to the environment and the appreciation for the use of the protein we harvest or slaughter.
I'm not sure that I'd totally agree with you on the over-generalisation ... how many meat eaters out there really do stop to question the sustainability of their eating habits? I'd say that percentage in comparison would be far less than vegetarians.
In terms of the example of the lion killing for food, I'm not entirely sure I'd be comparing myself with other carnivores in the food chain. How many other natural predators would deplete and environment as completely as humans? I think the comparison should be between those respectful of pragmatic sustainable practices versus those going about their day-to-day lives taking 30 minute showers, eating their hanging-off-the-side-of-the-plate steaks, and having their electrical appliances on full blast the whole day.
Yes, it isn't about meat v veges. :-)
Good hearing from you.
Cheers,
Colin