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I'm not really a vegetarian by the strict standards (since I eat fish). But I didn't make a decision to stop eating meat to become a vegetarian, I did it because I decided it was the right thing to do, and I don't care what my diet is called.
I've had 2 major reasons to stop consuming pork, beef, chicken, ducks etc.:
- I've learnt in what terrible conditions they are kept through all their lives
- I've learnt that most of the factories and even private farmers use antibiotics and hormones
Now, after living on veggies and fish for a while, I've got the 3rd reason: if I can live without eating most animals, why not just spare their lives, even if one day the 2 previous reasons disappear. I mean, I don't really want a pork stake as bad as to kill a piggy for it (or have someone do it for me so I can feel like I've never killed anything).
Yes, I know that's how nature works, animals eat other animals, but that's certainly something that is not adding to the beauty and harmony of the world. Yes, this is how it is, but it should have been some other way. A way, that would have not made it difficult to explain to our kids why their favorite King Lion actully slaughters dozens of Bambi deers throughout his life, or why we have a Porky Pig for lunch.
Organically-raised pastured animals at last get their chance to enjoy what life they have left as their fellow beasts do in the wild. Yes, they are going to get killed, but at least they won't suffer long minutes, hours, days and weeks in dirty cramped cages unable to move.
Why do I still eat fish? I chose fish as a source of protein and those Omega 3 fats that are so essential (for me especially). Yes, they are living beings too, but obviously it's easier to put up with a death of a cold-bloded fish than a cute little pigglet. I think I need fish protein. If one day I'll feel like I don't, I'll give up eating seafood as well (except for seaweed).
Getting back to the 2nd reason why I excluded meat from my diet: antibiotics and hormones. The first one is scarier. What we're actually doing now (by overusing antibiotics in general) is we're actually endangering ourselves. Saving peoples' lives was a lot more difficult before the discovery of antibiotics. Well, we could be back to that pre-antibiotics era if we continue producing superbugs. The way they are created is by putting tiny amounts of antibiotics here and there: not enough to kill all bacteria, but enough to make those surviving resistant.
Ok, I'm just going to throw in some links to conclude this post with some facts:
"Researchers say the overuse of antibiotics in humans and animals has led to a plague of drug-resistant infections that kills more than 65,000 people in the U.S. per year" (Would You Pay $.05 More per Lb to Reduce Antibiotic Use in Pigs?)
"Two-thirds of the chicken samples had bacteria. That in itself is not unusual — E. coli, salmonella and campylobacter are often present in raw chicken.
What was surprising was that all of the bacteria uncovered during the Marketplace sampling were resistant to at least one antibiotic. Some of the bacteria found were resistant to six, seven or even eight different types of antibiotics." (Supermarket chicken harbours superbugs: CBC)
Also, a new 'superbug' was found in UK hospitals.
Logically, buying non-organic meat is adding to this problem: endangering yourself and others, even those who never touched meat themselves.
And finally, as an example of what conditions animals are kept in, a short sad and funny video: "Michael Moore - The Awful Truth"
I woun't be posting any links featuring animal cruelty videos here, you can find them yourself if you google something like chicken farm horrors, or pig farm horrors or something of the kind.
More posts from this category: No justifications for meat eatingWhole grain pasta and a salad
Zenner
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18-08-2012
Will there be people who are sensitive to human suffering, but not to animal suffering?
Or the other way round, people sympathetic to animals, but not to humans? I'm almost sure I've seen both kinds in my life... But, as hard as I try, I can't understand how either of them can be possible. Anyway, one should expect then that, contrary to logic, not all antinatalists are (or would like to be) vegetarians. Sad about that conclusion... Happy to find this interesting article here... |
Irina |
18-08-2012
Yeah, its strange, and also, sympathy can be reserved for certain race or nation, or species of animals. Not all ANs are vegetarians/vegans, but I get the impression there are more of them among antinatalists than anywhere else. I might be wrong, though... Lots of people are very sensitive to animal suffering but they will use defense mechanisms to continue eating meat. Not that I'm a perfect vegan myself, just moving towards that slowly. |
Zenner
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18-08-2012
So am I... eaasyy... taking my time...
(maybe because I wouldn't mind being eaten myself... as long as they finish me up quickly... sorry for the atrocity i've just said, too dark a joke, even for myself; besides, maybe animals wouldn't agree with me) |
Irina |
18-08-2012
Yeah, it's not easy to give up all the food addictions at once. I've just recently quit eating eggs and dairy and I find myself spending much more time just to figure out what I'm going to eat this week. No, theres plenty of options with main course meals, but snacks - that used to be as aeasy as making a cheese sandwitch or an omelet. Now I have to be much more creative even in this area.)) So yeah, I'm taking my time to adjust and develop new habits. The worst problem is, of course, the cruel treatment. But also, that those animals wouldn't even have to exist if it weren't for us. We breed them specifically to eat and wear their skin later, how sick is that... I also couldn't care less what happens to my body after I'm dead. But to be forcefully bread to become someone's dinner - I do have a problem with that))) |
Zenner
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18-08-2012
...and, obviously, everything animal I eat comes from happy creatures in organic farms (milk, eggs... and EVERYTHING)
If organic farms didn't exist, I would have already become a total vegan... |
Zenner
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18-08-2012
"and also, sympathy can be reserved for certain race or nation, or species of animals."
... ummmhhh...so enlightening... how come I did't make that connection before??? |
Irina |
18-08-2012
I didn't either, I think it was a video lecture I watched that talked about that, or a few lectures actually... Reminds me of a scene from the movie 'A Time to Kill', where a lawyer has to ask the jury to imagine a victim being white. Because he had realized white people did not have the same level of sympathy to black people as they had for those of their own race. |
Zenner
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18-08-2012
"The worst problem is, of course, the cruel treatment. But also, that those animals wouldn't even have to exist if it weren't for us. We breed them specifically to eat and wear their skin later, how sick is that..."
(hihihi... you remind me so much of myself!) I used to dream of a cattle-raising farm as a suitable business for me (horses, cows,... or dogs), I love animals, so much so that my first career choice was... a vet! But then, one day, it dawned on me that I didn't really want to contribute to more poor defenceless creatures coming into this cruel world... ... and that's how I finally became an antinatalist both for humans and animals. (end of tale..., still waiting for the darn prince to show up!) |
Irina |
18-08-2012
Prince! Haha! Not a rottenly rich husband? Oh wait, that might be the same, just a 21century version of prince. White Bentley instead of a white horse. I'm so disgusted parents keep reading cinderella stories to their daughters! Waiting for a prince! Why? Princes can come, all right, and then leave you with a kid in the same dump you were before you met him, lol! Not that it refers to childfree or antinatalists, but just to point out its an outdated silly tale meant for uneducated women who can only scrub floors and wash socks. It shouldn't be read to contemporary girls who can be independent and choose princes themselves :))))) Not that it has any relation to the vegetarian topic. Although...if I ever meet a vegetarian antinatalist prince, who knows...maybe I'll even scrub the floors sometimes! Ehem...once a year)) |
Zenner
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18-08-2012
If you only knew what kind of fairy tales I used to tell my little (favourite) niece when she was a kid...!!
(totally apt for little children, no doubt... but... with a twist in the end!!!) No wonder she has become such a smart young lady! Aaahhh... yeah... that's my ideal too: a vegetarian antinatalist rottenly rich prince/husband! (I'll let you know as soon as I learn WHERE-ON-EARTH they can be acquired) Please, philosopher boys, go on pretending you're deaf! |
I HAVE ABOUT 15 WEBSITES AND AM BUILDING A FEW MORE A WEEK IN IWEB AND HAVE A MAC BOOK PRO WHICH I LOVE.
I HAVE GOT VEGAN T-SHIRTS MADE WITH OTHER IMPORTANT WORDS PRINTED ON THEM.
THEY ARE ON MY FACEBOOK PAGE.
I HAVE 41 DOMAIN NAMES IN TOTAL AND AM HAVING FUN MAKING MUSICAL-JUSTICE.BIZ
EMBEDING YOUTUBE MUSIC VIDEOS WITH INTEGRITY THAT ACTUALLY MEAN SOMETHING AS WELL AS SOUNDING GOOD!