Is it just me or...

[Razor]

Does all of this propaganda dealing with treatment of animals meant to be consumed as food seem a little silly to anyone else?

 

Okay okay okay, I promise, I'm not heartless or anything, but even I have to see the practicality here as opposed to the "aw it's a fuzzy wittle amuhnal, I wanna keeps it!". You are eating them. EATING. That means you are munching on these animals. Given the fact that you are already intending for them to be FOOD, is anything else you do to them in the process really all that terrible?

 

Now, blatant mistreatment of animals is wrong. But it's not like these people who produce our food are just beating and hurting and torturing these animals with no logical purpose in what they do. They're making our food, that's all. Would it really make it any better if you'd kept the animals as pets before you ate them? Um, no, so why make such a big deal of it?

 

Hey, I'll admit that they could probably be a bit nicer to the animals. Then we would all pay more for them, though, and I just don't see the point of making these animals damn near into pets before you send them off to the slaughterhouse.

 

Oh, and I'm not giving up my hamburgers and fried chicken, so you won't persuade me to be a veg-head, haha.

 

Tell me what you guys think.

[BeaStKid]

I have been eating meat for as long as I can remember... Never found anything wrong in it..

[Benji]

I have been eating meat for as long as I can remember... Never found anything wrong in it..

 

 

.......I love my lamb, steak, chicken and fish and I won't give it up. To each his own!

[JamesSavik]

I love animals... with A-1 sauce.

 

Granted: some people are cruel to animals raised for food like cows and chickens. Some people are cruel to dogs and cats. There is a humane way to raise, care for and dare I say slaughter food animals and if the farmers can't be bothered or are sick-o enough to get off on the pain inflicted, they need to be out of the business and on a shrinks sofa. People who would do that to animals, their next stop is people.

[Tiff]

I have been eating meat for as long as I can remember... Never found anything wrong in it..

I second that!

 

But now that you mention it, I do feel a little bad about eating an animal....but I'm sure the feeling will pass as soon as dinner approaches.

 

I guess it depends on the culture? Like, we don't eat cats or dogs or hamsters because they're our domestic pets. But we eat cows and fish and chickens without any problems. In other countries, I'm sure some of the animals are reversed, so it all depends.

 

I'm not sure where I was going with that...I might be hungry...

[GaryK]

Wow so far 100% see no problem with eating meat. The way I see it, if you want to be a vegan that's fine. We're all entitled to make our own personal choices. As for me, I enjoyed meat but I'm not about to go hunting. I want a certain level of detachment from the whole process.

[Razor]

I love animals... with A-1 sauce.

 

Granted: some people are cruel to animals raised for food like cows and chickens. Some people are cruel to dogs and cats. There is a humane way to raise, care for and dare I say slaughter food animals and if the farmers can't be bothered or are sick-o enough to get off on the pain inflicted, they need to be out of the business and on a shrinks sofa. People who would do that to animals, their next stop is people.

 

 

These people have been putting emphasis on showing people how graphic factory farming can be. They keep these animals in very confined spaces, and do some other less than nice things, but the reason they do this is in order to reduce costs and maximize efficiency; otherwise our food would cost a LOT more.

 

I lived on a quail farm for a long time when I was a kid. We owned one, and I helped out with it a good many times. Sorry, but when someone wanted quail cleaned and dressed... well... if you hadn't ever seen it before, you might freak out a little. Basically what happens is...

 

1.) Quail/pheasants are kept (at least on our farm) in a flight pen, meaning that while they are pretty crowded, the ceiling of the pen is high enough for them to fly. The reason for that is because a lot of people buy them to hunt them; it's not fun hunting quail that can't fly.

2.) We go in with nets and catch however many we need.

3.) You take one of those really heavy duty pairs of kitchen shears, and then cut the quail/pheasant's head off in one quick motion. Sounds awful, I know, but it's by far the most humane and fast way to kill them. And yes, they do freak out when you do this, so yet again, if you've never done it before, then you'd freak probably.

4.) Immediately after the head comes off, you toss 'em into a big steaming vat of water. They make special containers that keep the water heated. This helps to loosen the feathers.

5.) Ya pluck 'em. Hehe, yeah, but nowadays they make those machines that have like a bunch of rubber fingers that spin nice and quick, and you just let those yank all the feathers for you.

6.) You clean them. This means removing organs/feet/etc.

7.) You now have a quite tasty little birdy.

 

 

See, the thing is, you're going to be killing the animal... so I don't really see how you can call the practice of maximizing efficiency, minimizing cost, and making the whole process as easy and fast as possible "cruel". You could maybe even go so far as gruesome, but not really cruel.

 

Btw, any of you who haven't had quail, you should try it sometime. I don't like pheasants, they have a gamey and kinda weird taste, but bobwhite quail are REALLY good.

[GaryK]

Eww, TMI dude.

[Zapp]

I could really go for a steak now, yummo indeed.

[Tiger]

I could not live without meat. If I go too long without eating meat, I feel sick. I do not even know how vegans survive.

[GaryK]

I could not live without meat. If I go too long without eating meat, I feel sick. I do not even know how vegans survive.

It's all about what you are, or get, accustomed to Tim. I know lots of vegans who are much healthier than I am. It's just a mattter of getting the right mix of proteins and other stuff. But I'm with you... a day without a cheeseburger is like a day without sunshine; boring and depressing!

[Benji]

These people have been putting emphasis on showing people how graphic factory farming can be. They keep these animals in very confined spaces, and do some other less than nice things, but the reason they do this is in order to reduce costs and maximize efficiency; otherwise our food would cost a LOT more.

 

I lived on a quail farm for a long time when I was a kid. We owned one, and I helped out with it a good many times. Sorry, but when someone wanted quail cleaned and dressed... well... if you hadn't ever seen it before, you might freak out a little. Basically what happens is...

 

1.) Quail/pheasants are kept (at least on our farm) in a flight pen, meaning that while they are pretty crowded, the ceiling of the pen is high enough for them to fly. The reason for that is because a lot of people buy them to hunt them; it's not fun hunting quail that can't fly.

2.) We go in with nets and catch however many we need.

3.) You take one of those really heavy duty pairs of kitchen shears, and then cut the quail/pheasant's head off in one quick motion. Sounds awful, I know, but it's by far the most humane and fast way to kill them. And yes, they do freak out when you do this, so yet again, if you've never done it before, then you'd freak probably.

4.) Immediately after the head comes off, you toss 'em into a big steaming vat of water. They make special containers that keep the water heated. This helps to loosen the feathers.

5.) Ya pluck 'em. Hehe, yeah, but nowadays they make those machines that have like a bunch of rubber fingers that spin nice and quick, and you just let those yank all the feathers for you.

6.) You clean them. This means removing organs/feet/etc.

7.) You know have a quite tasty little birdy.

 

 

See, the thing is, you're going to be killing the animal... so I don't really see how you can call the practice of maximizing efficiency, minimizing cost, and making the whole process as easy and fast as possible "cruel". You could maybe even go so far as gruesome, but not really cruel.

 

Btw, any of you who haven't had quail, you should try it sometime. I don't like pheasants, they have a gamey and kinda weird taste, but bobwhite quail are REALLY good.

 

 

......Thanks, other than Fish and an occassionL Rattlesnake, I've never "cleaned" an animal. That's why I pay other people to do it for me

[BeaStKid]

......Thanks, other than Fish and an occassionL Rattlesnake, I've never "cleaned" an animal. That's why I pay other people to do it for me

Snakes are yum!!

[GaryK]

Snakes are yum!!

I agree. Let's work on Rose to fix me some snake when I go see her. She's doesn't wanna do that.

[Tiger]

I agree. Let's work on Rose to fix me some snake when I go see her. She's doesn't wanna do that.

Well, I'll pass on the snake. I cannot even stand to look at snakes. They give me the creeps!

[Caipirinha]

There's plenty of room for all of God's creatures...right next to the mashed potatoes.

 

In all seriousness though, Humans were designed to be omnivores. I'd going to go ahead and assume that wasn't an accident...

[GaryK]

There's plenty of room for all of God's creatures...right next to the mashed potatoes.

[BeaStKid]

Aren't we a bunch of cannibals here? A 100% for NO!!

 

Yaay!! w00t!!

[Benji]

Aren't we a bunch of cannibals here? A 100% for NO!!

 

Yaay!! w00t!!

 

 

......Well it's a given I like meat!

[Tristan Thinks]

Being a farmboy myself I agree totally with Razor.

 

I think it might do people some good if at some point in their early life they had to be intensively involved in rearing and slaughtering their own animals, and growing and harvesting their own vegatables and fruits. They might learn to value food a lot more highly than they do - after all, alongside water it's something they can't live without. I get very annoyed seeing the dire economic struggles of farmers and food valued so low compared to other non-essential items.

As at present with wheat, it only needs a poor harvest season or two and rising demand from places like China, and suddenly the price doubles and many areas of the world are going to see famine conditions because supplies are too expensive or just not available.

 

I remember once a friend (girl) of mine was visiting for a few days and I asked her if she wanted chips (fries) for dinner. She said yes so I fetched a bag of potatoes and began peeling them. She was mystified and wanted to know what I was doing. I said, "making chips".

 

It turns out she didn't know chips were made from potatoes - she thought they somehow grew fully-formed

 

It's not a surprise to me that a bunch of Gay men prefer eating 'meat'

[corvus]

Aren't we a bunch of cannibals here? A 100% for NO!!

 

Yaay!! w00t!!

 

Uh, how about carnivores? I do object to human under most circumstances.

 

I like my meat. I would prefer my meat providers not to be cruel and inhumane, but not at the price of, well, rising prices. I think animal lovers of this sort can first worry about cruel and inhumane treatment of other humans in certain parts of the world. However, if gruesome treatment of future food reduces the quality of food (e.g. feeding pigs other pigs increasing risk of disease), then yes, I would on the animal rights bandwagon for that cause.

[rknapp]

I never go a day without eating meat... unless I forget to eat that day... which has happened before.

 

It's not a surprise to me that a bunch of Gay men prefer eating 'meat'

I wasn't gonna say it lmfao.

[Tiger]

It's not a surprise to me that a bunch of Gay men prefer eating 'meat'

I think we all LOVE that kind of meat.

[Tristan Thinks]

I would prefer my meat providers not to be cruel and inhumane, but not at the price of, well, rising prices.

This is the real problem.

 

This creates economic pressures on the supply chain that ends up with the farmers making so little profit that they have to continually look for cheaper ways to rear their livestock; doing it faster and with less human intervention or capital costs. That leads to cheap low quality feeds, stress in the animals due to forced growth, less time to notice ill health, and less room for the animals.

 

Good quality meat comes from animals allowed to grow at their own rate in natural surroundings with little stress. It is possible to taste the difference, too. Having grown up around chemical-based and intensive agricultural and seen what damage it does to the land and animals I'm a big proponent of natural farming, organic methods, and increased prices.

 

It's ironic that it's the so-called civilised economically affluent people that force prices down and don't value food.

In places where food isn't seen as a low-value commodity it is highly valued and people are prepared to allocate a much larger percentage of their per-capita income to it.

[S.L. Lewis]

I don't mind eating meat and I think the fact that people are throwing a hissy fit about how the food animals are treated is funny. Since most of them still eat the meat even as they protest the treatment.