posted on May, 30 2010 @ 10:50 AM
I think this is one of the most sociologically astute posts I've read in a while here on ATS.
We cover a lot of useful and important topics, but if and when things break down in our society, the factors mentioned here would take precedence.
Many of us have never been very close to the food chain, living in cities, or towns where we are not involved in our food supply except mainly as
consumers.
This lack of knowledge is what seems to stand out to me the most.
These different factors are not going to vanish, but rather play a role in the greater story.
A couple of points to add to the thread:
Evolutionists maintain that consumption of animal proteins are what caused the enlargement of the human brain, including the frontal lobe, which is
more pronounced in humans that apes or other primates. Earlier human specimens have a much smaller braincase, similar to that of a chimp.
Once tools began to be used, and group hunting took place, supposedly the extra protein, specifically meat, spurred the evolution of our brains into
something more human. Because of the meat.
Some people who refuse to eat meat become weak and mentally foggy over time, compared to their counterparts who eat meat.
Many cult leaders use this as a first step to weaken the potential member's reasoning and resistance, makes them more compliant and easier to
manipulate. It seems to show up as a tactic in many of the most influential movements, notably the Hare Krishnas, who, when they began to build their
numbers in the 70s, practically enslaved their devotees for the purposes of selling books and raising money for the movement. A close relative of
mine was recruited by them and intimately observed their tactics.
He quickly realized that the lack of meat helped maintain control of the members, who were docile and easily directed.
Of course, being raised by ordinary people descended from farmers, he "didn't fit it" and quickly left.
The social dynamics listed by the OP are not going away. There IS a movement that loves any animal more than any human. They DO believe that all
humans are guilty of "something" and that all animals are innocent.
This is called anthropomorphism, attributing human characteristics to non-human forms or creatures, i.e. the Sun as a smiling face, or the human
skills of Scooby Doo as he talks and acts in a human way.
Animals are not under a moral code, therefore they cannot be guilty, but nor can be they be innocent. These are human characteristics. Only
applicable to humans.
And if the humans forget to pay attention or even learn about their food chain, once it's cut, there will be no putting it back together for many.
The majority of my childhood was split between cities and my grandfather's beef farm. Families are needed for the harvest of the huge gardens he
planted, and we learned by doing, by repetition. It follows the seasons, so we were brought into harmony and the rhythm of nature by seeking our
food. I was horrified and then respectful when I finally understood what happened to the cows. I was glad they had such a good life there, which
they certainly did, and eventually came to be a much more thankful consumer because of these things, and a very harsh critic of lesser and crueler
ways of raising our livestock.
Kinder treatment is morally just, and produces better meat, as well. The system is not broken, it is just unknown by most of us, unaffected by us,
and perpetuated by us, since we have few alternatives.
Exercising them, refusing to eat meat that comes from abused and neglected animals is one of the healthiest and most responsible steps one can take if
animals are truly a concern. The business has to be supported, so every dollar one spends on humanely-raised animals supports a better food chain all
the way around.
One cannot learn farming on the fly. It takes time to see the results and there just are not start-overs, because seedtime and harvest are matched to
the flow of the seasons and the changes in weather, which triggers vegetables to do certain things at certain times, protects crops during the winter
by freezing certain fungi and pests, to keep their numbers in balance. If one makes a mistake in sustenance farming, and has no stored food, one will
surely die. Very little room for error.
That is why growing at least some vegetables is so crucial, to learn and take the unfamiliarity out of it before tougher times come. Understand why
hybrid seeds would lead to starvation. Invest in and grow some heirloom plants, because they have been preserved for many reasons, all good for
people.
Organic meats are expensive, I know, but there are much more affordable alternatives that supermarkets have made us forget. Many farmers will gladly
sell their meat to private customers, and let me tell you, a deep freezer and a once a year purchase of meat, supplemented throughout the seasons with
seasonal fish and game, hunted or caught by others, will make life a ton easier. It's a different way to buy, but the bottom dollar will soon
convince you it's more than worth it.
And when you taste the difference in the meat of animals who are respected, valued, nurtured and truly cared for, you will surely know why it matters,
and what a difference in taste and nutrition it makes when your animals are raised with decency and care. And you will experience a feeling Winn Dixie
can't provide, GRATITUDE.