A Hypothetical Question to Ask Yourself..

Here's a thought to ponder on...

Imagine, every time you eat a steak, a sausage, or a piece of chicken, that you personally had to look the creature in the eye, and stick a knife through his heart. Then, you have to go through the bloody mess and cook your meat. Would it make you eat less meat? Could you stare a cow with a tear dripping down its cheek and shank him? Do you have the heart to end a life while its screaming in anxiety knowing it's about to die? If you've never heard a pig squeal that's being taken to get slaughtered, it's a pretty haunting sound. So, could you do it? If you answered no, well then maybe you shouldn't be eating meat!

I was working at my dads (Italian) restaurant and he serves main lobster, and it's actually alive until some one orders it, then, my dad kills it on the spot. A server replied, "OMG, that's so awful, I'm never eating lobster again!". She was horrified about the fact that its claws continue to move after it's been decapitated. She was even joking about stealing one or two and placing them back in the ocean to free them. This server loved eating lobster but I asked her this same question about imagine having to do that every time you eat lobster and she said she couldn't kill him. Which made me think of the question above. For the record, I don't work for my dad anymore for ethical reasons.

The problem is, we've become so desensitized to what eating meat really is that it's as normal as brushing your teeth. The grim realities of what your meat goes through before being served on a plate, fortunately for you, is set up so you don't have to be the one that pulls the trigger, nor do we have to witness the torture the animal goes through. I would compare it to modern day warfare; nowadays soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan can kill people with much less of the guilt factor as ever as they simply control unmanned drones to kill at the push of a button. They don't have to see the fear on their victims faces, so they can't sympathize with their victims. As opposed to killing a man at point blank range, the drones takes the emotional element out of it making it more systematic and emotionless. The same thing goes with slaughter house meat; you eat it at the comfort of your own home with some beers and never had to actually pull the trigger on the innocent animal. If we did have to, I wonder how many more people would be vegetarian.

Another part of the problem is how far from nature the western world has become. I've been in Nicaragua the last three weeks, and here, cows, horses, donkeys among other wild life are free to roam the land and can be seen going on a walk for example, even in the big cities. Cows really are beautiful creatures, and, in all my life living in the city back in the states, I've never seen a cow! So to me growing up, eating a burger wasn't a big deal because I haven't made a connection with these beautiful, intelligent creatures. But being out here, still in the city but a 10 minute bike ride to the country side, I've actually developed personal relationships with my buddies farm animals and I could NEVER imagine sticking a knife through its heart personally because steak "taste good". That's just sick and unnecessary if you ask me, considering the abundance of fruits and vegetables around. Most people won't think twice about eating a hot dog but, god forbid they hear about a neighbor mistreating a dog, they say, "what kind of horrible person would do such a thing.". It's because they have that emotional connection with dogs. If you had an emotional attachment to a pig or a cow, you may feel the same way with these animals. After all, what is the difference between a pig, a dog, a cow? They are all animals who love, fear, and feel pain.

As far as the "nutritional" reasons to eat meat, the number one thing I hear from everyone is, "Aren't you worried about protein?". Considering its 2015, it baffles me that some people still think you need to eat meat for protein supplementation. I have a quick question for you, where do you think gorillas get their protein? They are vegans who eat a plant based diet, and are 9 times stronger than the average human. I'm not going to go into a nutritional argument here, but I can if someone wants to learn vegan nutrition.

So, just some food for thought. I am aware posting this thread of two things; one that people that read this are going to continue eating meat after reading this, and two, I will receive a good amount of backlash from meat eating readers. It seems as if, every time I'm on an online forum and present information on veganism and try to debate it in a civil fashion where me myself am open minded and receptive towards non vegan opinions as well, I get scrutinized, name called, and outright disrespected at times. It's as if I "called their baby ugly". At first I didn't understand why this was as I'm simply out to debate in a civilized manner, but then it all made sense; I WAS/AM calling your baby ugly. I'm challenging a belief that many of you ( me included) grew up on for many generations. It's a comfort zone for you non vegetarians to eat meat. It "taste too good to give up" according to many of you, and by challenging this comfort zone, albeit diplomatically, your guard goes up and you resort to responding in a sometimes impulsive and "name calling" manner. It's similar if I snatched a coffee mug from a lifetime coffee drinker and said, "caffeines an addictive drug, you need to quit now!" You better believe that coffee drinker will get ticked off and may even want to drink more coffee. This is what's going on, and because I understand this now, I will take any backlash with a grain of salt. Another example would be a scientist telling a Christian, for example "where do dinosaurs fit into the biblical chronology of time?" This is a fair question to ask, and you would think that the two people should be able to have an educated debate about this topic without bumping heads, but because the scientist is challenging the Christians comfort zone and may potentially challenge everything he holds to be true, the Christian lashes out on him in a rude fashion. So with all of that being said, I'm anticipating some "haters" for lack of a better word, and I will embrace you all, but I hope you can put aside some of your beliefs that you have held onto all of your life to ask your self the question I posed in the first paragraph and answer it as unbiased as you can in regards to your own beliefs.

Because, do I dislike non vegetarians? No! But remember one thing, everything you do has repercussions, and come judgement day, you will have to face the most highs in his court and explain why you ate meat all of those years despite the countless suffering of animals. After all, animals are the most highs creations as well, and the most highs considers it a serious offense to continue to support the mass animal holocaust occurring on this planet right now. So f you want to continue to eat meat, go right ahead sir, just be willing to accept that every action has a reaction, and be willing to pay the karmic price, whether in this or another life time.

Thanks for reading.

originally posted by: sekerofknowlege

Imagine, every time you eat a steak, a sausage, or a piece of chicken, that you personally had to look the creature in the eye, and stick a knife through his heart.

I have had to process my own game and every time I go to Italy to our property and I want 'meat' it is still running around just prior to preparing it.

Not everyone is squeamish.

Oh, and just as a little tidbit on lobsters, the reason they still thrash around when you cut them in half is that their brain has several ganglia and cutting them in half does not render them unconscious. The best method is to pop them in the freezer for 30 minutes then boil them.

Alive.

a reply to: sekerofknowlege

You kill chickens by stabbing them in the heart and cows by shanking them . Wow , its probably best you stick to being a vegetarian .

a reply to: sekerofknowlege

We are all one.

Every living thing. Every rock, every rubber tire, plastic bag, cigarette butt. We all come from the same group of elements listed on the periodic table.

We all began as simple cells and evolved into every thing that is here today.

The goal for all of us, plastic bags and butterflies included, is to be one species called "earth".

The hominids made the greatest advancements of all the rocks, trees and animals on this planet.

We are the winners and we are representing earth in our universe.

One day there will only be tigers in zoos.
One day even those will be obsolete.

We have won and by eating a delicious t-bone we will continue to win.

All is one. When we eat a carrot, we are eating part of ourself

When we eat Beef Wellington, we are eating part of ourself.

The world is our egg white and we are baby chicks.

a reply to: sekerofknowlege

Cows don't 'cry' in the emotional sense of the term. And I have skinned, gutted, cleaned and butchered my own food plenty of times. It certainly led me to gain far more respect for my food sources, but hasn't caused me to rethink the consumption of meat.

Well, yes yes I could do it. In fact a few years ago I volunteered to slit the pigs throat and bleed him out for the BBQ we were having. I preferred that to boiling it and scraping off all that brittle hair that feels like steel wire.

Dude I used to shoot squirrels with my BB gun as a child and skin them for pelts. I had quite the collection going and even traded for the occasional stack of comic books or skates. this was only in the 90's . Some of my friends would turn them into hats with the help of their parents I guess. Honestly I never much cared to do anything with the pelts. I just was practicing the art of harvesting fur after being taught about old fur trades in pioneer days of America. It was only after some of my friends saw my collection that they started offering me to trade or buy.

I only did that for a year though when I was 10 or 11.

If it offends anyone that I shot and killed squirrels at that age with bbgun, good. Welcome to America.

You asked me for my input and I gave it to you. I dont much care if animals are being tortured by tyson, smithfield, or any other companies so long as I can continue to buy low priced meat (historically speaking). And neither do most Americans. Of course with the price of eggs being what they are, I started raising chickens again.

a reply to: sekerofknowlege

And in regard to your other statements, I have absolutely no desire to make the discussion personal, nor to attack or attempt to belittle you. But I will gladly carry on a civilized discussion about this topic. I have two sisters who have recently gone Vegan, and I have had pretty much every iteration of this discussion I can think of at least twice already.
So, let's chat, and let's do so as civilized human beings.

a reply to: sekerofknowlege
I understand where you are coming from, when I eat meat I consciously envision the animal that is supporting my life, it's the most I can do to pay my respects, though I can't help feeling bad.
Very well written thread sir/madam, though I do believe that this will have some backlash.
I wish you luck.

I would be willing to give up meat, I already eat very little of it. I have in the past given up eating meat because it really is not fare to eat another living intelligent creature. It's difficult though when those around you eat meat, especialy when one person cooks for everyone.

Your gonna catch some flak OP, but I agree with everything you said

a reply to: VoidHawk

There is no flak for him to catch. I dont feel his OP comes off as anything offensive or grandstanding in any regard. He merely asked a legitimate question in regards to normal human dietary behavior. I did not feel offended in any way and I dont think most people will take it that way. He just wants perspective me thinks.

If you do not eat meat I can respect that. I would never tease someone for that choice. In fact I respect it on the grounds of having the discipline to avoid a dietary intake which 'may' increase the chance of colon cancer.

I have no such discipline, as I rather enjoy consuming cooked animal.

originally posted by: AmericanRealist
a reply to: VoidHawk

There is no flak for him to catch.

I hope you are right, I'm just going by past experience.

a reply to: sekerofknowlege

I can't say I agree with every part of your post, but I think about this often and it pains me to acknowledge I am a remarkable hypocrite.

I have rescued more animals than I can remember from dogs to cats to ducks and other birds to raccoons to possums to turtles... Yet I make rib steaks on the BBQ for Christmas dinner every year.

I will say that eating meat, in and of itself is no issue for me. I have friends that are hunters and when they kill a deer they have venicin for months and often they do things with the pelt and antlers. Actually, most hunters have a tremendous amount of respect for the animals they hunt.

However, I am not a hunter. I do my best to buy "free range" and all that but I don't have a huge amount of confidence that the animals are treated humanely.

I also have much respect for some vegetarians (some meaning the ones that do it for the animals; not so much for the tyrannical health nuts). I was a vegetarian for a few years a LONG time ago but I buckled.

Great post. For me, it's nothing new but serves as a reminder.

a reply to: hutch622

I always just broke the chickens neck like my grandma taught. Works the same with ducks. In fact you are allowed to slaughter those muscavi ducks with the red faces because they are an invasive species. Just make sure that you do it in a humane manner and probably call FWC first so that when police arrive because of a squeamish neighbor that believes you are committing animal cruelty, you have a Federal leg to stand on.

I actually would prefer that. I need to gain more experience in the process of preparing meat for consumption.

The opportunity to learn some of the inner workings and anatomy would be valuable as well.

I always have to chuckle at those who champion the rights of animals when we don't even take care of each other properly. I guess some people find it easier to sympathize with a cow than another persons plight.

This is a topic that most people really don't want to talk about. It's one of the topics in this country that are avoided (certainly by mainstream outlets). I expect that will be the same in this thread. Or there will just be lowest-common-denominator responses (I didn't climb my way to the top of the food chain to eat vegetables, or some such unhelpful machismo).

Good luck. All I can say is that there is a whole lot more awareness than there was 30 years ago about the meat industry here in America. And there is a whole lot more vegetarians and vegans as well. Truthfully, most people didn't even know the word 'vegan' in the beginning of the 90s. Times are changing, but the machine that cranks out vile food and carelessness has also gotten worse as well.

I could never kill my own meat unless I was starving. I have always hated the idea of having to kill things to eat them, but I still eat them. The thing is, even plants are living things, so you can't win.

if I had to kill all the meat I eat, I would have been doing since I was a child and would be desensitized to it just like I am to buying it already butchered,, if I had been introduced to eating meat later in life after forming personal bonds with other species, perhaps that would be different

Yes, but you don't kill a mango tree when you eat a mango, for example! a reply to: Night Star

a reply to: sekerofknowlege

ok ok I understand that. BUUUUuuuuttt..... would that not then be like eating the 'egg' of a tree much like eating a chickens egg as well? Or the milk from a cow? Well I dont think you are debating for veganism but I think my metaphor still applies.

a reply to: sekerofknowlege
What about baby carrots?