I believe it is perfectly OK to kill cats. I really do. I am convinced that anyone who sees a cat walking by and then kills it is not doing anything even slightly immoral. If it’s done painlessly, better, but it doesn’t make someone any more immoral for doing it painfully. I myself have sometimes enjoyed throwing a cat strongly against a wall over and over until after thirty long minutes of agony, it draws its last breath. There is no particular reason for this belief of mine – I think they’re ugly and make a street look aesthetically less pleasing – but besides that I just tend to think that there is no problem killing them.
Appalled yet? Feeling a bit disgusted with what a horrible human being I am? Perhaps some of you have skipped a couple of lines of that first paragraph to see if this article would get any better (or worse). I find it interesting that whenever I discuss this moral belief of mine – that there is nothing wrong with killing cats – people tend to become heated and angry. I’ve been doing it my whole life, as has my father, and his father before him. It’s perfectly natural for me that killing cats is fine. I don’t understand what all these people want from me; why do they care so much that I like to tear a cat to pieces with my bare hands? Sometimes I find people extremely judgemental. To each his own, I say.
Now enough of this madness. I’m sure you didn’t actually believe any of what I just said, although perhaps the visual imagery of me breaking a cat’s bones one at a time until it was fully paralyzed and then leaving it in a garbage can, still conscious, to slowly suffocate will have disgusted you. I don’t believe that killing cats is OK, under any circumstance whatsoever, unless, of course, that cat is somehow endangering your life. And most of you reading this will think that I am perfectly normal for believing that killing cats is morally wrong, as you will agree with me that killing an innocent dog is morally wrong, and slaughtering a family of innocent hamsters is also morally wrong. But I’m sure that many of you will also find me completely insane, will find me a true radical, when I suggest that killing a cow, or a pig, is just as immoral.
Not at first of course. If I were to suggest that whenever I see a cow in a field I like to slit its throat and let it slowly bleed to death over a long drawn out period of time, you would probably still call me immoral (although I’m sure that you’re becoming increasingly suspicious as to the direction I’m headed, and are starting to erect your moral defences). But if I were to take it a step further, and say that it is immoral for someone to slaughter a completely innocent cow in a slaughterhouse, there you will disagree with me completely. But your disagreeing with me is betraying a great hypocrisy in your moral beliefs. Because why is it always wrong for me to randomly kill a cat, but not wrong for an animal to be murdered and it’s corpse eaten for dinner?
The first thing people tend to reply to this accusation that they are being hypocritical is that cows are being slaughtered for a reason: so that we can eat them. The cat, on the other hand, is being killed completely gratuitously. But it is not so. Let’s examine the reasons for the two killings. The cow is being killed so that people may eat its carcass as a nice juicy steak. Do humans, at this point in the evolution of our species, need to consume meat in order to survive? The answer is no – we don’t. We can survive in perfect health without consuming any meat, and to those who argue otherwise, I urge you to take up the matter with all the thousands of vegetarians and vegans from birth who are somehow still alive and in perfect health. I will not go into the health benefits of no longer eating meat; I’ll leave some links at the bottom of the article for those of you who are interested.
Having established that we do not require meat in our diet, the reason for eating the cow becomes simply that it tastes good. We don’t need it to survive, so it really comes down to a question of taste. For most of us, it is perfectly fine to kill a cow if it tastes good. Of course, no one admits this to themselves, but that, in essence, is what’s happening. There are people that say we eat meat because it is natural. If you want to become a hunter-gatherer, in which case it is indeed natural to eat meat, be my guest. But in the societies in which we live in today, the way in which we eat meat is completely unnatural. Having someone else kill a poor animal that has lived in confinement its entire life, then transporting its dead body across vast distances until I it finally arrives to your home packaged in such a way as to look as little as possible as ever having once been alive is the furthest from natural you can possibly get. To quote one of my favourite Youtubers, if you want to do something natural, go shit in the woods.
So you see, me killing the cat and you ordering the killing of a cow (indeed, you buying meat is placing a direct order for the killing of another cow) is not so different after all. You had the cow killed because of taste, as did I. I thought cats looked ugly, and thus they were not to my taste. I didn’t think they made for pleasant scenery.
Now I know a lot of you will probably admit to the moral inconsistency – and then just reshuffle your values to accommodate this new fact. Or you will say things like, “I completely agree, and I respect your decision, but there is no way that I could possibly ever stop eating meat”. Bullshit. Not three months ago, I would out-burger anyone who ever went to McDonalds with me. I once won two free Big Macs from one of my friends because I bet him that I could plough through those two more Big Macs after having just devoured four cheeseburgers and two large fries. I loved burgers. I loved meat. When I first moved to university, I went through twenty-one home-made hamburgers in less than two weeks. But, I realized that while I was calling it meat, the word meat is a direct synonym of dead, murdered cow. A synonym for an animal that was killed for no reason at all, other than my personal taste and comfort. After having recognized that simple fact, it became harder for me to continue eating meat than to stop.
You can laugh, you can call this a stretch, and you can call me a crazy radical. But I am sure that if you think about it long enough, you yourself will realize that there is absolutely no difference between the random killing of an innocent cat on the street and the random killing of a cow in a factory farm. In fact, what you’re doing is probably worse: because while the cat at least had the chance to live its life as it pleased, the cow you have killed has lived in confinement for the whole of its miserable existence. For all of you out there that say you love animals, especially for all of you who detest hunting, for all of you who raise indignant cries against animal abuse: think about the fact that the meat you eat was once an animal too.
here are some links for more information on the food industry, and why it is no longer possible to morally justify the eating of animals.
Academy Award Nominee for the Best Documentary Feature, this documentary talks about the growing need for reform of the food industry.
This powerful, 11 minute film takes viewers on an eye-opening exploration behind the closed doors of the nation’s largest industrial farms, hatcheries, and slaughter plants — revealing the often-unseen journey that animals make from Farm to Fridge.
A glimpse into how animals are really treated behind the closed walls of factory farms, as well as other instances in which animals are treated abominably.
A long speech by Gary Yourofsky, animal activist, that completely destroys every possible excuse not only for not being vegetarian, but also for not being vegan.
–
And, as promised, some links for those of you who still believe that not eating meat is unhealthy and dangerous. Keep in mind that the average American man has a 50% chance of contracting some kind of heart disease, the average American vegetarian has a 16% chance, and the average American vegan has a 4% chance. Also keep in mind that the only sources of cholesterol are animal products.
I listed the sources in order of what seemed to me from most reliable to least reliable; starting from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine to Weight Loss Resources. I recommend you go through all of them, and do as much of your own research as you like. I guarantee that you will find no qualified sources that argue that a properly planned vegetarian or vegan diet is unhealthy. And yes, babies have died at the hands of crazy vegan parents. This had nothing to do with the parents being vegan, just like when a baby dies at the hands of a meat-eating parent no one blames it on the fact that the parents were eating meat. Some people are insane and won’t feed their babies enough. Not that they don’t feed them enough meat – just not enough, period. If you don’t feed a baby a sufficient quantity of food it will die, whether the little you feed it is meat or carrots.
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM)
National Health Service (NHS)
The Open Wall 
Pingback: It’s Perfectly OK to Kill Cats | The Open Wall
Killing an animal for food is morally justifiable. Killing an animal for pleasure is not.
That is where your analog wears out.
Surely you will suggest that the best solution for world hunger is to not kill animals but instead just eat plants. You forget that animals must also eat the same plants we would eat. In poor countries, (even in India) eating meat is often necessary. Veganism is a first world, rich persons luxury.
man that is just not true. yes, animals must also eat plants. but they consume a lot of plant nutrients just to survive, which we don’t even eat, which means that it is extremely inefficient. for a simple comparison, 1 acre of land can produce 20,000 pounds of potatoes, while it can only produce 165 pounds of beef. you can go and look them up, these are statistics issued by the US Department of Agriculture, not some radical vegan website. And in actual fact, meat eating is a luxury. Most poor countries are vegan. The majority of Indians, for your information, are vegetarian – not out of any moral principle but because they can’t afford meat. It’s just in Western countries, where the meat industry is insanely subsidized by the government, that it becomes cheaper. Take a look at this quote by Dennis Avery, Director of the Centre for Global Food Issues. Remember, he too is not a revolutionary vegan, but a realist. He once remarked, “The world must create five billion vegans in the next several decades, or triple its total farm output without using more land.”
And I don’t think you understood anything. Killing an animal for food, nowadays, is just for pleasure. We don’t need meat to survive, so it is purely for the good taste and the comfort it brings to our lives. Good taste and comfort = pleasure. I tried to explain that but you were obviously not trying to actually understand anything I said.
Dear Mr. Meat eater,
Your comment is all assumption, all opinion, and no facts.
You obviously don’t spend as much time on research as you spend feeding your colon.
Sincerely,
Felicia
-Vegan 13 years
-2 healthy children vegan from birth (pregnancy without complications)
And need I mention all the healthy vegan children and families at my son’s vegan school????
-And fyi, we get our protein (and a lot more nutrients u can’t get from meat) from vegetables, grains and beans. We don’t eat soy and the “fake meats” everyday.
-Largest annual salary EVER: $23,000 (possibly even less now as a striving entrepreneur at age 30)
So tell me now, is veganism still for the wealthy? Also, nearly every rastaman I’ve ever met is vegan and correct me if I’m wrong but despite it’s poularity isn’t Jamaica a third world country? As well as India where you will find millions of devout Hindus and Buddhists who also don’t eat meat???
Oh, and before I go…
the last time I checked, cows, pigs and goats are grazing animals that eat grass, and chickens eat worms, bugs, seeds and grass too. These animals don’t eat pineapples, mangos, broccoli, olives…you know “people food” unless there’s a new trend in the animal world I wasn’t aware about. But since there apparently aren’t enough plants to go around, then allow me to clarify…YOUR “solution” is that we eat the animals by keeping them imprisoned in our factories where they can continue eating their MAN-MADE liquid diets right??? You DO KNOW that your beef never consumed any green grass as a live cow right? It’s never been seen by a Veterinarian, it has never even saw the sun until it was forced onto the transporter truck on the way to the slaughter-factory. Your chicken never ate corn, and over 90% of your fish came from a feces infested tank, not the sea.
But seriously, you REALLY need to do your homework. You sound totally devoid of knowledge by your comment, if you choose to continue being a small part of the disgusting web of animal cruelty, that is YOUR negative karma that you must eventually reap onto yourself. No one can stop you. But at least you can be informed. Don’t be some blind, influenced-by-the-media, supporter of an industry that you obviously know nothing about.
READ!
Sincerely again,
Felicia
I feel the need to apologise to Felicia in particular for my over the top anti-cat comments. For the record, I am not a cat hater. Neither was I seeking to discredit her truly laudable accomplishment of raising vegan children – having done it myself I know it is not easy – for us or for them. My daughter is 25 now and was the only veg*n in her infant and junior schools, so you are really lucky to have a vegan school – wow! I did not know they existed. Secondly, I acknowledge that, within the concensus world, ethical compromises have to be made, and we are all a work in progress. I was seeking to encourage consistency by criticising the support of the meat industry to feed domestic cats, pointing out that, as predators, cats arguably have less right to be alive than the gentle herbivores they are fed on. Solidarity of non-carnists! This was somewhat of a ‘devil’s advocate’ position to take, but one that I have found useful for pointing out inconsistencies and dissonance in people’s lifeways. Because we can be sure the carno’s first response is to look for evidence of vegan hypocrisy : do they not check our footwear to make sure they’re not leather? They perceive us as targetting their speciesism, and the automatic reaction of someone who thinks they are being attacked is to counter-attack. Not an attractive or fruitful habit, and one which all activists need to remind one another about, and for which I thank everyone who has contributed to this most lively discussion. I am sorry if I came across as antagonistic. Vegans ought to support one another, and my conscience has troubled me since posting, hence my apology. Please forgive me.
Felicia,
First, you insist that this person must go and do further research, yet you later state “You DO KNOW that your beef never consumed any green grass as a live cow right? It’s never been seen by a Veterinarian, it has never even saw the sun until it was forced onto the transporter truck on the way to the slaughter-factory”…
Clearly you have done not done any reliable research yourself (and I DO NOT consider PETA a reliable source. Sure, they may shed light on some issues but it is a radical group and grossly exaggerated. Reliable research also includes searching PRO agriculture/livestock websites as well)
But back to the point… What load of bull is this?!
I am a beef farmer and avid meat-eater, and will never change. (You may call me ‘Satan’ or ‘Devil’ if you wish, I really don’t mind 🙂 I have recently completed a Diploma in Agricultural Production (including both livestock and crop production) and have experience in production in Australia and America.
Your ignorance astounds me! I’m not going to argue that NO animals are hurt during farming and it is a sad fact that an animal may fall ill or injure itself during production, however I know of NO facility which would prevent cattle from seeing sunlight from birth. This would not be an advantage unless in the coldest of climates, and even then would have dramatic production issues. (Please note that production and welfare are directly linked as happy cattle = fast growing, healthy and fat cattle). Veterinary care is employed when required and possible, as it is in our economical (and moral) interest to keep our stock healthy and prevent weight loss or death.
You also state “Don’t be some blind, influenced-by-the-media, supporter of an industry that you obviously know nothing about”
Current media (in Australia at least) is greatly tending towards the animal welfare side. We are constantly being bombarded with images of cattle and sheep suffering and i would say there are 5 anti meat advertisements for every pro meat advertisement, however this is not due to there being more suffering, simply more ‘radicals’ out there who are stuffing lies down our throats.
This statement, in this context but on it own says to me “Do not listen to the lies animal activists keep shoving down our throats on TV” (and again, shows your hypocrisy with the statement ‘Of an industry you obviously know nothing about’, hinting that you are, in fact, reliably schooled in the topic)
If you all wish to be vegetarian/vegan. Go right ahead. I applaud your enthusiasm and commitment. I do not agree with the original article (partially because I, in myself, do not fear death as most others do) however that is not my issue. I would appreciate people not pretending to know everything simply because they read an article on the PETA website, or some other biased media source. People may say I am biased, however I am all for animal welfare and believe it should always come first, AND I have first hand experience in breeding, sale, transportation, feed-lotting and slaughter of livestock, particularly beef and sheep (therefore am able to objectivity see both sides of the story)
Farmer Scully
(sorry for the long reply but please be aware none of this was written in malice. Simply trying to get across my frustrations at ignorant people calling others ignorant)
Just wait until your vegan from birth child grows up and eats nothing but McDonalds for the rest of their lives. Sure, you’re free to live an alternative and elitist lifestyle, but your kids shouldn’t have your crazy forced on them!
MeatEater – This dude addressed your bullshit first sentence in his post. You should read it again and work on you reading comprehension. Perhaps the meat is dulling your brain.
And veganism happens in societies of many different income levels. As countries become more affluent, their meat consumption usually increases, along with disease. So you last sentence is bullshit too.
For me, a vegan for 40 years now, cats and other so called “obligate carnivores” should logically be the first to be exterminated because they prey upon innocent vegetarians. I personally find vegans who keep cats fed on meat to be hypocritical. Domesticated cats deliberately, gleefully kill anything smaller than themselves; not because they are hungry, but purely for pleasure. This is explained as natural behaviour, and perhaps they occasionally do a sickly weak animal a favour by terminating its life. But the devastation of wild birds and small creatures across the planet by the “pet” cats of humans is massive and regrettable, to say the least. It is maybe not possible to be totally harmless in life, but the least we can do is avoid supporting the deliberate premeditated death industries.
Wow, even the thoughtless meateater got more thumbs up than you did!
*SIGH* it’s vegans like YOU who give us a bad name AS WELL AS turn nonvegans away from choosing to eat cruelty free.
YOU ARE SENSELESSLY EXTREME. Anyone who cannot understand the balance of life, the cycles of life, the self-balancing within the ecosystem is just not in touch with life itself.
Have you studied any anatomy? ANY AT ALL???? Carnivores are specifically designed to capture, kill and digest meat. Humans are not. We run slow, we are helpless in nature without a weapon, and consumed flesh just rots and rots inside us because our digestive system is so much longer and weaker than that of a carnivore.
BUT despite the evolutionary or Godly design of carnivores, DESPITE the ecological damaged caused by herbivores that over populate in circumstances where they have no natural predator, DESPITE ALL OF THAT, according to the wise Ruthhawe: predators should be exterminated. I’m a human…who eats plants…because that’s what my body needs……….I have a cat…who eats cat food…BECAUSE SHE’S A FREAKIN’ CAT!
You SADLY missed the whole point of this post, Miss “40 Years Vegan”.
GREAT, another ignorant vegan extremist!…just what I need pointed out to me by another meat-eater making fun of my food. Way to go Ruthhawe!
Felicia, My comment was as tongue in cheek as the original post – I kept it brief, merely to hold up a mirror to the double standards in our world. I did not say that I was a cat murderer, I said that logically cats should be the first to be taken out, most especially domestic cats which would not naturally be so prolific across the world except for their cunning way of linking in with humans in order to be spread, protected and fed. And as they cause devastation to native animal populations. You appear to be upset at having the hypocrisy of supporting the killing industries in order to feed the billions of pet cats, whilst calling yourself vegan, pointed out to you. For the record, I have had vegan companion dogs for 40 years now, very healthily, and I understand that cats can live on vegan food with the addition of a taurine supplement. It probably won’t stop them killing anything in sight not larger than they are, though. Still, hopefully someone reading this might save a few lives by spreading the vegan message. Peace to you.
It is not natural for cats to kill prey if they are not going to eat it. No wild adult cat kills if it isn’t hungry – it doesn’t make sense to waste the energy. By domesticating cats and caring for their every need, humans keep them in a permanent state of adolescence, during which they kill to practice their hunting skills (and probably to relieve the boredom of an unnaturally sedentary life).
I think you are correct, yes, in the wild the big cats laze around 23 hours a day, then spend a huge burst of energy to catch their next meal. The sort of animal flesh peole feed to their cats is totally unlike what they would catch themselves : how could cats bring down cows, sheep or pigs for instance; and where would they catch fish? You don’t see rats and other small creatures in commercial pet food though. So to say this food is species specific is ludicrous. Furthermore the flesh is all cooked at very high temperatures which again is totally unnatural – no animal in nature cooks its food. The major point I think the original poster was making was about speciesism – and consequently my point highlighted the highly speciesist choice of vegan cat owners to sanction, condone, and support the killing of other animals in order to feed their cat. On a size to weight ratio, house cats eat a lot more food than large animals, despite being largely sedentary. I can’t be bothered to look up the figures but they clearly eat their way through hundreds of animals in their lifetimes. People who feed their cats meat and fish are therefore demonstrably not following a veganic lifestyle.
not gonna lie, what you just said now actually makes quite a bit of sense. vegan cat and dog food exists anyway (check out the gary yourofsky video, he had a vegan dog that was extremely healthy until it died at the age of 14), so i guess what you’re saying does have a point. and also i guess that just by having cats in the first place we are creating a demand for more meat, if we just stopped getting cats then the cat population would decrease and hence less need for animals, since at the end of the day we also only have cats around for our own pleasure. it’s just a very wierd/bad truth to come to terms with, but i guess that’s how it is for meat-eaters thinking of turning vegetarian/vegan
Ruthhawe,
Pointing out to me that I’m a vegan who feeds meat-based pet food to my pets does not upset me as a vegan. Its upsetting that you actually believe domesticated cats would be the best nomination for extinction. That’s just ridiculous no matter how you try to justify it. You can glorify your 40 years all you want, being vegan does not require a high horse.
YES, I am fully aware that a carnivore can BE MADE to live on a vegan diet and live for a long time (it doesn’t make them live longer than their fellow carnivorous-carnivores though…..carnivorous-carnivores???? Never thought I’d have to create such a ridiculous adjective). With making your pets vegan, you’re so stuck on figuring out if you could, rather than if you should. But so what, that’s your choice, I’m not saying it’s unhealthy. I can’t afford vegan pet food and taurine supplements. Both my cat and dog would have been euthanized if I didn’t adopt them, I guess your suggestion is “If you’re a vegan who can’t afford vegan pet food, don’t adopt or save any cats and dogs, because that’s called hypocrisy. They’re better off dead as they are here only due to human domestication. Plus cats kill mice, bugs and lizards which makes them evil by birthright.” That’s peaceful?
WISDOM unto you.
WISDOM unto you.
well said Felicia
Ruthhawe what a load of B*&&%^$S….seriously self righteous people like you do more harm then good for our planet ecology read about it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ruthhhawe – I’m Vegan almost 50yrs. I think your post is disgusting. You call yourself Vegan then condemn an obligate canrivore?? How can your claimed 40rs of Veganism have lead you to such ignorance? Obligate carnivores have a role to play in natural selection and humans have seriously disturbed the balance by either destroying the natural environment of the OC or in suburbia, breeding them & being irresponsible. There is not one thing on this Earth that doesn’t come back to being totally responsibility of the human species – and I point out..the conscious choices of humans.. If one must hypothetically put any s
pecies as number 1 on a hit list..make it humans..this Earth would flourish without us !!! Personally I believe to be Vegan one must embrace all animals in their Mercy..I’m over backward cat hating psuedo vegans.. **I won’t be back to waste my time reading any reply you may tap out with your knuckles.
That is idiotic. Many breeds of cat can only eat meat and are true carnivores. Eating vegetables will make them Ill. Humans are arrogant morons. Stick to nannying your children, not the whole world.
If you put it that way, kill all the cats!! Well not the cats that are owned by other people of course. It’s wrong to meddle with other people’s property but killing a stray cat can be reasonable(especially if it shits in your house, or meddles with your stuff). I’m from a third world country and here we kill strays(dogs, cats, snakes, etc.) not for fun but for food or maybe they’re just uncomfortable to be with(don’t get me wrong. The animal is supposed to be a stray). Killing animals whom you have raised as cattle may be killed for food because that is their purpose(or they could reply to this post if they protest).
You obviously have no respect for other living beings. It is so arrogant of you to think an animals purpose is to be food for you. I hope you never meet a species who feels the same way about you.
Killing a cow or any other animal for consumption of meat at least gives it one purpose – to fill our stomachs. For food. For survival. Yes, your argument about vegans, true. We humans can survive on non-meat food.
You killing a cat is just pure pleasure. To suit your eyes. Nothing else. Because cats are “ugly”.
Cats are ugly, lets kill them. Ok, they’re dead. The world is a much better looking place. So it is, in your terms.
Kill a cow, as your example, serves pleasure, correct. But also food. Where it has been natural to humans. Yes I got the “shit in the woods”. Humans evolve yes. But least to say, it has been there somewhere. Food is essential. But just like cows, we kill other animals for food too. But you, selectively choose cats for your pleasure.
“If it’s done painlessly, better, but it doesn’t make someone any more immoral for doing it painfully. I myself have sometimes enjoyed throwing a cat strongly against a wall over and over until after thirty long minutes of agony, it draws its last breath.”
So painless better or thirty long minutes of agony better? You can’t decide.
You – “This place is ugly, oh yeah, the cat. It’s because of the cat. It should die for making this place ugly”
The rest of the world minus people like you – “I’m hungry. Let’s eat something. For a balanced meal, We need meat. Ok beef then”
Ruthhawe – You’re judging on behaviors of animal?! Which means you see yourself as the same level as animals. Amusing chap.
Julian – I have nothing against vegans (I assume you are). Just the author killing cats are just seen as pure pleasure. And you seeing meat eaters eating meat as pure pleasure. Author has stated his mind while you, one person, assume minds of billions of meat eaters. Nobody goes eating meat and thinks “hey, thats fun!”
Julian Modeano,
At first when reading I was thinking “Is this guy insane? Does he just want to piss people off?” I tip my hat to you man, you are truly an attention getter and a very clever writer.
It’s amazing to see how your message just went right over the heads of some readers.
Kill a cat to not have to endure their “ugly” site = Kill for pleasure
Kill a cow just to enjoy the taste of steak = Kill for pleasure
The simple point missed is humans have evolved past hunter & gather lifestyle (excluding tribal and some 3rd world nations). We have evolved so much so that in order to feed meat to all of our “civilized” humans we must build massive environmentally-devastating factories to hold our farm animals and forbid them any form of living that they deserve (even something as simple as walking around, we take away from them…all in the name of human “nutrition”)
Those who refuse to admit that our new methods of raising meat is DRASTICALLY INCOMPARABLE to hunting for meat just doesn’t want their conscious to get to work during meal time…or bed time.
DENIAL.
It’s as if you’re telling the world why they shouldn’t use the red crayon and they reply “I’m not using red, just the color Rose…and since I’m so familiar with Rose, I’ll just keep using it despite having 53 better crayon colors in my box”
I appreciate your boldness and your creativity, and I look forward to exploring your blog!
Felicia
Nicely written. Nice hook, and I think your point is extremely well made.
This is very well written and a real attention grabber. I have also read the comments and found them intriguing to say the least. I am still a meat eater, but only having been raised in that lifestyle. I am gradually moving toward vegetarianism (not Veganism…just simple vegetarianism for my own health and that of my family). I didn’t comment just to say this. I actually wanted to address the comments of MeatEater and Ruthawe:
MeatEater, I do understand that certain circumstances arise in society where an omnivorous or carnivorous lifestyle is necessary simply due to lack of resources. These circumstances occur in tightly populated areas, such as cities. Vegetables and fruit are more expensive because they are not grown locally and have to be shipped in. True, meat is even more expensive, but when you consider fast food and cheaper processed meats, is more easily accessable. So, even in the city, while the excuse to eat meat is a feasable one, it is still a weak one. We eat meat because it is more easily accessible, easier, in other words, we are too lazy not to eat meat.
There is another point that you might have addressed. Meat eaters can’t simply turn into vegetarians. For one, a man who was raised on a meat diet has no idea how to structure a vegetarian diet. This requires research. For example, meat provides a strong source of iron, a necessary mineral that your blood depends on. Iron deficiency includes anemia and blood craving (if you don’t have enough iron in your system, you actually begin to crave blood). Where do you find iron as a vegetarian?
What benefit our bodies get from protien has been argued and argued and nobody can agree. I tend to believe the evidence that protien is necessary, but this exists in large amounts in nuts and berries. One thing we absolutely cannot live without is iodine, and as far as I know, the only natural source of iodine is fish. The symptoms of iodine deficiency are so varied that it is mistaken for diabetes, cancer, the common cold, leukemia, typhoid, tuberculosis…don’t believe me? Look it up. It’s stunning how many symptoms iodine deficiency is responsible for. It is arguable that we get sufficient iodine in supplemented salt, but we actually don’t. Experts suspect that more than 90 percent of all people in the United States are iodine deficient, and we only need a single teaspoon in our entire lifetime.
Point is, if you want to become a vegetarian, you’re not just going to drop meat and start eating broccoli (mmm…I love broccoli). The cold turkey approach can kill you. A great deal of planning and preparation is in order, as well as a lengthy consultation of your doctor (who will likely praise your decision and laud the health benefits of it). Likewise, once you have planned this out, you have to be careful of the fact that your body is accustomed to getting certain enzymes and nutrients from meat. Your body will rebel in the change of diet, and this can be equally dangerous. Wean yourself off meat. I learned all of this from the mistakes of an aunt of mine who decided to become a vegetarian and very nearly died as a result.
Results are the same nevertheless. Eating meat is bad.
Ruthawe, you sicken me. The idea that all predators should be eliminated is the commentary of a deranged mind. Humans are a prime example of why there needs to be predators. At 7 billion strong, our effects on this planet have been disasterous.
I think you are forgetting all the illness which is caused by eating meat, especially cancer and heart disease. Vegetarianism isn’t very healthy because of the dairy – milk is a major cause of breast cancer because of the hormones it contains, and they are now starting to milk cows when they are pregnant, which will cause many more cancers.
Most leafy green vegetables contain iron, it’s easy to get enough on a vegan diet. From vegetables your body only absorbs the iron it needs, from meat your body continues to absorb more and more iron, and this excess iron can cause many diseases in the body.
Hey Thomas! I’d knew you’d check this blog out 🙂
I stopped beef, pork and seafood literally OVERNIGHT. A year later, I quit chicken overnight. Last piece of meat was in 2000 and I NEVER LOOKED BACK. No cravings (ESPECIALLY NONE FOR BLOOD, GOD NO!) Never ever was into the milky and cheezy stuff even before the diet change.
It is not life threatening to quite meat overnight or over a short period of time. I know many others who have done the same. Every physical I have had, I passed with flying colors: protein levels, iron levels, etc. Once, a nurse was so shocked by my iron level that I thought she was bothered. I asked “is that bad?” and she said “no! it’s perfect, you are about as far from anemia as they come” I don’t take vitamins (excluding specific herbal capsules) and I dont obsess over getting extra protein. I didn’t bother to tell her I was vegan, she may have retracted her statement and bludgeon me with a ton of “warnings” as has been done to me many times by nurses and doctors who specialize in medicine–NOT FOOD. They still lecture me after seeing my perfect vital signs and test results.
People fail to realize there are abundantly more nutrients in plants than in meat. I don’t see our world converting to veganism anytime soon, and I don’t attack meat-eaters, but I certainly don’t condone the belief that meat is needed by humans or that veganism is risky.
Almost any dark green leafy vegetable is a good source of calcium.
As far as iron goes:
Soybeans, lentils, blackstrap molasses, kidney beans, chickpeas, black-eyed peas, Swiss chard, tempeh, black beans, prune juice, beet greens, tahini, peas, bulghur, bok choy, raisins, watermelon, millet, kale…(THAT DOT DOT DOT IS THERE FOR A REASON, THERE’S MORE!)
ALL 8 essential Amino acids can be EASILY obtained from eating a variety of fruits and vegetables and grains. You don’t need to be a mad scientist to know that salad is not the only thing on the menu. You don’t need to be Einstein (even tho he was vegan!) to throw some sauted veggies with sauce ontop of pasta or rice. It’s really not that hard to be vegan. If you HAD to eat fastfood bc you didn’t have time to prepare lunch for work and your lunch break won’t permit time for the grocery store, then hop over to Taco Bell and get some tacos or chalupas with beans, rice, lettuce & tomatoes inside it (and guacamole if you want some creamy texture). Or go to KFC and get a rice bowl with beans, corn, lettuce and tomatos. Or you could go to ANY chinese restaurant and order General Tso Bean Curd (which is tofu). ANY restaurant you go to, you can simply substitute the meat with beans or tofu. Sure, those are not organic options, or even the best restaurants to support on some levels. But my point is this: IF YOU TRULY WANT TO NOT EAT MEAT, YOU CAN, WITHOUT “INCONVENIENCE” AND WITHOUT DIFFICULTY.
If I’m in a hurry and need to eat, NEVER do I find myself saying while driving “I’m hungry…oh, can’t eat there….or there….or there….or there” People make all kinds of justifications for eating meat, but it’s really about 2 things:
1. the personal satisfaction of liking the taste
2. the “convenience” of grabbing a burger (convenient to the mind, not convenient for the body)
If I made a protein and iron shake and added a teaspoon of bleach and a teaspoon of feces would you still drink it believing “how else would I get my iron and protein?”
Meat is loaded with toxins and filth that you can avoid by simply not eating it. Meat is not-so-loaded with other benefical nutrients that you can easily obtain by eating a varied diet of fruits and veggies. You don’t have to be like “Have I had any swiss-chard today?” to wonder if you got some iron in, just know that if you are eating different beans and dark greens, every other fruit and veg falls into place.
Everyone, it really is easy to be vegan…ESPECIALLY if you like to read (before you run away screaming, I only mean reading recipies and nutrition sources …not talking about becoming a nutrition reasearcher!).
Unfortunately by posting this article, the author has proven, inadevertantly, that too many people just don’t read. 😦
I liked it, attention getting and poignant. Shared on FB.
Awesome article. Will be sharing this. I think a point that was left out was killing animals because they are “beautiful.”, rather than “ugly.” Which is something we humans ACTUALLY do frequently. (i.e. trophy hunting), and is largely accepted by societies all over the world. We also do kill animals simply because we do not like them or we think they are “bad” or “ugly”. Maybe not cats, but everyday–in books, movies, media, we are taught that some animals are less-worthy or representative of evil or bad–roaches, snakes, rats, etc.
that is an excellent point about the trophy hunting, also the same thing would go for fur and leather… thanks for pointing that out because I will definitely be keeping that in mind next time i write something on the topic 🙂
I think you’re a fucking idiot for thinking that killing an innocent animal that has done NOTHING to you!! I hope you rot in hell!!!!! I hope everything bad in the world happens to you!!!!! Anyone who agrees with this piece of shit desserves the same fate. Karma is a bitch!!!!
wait… what? i’m pretty sure you only read the first paragraph, if not only the title. I suggest you go back and read the whole thing, and i think you’ll find that you probably do agree with me. the fact that you didn’t even bother to read past the first two paragraphs at the most is the reason society doesn’t work anymore, because no one cares about even trying to understand someone else’s point of view
“wait…what?” I’m loving that line! lmao
“the fact that you didn’t even bother to read past the first two paragraphs at the most is the reason society doesn’t work anymore” sadly true.
What do you mean “society doesn’t work anymore”? I am so tired of hearing that! Every generation says the same thing. Nothing really changes. 100 years ago many people could not even read and two hundred years ago people kept each other as slaves. We are getting better as a society, not worse. These things will all change eventually. They will not change overnight, no matter how much you brow beat people. Comments like “this is why society doesn’t work” are the reason most people view vegans as snobs and elitists. Good for you, you had the money, time and education to live an alternative lifestyle. Some people can’t afford to buy nuts and fruits. These items are far more expensive than a pound of chicken. If you really care about animals, do something about that.
And don’t get me started on organic food. We’d all like to eat organic but we also live in the real world. Most people don’t want to spend a dollar more for a pound of strawberries. There IS a socio-economic factor involved in diet. Denying that makes vegans sound even more elitist. Does “let them eat cake” ring a bell?
The world will come around and do the right thing, but only on it’s own time. Not one person who reads an article will change a single thing in their life. What’s wrong with society is what has always been wrong: everyone believes that they are 100% right and everyone else is 100% wrong.
Lol… Another commenter who didn’t read the article. Geez!
Holy shit haha… My computer crashes for a couple of weeks and I come back to a fucking circus. I have to hand it to you, this is absolutely brilliant. I’ve never seen so many hits on this website, let alone comments. Also, you managed to do it with an article that makes sense and has a purpose. I also had a few audible laughs, which may not be such a good thing, considering I’m at school right now.
hahahha wow man your comment is hilarious as usual. thanks a lot, but i think i’ve just accidentally stumbled on the formula for getting views: ridiculous, provocative titles with a whole first paragraph of even more provocative and ridiculous stuff. so when are you going to be posting your next article up? i haven’t seen one up in a while and i’m looking forward to it!
Whatever the case may be, it certainly seems to be working haha. If we can sustain this type of publicity, there’s nowhere to go but up! And I should be posting in the next day or two. I’ve had some computer troubles, and I’ve been swamped with mid-terms, but now that all of that is behind me, I’m ready to go.
Excellent article. I must say at first that I too, thought you were a complete nutcase.
If you kill my Charlie you’ll regret it.
I agree. He touches one of my babies and he’ll meet my 45
Your…. ‘babies’?
Omg you just wouldnt leave me along. Seriously go get help and stop obsessing over strangers. Holy fucking shit, youre a creepy stalker.
ISorry, I have read all of this now!! Ignore my earlier comment – have been following the case of an online blogger in Madrid who tortures cats and puts pictures and descriptions on his blog. Depressing…
Very interesting piece which does make sense.
We have obviously taken steps over the years to try and minimise the suffering of animals slaughtered for food, but they don’t go nearly far enough and there is still much suffering. Also, the animal still has to lose its life, whether it suffers or not – we decide that it must pay the ultimate price for whatever reason.
As the most intelligent species, I don’t think we have advanced enough – it still feels like we’re primitive in many respects, and I regret to say that our dominant, killer instincts still run rife in us.
Since, I’m a counselor and you’re a sick, criminal psychotic who needs to be removed from society, heavily medicated and punished for what, in your psycho world, is normal, I’ll make sure I spread the word so that the police and psych hospitals in your area are notified. You make up reasons to abuse and kill and you are very dangerous and it’s not just cats that you target. Anyone who is smaller, not as strong or in anyway unable to defend themselves are your targets. You are a psychotic criminal and I can’t wait to laugh and laugh when you are caught and you will be caught. We animal right’s activists are determined and dedicated and refuse to allow monsters like you to remain in society and will fight to make sure you get what you deserve. It’s good you made this public. We know to go after you and prevent the continued senseless torture and killings of anything and everything smaller and weaker. You’re beyond abusive. You’re a danger to society as a whole.
did you read anything i said at all? if you give me your email i’ll happily give you my address so you can contact the proper police authorities. i am completely against any kind of animal abuse, i think it is disgusting, and i think it is one of the lowest levels to which humans can sink. it’s called satire for the purpose of attracting attention. i probably care more for animals than you, who are probably one of those ‘animal loving’ meat eaters. but that is assumption, so if you aren’t then i apologize in advance for having called you one. either way, i suggest you go back and read my article (it’s only 1,200 words long, it shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes to read guys!), before you waste a lot of your time, a lot of the time of whoever you try to contact to find me, and, of course make yourself look completely ridiculous.
Julian,
If, as a reading comprehension test, you hid a message somewhere near the end of your post that said “$10 via paypal to whoever sends me their email” you might have spent only $50 out of the 300 people who read this. Don’t lose hope in the narrow-minded, or dare i say “the narrow-readers”??? KEEP INFORMING THE MASSES JULIAN!
hahaha wow, thank you so much for all of the amazing comments you’ve been posting… i really don’t know how to thank you enough. i don’t know if i’m exactly ‘informing the masses’; hahah that might be stretching it a bit too far. but hopefully this made a couple of people at least start thinking about the meat they eat, and maybe their first steps towards becoming vegetarian have been unconsciously taken. haha i agree that i would have spent very little probably, i’ve already had at least three comments from outraged people.
I read the whole article and was happy to see that you do love animals. Sorry for the rant. I didnt read all of it the first time bc i didnt want to keep reading abt torturing cats. Its good you help animals but using shock is kinda dumb. Youre comparing eating to the enjoyment of torturing animals. Thats 2 different things. 2 completely different mind sets. One cant be compared to the other. It only makes sense in the extremist obsessive vegan mind. If you want to be vegan then good for you but writing an article explicitly detailing torturing cats makes you look nutty kookoo. I hate factory farming bc the animals are mistreated/abused their whole lives so i dont eat a lot of meat. I understand why some ppl want to be vegans but writing an article detailing severe animal abuse for the first 1/4 of it just makes you look crazy and doesnt help animals. I find it interesting that you assumed im not vegan and that you care more for animals than i do yet got so pissed i didnt read the whole article detailing the torture of a cat for the first part. Thats even worse than my rant to you. You read all of mine yet made 2 assumptions. Typical vegan attitude, im better than you no matter what and tjats based on all assumptions. Veganism is abt helping animals, not putting yourself above everyone else. Well, at least thats what veganism is supposed to be. Unfortuately vegans rarely display that. Its almost always all abt the vegan and vegans putting themselves above everyone. Thanks for.proving that once again. Thats prob why a lot of ppl wont become vegan. They dont want to be a horrible, self absorbed, self righteous, self serving, egotistic, vicious person. Just sayin.
Ummmm Karen,
Could you….maybe….re-read, re-post… oh and um, apoligize???? Thanks.
Ummmmm can you maybe um get a life and stop meddling in others. Did you not see the author already um commented that? Or um maybe your life is so um empty you have to um stick your bulbous um nose into others. Umm yeah. Thanks. Go find that um life now.
Fantastic!! I can’t believe how many people are reading NONE of your article and then basically threatening you. Genius, in a way.
Ummmmm can you maybe um get a life and stop meddling in others. Did you not see the author already um commented that? Or um maybe your life is so um empty you have to um stick your bulbous um nose into others. Umm yeah. Thanks. Go find that um life now.
Karen if you’re a counselor and I were your client, I would insist you take a remedial course on paying attention before I cut you a check.
HAHHAHAHHA what a genius comment… that actually made me laugh out loud
I stop reading about 1/4 of the way thru bc i didnt want to keep reading abt torturung cats. Please dont get maf at me that you wanted to krep reading what you thought was more abt torturing animals. Thats youre problem. Not mine. Also, it looks like you do need to see a counselor asap. Got some obsessive aggression there and apparently you are into some animal torture bc you xould get enough of reading abt animal torture. I didnt want to keep readong abt it yet you did. Hmmm.
Cats are carnivores = pet food industry =by product of meat industry.
Question: Are you going to hunt mice etc. to feed your cat? No didn’t think so. Feeding cats a vegan diet is cruelty of the most hypocritical kind.Other felines lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars,cheetahs et al are carnivores who prey on herbivores . Yep meat eating animals kill animals who eat vegetation.
Humans and dogs (among others) are omnivores.= a mixed meat / vegetable/fruit diet. they like humans can survive on a mixed diet of their/their owners choice. If you choose to be vegan that is your perogative. would love to become a vegan myself as I just love vegetables and fruit. Alas I suffer from anemia and have to eat red meat which I don’t love. I do like seafood and chicken, although I could probably live (in today’s society) without them.However stopping people eating meat is not the first battle – humane raising and slaughter of animals is first battle to be won before there can be a War.Fight governments that export live animals to less humane societies. Let the animals have a good and free life before they reach our homes and restaurants. ‘The journey of a 1000 miles begins with one step’!
miles begins with one step!
The treatment and raising and slaughter of meat producing animals is another matter entirely. Until the whole of the world is evolved enough or smart enough to make substitutes for meat and make this have the same benefits, animal actvists must fight the battles before the grandwar can be won i.e. range free and organic raising of animals NOT intensive cruel farms that keep them confined and stressed and overbred for profit.Slaughtering must be a skill and as painless and cruelty free as possible. Toomuch food is produced in most Western countries and their peoples greedily overeat daily not just on occasion. ( likewise booze and drugs). Fight for better treatment and raising of all animals in all countries – punish humans who cruelly hurt animals (dog fighting etc).
Cows are delicious. End of argument.
Adam,
End of “argument?”
No one said cows weren’t delicious. I think you should look up the word argument.
I stopped eating meat simply because I lost interest in eating flesh. I didn’t just wake up one day and say “meat doesn’t taste good. I think I’ll be vegan from now on”
Yeah, nice “argument” there buddy.
If the whole world was vegan, I would be happy. I eat meat but it is not a huge part of my diet and getting rid of it completely would be no problem. I have not stopped eating meat simply because it’s hard not to. Humans have eaten meat as long as they have been around and I don’t see it changing any time soon. Despite the fact that it is not a necessary part of out diet. Yes, I am at fault and if I really wanted to I could stop eating it all together. It is my choice that I don’t and at some point I may change my mind.
The only thing that really needs to change is the treatment of animals that are raised for slaughter. The fact that they are killed at such a young age and the horrific conditions in which they live is not acceptable and neither is the method of slaughter. All animals should be killed humanely and without suffering to the animal. I don’t know much about the meat industry but really now, how hard would it be to end the lives of livestock animals in a quick and painless fashion?
I would like meat to be outlawed everywhere, but that would be infringing upon freedom.This goes for animals that we do not normally eat in the US such as horses, which many of us consider to be companion animals. And cats that are raised for food in China. I have 5 wonderful cats and 4 dogs. All of whom I love dearly. They are my children and I adore them. But just because cats are widely seen as animals that we should take care of, doesn’t mean that countries that eat cats should be seen as immoral or backwards. I only ask that countries that eat these companion animals do so in a humane way.
Cats in China are treated as vegetables with no regard for their suffering and pain. Some boil cats alive and almost all are skinned alive. This is not ok for ANY animal. Let people continue to eat horse meat, dog meat, and cat meat but have them raise and slaughter them in a method that reduces or eliminates suffering for the animal. The same goes for animals that are traditionally seen as food, such as cows, chicken, pigs, and turkey.
There is no reason why any animal has to suffer when they aren’t even needed for our survival. We use these animals because we choose to. The least we could do is treat them with some dignity.
…Who the fuck cares who’s a vegan and who isn’t? If someone wants to be a vegan, so be it. If someone wants to be a meat eater, so be it. If someone wants to adapt to be able to use the sun’s rays in photosynthesis, so be it (lol). That’s basically my point. It’s someones choice, so leave them be. (Also killing an animal for strictly food purposes, or your life depended on it, that’s okay; its called survival. killing ANY animal for fun, is not okay in my book.)
Maybe *some* people can do just fine on a vegan diet. My mother is proof otherwise. Even with plant proteins and supplements she still went into protein starvation and I seem to have the same problem. Oddly enough, any time I try to search for why and what this issue is, all I can find is a flood of vegan and vegetarian sites. Grand! So, all I got is a handful of theories from friends who have heard about it and no proof, and if there is proof, it gets drowned out by all this vegan stuff. -.-
Funny though, any time I mention this to ANY vegan/vegetarian who goes and crusades for making everyone else the same, they back peddle and go ‘I wouldn’t want you to change your diet!’ ~Headdesk~ No, but a lot of them would ‘sin tax’ me to death in a heart beat.
I agree with most of what this article proposes. However, I see a distinct problem with the notion of an absolute shift in eating habits from a carnivorous diet to a vegan one. Most animals that are raised on farms, cows for instance, have been domesticated for consumption for thousands of years. They have been specialized genetically through selective breeding, allowing for the production of more meat and milk, but also presenting a host of dilemmas. Lactating cows must be milked at least once a day, or they will quickly succumb to mastitis and die from infection. They produce such a copious amount of milk that their body is not naturally accustomed to storing all of it. The result is an excruciating death, brought on more by dehydration than infection, as the infection weakens the cow to the point of exhaustion, inhibiting them from seeking water.
Also, if we were to stop consuming these animals, what would we do with them exactly? Would we continue feeding them from the generosity of our hearts? That would not be profitable, or possible, for obvious reasons. Most farmers are hardly scraping by as it is, and the added burden of feeding animals with no monetary return would ruin them. We could not simply let hundreds of millions of animals free to roam the countryside, as they would ravage vegetation and ultimately starve to death. It would be both a public nuisance and an ecological travesty of the highest order.
To remedy this, we could “use up” the remaining animals and not breed any more, but that also presents issues. Dairy cows, not being bred, would also not lactate, and therefore become useless economically. We would have to slaughter them en masse, and this would also be a travesty, as they would die for absolutely no reason. The supply of meat would exponentially outstrip demand, and most of the meat would be wasted. Pretty much, in the end, the vast majority of domesticated farm animals that we currently possess will face death at the hands of a butcher no matter what we aspire to accomplish.
It’s incredibly unrealistic to expect the whole world to go vegan overnight. It would be an extremely gradual shift over at least (optimistically) 100 years. Markets would have more than enough time to adjust, impregnating less and less cows every year. A factory farm that realizes there is a decreasing demand for milk, for example, would simply impregnate less cows. A pig farm would impregnate less pigs. The animals would slowly decrease. The fact that we’ve created genetically modified cows that need to be milked at least once a day doesn’t mean we have to keep producing more of these genetic monsters. There are still cows, chickens, and pigs that are perfectly capable of living harmoniously with the environment, there are just extremely few of them. Which means that there would be absolutely no harm to the environment as you have outlined.
You say that dairy cows would not be bred and would therefore not lactate. That’s not true. They would just be bred less, because there is a lower demand for milk anyway. Hence, fewer and fewer of them would be forcibly impregnated, and they would just be sent to the slaughterhouses earlier (after 3-4 miserable years they end up there anyway, sending them there earlier is sparing them a cruel and long torture).
Besides, all that is irrelevant. We have created a horrible problem, and it is up to us to find a solution to it. We created the problem of slavery, and it was up to us to deal with it. I’m sure there were people who said just freeing a bunch of slaves would be a disaster, they would have nothing and it would be extremely difficult for them to provide for themselves. It was true, freed slaves were pretty badly off for a very long time, and many of them, if not most, ended up in absolute poverty. Having said this, it would obviously not have been correct to continue slavery. Sometimes the solutions to the problems we create for ourselves create some problems themselves. It doesn’t change the fact that it is still part of the solution, and, ultimately, is necessary.
First of all, I would like to distance myself from any version of factory farming, as I find that particular mode of agriculture to be exceedingly reprehensible for numerous reasons, both morally and financially. The conditions present there are atrocious for the animals involved, and the farm is run strictly for profit by corporate executives that may never see the actual site. However, family run/ small corporate farms are much different, both in outlook and operation. I know of numerous farms that feed their livestock by pasturing, allowing them to have a large area of free roaming. The lives of the animals involved are parallel to that of a wild creature in almost every way, save the worry of natural predators, who kill their prey in much more grotesque ways than a human ever would.
A responsible management and consumption of these animals, I think, is just as viable as outright veganism. It would both negate the suffering of the animal, and prevent the widespread chaos that could ensue with once domesticated feral animals roaming about, destroying the natural equilibrium. (The comparison to the abolition of slavery is a bit of a stretch. The former slaves had, at least, human innovation and sentience, and the prospect of being gradually assimilated into society, while the animals of course, do not.)
I do think that the amount and method of meat production is excessive and needs to be curbed in favor of a more rational management. Who knows, over time, with the improvement of food science, and the gradual decreasing of the number of livestock in domestication, perhaps veganism could become more viable. Although, for the short term, with vast regions of the human population nearly starving, and the ecological disaster that would result from an immediate shift away from current habits, veganism remains only a wishful idea. A good one perhaps, but an idea alone nonetheless.
Julian,
I am honored to be indirectly referenced in this article. I commend the fact that you have taken this path in your life, and have found a passion for advocating for animal rights. It is true that we, as humans, take advantage of animals in ways that are cruel. But it goes far beyond just food, we also have to include animals that are being captured and imprisoned in zoos for our amusement. Or that red leather jacket you so admired back in high school, what do you think that was made of? I’m not trying to criticize your argument, because the rhetoric is strong. Just be careful at accusing of carnivores of killing cows (“the cow you have killed has lived in confinement for the whole of its miserable existence”). Remember, sometimes you cannot change people’s mind. You can, however, change your own perspective of them and respect their decision to eat meat.
Gregor
P.S. I am honored to be indirectly referenced in this article.
I completely agree with you that it goes beyond food, I simply targetted food in this article because it is the one thing which receives the least criticism; there are many more people opposed to zoos and circuses then there are people opposed to eating meat. And yes, I know what the red leather jacket was made of – which is why I no longer buy leather either. I’m accusing carnivores of killing cows because they are indeed killing cows. And I know I can’t change peoples mind’s, but hopefully I can get them interested in some of these issues and do a little research. I have no intention, however, of respecting their decision to eat meat; just like I doubt you would respect my decision to stick a cat and a lit firecracker in a rubbish bin for no reason, and just like you would not respect my decision to murder an innocent person. What I do respect is that most people don’t make the decision to eat meat consciously, and therefore I don’t necessarily put them on the same level. But I definitely do not respect people who think, research, understand that eating meat is the same as killing cats, and then still refuse to change their way of life, just because it is too inconvenient.
I was hoping this article was just directed at his passion for abusing cats. I kind of wish he didn’t have a paradoxical argument. I empathized with his hate for cats.
Do you abuse cats?
People are omnivores, they eat plants and animals, that is how it is whether some people don’t like it or not. Why do you think you have canine teeth? It’s for tearing meat. I hate cats and wouldn’t care if anyone kills them, I just don’t care