@sister_of_mercy Said 
I can understand the argument up to a point. You wouldn't kill people you love so why should it be the same for animals?
But then you don't usually kill animals you've forged an understanding with, like pet dogs or cats, where you care for them on a more personal level than you would the animals you see in fields or farms. So the two aren't exactly mutually exclusive.
But if you consider that we use them for our own purposes like tools, then I can kind of see where they're coming from. You can't honestly love something truly if you're using it for your own needs and not considering its feelings as well. Love is supposed to be reciprocal and based on respect for the other party, which one could claim isn't being demonstrated in some cases. That's why I think there's been such a huge push for 'happy meat,' i.e. meat from places where they treat the animals with respect until they're slaughtered. Then again, one could claim it only assuages guilt rather than creates any kind of loving element though.
Not sure whether that makes it any better but it does make me think.
I think you hit the nail on the head. Its like how farmers deliberately consider the livestock as "stock" and not pets. They know they have to send the animals to slaughter in order to feed the family. On the other hand they become incredibly attached to their dogs.
We are not entirely comfortable with the slaughter of animals for food which is why we pay people to do it for us. Or why hunting is "sport"
We have empathy and sympathy. But our need for food overrides this. So with some reassurance that it was free range or line caught makes it a bit more comfortable.
Some argue this is not helping the vegan/veggie cause at all.
I argue to let people make their own choices.
May 27, 2012 @ 01:23:42
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