Circle if life
Good morning!
I got a seemingly 'apropo of nothing' comment on the blog yesterday and thought I'd better clarify for my regular readers:
You should be ashamed of slaughtering animals. That's disgusting. The fact that you're NOT ashamed just shows how depraved you are. It's nothing to boast about. --Victoria Pond
First of all, thank you Victoria for visiting my blog and thank you for commenting.
For those who're scratching their heads ... Victoria is a vegan (if I'm correct?) whom I 'encountered' over on Grrl's blog during comments on her post about a delicious exchange with a veggie/vegan person.
Victoria declared that none of the meat-eating commentors would actually slaughter the animals we consume.
Well ... uhh ... yes I would and I do. I farm livestock, you see. I firmly believe that humans are designed to be omnivorous and I don't see one whit of difference between killing a pig to feed ones family and killing a virus to protect ones family. I don't kill for the pleasure of killing or disgard the meat. I do, however, respect anyone's decision to eat whatever they choose. That's entirely up to you, just as what I eat should be up to me.
I'm sorry to say, but things die. It's the natural order of the world. One can't hope to stop it; that'd be counter-productive. It's a finely balanced chain that makes perfect sense. How can one take out a single link and declare it an abomination based solely on the fact that a mouse is cuter than a microbe or that a cow breathes but a kumquat doesn't?
So for all of those whom selective death outrages, consider this: cattle are slaughtered by the thousands to provide leather for expensive basketball shoes (which come in size one, BTW, size ONE! Why would a non-walking infant need $35 shoes?!), mink are farmed for skins for vapid, talentless twinkies' clothing lines, babies are aborted in China because they're the wrong sex, men are slaughtered daily in the name of someone's god ...
... and I'm feeding my family.
Hmmm.
7 Comments:
To be honest with you, I'm not a vegan. I wish I were. I tried, but found I would basically have to spend half my life preparing, storing, carrying my own food EVERYWHERE and it became overwhelming.
However, I do not and would not under any circumstances eat dead animals.
Yes, things die. But to use that as an excuse for killing them would be like saying "oh, well, it's ok that I murdered that man, he was going to die someday anyway."
Animals' lives are just aas precious to them as your life is to you. They suffer pain just as acutely as we do. They are not as intelligent, but then, "lack of intelligence" is no excuse for inflicting suffeing and death on another living creature.
And please, can we keep this out of Grrl's blog? I don't think she wanted to host a debate on this topic -- she just wanted to write a brilliantly funny post.
And no, I don't think ANY needless killing, of any kind, is OK. Again -- look at your logic, or lack thereof: you are saying that because terrible things happen (mink are slaughtered, female fetuses are aborted) that it's OK to do something slightly less terrible (killing to feed your family).
That would be like saying "it's OK that I murdered that man because someone else killed lots more people, with less provocation."
Neither one is OK. It is always wrong to kill, or inflict suffering on a sentient being, if you can avoid it.
Of course, sometimes it IS unavoidable to injure a person or animal. But "feed your family"? That is not a sufficient reason. There are other sources of food.
Well, you certainly are passionate on the subject - which I can respect - and we'll just have to agree to disagree.
This, like many hot-button child-raising subjects (cry-it-out, circumcision, breast-vs-bottle, etc), will always devolve into a 'you're wrong/I'm right' ending. It probably hinges on one's definition of 'needless'. (It won't surprise you that I am also pro-choice and pro-death penalty.)
Thank you for your enthusiastic comments! Very thought-provoking and that's NEVER a bad thing.
-Blue
Very Interesting Blog.
Let's see, although I am an animal lover and enjoy plants, there is a time and place for everything. One could possibly argue that one should not kill a LIVING plant for any given reason. Just the same, whether you are sacrificing a plant, fish, fowl, or animal for food, it's all about survival in my opinion. Once when I was a young girl I declared to my mother that I wasn't going to eat chicken anymore because of the way they were slaughtered for food. However, let's just say, I grew up and my views changed.
BTW, Blue. Do you consider me a twinkie (I don't own a mink), but I'm a size 14. Just curious. I sometimes find humor in your analogies.
Have an enjoyable and blessed week.
Happy-Go-Lucky
Came over here from Grrl's. I am vegetarian except for fish, which doesn't make me much of a vegetarian in many people's eyes. I don't eat meat mostly because I don't approve of large factory farms. For the same reason, I buy the majority of my vegetable and dairy from small, local farmers when I am able (which can be hard in the winter). The fact that you raise and slaughter the meat you feed to your family is rad. It's not my cup of tea, but I think it is a great and valid way to live. I've never read through your blog before, but I am interested in what kind of a farm you live on -- I'll read through to see if I can find that out. Anyway, I just wanted to come out as a vegetarian who supports meat eaters, especially those who raise their the animals they eat.
Thank you for the thoughtful comments, everyone! I love hearing different people's takes on a subject.
Happy-Go-Lucky - I was using the term 'Twinkie' to refer to the 'artist' who markets a line of clothing that includes fur. In my lexicon it's a woman who has no function (like the pastry: 'no nutritional value', lol) and is so self-absorbed that she threatens to collapse in on herself and form a black hole.
Size is not applicable, although, since the basic Twink is a slave to society's guidelines she's often obsessive about her appearance. 'Cause it's all about her, ya know? ;)
Louise - We have a farmstead; a farm who's purpose is to provide self-sufficiency (as opposed to making money). We've got chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, sheep, and goats. We raise a pig and/or calf each year for the freezer. Manure goes on my large garden. Etc, etc ...
It's hard work but it's awfully rewarding. :)
-Blue
I'm a vegan and I'm the first person to say to everyone, eat whatever you want!
I can't stand the "holier than thou" veggies and vegans who preach on high. Life is too short, so get over yourselves and just enjoy your respective meat-filled or meat-free meals...
:)
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