Is it really that wrong to eat dogs and cats?

I think the whole thing can be summed up with the statement "A dog is no better than a cow, which is no better than a hen, which is no better than a human.". I agree with Ratsicles that all souls are equal. Just because some animals make better companions than chops doesn't mean they're inherently better than those animals that just taste pretty good.

I think the answer is a prayer before every meal. "Thank you for the animal that gave its life so we could eat. Thank you for the native land that gave its life so we could grow crops to accompany this meat." []

Just because some animals make better companions than chops doesn't mean they're inherently better than those animals that just taste pretty good.

 
Aren't pigs as smart as dogs, if not smarter?
 
I could have sworn I read that somewhere.

ORIGINAL: corvus

I think the whole thing can be summed up with the statement "A dog is no better than a cow, which is no better than a hen, which is no better than a human.". I agree with Ratsicles that all souls are equal. Just because some animals make better companions than chops doesn't mean they're inherently better than those animals that just taste pretty good.

I think the answer is a prayer before every meal. "Thank you for the animal that gave its life so we could eat. Thank you for the native land that gave its life so we could grow crops to accompany this meat." []

 
 
Exactly corvus, thank you. You summed up exactly what I was trying to get across. A prayer similar to the one you said is something I do as well. IMO, that makes more of a difference than people think. []

So, are you saying as long as you say a prayer before you eat the animal, no matter where it came from even a factory farm, the animal is morally ok with being eaten?

ORIGINAL: jones

By the way, totally OT but I love that cocker spaniel in your sig![]

 
ditto []
 
(i realize you are probably not watching this threat anymore though....)

ORIGINAL: snownose

So, are you saying as long as you say a prayer before you eat the animal, no matter where it came from even a factory farm, the animal is morally ok with being eaten?

I believe she's trying to say that if you DO buy eat meat from a factory farm, then the least you can do is thank the animal it came from.  At least it's better than not thanking the animal, because you're at least acknowledging that you've taken a life for the meat you are about to eat, and that that animal has a soul that deserves respect []  I don't believe she's trying so say you can make it ok to eat factory farmed meat as long as you say a prayer first.

(i realize you are probably not watching this threat anymore though....)

 
I'm always watching, muahahahaha.....

ORIGINAL: jones

I'm always watching, muahahahaha.....

LOL!!![]

Aren't pigs as smart as dogs, if not smarter?

 
i dont know about that, but have you ever noticed how disturbingly similar to humans they are? the pink skin, the blue eyes...pigs really creep me out, particularly hogs, i have been almost bitten by one before when i was a kid, it would've taken off my whole hand []

ORIGINAL: snownose

Just because some animals make better companions than chops doesn't mean they're inherently better than those animals that just taste pretty good.

Aren't pigs as smart as dogs, if not smarter?

I could have sworn I read that somewhere.

Pigs are very smart and are amongst the few animals in the world known to demonstrate observational learning. My point is, it's irrelevant how smart they are, or how good they are at making us feel good. They're every bit as good as a dog, and a chicken. And anything else you can think of.

I think a lot of the problem is that people don't have to think about where their food came from and what sacrifices were made so they could eat. I certainly don't think a prayer absolves us of responsibility for those sacrifices made for us, but I think it goes a long way towards acknowledging them and giving them the regard they deserve. I think of it like the hunter gatherer societies. They revered the animals they ate and the land that provided for them. I think that's a much healthier attitude to have towards your food. I don't think it's wrong to eat meat because we're made for an omnivorous diet. I do think it's wrong to not even know where your meat came from, and not connect it with an animal that lived, but doesn't anymore. In this society, I usually don't have the opportunity to know my meat before it's on my dinner plate, so I do the next best thing and remind myself that the meat I consume comes from animals that died to feed me. It's a simple thing, but important to me.

The choice you've made to become vegetarian is how you have dealt with the problem of being a creature with a conscience that traditionally eats other creatures. I applaud that you have dealt with it at all. I have dealt with it in a different way, but that doesn't make it the wrong way.

I had to become a vegetarian.
I was always involved with animal rights, and rescue on a local level.
When I was introduced to more information about what goes on with meat production, I had to make a decision, I just could not eat meat anymore.
 
My philosophy is such, that if one eats meat one should know what is involved to put a nice steak on a plate.
Sad thing is, most people don't want to know, or don't want to be grossed out, and that makes me mad.
 

Douglas Adams wrote 4 1/2 books based on the "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" idea. In "The Restaraunt at the End of the Universe," your food is brought out to introduce itself. A 6-legged cow creature that spoke the Queen's English quite well invited patrons to choose the parts of himself that were rather delectable. Arthur Dent, the human had a problem because he wasn't used to sentient dinner. Talk about knowing the animal from whom your meat came!
 
We could vary the menu. Rabbit stew. Gerbil soup. I had read that in Russia, they used to make hats out of cat pelts.
 
Now, since we are all so urbane and adult about this, how many of you, if you had been stranded somewhere by Hurricane Katrina, could go ahead and eat your dog? It's just meat, like a cow, right? Anyone for hot dogs?

I think a lot of the problem is that people don't have to think about where their food came from and what sacrifices were made so they could eat. I certainly don't think a prayer absolves us of responsibility for those sacrifices made for us, but I think it goes a long way towards acknowledging them and giving them the regard they deserve. I think of it like the hunter gatherer societies. They revered the animals they ate and the land that provided for them. I think that's a much healthier attitude to have towards your food. I don't think it's wrong to eat meat because we're made for an omnivorous diet. I do think it's wrong to not even know where your meat came from, and not connect it with an animal that lived, but doesn't anymore. In this society, I usually don't have the opportunity to know my meat before it's on my dinner plate, so I do the next best thing and remind myself that the meat I consume comes from animals that died to feed me. It's a simple thing, but important to me.

The choice you've made to become vegetarian is how you have dealt with the problem of being a creature with a conscience that traditionally eats other creatures. I applaud that you have dealt with it at all. I have dealt with it in a different way, but that doesn't make it the wrong way.

 
 
That's exactly how I feel, and THAT was the exact point I was trying to make throughout this thread. I guess I just wasn't putting it in a very understandable way. [&:]
 

Now, since we are all so urbane and adult about this, how many of you, if you had been stranded somewhere by Hurricane Katrina, could go ahead and eat your dog? It's just meat, like a cow, right? Anyone for hot dogs?

 
I wouldn't eat one of *my* dogs any more than I'd eat my husband or my mom. But if it's some strange stray dog, and a choice between starving and not starving...I'm probably going to choose not to starve.

Now, since we are all so urbane and adult about this, how many of you, if you had been stranded somewhere by Hurricane Katrina, could go ahead and eat your dog? It's just meat, like a cow, right? Anyone for hot dogs?

 
um , ron, thats what some of us have human-children for [8|]

ORIGINAL: Ratsicles

I think a lot of the problem is that people don't have to think about where their food came from and what sacrifices were made so they could eat. I certainly don't think a prayer absolves us of responsibility for those sacrifices made for us, but I think it goes a long way towards acknowledging them and giving them the regard they deserve. I think of it like the hunter gatherer societies. They revered the animals they ate and the land that provided for them. I think that's a much healthier attitude to have towards your food. I don't think it's wrong to eat meat because we're made for an omnivorous diet. I do think it's wrong to not even know where your meat came from, and not connect it with an animal that lived, but doesn't anymore. In this society, I usually don't have the opportunity to know my meat before it's on my dinner plate, so I do the next best thing and remind myself that the meat I consume comes from animals that died to feed me. It's a simple thing, but important to me.

The choice you've made to become vegetarian is how you have dealt with the problem of being a creature with a conscience that traditionally eats other creatures. I applaud that you have dealt with it at all. I have dealt with it in a different way, but that doesn't make it the wrong way.

That's exactly how I feel, and THAT was the exact point I was trying to make throughout this thread. I guess I just wasn't putting it in a very understandable way. [&:]

Now, since we are all so urbane and adult about this, how many of you, if you had been stranded somewhere by Hurricane Katrina, could go ahead and eat your dog? It's just meat, like a cow, right? Anyone for hot dogs?

I wouldn't eat one of *my* dogs any more than I'd eat my husband or my mom. But if it's some strange stray dog, and a choice between starving and not starving...I'm probably going to choose not to starve.

 
What if it were a strange, stray homeless guy?  OR what if you had to choose between the homeless guy and the stray dog?