Food Animals VS. Pets

As you know since I responded to another one of your discussions I'm not vegan, though I am trying to lessen the amount of meat I do eat, and when I do I at least go out of my way (not to mention my pocket book) to get organic meats. I haven't for instance though eaten in fast food restaurants in ages, one simply since I thought any meat foods sold there tasted like, well shat...the biggest culprits of the whole farm factory raised animals are of course the fast food chains like KFC, but also Burger King and MacDonalds. I was actually vegan during my college years because yes by then I was becoming "conscious" of just what eating meat meant, and being an animal lover didn't like the idea of eating meat..so went vegan...that unfortunately triggered off my blood sugar problems that I never had before and still have to this day...so back to eating meat...and before you say it...nope no can do the soy thing or tofu...have an allergic reaction to it as I discovered the hard way and got deathly sick each time I ate anything soy There are of course some animals I wouldn't think of eating...not that I have anything against chickens or cows, but I will get ticked off when I hear of restaurants that specialize in "exotic" foods for instance...like do we really need to eat lion burgers, or rhino steaks? Now here you bring up the issue of pets type animals as food...yet in many other countries they DO eat dogs and cats...I once saw a film about markets in many oriental countries who sell cats alongside the chickens for food consumption...in the Philippines there is a big market for dogs and even steal pet dogs for the market....just recently HSUS did an undercover expose about this--yet you have to realize that cultures are different..for instance a Hindu would think it terrible that anyone would eat cows, when to them they are sacred. I think the bottom line actually would be to see that if any animal is raised for food consumption they should be at least raised humanely and to do away with the whole farm factory industry wooitsmolly I know you're very passionate about this issue, so am I believe me, but what if a person CAN"T become vegan due to health reasons?

As a child and not growing up around animals I was able to detatch my feelings for farm animals as to me they were just there to be reared and ate. Then when I was 14 yrs old my mum took in an abused cat and my view of animals completely changed. I realised that they suffer the same as us, feel pain and can be mentally scared from abuse. I became an active animal rights protestor, turned veggie and have never touched meat for 25 yrs. I am not against eating meat but I am against the way the animals are reared in factory farmed conditions. Consumers are now being sold cheap second rate meat that is full of growth hormones and anti-biotics which is not good for us. I do feel meat eaters need to take some responsibility to change these practices and only buy free range or organic. If they cannot afford it, then go without for a couple of days. This would make manufactuers sit up and take notice and be made to change their practices. As we all know the consumer is all powerful.

Meat from animals that were raised naturally is actually much better than food that was not. It tastes better, and it's probably healthier. I remember the first time I had free range beef - delicious. The reason a lot of people think that way, in my opinion, is that they are emotionally detached from their food. My family raised livestock when I was a child, and I learned real quick that if you get emotionally involved with something, you're not going to want to kill nor eat it. That's why we were never allowed to name our chickens, and why we never ate goat. We were purposely kept emotionally detached from the animals we intended to eat, and the animals we became emotionally attached to, we never killed. It's also why I never eat meat from young animals (like veal). I can't imagine eating something that looks so cute to me. We can't imagine eating cats and dogs because - let's face it - they've become our partners. Their members of the family to many people, and valuable assets to others. The same can be said for horses, and a few other large animals. Ever notice how the animals we do eat are rarely kept as pets, and the ones we don't are usually kept as pets? I understand the line of reasoning behind chemically enhancing our food animals. It allows for more meat, which cheapens the price so more people can afford it. I'm not going to decry the entire process, because it's there for a reason. I do, however, that people that can afford it should start buying free range or untreated meat so that the market for it grows. If we increase the demand for meat from places that don't mistreat their animals, other companies may look into how they can improve on this.