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It was mentioned earlier, but google "Livestock's Long Shadow" for the PDF. It's a great read and a very thorough look at agriculture and the environment.
I don't know why I'm chiming in again, but...
I think some people need to better flesh out what they see as a "dilemma" in raising animals or any other type of food for consumption. If it all dwindles down to "choosing your battles" we're all in the same ethical quagmire and each and every decision we make is not better or worse than anyone else's. If someone accepts the risk of killing animals with a car every day but believes that buying a pound of ground chuck once a week is ethically challenged, that person is hypocritical.
Who decides what risks and behaviors are acceptable if the end result is the same, the death of an animal?
From reading some of these posts, I think that some people abhor modern convention and convenience more than they do the slaughter of animals - example, "I hate factory farms but am okay or ambivalent towards hunting." WTF? If someone can't see how that is a privileged perspective, they probably never will.
When it comes to food ethics, if someone wouldn't feel comfortable walking into the poorest village in the developing world and sharing his/her opinion that "meat is murder," I would highly doubt that person's convictions.
The circumstantial or, perhaps, constitutive morality of this topic is problematic and, frequently, reeks of privilege.
I don't know why I'm chiming in again, but...
I think some people need to better flesh out what they see as a "dilemma" in raising animals or any other type of food for consumption. If it all dwindles down to "choosing your battles" we're all in the same ethical quagmire and each and every decision we make is not better or worse than anyone else's. If someone accepts the risk of killing animals with a car every day but believes that buying a pound of ground chuck once a week is ethically challenged, that person is hypocritical.
In addition, the argument comparing hunting and factory farms is also lacking. It is perfectly reasonable to have a moral problem with one and not the other if your main concern is animal welfare. If you have a problem within killing animals altogether, then yes, they are equivalent. However, I think the majority of us here are speaking from a welfare perspective. A quick shot to the heart, when done right, is a relatively humane way to die (moreso than being killed by most predators). "Factory farm" conditions are much different and much more of a gray area when compared to hunting. You simply cannot compare the two unless your argument is primarily the rightness of wrongness of eating animals PERIOD, not whether or not certain treatment is acceptable/humane (again, the argument that most people have been making here).
I think theres a big difference between hunting things you are going to eat and hunting for sport. If you talk about hunting for sport, then it seems like it could be considered within the same category as factory farming in that they both involve the needless harm caused to living things. Hunting something you will eat seems to be totally different. I don't think you can say "hunting" is right or wrong, you've got to break it down into motives.
My point in asking that was bc many people have issues with factory farming because of the way animals are kept in confinement which I totally understand. But then they get mad at someone for hunting, which just shows me they are against eating animals in general. And the bold part was exactly my point. Some people claim to only hate factory farming, but then criticize hunters. That's where the hypocricy issue came in that I was talking about. I completely agree with what you're saying. I guess my point didn't come through very clearly. I am a hunter and that's why I asked. I get tired of hearing crap from people who think I'm "mean" for "killing bambi"
I will honestly admit that I am not sure how I feel about it. My dad used to hunt ducks and is also a catch-and-release fisherman. He hunted ducks for us to eat. He also claims that it helps keep the duck population down although I haven't done much reading into it. IMO, it is a lot better than buying mystery meat from a grocery store that you do not know the origins of. It is healthier too. When I was a kid, I was fine with it. When I first stopped eating meat, I was against it. Now I don't know.
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If a meat eater says that you are killing Bambi, they are a jerk. At least you were able to see the animal you were killing instead of picking up a ready-to-cool deer part from the grocery store.
Why is it only a meat eater that would be a jerk if they said that? I would think anyone who told someone that hunts that would be considered a jerk because that is just offensive no matter what you eat.
I saw a documentary that said that people who hunt for sport may be doing more harm than good to the ecosystem. When you hunt deer for sport, you are trying to find the biggest animal you can for "bragging rights". What happens when you take enough of the strong animals out of the picture? The weaker ones are left to breed.
That's the only thing I have seen that is against hunting. It's a good theory, but I think I need to see more evidence that this is actually a concern.
I saw a documentary that said that people who hunt for sport may be doing more harm than good to the ecosystem. When you hunt deer for sport, you are trying to find the biggest animal you can for "bragging rights". What happens when you take enough of the strong animals out of the picture? The weaker ones are left to breed.
That's the only thing I have seen that is against hunting. It's a good theory, but I think I need to see more evidence that this is actually a concern.
Lobsters and crabs feel pain... and look what we do to them :/
My point in asking that was bc many people have issues with factory farming because of the way animals are kept in confinement which I totally understand. But then they get mad at someone for hunting, which just shows me they are against eating animals in general. And the bold part was exactly my point. Some people claim to only hate factory farming, but then criticize hunters. That's where the hypocricy issue came in that I was talking about. I completely agree with what you're saying. I guess my point didn't come through very clearly. I am a hunter and that's why I asked. I get tired of hearing crap from people who think I'm "mean" for "killing bambi"
Wait...I was responding to Jess Monster, not you? I'm confused....
But yes, your point is very valid.
I never realized just how many people hunt in the US. There aren't too many in Germany and many hunters have a forest they take care of. It's not just going out to hunt and then come back. It's taking care of the plants and animals, feeding animals if it's a harsh winter, shooting the sick ones more so than the healthy ones, etc. You usually have to go through testing to be allowed to hunt because a big part about being a hunter is to help the environment and not just take away from it.
That being said, I would like to try it sometimes here. Especially with a bow.
Why is it only a meat eater that would be a jerk if they said that? I would think anyone who told someone that hunts that would be considered a jerk because that is just offensive no matter what you eat.
Maybe I'm in the minority, but none of these things would bother me. The poultry that I consume is dead, yes. The deer that I (hypothetically) hunt are like Bambi, yes. What's the big deal
Maybe I'm in the minority, but none of these things would bother me. The poultry that I consume is dead, yes. The deer that I (hypothetically) hunt are like Bambi, yes. What's the big deal
Maybe I'm in the minority, but none of these things would bother me. The poultry that I consume is dead, yes. The deer that I (hypothetically) hunt are like Bambi, yes. What's the big deal
Because a meat eater shouldn't be making fun of someone killing an animal when they eat dead things too.
What is considered "offensive"? Why is making a Bambi comment to a hunter offensive, but making comments about tasty tasty meat not offensive to someone who choses not to eat it? What about "But plants feel pain too?" What about "animals were put on here for us to eat"? A vegetarian in a group I am in calls poultry "dead birds" as in "How many dead birds do you need for thanksgiving this year?" instead of "How many turkeys...". Would that be offensive to start calling poultry "dead birds" (because that is what it is).
I can understand why it is frustrating for a hunter to hear "Oh, so you kill Bambi". But how many people take into consideration what they say to people who do not eat meat? I've gotten some doozies over the years. People who lick their lips and make some stupid comment about bacon or tasty tasty meat to be an asshat is frustrating to me.
Emiloo was the first one to point out that referring to "Bambi" is frustrating.
So I guess the general consensus is that it shouldn't piss a hunter off?
Based on statistics, I am assuming that the majority of people who would make a comment like that to her would be meat eaters.
Based on statistics, I am assuming that the majority of people who would make a comment like that to her would be meat eaters.
Wow... they did a study on how many people say "you kill bambi" to hunters?
I want to read that ****e... link me to it!
Pretty sure she was just saying because of the much larger proportion of meat eaters vs. vegetarians. Still not a perfect use of statistics, but not worth jumping on.
I had a friend in college who would only eat meat (including fish) that he killed himself or that had been killed by someone he knew well. He felt that that was the only way he could know for sure if the animal's death had been humane. In restaurants, dining halls, grocery stores, etc., he was vegetarian. I thought it was kind of a cool way to live. Other thoughts?
I had a friend in college who would only eat meat (including fish) that he killed himself or that had been killed by someone he knew well. He felt that that was the only way he could know for sure if the animal's death had been humane. In restaurants, dining halls, grocery stores, etc., he was vegetarian. I thought it was kind of a cool way to live. Other thoughts?
There are definitely less meat eaters that say it. And it doesn't bother me that people call it "bambi" because well Bambi is a deer and that's what I shoot. It doesn't offend me one bit. It's just people's annoying way of trying to make it seem extra sad or something. It's annoying to hear someone act that naive is all I meant.
Since you're a hunter in Florida, I just have to ask...going after any snakes?? What the heck are people doing with them, eating them?
I think it is mainly for population control/elimination. The boa's around here (specifically in south fl and everglades) are an introduced species and do crazy well here. They're screwing with the local wildlife.
A friend of mine got a license for like $5 and uses the skin for things.
Which goes right back to the post about how the new, sudden demand for quinoa is ruining the lives of people who used to depend on it as a cheap, healthy food source where there was no other option. There is no way to feed a population that does not hurt some animal/plant/person in some way/shape/form. Just because a plant doesn't feel pain doesn't mean there's no suffering involved in a vegetarian diet.