Quote:
Quote by: blitzcat  I'm sorry but this is clearly not true. Just because your not killing the animal yourself doesn't mean you haven't helped cause its death. If there was no demand for meat the animals would not be killed. |
I think the minute we start classifying people as "killers" the conversation turns away from the pros and cons of meat consumption and turns into personal judgements.
It's virtually *impossible* not to directly or indirectly be a "killer" by this standard. Plus, this is like calling somebody who is pro-choice "pro-murder" or whatever.
If there was no demand for meat there would *STILL* be a need to kill animals, as they sort of naturally multiply anyway (yeah yeah I know, hog farmers enourage mass production of pigs, etc. Pigs didn't just appear out of thin air, tho).
Being a big sci-fi geek, I've wondered what kind of space/resources would be needed if we were to attempt to farm enough plant-based proteins to meet the needs of 5-6 *billion* people. Would those massive farms cause pollution which would kill fish, displace other wildlife, etc. (and thus in some way negate the whole "Don't kill animals to sustain yourself" concept)?
I should note I am a meat eater and I'm ok with that morally. I also grew up in a family which produced the majority of its own food and I've helped butcher numerous times. I also have uncles who worked in meat packing plants and I will say I think there should be continuous research into ways to improve *that* process.