Consuming Animals/Animal Products from suffering animals

[Ħ]

My school is really big on food industry issues. Classes that flush out the food industry are popular.


Personally I don't see anything wrong with consuming animals in general.  Humans are heterotrophs, and need to eat living things or a product of living things.  That's a fact.


But should we care if the animals we eat have suffered?  That's where I'm not sure.

[zxlkho]

I'm pretty sure that every animal you have ever eaten or ever will eat will have "suffered." They have to be killed in some way obviously.

[Ħ]

Well, I don't mean just the death of the animal.  It takes time for them to grow to the size they need to grow to...

[Scheavo]

I'm pretty sure that every animal you have ever eaten or ever will eat will have "suffered." They have to be killed in some way obviously.

Eh, death is horrible, but its not really experienced. It may be other things, but death does not inflict suffering upon the victim.

I think we should be as humane to animals while they live, and do our best to kill them as quickly and as painlessly as possible.

Humans are heterotrophs, and need to eat living things or a product of living things.  That's a fact.

This. How do I know plants don't suffer when I eat them? I would love it if I could feed myself on sunlight - what need for work then? That's actually an interesting thought... do plants not do much because they don't need to work for their survival?

[El Barto]

Don't kid yourself, Jimmy.  If a cow ever got the chance, he'd eat you and everyone you car about.

Kind of torn on the whole deal.  It's not the killing them part that bothers me;  a captive bolt pistol has to be better than being chased down and eaten by a larger animal.  It's actually the whole breading animals and raising them for slaughter part that I have issue with. 

In the grand scheme of things,  it really doesn't trouble me too much, though.  Too many unanswerable questions to get riled up about the ethics of it all.

[TempusVox]

I agree with everything that you said about us eating other living things. Personally, I don't think our food needs to, or should for that matter suffer. When I practiced law, our firm represented a large poultry supplier in Arkansas. They were being sued by a former employee and I had to fly down for a deposition. I was given a tour of the facility. It was a state of the art enterprise. The cages were cleaned and disinfected multiple times each day, so the place smelled like a hospital, more than anything else. It was kind of nauseating. A device held open the beak of the chickens for most of the day, and they were forced fed vitamins, water, antibiotics and lots and lots of feed. The production goal of this "factory" was "hatched to fryer in 26 days". So when people were cooking the chicken they just bought at the store, it was on average only 26 days old. The whole thing swore me off poultry for about 6 months. But I got over it. I do try to eat now only organically raised products, and free range chicken and turkey as much as I can. Studies have shown that meat that is stress free is better for our consumption, but more importantly, I know that animals feel pain. There is no reason to be cruel to an animal, even if it's going to be our food.

[Ħ]

This. How do I know plants don't suffer when I eat them? I would love it if I could feed myself on sunlight - what need for work then? That's actually an interesting thought... do plants not do much because they don't need to work for their survival?

My roommate was telling me about some study that they hooked up neurological sensors (lie detectors I think) to plants and found that plants responded to stimuli, such as being threatened and stuff. 

But yeah...plants are just as alive as animals are.

[the Catfishman]

This. How do I know plants don't suffer when I eat them? I would love it if I could feed myself on sunlight - what need for work then? That's actually an interesting thought... do plants not do much because they don't need to work for their survival?

My roommate was telling me about some study that they hooked up neurological sensors (lie detectors I think) to plants and found that plants responded to stimuli, such as being threatened and stuff. 

But yeah...plants are just as alive as animals are.

.... neurological sensors to a plant? how would that work.. which neurons, how would they pick up on threats? lol..

[Dark Castle]

My composition teacher is basing our entire composition class upon Fast Food Nation, and Food Inc. both made to slam how we treat animals(future food).
Honestly, I don't bother myself, because to feed a nation, you have to keep up in pace with production, and I'm not going to cry over the hamburger in front of me if the cows it came from didn't live the high life.  Probably a bit cruel, but that's just how I feel.

[Scheavo]

This. How do I know plants don't suffer when I eat them? I would love it if I could feed myself on sunlight - what need for work then? That's actually an interesting thought... do plants not do much because they don't need to work for their survival?

My roommate was telling me about some study that they hooked up neurological sensors (lie detectors I think) to plants and found that plants responded to stimuli, such as being threatened and stuff. 

But yeah...plants are just as alive as animals are.

.... neurological sensors to a plant? how would that work.. which neurons, how would they pick up on threats? lol..

I don't think the results of that exact study have been replicated, but scientists have found a portion of the tip of roots which show neuron like electrical behavior. Compare the root system to the brain, and you start getting into some murky territory.

[Rathma]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEkc70ztOrc

[William Wallace]

Guys, go watch Food Inc. That documentary seriously changed my life.

[Orthogonal]

This. How do I know plants don't suffer when I eat them? I would love it if I could feed myself on sunlight - what need for work then? That's actually an interesting thought... do plants not do much because they don't need to work for their survival?

My roommate was telling me about some study that they hooked up neurological sensors (lie detectors I think) to plants and found that plants responded to stimuli, such as being threatened and stuff. 

But yeah...plants are just as alive as animals are.

Lol, How does someone threaten a plant. Flash garden tools?

[zxlkho]

Guys, go watch Food Inc. That documentary seriously changed my life.

I wrote a paper about this documentary when I was a senior in high school. Really great documentary.

[Ben_Jamin]

If they really cared they'd make a garden with plenty of nutritious foods. "The cries of the carrots"

[Scheavo]

This. How do I know plants don't suffer when I eat them? I would love it if I could feed myself on sunlight - what need for work then? That's actually an interesting thought... do plants not do much because they don't need to work for their survival?

My roommate was telling me about some study that they hooked up neurological sensors (lie detectors I think) to plants and found that plants responded to stimuli, such as being threatened and stuff. 

But yeah...plants are just as alive as animals are.

Lol, How does someone threaten a plant. Flash garden tools?

I think they like yelled at it. I think sometimes they threatened with fire (that makes a little sense, since fire is a natural danger for plants).

But ya, don't think those results have been replicated.

As as a side note, why do certain types of music help plants grow?

[Dark Castle]

Guys, go watch Food Inc. That documentary seriously changed my life.

I've seen it twice now, and it hasn't changed my thinking whatsoever. 

[antigoon]

Guys, go watch Food Inc. That documentary seriously changed my life.

I wrote a paper about this documentary when I was a senior in high school. Really great documentary.

Yup. Not only do we treat the animals like shit, the end product is less healthy and quite likely to be actually unsafe.

[orcus116]

Unsafe or immune system booster? I rest my case.

[Orthogonal]

This. How do I know plants don't suffer when I eat them? I would love it if I could feed myself on sunlight - what need for work then? That's actually an interesting thought... do plants not do much because they don't need to work for their survival?

My roommate was telling me about some study that they hooked up neurological sensors (lie detectors I think) to plants and found that plants responded to stimuli, such as being threatened and stuff. 

But yeah...plants are just as alive as animals are.

Lol, How does someone threaten a plant. Flash garden tools?

I think they like yelled at it. I think sometimes they threatened with fire (that makes a little sense, since fire is a natural danger for plants).

But ya, don't think those results have been replicated.

As as a side note, why do certain types of music help plants grow?

On yeah, I think Mythbuster's did an episode on that. Strangely, classical music and heavy metal increased plant growth over other forms of music. Not sure what the mechanism to do that would be.

[antigoon]

Unsafe or immune system booster? I rest my case.