Speciesism

[kitschyduck]

I can't pinpoint the time or moment when I thought there was something to the argument, so it was a kind of accumulative process. But once there was a tipping point... When you come out the other side intellectually, I'd almost say it's crippling. You're immediately confronted with a holocaust, that is occurring everywhere at all times and

Comments

[kitschyduck]

Yeah, I think that if there wasn't such prevalent and unquestioned trend towards speciesism then we may have already found a way to synthesise meat. Or maybe scientists would have found a way to make sure mostly only female chickens hatch so grinding up billions of male chicks wouldn't be necessary. But why would they bother? It's cheap and easy to just kill them as soon as they're sexed and their suffering is of no consequence to us.

'Killing' plants to eat doesn't concern me because they have no nervous system, emotions or awareness to speak of. A mollusc feels intense pain if you put salt on it and my pet snails all behave differently. They have favourite foods, favourite places to sleep and they can be either shy or out going. :)

That said, you're right about not knowing where to draw the line. Even if I became a strict vegan, I own cats that require meat, five snakes that require mice and rats bred in trays in a warehouse somewhere before they're gassed to death. And lizards that require live insects that also feel pain.

I also work for carvery and grill restaurants, which means I have to design posters, emails and flyers to advertise meat to encourage others to eat it. I don't imagine my moral compass will ever be entirely consistent, but I'm beginning to see the merit in at least being aware of it and doing what's realistic rather than settling on the 'all or nothing' attitude I had not long ago.

I've heard mixed things about dairy cows and I'm apprehensive about leaving my ignorant bubble on that just yet. Apparently they're kept almost constantly pregnant and each calf is snatched away to be slaughtered - despite the mother cow's distressed calls. I've begun buying almond and rice milk now but I'm not strict enough about it to allow myself to consider avoiding sauces, icecream etc.

It's definitely a very personal line, and that fact alone stops me judging anyone for making different choices to my own.