to think sharing explicit anti-meat eating photos on Facebook is completely abhorrent and unnecessary? [Title edited by MNHQ]

[WiiUnfit]

I'm sat here eating a naice ham sandwich, scrolling through & minding my own business when WHAM, a picture of a sleeping puppy being carved like a joint of meat on my newsfeed. Poster is an old school friend and a (recent) vegetarian.

I mean seriously, I don't share photos of great big juicy steaks to promote my status as a meat-eater?

ihavenoname

Completely agree with you

cakedcrusader Nope, I am sure plenty of us here have actually seen animals being killed for food, or killed them themselves (I did, and I am no exception).
However, even if I am against unnecessary cruelty to animal, I recognize that I am an omnivore, that I like meat, and that I refuse to either lack nutrients or chug alimentary complements to fully function.

ThatBloodyWoman

Cognitive dissonance is a product of the society we live in. Back 'in the old days' people knew how their meat came to be on their plate was it as often an animal that had been raised, slaughtered and dressed themselves.

These days most people pick up a santised, pre-packaged piece of meat from the supermarket without thinking about the process that led up to it being there. Nobody thinks about the growing and harvesting process of their frozen peas so why would they think about the pork chop they are buying? We just don't think about it, we just buy it.

I met a 16 year old who was offered one of the turkeys she helped to raise on a smallholding for her Christmas dinner. She was horrified at the thought and refused saying 'no thanks, I'll get one from the supermarket'. She couldn't bear the thought of eating a bird she had fed and got to 'know'. Perhaps if more people had to raise their own food animals they would be less likely to want to eat them.

Oh blimey, now I'm "exploiting and murdering" animals who were bred for food.

Look, I eat meat and that's fine. You don't and that's fine too. Don't force your guilt-tripping bollocks and disgusting images on me & I won't force my meaty meals on you.

Oh blimey, now I'm "exploiting and murdering" animals who were bred for food.

Of course you are.

"Exploitation. The act of makimg use of and benefitting from resources"

Humans exploit lots of things for food. Animals didn't evolve specifically to be eaten by humans. Some would argue that a sentient creature, a species, should be seen as more than just a resource

And I don't think its that unfair to describe shooting in the head and cutting throat as murder? It was premeditated. It was not self-defense. It resulted in death.

I recognize that I am an omnivore, that I like meat, and that I refuse to either lack nutrients or chug alimentary complements to fully function

The only supplement a vegan needs to remain healthy is B12, everything else can be gained from a balanced, healthy diet. Plenty of people who eat meat are also B12 deficient for various reasons. The way vegetables are produced and supplied means we no longer get B12 from them (it's present in soil).

Do you really think that only vegetarians and vegans buy vitamin and mineral supplements? God knows how the industry survives!

I keep and regularly kill chickens. I eat them. Can happily skin and prepare a rabbit. If someone taught me how to slaughter and butcher a pig I'd be happy to do it. Or a dog for that matter. This doesn't mean that I want the images of slaughter posted on Facebook or that I'd be comfortable eating a ham sandwich whilst doing it. IMO it's comparable to childbirth- a beautiful process which i am happy to witness and understand in all it's gory detail- do I want pictures of the gore on Facebook while I eat? No. There are other ways of 'educating' people than manufacturing shock gruesome images.

I think people would generally eat the meat they raised..but I think I would have a lot more respect for people who did that. At least they aren't freaking out about the idea that they saw a picture that shows where meat comes from ridiculous.

Cows, pigs and sheep are bred for food. There is a difference.

I bet it makes fuck all difference to the pig. And FWIW, surely it is much more humane to hunt an animal than keep it in a pen it's whole life? Breeding doesn't make it better.

The only supplement a vegan needs to remain healthy is B12, everything else can be gained from a balanced, healthy diet. Plenty of people who eat meat are also B12 deficient for various reasons. The way vegetables are produced and supplied means we no longer get B12 from them (it's present in soil).

There is also a suggestion that vegans should supplement with K2...

pregantpause I also disagree with the posting of explicit images/images (although image in OP sounds more like a joke Photoshop type thing). However, I also disagaree with how completely disconnected people are from the source of the food they eat. Raising awareness is necessary, its hard to know the best way to do it.

Curious what the meat eaters think I should tell my children about meat.

They've asked why we don't eat it and the honest answer I have given them is we don't kill things because it's not kind and people don't need to eat meat and certainly not as much as people in the west do. They will undoubtedly say something to one of your children who seem to think meat comes from a nugget patch.

I eat meat.

I know the process, I know the reality of it (I grew up in the countryside, it's hard to avoid it).

I still choose to eat meat.

I don't mind being shown pictures of cows, pigs etc being slaughtered because I know it happens, I'm happy to eat them regardless.

I wouldn't eat dog or cat anyway because in this country they are domestic pet animals, so showing a picture of a dog being carved up is meaningless, emotive nonsense from vegetarian activists.

I don't tell vegans or vegetarians to eat meat, or call them names because I disagree with their lifestyle. I'd appreciate being shown the same courtesy in return.

It'sall- my post was referring solely to the appropriateness of the image- I too think it's shocking how ignorant a lot of people now are regarding where food and meat especially comes from and what is involved. I have been accused of child abuse on more than one occasion because my dc understand what goes on on relation to our animals including a teacher querying whether this knowledge was 'suitable' for them

meaningless, emotive nonsense

It's not nonsense, it's literally almost the exact same thing except for cultural reasons you've chosen to do one or the other.

It's nonsense when people find out I'm a vegetarian and tell me that carrots feel pain as we do just to wind me up. An no, I don't discuss my vegetarianism in general unless asked (or ridiculous threads pop up on MN). SO there isn't any real reason to do it other than to irritate a vegetarian..and yes, we get it constantly. So I'm sorry if meat eaters are occasionally forced to look at pictures of meat before it's "meat".

FuckOffGroundhog That's nice. And the kids in my family will answer that they know where meat come from. Stop thinking that all omnivores are unaware of where meat come from, even children.

And they will also answer that they like meat, and that in my family we do not place animals on the same level as humans. Also, that if you have a pet dog or cat, they would love to see what you feed it...

I recognize that I am an omnivore, that I like meat, and that I refuse to either lack nutrients or chug alimentary complements to fully function.

Then you also recognise that omnivores are capable of eating more or less anything (within reason) and are not restricted to needing a certain type of food to thrive. You should also know that there are no nutrients lacking in a vegetarian diet and they do not need "alimentary complements" to fully function.

I wish the image hadn't been censored as its hard to discuss what many of us haven't seen.

Why is there an assumption that meat-eating parents are stupid and will inevitably raise our children to believe in 'nugget patches' and nonsense like that?

There is also a suggestion that vegans should supplement with K2..

Thanks ItsAll I do vaguely remember a debate about that a while ago on a veg*n forum. I might look into it as an occasional supplement - don't like the sound of natto as a natural source!

TedAndLola Agreed on the vegetarian diet, as I was speaking of the vegan diet.

A quick google search only finds this:

I don't think they all are stupid, and I've made it clear that I have much more respect for people who are happy to hunt and kill their own meat. But I've read this thread and others..and funny enough met many carnivores in real life (even married one). And yes, many (most?) of those seem to be quite disconnected themselves that their meat was once an animal. I'm not expecting them to give a full run down of how their child's meat got on their plate/

The thing is, it's really not fine to eat meat in the quantities we in the western world eat it in. Maybe if we were more connected and took more care with the process of raising animals, slaughter, eating each part, respecting the animals in question, we'd naturally eat (and waste) less? Meat in the shops would be a lot more expensive. And we and the world would be healthier for eating less.

Its a shame these threads seem to dissolve into militant veggie vs righteous meat lover. What we probably need is to meet somewhere in the middle, so that everyone across the board eats a lot less meat - maybe just on special occasions?

Moomin hit the nail on the head.

ThatBloodyWoman, I did not post the picture. It is graphic and unpleasant and I wouldn't want anyone on here to use it to guilt-tree their meat-eating friends.

ItsAll, that is not the image.

Its a shame these threads seem to dissolve into militant veggie vs righteous meat lover. What we probably need is to meet somewhere in the middle, so that everyone across the board eats a lot less meat - maybe just on special occasions?

I think that will naturally start happening as we realise we need the space for the expanding human population and that it's significantly easier on resources (and cheaper) to move towards a plant based diet.

Agreed on the vegetarian diet, as I was speaking of the vegan diet.

As has been stated there are only two vitamins that potentially need to be supplemented in a healthy, well balanced vegan diet.

Hardly a cocktail of supplements.

K2 can be produced naturally via a vitamin K rich diet though perhaps not at a level to maintain optimal health. The jury appears to still be out on that one though.