To ask if you had to kill the animal yourself, would you still eat meat?

[WhatDoYouThink2017]

To ask if you had to kill the animal yourself, would you still eat meat?

It seems that a lot of people say no, but that does confuse me, as if less people ate meat, there would be a less of a demand.

This isn’t me saying eating meat is wrong btw, I absolutely believe there is a food chain, but the food chain is slightly unfair. Animals are bred and kept in awful conditions for their meat, etc. which is where I believe it’s unfair. Other people seem to agree.

So, if you could humanely keep your own animals and kill them, would you? Or would you go without meat?

I am veggie (22 years) - I would only eat meat if I could kill it myself - I couldn't kill though (unless maybe in starvation situation) I try and imagine doing it and I just would rather the animal lived as I have many other options for food (at the moment)

@mineofuselessinformation I'm a full on carnivore. No shame.

But I prefer ethically sourced meat, eggs etc.

Of course I would, and have done (pheasants). What a bloody stupid question.

To answer your questions: YABU. You're asking a loaded question to try and guilt people into admitting they agree with you and your worldview, or at the very least that their own is hypocritical.

As for the second part: It would really depend on the situation. If you're talking about it in the context of my current situation? No. Because I don't want to keep animals and kill them for food. The amount of work that goes into properly caring for animals over generations is beyond the scope of your average meat eater and I'll admit I don't think I have the stomach for killing an animal I raised by hand.

If you're talking about a scenario where the only way to eat meat was by doing so, then I guess?

I keep hens for eggs, and I humanely cull them when ill. I raised turkey poults for the table, but they got foxed before culling. I'm happy to raise meat for the table. I don't feel guilty about eating meat. I'd feel worse about eating battery eggs

Yes we'd only have Chicken, Turkey and fish though. We raised Meat hens and Hens for eggs too, so no problem killing, cleaning and freezing a load of Chickens. Tastes better than store bought too.

I would be a breatharian if I had to kill my own dinner.

I can just imagine a 🥕 gazing forlornly up at me, begging not to be uprooted. 😭

Farmers daughter here. Regularly killed my own meat growing up and still do now

I feel a lot more comfortable eating meat from animals I’ve shot myself because I know they have had a quick and clean death. Same with fish that DH catches and dispatches quickly and humanely.

By and large, I avoid eating supermarket and cheap catering meat because I don’t think it would have had a very nice life or death

And while I’d obviously never eat them, when the time comes for any of my pets to be PTS, I’m with them at the end because I think that’s part and parcel of having them

I think I'd be ok with birds, I pluck them while they're still warm once shot, but bigger animals, no, I doubt it. I was a happy vegetarian until I met the DH.

No.

But then I think I'd be rubbish at even growing my own veg. I can pick apples from trees but that's about as far as my food production skills go.

No - I am vegan. As Paul MacCartney said - if slaughterhouses had glass walls, the whole world would be vegetarian.

There are some insightful documentaries out there for anyone interested - Forks over Knives (on Netflix) is probably the most accessible.

I agree with the poster above who said they think dairy may be worse than the meat industry. It's heartbreaking. A good documentary on that is Dairy is Scary.

"Death for an animal that is not sick or suffering can never be humane, it can only be quick."

Oh and I completely agree with this. Humans have absolutely no need to eat meat, dairy or eggs to be healthy (in fact, vegans are generally way more healthy than non-vegans). So the only reason these animals are being killed is for taste - people shouldn't kid themselves that they are acting humanely or ethically by buying free-range, organic, etc. Ultimately, meat-eaters are killing (or paying for someone to kill on their behalf), purely because they like the taste of meat. And there is nothing humane or ethical about that.

Yes I think I probably would. But I also think in the situation that I had to it would probably be more humane than it is in big slaughterhouse situations. Which is sad. I don't like the idea of animals kept in crowded conditions. Rammed into lorrys etc. Small scale farming is definitely more appealing.

Yes, absolutely. I’m not squeamish about the reality of being a meat eater.

Join the plant killers club. I thought I was the only one capable of killing desert plants!

Nope, there are at least 2 of us! Every single plant ice ever owned has been killed, however indestructible I've been told it is. Longest lasting one was a cactus I'd had around 8 months. I thought it was looking really healthy. Then one day it spontaneously snapped in half and the top half mostly disintegrated on impact with the floor. I was working from home that day and sat across the room gobsmacked wondering if anyone would believe I hadn't been near it in days.

@DimpleHands

Do you have factual back up there?

I'm honestly interested?

No, but then I'm a vegetarian.

Although actually, if I was in an apocalypse style situation and had to kill a rabbit or goat to have something to eat, I think I could do it.

I have no problem with the food chain in principle, but I do have a problem with the industry - it's a gross, distorted version of the food chain.

Small scale farming is definitely more appealing
Yes but only factory farming can satisfy the current demand for large amounts of cheap meat

Yep... while they are tasty their days are nimbered!☺

"Numbered" even!

I definitely couldn't, which is why I'm vegetarian and trying desperately to persuade myself that I like the taste of coconut milk. I even got upset when a colleague killed a fly today

Yes, and have. The main difficulties come with the raising of the animal, not the killing. I couldn't eat a cow I raised from a calf, but I could eat my neighbour's cow and I can eat a sheep I raised and killed. But overall I would leave the killing part to someone who is very good at their job, for the animal's sake.

Dimple,
Nothing ethically wrong with eating meat. Humans are well adapted to doing so. The development of increased mental capacity in homosapean was largely due to the increase in protein from the consumption of cooked meat. I'd describe such a well established practice as natural!

And that increased intelligence has naturally lead us to understand that it is more ethical and economical to eat Only Plant Food
Humans are naturally innovative and adaptive

@theEmmaDilemma - I guess it's a hard one, there is evidence on either side but the fact that vegetarians live on average 9 years longer than meat eaters says a lot.

Please watch "What the Health" on Netflix if you're interested - lot of people are talking about it and a lot of high profile people have gone vegan as a result.

I went vegan a year ago (was vegetarian for 30 years before that) and I feel a lot better for it.