Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

People are so cruel - I can’t bear it **animal cruelty** - Title edited by MNHQ

128 replies

bluewanda · 30/12/2020 17:54

I came across this link earlier and am absolutely sickened. How can human beings be so disgustingly cruel? How can these monsters even live with themselves?! Sad

Sorry for the DM link but on the other hand, I’m glad they’re publicising this when other media outlets aren’t.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9082657/amp/Animals-beaten-death-strangled-caged-unflinching-photo-series-showing-suffering.html

OP posts:
PlanDeRaccordement · 30/12/2020 20:06

@frouby
Good point about the destruction on nature of a vegan lifestyle. Another example is palm oil. The plantations for mostly vegan demanded palm oil are the #1 reason why orangutans, elephants, rhinos and tigers are endangered and under threat of extinction.

There is no choice that means you do not cause suffering and death to animals. You can either eat animals that are in no danger of extinction or eat vegan palm oil and send several beautiful species into extinction.

Veterinari · 30/12/2020 20:07

@Lovemusic33

I’m not a vegan but I like to know where my meat comes from, I don’t eat much meat but when I do I buy it local, a lot of farms here allow you to see how they keep their animals, they also slaughter them on site. Just because I occasionally eat meat it doesn’t mean I agree with animal cruelty and OP should feel she needs to become vegan, just research where your food comes from.
Slaughter on site is worrying as many small local enterprises don't have the skills or equipment to stay up to date with humane slaughter methods.

Ironically it's large corporations like McDonalds who have made significant improvements in global animal slaughter standards, not local producers.

cinammonbuns · 30/12/2020 20:08

@PlanDeRaccordement wow I didn’t know only vegans ate products containing palm oil.

I’m not even vegan and your comment is ridiculous to me.

Fr0thandBubble · 30/12/2020 20:10

@planderaccordement and @frouby you are talking utter bullcrap. It is absolutely indisputable that a vegan diet is way, way better for the environment. I mean, your comments are SO ignorant.

Veterinari · 30/12/2020 20:10

[quote PlanDeRaccordement]@frouby
Good point about the destruction on nature of a vegan lifestyle. Another example is palm oil. The plantations for mostly vegan demanded palm oil are the #1 reason why orangutans, elephants, rhinos and tigers are endangered and under threat of extinction.

There is no choice that means you do not cause suffering and death to animals. You can either eat animals that are in no danger of extinction or eat vegan palm oil and send several beautiful species into extinction.[/quote]
Orangutans, yes.

Elephants, rhinos and tigers, no.

My experience is that vegans are more likely to buy ethical/palm oil free products. Do you have any evidence supporting the assertion that most palm oil goes towards specifically vegan products?

It's found in many products like peanut butter which are widely bought by omnivores, rather than vegan-specific products which form a much smaller proportion if the market

PlanDeRaccordement · 30/12/2020 20:13

[quote Fr0thandBubble]**@planderaccordement* and @frouby* you are talking utter bullcrap. It is absolutely indisputable that a vegan diet is way, way better for the environment. I mean, your comments are SO ignorant.[/quote]
It is far from ‘indisputable’ that a vegan diet is “better” for the environment. You seem to have only read the advertising and marketing fluff on veganism and not really dug into the dirty details.

Veterinari · 30/12/2020 20:17

@PlanDeRaccordement
Is Nature a reasonable source?

The omnivorous choice generated worse carbon, water and ecological footprints than other diets.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-06466-8

Yes some vegan diets will be worse than some omni diets - those reliant in the essential avocado and quinoa nutrients perhaps. But as these are generally also components of omni diets these have to be assessed individually. The general pattern is that vegan/veggie diets are better

Veterinari · 30/12/2020 20:18

There's also this analysis of the literature

www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/15/4110

Frouby · 30/12/2020 20:24

I agree with a vegetarian diet being better for the environment @Veterinari. And as long as free range eggs etc better for animal welfare. It's veganism I struggle with because I can't see how anyone living in the northern hemisphere can rely on a plant based diet without modern and potentially damaging resources like plastic and air miles. Am happy to be educated tho, but not by folk who say I'm talking bull crap without counter arguments.

Veterinari · 30/12/2020 20:32

@Frouby

I agree with a vegetarian diet being better for the environment *@Veterinari*. And as long as free range eggs etc better for animal welfare. It's veganism I struggle with because I can't see how anyone living in the northern hemisphere can rely on a plant based diet without modern and potentially damaging resources like plastic and air miles. Am happy to be educated tho, but not by folk who say I'm talking bull crap without counter arguments.
Then read the evidence-based links I posted below.

Everyone has opinions. But I think it's better to have an informed opinion. What's your opinion actually based on?

There's a lot of assumption and personal bias on this thread. I'm not a vegan but I'd fully support anyone choosing a vegan diet because it's is better for the envirinment and for animal welfare. I find the hostility to vegans weird.

june2007 · 30/12/2020 20:34

Well one reason s when Vegans say you can,t be a meat eater or vegetarian even and care for animals.

Veterinari · 30/12/2020 20:35

I also find assertions like vegan palm oil production being the biggest extinction threat to elephants rhinos and tigers, frankly, ridiculous.

I don't really understand how people have such confidence in their own ignorance Confused

Kaliorphic · 30/12/2020 20:37

Don’t buy cheap meat” ??? Good luck with that.

Well there always is a choice to eat less of it and have it for special occasions. But if people are relying on the food bank then I doubt they'll have the funds to make that perfect vegan diet either. It takes time and effort and requires more money than simply a bag of lentils.

Frouby · 30/12/2020 20:49

I'm not hostile to vegans! But my opinion is based on a few things. The fact that not all or even most farmers are cruel, many care about their stock and the stock are kept healthier and happier in more natural environments than some family pets. Without farmers producing meat animals many breeds would simply cease to exist within a few years. Look at the suffolk punch, Cleveland bay and hackney, all near extinction now because the breed is no longer useful.

I try and buy seasonal and local fruit and veg, I grow as much myself as I can, can preserve and pickle and freeze and I'm struggling beyond root veg and brassicas atm without buying imported products. If I was purely eating plant based I would struggle to get variety into my diet without air miles which makes me question if its more ethical to eat an omelette from locally farmed eggs, or eat something like a plant based macaroni cheese from the ready meal section, with the processing energy and plastic that comes with it.

I looked at the abstracts for the studies you listed, the first can't really be compared to the UK as it was based in Italy which has quite a different climate to the UK. The second is based in the US and Europe so again not really specific to the UK, but also says you can have the same impact as a vegan diet by substantially reducing meat and dairy.

I've no arguement with vegans or vegetarians or anyone really. I just believe eating locally, seasonally and ethically is better for the environment based on my own postcode. And have yet to be convinced otherwise. I suspect someone living in a warmer part of the world could eat vegan and be more environmentally friendly but not sure how you would be an environmentally friendly vegan in the UK.

Sparrowfeeder · 30/12/2020 20:57

This is why I am a vegan, this is why I have never eaten meat or fish in my life and also why I will only ever have rescue pets. I judge everyone who is not like this. There is so much suffering caused by humans that I cannot bear it.

covidaintacrime · 30/12/2020 20:59

I judge everyone who is not like this.

That's not the most convincing way to convert people to veganism though, is it?

PlanDeRaccordement · 30/12/2020 21:02

Sustainable palm oil doesn’t exist.
www.onegreenplanet.org/environment/eco-friendly-palm-oil-is-a-lie/

Kaliorphic · 30/12/2020 21:03

That's not the most convincing way to convert people to veganism though, is it

Nope. It sure isn't.

PlanDeRaccordement · 30/12/2020 21:06

[quote cinammonbuns]@PlanDeRaccordement wow I didn’t know only vegans ate products containing palm oil.

I’m not even vegan and your comment is ridiculous to me.[/quote]
I never said only vegans use palm oil. But it is an ingredient in the vast majority of food and toiletry products marketed as vegan. Vegans and have been driving the increase in demand for palm oil for past decade.

Veterinari · 30/12/2020 21:17

@Frouby

I'm not hostile to vegans! But my opinion is based on a few things. The fact that not all or even most farmers are cruel, many care about their stock and the stock are kept healthier and happier in more natural environments than some family pets. Without farmers producing meat animals many breeds would simply cease to exist within a few years. Look at the suffolk punch, Cleveland bay and hackney, all near extinction now because the breed is no longer useful.

I try and buy seasonal and local fruit and veg, I grow as much myself as I can, can preserve and pickle and freeze and I'm struggling beyond root veg and brassicas atm without buying imported products. If I was purely eating plant based I would struggle to get variety into my diet without air miles which makes me question if its more ethical to eat an omelette from locally farmed eggs, or eat something like a plant based macaroni cheese from the ready meal section, with the processing energy and plastic that comes with it.

I looked at the abstracts for the studies you listed, the first can't really be compared to the UK as it was based in Italy which has quite a different climate to the UK. The second is based in the US and Europe so again not really specific to the UK, but also says you can have the same impact as a vegan diet by substantially reducing meat and dairy.

I've no arguement with vegans or vegetarians or anyone really. I just believe eating locally, seasonally and ethically is better for the environment based on my own postcode. And have yet to be convinced otherwise. I suspect someone living in a warmer part of the world could eat vegan and be more environmentally friendly but not sure how you would be an environmentally friendly vegan in the UK.

I'm not hostile to vegans! But my opinion is based on a few things. The fact that not all or even most farmers are cruel, many care about their stock

No one has suggested farmers are cruel people - that doesn’t mean farming methods are not cruel - castrations and tail docking without pain relief, separating calves from mothers at a day old, growing chickens so quickly their legs break under their body weight - all standard farming practices. Or do you not consider these cruel?

and the stock are kept healthier and happier in more natural environments than some family pets.

What’s your evidence for this? As a vet that’s simply not true in my experience.

Without farmers producing meat animals many breeds would simply cease to exist within a few years. Look at the suffolk punch, Cleveland bay and hackney, all near extinction now because the breed is no longer useful.

So? Your argument is that t’s better for animals to be suffering than for breeds to die out?
Even if you believe that, How much investment in rare breeds do you think the average commercial farmer makes? Many farming breeds are dying out despite farming as most commercial farms use a few highly selected bloodlines, so again there’s no actual basis for your assumption.

I try and buy seasonal and local fruit and veg, I grow as much myself as I can, can preserve and pickle and freeze and I'm struggling beyond root veg and brassicas atm without buying imported products.

Great. None of that addresses the welfare issues which are the focus of the OP though. And none of that is standard in an omnivore diet.

If I was purely eating plant based I would struggle to get variety into my diet without air miles which makes me question if its more ethical to eat an omelette from locally farmed eggs, or eat something like a plant based macaroni cheese from the ready meal section, with the processing energy and plastic that comes with it.

Because omnivores don’t eat ready meals/convenience food too? How many omnivores do you actually think pickle/preserve and buy locally like you? It’s primarily omnivores driving the plastic convenience-food market. You do seem to be struggling with an absolute lack of imagination if you think vegan mac and cheese ready meals are a mainstay of vegan diets

I looked at the abstracts for the studies you listed, the first can't really be compared to the UK as it was based in Italy which has quite a different climate to the UK.

You don’t have to compare it to the Uk, it’s comparing the diets within the same geographic location. If you’re choosing to ignore it, what’s your basis for doing so? Where’s your evidence? Unless your argument is that the Italian climate supports the growing of vegan-macaroni ready meals...?

The second is based in the US and Europe so again not really specific to the UK, but also says you can have the same impact as a vegan diet by substantially reducing meat and dairy.

The second is a meta-analysis of published literature. Not really sure why I’m still bothering here. Your insistence on clinging to your own ignorance is obvious. You can’t even be arsed to read the evidence, let alone understand it...

I've no arguement with vegans or vegetarians or anyone really

And yet here you are - slandering vegans , accusing them of killing wildlife, and talking absolute bullshit based on nothing but your own opinion. I know you objected when someone else said that and honestly I tried to have a constructive discussion but it really is impossible when someone is so arrogant as to state that their own biased uniformed opinion overrides published evidence.

I just believe eating locally, seasonally and ethically is better for the environment based on my own postcode. And have yet to be convinced otherwise.

No one has argued against this. But how many omnivores do you think do this? Supermarkets would go out of business. You’re confusing 2 very separate issues, and the evidence is(regardless of your uninformed belief) that veganism is better for the environment that an omnivore diet. You’ve yet to be convinced otherwise because you cannot be arsed to educate yourself.

I suspect someone living in a warmer part of the world could eat vegan and be more environmentally friendly but not sure how you would be an environmentally friendly vegan in the UK.

Because you can’t be bothered to read the science, do any research or rely on anything but your own uninformed assumptions. In your head it seems your uninformed opinion overrides all.

bluewanda · 30/12/2020 21:25

I find it fascinating to see people justify meat eating by claiming they only buy ethical meat confused I don't understand how you ethically kill something that doesn't want to die..

I have to say I completely disagree with this. If an animal is kept on a lovely free range farm with a fantastic life and is then killed humanely on that same farm for meat, I would have far less of a problem with that than eating say, a battery farmed animal that has been mistreated, led a terrible, cruel life and is then transported miles and miles in a tightly packed lorry before being slaughtered in an abattoir. If all meat I ate could come from animals in the former situation I wouldn’t feel half so bad about my choices. But sadly that is unrealistic.

I think I must be a psychopath because those photos don't upset me.

@MissBaskinIfYoureNasty yes, I think you must be.

OP posts:
Veterinari · 30/12/2020 21:25

I never said only vegans use palm oil. But it is an ingredient in the vast majority of food and toiletry products marketed as vegan. Vegans and have been driving the increase in demand for palm oil for past decade.

No, over reliance on convenience food/products drives palm oil production

It is an ingredient in the vast majority of food and toiletry products not marketed as vegan and which are consumed by the much larger omnivore market. This is what drives palm oil production.

https://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/which-everyday-products-contain-palm-oil

Yes vegan cheese often contains palm oil but thus is a tiny fraction of that used in many other omnivore products

Happy to see any evidence to the contrary....

bluewanda · 30/12/2020 21:29

All these animals (except the ones specifically bred for food - they just wouldn't exist at all)

Maybe that would be better - not existing at all I mean. It’s got to be better than living such a cruel, frightening, god awful life.

The images in the link are horrendous, but I think they’ve been the wake up call I need to change my habits.

OP posts:
bluewanda · 30/12/2020 21:31

@Veterinari is it possible to avoid palm oil completely? I would love to be able to do that.

OP posts:
bluewanda · 30/12/2020 21:34

This is why I am a vegan, this is why I have never eaten meat or fish in my life and also why I will only ever have rescue pets. I judge everyone who is not like this. There is so much suffering caused by humans that I cannot bear it.

@Sparrowfeeder not even as a baby/young child? Were your parents vegetarians as well then? I really admire you for it by the way.

OP posts:
Swipe left for the next trending thread