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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think that meat eaters...

410 replies

hashbrownsandwich · 04/10/2021 11:26

Should be comfortable to slaughter animals if they are happy to eat them?

The 'cheap chicken' threads have got me onto this and I'm at home with covid so be gentle!

My own personal background is that I am vegetarian and have been since I was 7. Own decision. I cook meat for my children and my husband because I believe, like i was given, it's a choice that can be made for themselves.

My husband is from farming background and has proactively raised and slaughtered animals. His conscience is entirely clear because he very much has the farmer mindset of raise the animal, give them a good life, dispatch and consume.

It's coming up to 'Turkey time' on the family farm and with the so called shortages forecast this year, I've found myself having more conversations with colleagues about the food chain/supply etc.

We live in an affluent area and we have lots of farm shops, butchers etc. However, I'm shocked that most people I know have said while they couldn't give up meat, they also wouldn't be happy to raise animals for slaughter themselves or to witness their slaughter.

So AIBU to to believe, if you're going to eat meat, it's your moral duty to be ok with animal slaughter?

Just to say, what I've tried in a long winded way above is that i'm not a preachy veggie and I'm not vegan.

OP posts:
LaikO · 04/10/2021 17:44

I was a vegetarian for longer than I've eaten meat, come to think of it.
But yes, I think I would be okay with it, to answer the original question in the OP.

2bazookas · 04/10/2021 17:44

Realistically very few people will ever have the opportunity or facilities to raise their own meat, let alone slaughter it. So your requirement is as daft as expecting every one to learn how to spin wool and knit their own socks.

I have raised our meat (chickens, ducks and sheep) and traded a sheep for a pig with neighbours. I killed and cleaned and cooked our poultyr, and I led my sheep right in to the local slaughterhouse. I didn't have the facilities to personally slaughter them humanely but I made sure it happened. The pig=keeper did the same thing.

 What is surely far more important , is for every meat eater to  care,  and make sure,  the meat they buy  was raised and properly cared for to the highest standards of health and welfare.
SuperstarDog · 04/10/2021 17:47

Does that make it ok for someone to attempt to make others feel bad, just because they have different stance?

It’s not necessarily something I would do, but again if you think you’re going the right thing, whatever someone says is unlikely to have an impact.

I’m really not interested in hating or division. I don’t eat animal products because I think it’s wrong. I try not to get involved in arguments about it regardless of feeling strongly about it.

FluffyBooBoo · 04/10/2021 17:47

*I said it was none of my business what other people eat (and by the same coin, it's no one else's business what I eat).

At which someone said it was was up to them to be a voice for defenceless animals. That's fine, but don't bother speaking to me about it I am not interested*

Fair enough! I was really just making sure that what I had said hadn't been interpreted as having said that. But I totally understand your view. I am in full agreement that people shouldn't try to engage you in the subject if you aren't interested. I don't understand why people even try tbh. It's a pointless exercise!

SuperstarDog · 04/10/2021 17:51

I am in full agreement that people shouldn't try to engage you in the subject if you aren't interested. I don't understand why people even try tbh. It's a pointless exercise!

Absolutely. But if someone posts on a forum, they may well get people addressing their points.

justjuggling · 04/10/2021 17:52

Yabu

GetInThereLewis · 04/10/2021 17:53

I agree OP. I have worked in a slaughter house (only an agency placement thank god) The workers were underpaid,bullied into extra shifts and taken advantage of due to their lack of english skills. I found this area to be upsetting also. It's not a nice job.

SoupDragon · 04/10/2021 18:12

Which I guess puts me on the same level as not being able to dispatch an animal to eat.

You're already on the same level as you are cooking animals. 🤷🏻‍♀️

liveforsummer · 04/10/2021 18:42

Well I suppose I'd do it if i had to but I'm lazy and it's a bit messy so if it's feasible for someone else to do it then I'll go with that!

ididitsocanyou · 04/10/2021 18:46

Agreed OP. It’s hypocracy otherwise. I think if ppl were starving, however, even a vegan would slaughter a pig.

gunnersgold · 04/10/2021 18:58

I don't eat meat though choice , I think it's just ingrained in us that we love the fluffy dogs etc and couldn't possibly eat them but cows and sheep are fair game because they are somehow different.. I grew up in the country and cows and sheep and such lovely animals , each with a personality likes dogs and cats but most people won't know that because they haven't spent time with them . I actually don't have an issue with meat eaters but I think you are deluded if you think the whole process is humane , it's really isn't . I think the meat should cost so much more and they breed less and care for them better ..
as an aside there are soo many foods available that mimic meat , I believe it will become the norm in years to come as it just gets better and better !
I actually think eating meat is also very bad for you and all the stuff they feed them gets into our systems and makes us poorly.
We do all have choices though and most people choose to ignore the fact the lump of food once lived and breathed . Each to their own as they say ! 🤷‍♀️

Wazzzzzzzup · 04/10/2021 19:04

I knew i had it somewhere 😁

To think that meat eaters...
Sillysop92 · 04/10/2021 19:18

I'd just get my staff to do it! Lol!

Horst · 04/10/2021 19:18

@Wazzzzzzzup

I knew i had it somewhere 😁
I mean it’s environmentally friendly corn fed Grin
Wazzzzzzzup · 04/10/2021 19:31

@Horst for the planet, I would be willing to try😂

Wazzzzzzzup · 04/10/2021 19:31

I have ads for kattle feeding guide now,!

SuperstarDog · 04/10/2021 19:43

I grew up in the country and cows and sheep and such lovely animals

They really are. My friend takes in various animals and I love visiting her. She has cows, sheep, pigs, also chickens and turkeys. The turkeys will sit on your lap for ages, they seem to love the contact. All the animals bond with each other and to my friend and the volunteers. Just lovely. 😊

worriedatthemoment · 04/10/2021 19:52

But we don't need ti be able to do it , like most of our food
Do vegetarians all grow their own veg and meat substitutes ?

Wazzzzzzzup · 04/10/2021 19:56

Bootleg homegrown Quorn.
😂

worriedatthemoment · 04/10/2021 19:58

@gunnersgold yet what you wrote was so far removed from each to their own
I live in the country and see cows and sheep etc all the time and they are not comparable to my dog in anyway
For years the human race has ate meat , what we can ask for is less antibiotics etc , better welfare

SkiingIsHeaven · 04/10/2021 19:59

I wouldn't want to dig up a potato but I like eating them.

gunnersgold · 04/10/2021 20:03

Why though .. why does a dog matter more than a cow or sheep? I actually don't get that at all! I love all animals but it's only because we are conditioned to eat cows and sheep that we do . Like the Asians eat dogs and the french horses which we baulk at ..

I do believe each to their own , I also believe what I said is true . I wasn't preceding , merely stating my opinion .

SuperstarDog · 04/10/2021 20:10

I actually think eating meat is also very bad for you and all the stuff they feed them gets into our systems and makes us poorly.

It’s been so long since I ate meat that I don’t remember, I only ate it as a child before I refused to eat it anymore. But I do remember feeling so much better once I fully gave up dairy. I have an auto immune condition which I no longer notice the symptoms of, my skin is great, I have more energy and can now run further, period issues reduced. I just don’t seem to get ill very often now, I’ve had my first cold in years this week. Of course it could all be coincidental but I don’t think so.

ThePotatoCroquette · 04/10/2021 20:16

I eat meat and fish and I would be happy to kill my own if I was taught to. I'm glad I don't have to be a farmer, but if my only way to eat meat, fish and dairy was to be hands on in that I would do it. Otherwise I'd be a vegan because I would rather be a vegan than a hypocrite

strivingtosucceed · 04/10/2021 20:39

Sure thing, great argument. All the women who want to have kids, should deliver other babies first. All people who want to poop in a toilet should treat sewage in a plant. Anyone who wants their bins taken away should be a dustbin man!

There are many things we'd rather not do, even if we reap the benefits. Doesn't mean you're a hypocrite to feel that way. What I do think is hypocritical is vegans saying they care about animal welfare but keeping them as slaves and playthings for their own selfish pleasure.