To think that meat eaters...

[hashbrownsandwich]

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.

@PissedOffAgain I stopped getting a veg box because I didn’t want to have to wash off that much mud from my potatoes!

Yes, I’m fully aware of where meat comes from, and I’m not squeamish about it. I make sure the children are (age appropriately) aware too. No “eeeww raw meat is too disgusting for me to touch or think about” here.
If I was properly trained and / or had to, yes I’d do it myself. But obv I’m not.

@DismantledKing

The preachy vegetarians are active in AIBU today

It's definitely Vegans Assemble today on aibu.

But in extremis the cats would be eaten before I starved or started snacking on the neighbours!

I wouldn’t eat my neighbours. One would taste of dope for one thing.

I've shot pheasants, dispatched a chicken, killed lobsters, shucked oysters, caught fish and collected shellfish to eat, but I'm not about to go into the field next door and wrestle a cow to the ground.

Am I still allowed to eat beef?

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.

Whilst I understand your sentiment, I don’t see from the above why people who source ethical meat from a good farm can’t equally have a clear conscience. Not everyone has the technical know-how to slaughter an animal. I’m sure if I tried to slaughter a sheep or a cow I’d just end up causing it more suffering.

I’ve done a job where I saw the kill lines.

It’s not nice but I wasn’t squeamish about it and if it was the only job I could get, I’d do it.

Also have seen injured animals get the bolt gun close up (held the head of one)

Is this what you wanted to hear @hashbrownsandwich or doesn’t it fit with your narrative?

Head = rope.

I wasn’t in danger

This is a ridiculous argument.

I'm happy to have heart surgery if I need it but there's no way I'm volunteering to perform it on anyone else any time soon (nor would I be permitted to!). Does that make me a hypocrite?

We all perform different roles to make society function. Very few of these roles can be performed without some sort of training. Slaughtering animals humanely is hardly unskilled work.

Also, aren't we trying to reduce the number of guns in circulation? I'm not sure requiring meat-eaters to go out and kill their dinner themselves is going to achieve this.

Yes, we should all be trying to reduce our meat consumption, but that's a different argument.

So anyone who doesn’t want to drive because they’re too nervous or find it too difficult should never travel in a motor vehicle then? How about having an operation if you’re squeamish or needle phobic? What about being a pilot? Or a nanny? Or refuse collector? Or working in sewers? Or deep sea diving? We exist as societies so that we can work together to use different skills and tolerances. I think it’s a silly argument myself

Im not sure you can necessarily conflate "morally ok with" with "happy to do it yourself

This really. They are not the same thing. Slaughter is a messy and unpleasant job. You can be morally OK with it happening but not want to do it yourself.

I don't do everything else in life myself because I live in 21st Century Western society.

If you consume dairy products you also have the same dilemma surely. The dairy industry is pretty horrendous.

we are so glad you live in an affluent area, as I am sure many will flock to identify with, including myself, because who wants to appear 'pov' on mums net ? -

But, I agree with you about meat. Im all but down with it and getting tired of fucking mackerel with everything. More or less the entire food industry (and I am including organic shite aimed at the aspiring classes) is poison.

Oh, fuck off with your sanctimonious shit. I'll eat meat if I want.
Where exactly does this "argument" end? We all do/use/consume things that we haven't built, grown etc.
Why does this even bother you? If you don't want to eat meat then don't. End of story 🙄

@Learnthroughplay3

I have never understood why most people love their pet who has a brain heart feelings but can eat other animals bacause its the norm

Genuinely this was why I went vegetarian. My 7 year old brain couldn't work out why the dog was safe but the pig in the field next to me was now a sausage.

@BungleandGeorge

So anyone who doesn’t want to drive because they’re too nervous or find it too difficult should never travel in a motor vehicle then? How about having an operation if you’re squeamish or needle phobic? What about being a pilot? Or a nanny? Or refuse collector? Or working in sewers? Or deep sea diving? We exist as societies so that we can work together to use different skills and tolerances. I think it’s a silly argument myself

Agree with this.

We all use the sewer systems, it doesn't mean we'd all want to work in them or deal with raw sewage ourselves.

It's pretty much the same thing.

Hugh fearnley-whittingstall did a series on showing people how to raise and slaughter their animals, and then how to cook with that food.

He also talked about not wasting any meat and appreciating that an animal gave it's life for that food.

That's a strong ethic I abide by, and I do think that we should understand what that animal went through if we are going to eat it's meat.

I don't think it would turn people vegetarian. I think it would teach people a new appreciation.

@SoupDragon

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

Surely if you are happy to cook meat for your family, you should also be OK with animal slaughter. I would expand your opening statement to include people who are happy to cook meat.

This is a good point, thank you.

Genuinely this was why I went vegetarian. My 7 year old brain couldn't work out why the dog was safe but the pig in the field next to me was now a sausage

I really don't understand vegetarians who preach about animal welfare. The dairy industry is just as bad if not worse in many ways.

The only reason we wouldn't is that we're not used to it, and it's not part of our culture. In societies where people are used to it, they do it, no problem. So would we if we had to.

[quote NeedAHoliday2021]@PissedOffAgain I stopped getting a veg box because I didn’t want to have to wash off that much mud from my potatoes![/quote]
My OH also has an allotment - am still not hauling my arse up there to pick things when the nice man from Sainsburys' brings me stuff (and judges me for my alcohol intake and smoking - I don't pick the tobacco or the hops either!)

[quote KylieKoKo]@hashbrownsandwich the egg industry grinds up up male baby chicks at one day old as it's not profitable to keep them as they don't lay eggs. You eat eggs as a vegetarian, so surely you should be ok doing this yourself.[/quote]

Actually I don't consume eggs. I'm not vegan but I chose not to eat eggs. All our eggs are from our own chickens. I know somewhere along the line there have been male chicks killed in this process and I accept that, rightly or wrongly.

In small farms it usually wasn't that every member of family butchered large animals. You need to have skills and strenght to do that. People would invite skillfull neighbours or professionals and then assisted them.

Yes I agree completely. I am uncomfortable eating meat, and am 99% of the time vegetarian. I'll eat it occasionally for convenience, having dinner at MILs or abroad when there's no other choice. Unless I was actually starving I couldn't slaughter an animal, and that removes my right to eat one simply because it tastes good.

@hangrylady

I'm a bit ashamed to say that even though I eat meat I don't think I could bring myself to do the killing. When I see meat in a butcher or supermarket I don't think of it as an animal, just food and I'd go vegetarian if I had to kill animals myself which is hypocritical. Just being honest.

It's not hypocritical. Many people are similar to you and it's the way our society works, it's nothing to be ashamed of.

I think it's a daft argument to say that if you eat meat you should kill the animal yourself. Some people just don't have that skill set and it's just one of those emotionally-loaded arguments used to make meat eaters feel guilty.

(For context I don't eat much meat myself, but this kind of argument frustrates me).

Even back in stone age/ neanderthal tribes, certain people would be hunters and others would not.

There has never been a human society where everybody who consumes meat has to be involved in its slaughter and preparation.

Societies distribute work according to who is the most capable and best suited for the job, and our current society is simply that on a larger scale.

@Georgyporky

There are a lot of "Pick Your Own" places. How about a "Kill your own turkey" for those farms with labour shortages ?

You've just saved Christmas