To be confused as to why we’re not all sociopaths?

[User854]

This thought was triggered by the other thread where a child accidentally kills a hamster but seems to show no remorse; the child is widely being labelled a sociopath on that thread.

Are we not all then sociopathic when we gleefully tuck into our lamb chops that someone has killed for us? What’s the difference really?

Because it's different to kill an innocent creature and show no remorse. If a boy walked up to a lamb in a field and killed it, people would say the same

Eating stuff you bought in a shop is completely different psychologically

Cognitive dissonance

This!

I can't do the cognitive dissonance any more, can't unsee it so I don't eat meat or dairy.

The process was accelerated by getting a dog - what's the difference between a dog and a pig?

(Actually for me it's the painful despairing tortured lives of farmed animals that I can't unsee - I don't have as much of an ethical barrier to killing wild animals or fish for food.)

I can't eat meat/dairy for this very reason. I dont get how people can be up in arms if a dog in mistreated but happily ignore not only the suffering that the meat industry inflicts but actually contribute to it.

Because killing a an animal for its meat is very different to killing a a family pet if you can't see the difference I can't help you 🙄

We all do things all the time that we know are harmful but convenient but don't allow ourselves to think about (as another poster said- it is hard to live with cognitive dissonance so we relieve it in a way we can live with). Personally am vegan and in past days when I briefly was pescatarian I was unable to escape that knowledge of harm and felt acutely aware that what was in my mouth used to be live and vital so I stopped eating any animals and then all animal products. I do drive a petrol car, produce a lot of plastic waste, use products derived from probably slave labour etc etc and none of these things are OK but I relieve my dissonance by not thinking about them most of the time. Ultimately my philosophy is harm reduction, if we try to live without causing harm we are doomed to failure or opting out of society.

Because one is for food and one is a pointless action. Obviously.

But the people who run these slaughterhouses ARE psychopaths. That’s why they treat the animals so terribly. (I’m not talking about the low paid workers who don’t have many options but the owners).

These places are truly evil and paying a psychopath to get your meat from isn’t a moral thing to do. Majority of people would not eat meat if the only way they could get it was to treat an animal exactly how it’s treated in factory farming.

People know on a deep level how inhumane it is and that’s why people avoid factory farming videos and information.

Yeah it’s not like there are literally thousands of other foods to eat 🤡

"Actually for me it's the painful despairing tortured lives of farmed animals that I can't unsee - I don't have as much of an ethical barrier to killing wild animals or fish for food."

Some. The sheep we used to keep had very nice lives, being called by name, enjoying their food, lots of free roaming time so they could graze the hedges and climb up against trees to eat the leaves as they fancied. Strokes and cuddles as they fancied. Bucket trained so never forced to be where they didn't want to. Then they went to the abattoir.

Don't do harmful things if you don't want to do cognitive dissonance.
Become veggie at least, vegan is possible.

That's quite a reach. I'm not saying I agree or not but hyperbole is no one's friend when trying to educate

I do not eat meat but still agree with this. Our cave ancestors were not psycho or sociopath, same as meat eating animals are not. If a person or animal kills for fun, then something wrong or unnatural about it.

British culture anthropomorphises animals like dogs and cats, but exhibits massive cognitive dissonance with cattle, sheep, and pigs. Meat-eating and consuming dairy products are generally conducted at a distance from the living animals in question — what you buy in shops, filleted and shrink-wrapped doesn’t bear much resemblance to a dead animal.

I grew up next door to a slaughterhouse eating offal and pigs’ heads, and spent my summers on a farm killing chickens, and eating the annual pet calf. I’ve been vegetarian all my adult life, and now largely vegan. Probably in part because that kind of cognitive dissonance wasn’t possible. I have friends who raise and slaughter their own meat and who hunt to eat. That’s not a problem for me.

@x2boys how is it different? How is a family pet more important than a cow, chicken or pig? Every animal is a sentient creature and they have equal importance imo.

I think a big problem op is the cruelty of meat and dairy is hidden from us as much as possible. You walk into Sainsburys, the meat aisle is all bright lights and neat packaging. People are conditioned to think it's ok and normal. People are conditioned to believe we 'need' to eat meat and dairy for our health. We think the animals are in fields living their best lives or whatever. The reality is so far from that and horrific but people just don't know or don't want to know and that's part of the problem.

You should read this thread in chat. Seems like most people are sociopaths and would happily kill other people for money...

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5040226-would-you-kill?page=1

@BigPimpinSpendinCheese I know how you feel, I can't consume any animal products either. The thought of it is awful to me and my heart breaks for the animals.

People are so attached to their pets yet farm animals are ok to be killed for us to eat and I just can't understand that logic.

Good for you but for many centuries. People have eaten meat and also have much loved family pets
You personally may choose to do differently that's a choice you make
I have a much loved dog whose enjoyed our lamb roast today as much as we have
I wouldn't slaughter her as she part of our family whereas a lamb in a field isn't you can choose to think differently

Yep.

The cow, chicken and pig wouldn't be alive if we weren't going to eat it. Well at least the breeds most of us eat.

A few people I know 'pets" so for example our cats, my neighbour's cat, and a couple of acquaintances dogs are working animals. They wouldn't be around if we didn't need to to do certain tasks.

Point is not everyone views animals in the same way.

@x2boys I can assure you modern farming is extremely far removed from 'what people have been doing for many centuries' so that argument does not hold up. Almost all meat in this country is factory farmed and it's horrific and very far removed from nature. By all means eat it but I can't follow the logic that a dog is more important than a lamb. Clearly you can so we can agree to disagree.

I see what you're saying, but I also think people do eat meat for fun because it tastes nice. It's not a necessity anymore.

Philosophically, there's probably not a huge difference between killing because you find killing fun compared to getting something killed because you find eating it fun.

Fine we will have to i guess

By that logic all those working in the meat industry / slaughterhouses are sociopaths ? Except they aren’t they are just doing a job ?