Visit to abbotoir before veg. child allowed to be meat eater?

[poppynic]

My dp is a ultra-committed vego and decreed that if he had children they would have to be vego. Being desperate and clueless at the time I said, sure, whatever. We have now got through 4 years of vego child.

I asked dp when child could decide for himself. He said 5. Now child (4) is saying he wants to be a meat eater when turns 5. Dp wants child to visit abbatoir first . I'm a big softy and don't think it's fair to put ds through that horror - virtual child abuse. But I want him to be able to be a meat eater if he wants.

What do you think - is an abbatoir visit reasonable for a 5 year old?

No PPH, I don't think you're mad, but have similar bumpkin roots. Actually, when I was a child, I used to be fascinated by those buthchers charts that show what part of the animal becomes what cut...obviously a morbid child

PPH - I don't get the impression that he wants the humane version you have described, rather he wants the 5 yr old to see a cow getting whacked

no cos finbras dh went and is scarred fo life

i think it is indeed abusive to send a child to an abattoir.
Shocking and scarring imo
let the child decide for himself
dp does sound a bit controlling sorry

doesn't matter what he wants - if she does a trip like that and the child comes home and says "I understand how meat gets killed and I still want to eat it" then he, presumeably, has to back down

I personally think vegetarianism is something that children should choose themselves, but conversely I can see that if you are a veggie household it is difficult to start cooking meat....
I think they should be allowed to eat what they like at school and out etc though

no a 5 year old should not be allowed to visit an abbatoir.

if yuor husband wishes to explain where meat comes from and how it is produced then find a farm. then you can explain in a way that a 5 year old would understand that when the pig/cow/chicken is big enough they make it into bacon/burgers/drummers.

they don't need to know the ins and outs but answer any questions he has honestly.
after 4 years of a vegan diet he may try meat and not like it. it has a very different texture and flavour to what he is probably used to.

my dp had to work in one for two weeks as part of his training and he was shocked and horrified at 20

bet he woudlnt be let in anyway

heltha dn safety

lol at making them into drummers fattymama.
what is a drummer anyway? Is it like a twizzler? I don't think they make them out of happy organic chickens somehow

pph where are we wiht our meet up

I think your DP is acting like a freak and you should just ignore him

it is not reasonable to take a child to an abbatoir

take him to a farm and show him where the meat comes from

take him to a butcher and show him what it looks like raw

but an abbatoir .. your DP is acting like an arse and I would be furious

show him a beheading on an ismalist extreemist website maybetoo

then he can decide on that too
fgs he is a child

Dp is prescribing his views on his child at any cost, a very weak individual imo. If he doesn't feel confident enough to bringing up a child that is sensitive to animal welfare without scaring the living daylights out of him he is failing his son and his beliefs.
Most vegetarians I know(and I live with two of them) are sufficiently confident enough in their stance and beliefs without shoving it down others throats.
A huge mistake imo, don't let it happen.

PPH - I don't think you are at all mad.

What is it about an abbatoir that people think would be horrific? Seeing an animal killed, or the mess involved in getting it's blood and guts out?

Gruesome a sight it may be, but mess is just mess, and by then the animal is dead.

And many many farm children witness animals being killed for food, or perhaps being put down for humane reasons.

Anyway, i don't think the general public are allowed to wander in and visit abbatoirs. Telling your 5 year old exactly what meat is and where it comes from should be enough for him to make up his mind.

Message withdrawn

PMSl - i actually think drummers are turkey aren't they?? so no idea why i put drummers it was justthe first thing poultry related i could think of.

do'h...just realised i oculd have said Nuggets, at least that would have made sense

Thanks everyone - I think that's a pretty clear consensus. I'll definitely put my foot down and, if push comes to shove, suggest a farm/butcher visit.

I don't think dp wants to hurt ds into being veggie, just that he is totally aware of what goes on in the process before he decides. But, as you all agree, he is being unreasonable.

We have had lots of discussions with ds on the subject and ds is very clear where meat comes from. He has said he would quite happily eat any animal except cows - because they do milk and we eat that. And (cringe at your reaction to dp's question - would he be happy to kill the animal?) yes, he would, he would use his light saver (sabre) coz they kill, don't they?? DS is actually VERY like dp in personality - quite happily watches blood test on himself, when nurse tells him to look away - only I do .

my dp used to work the killing line in a large scale abbatoirs. the men who worked that line had to be psychologically evaluated beforehand and even then few lasted longer than a week and all threw up on their first day.

thers no way in hell an abbatoir would allow a 5 year old in!

how about buying a whole chicken, with feathers if possible, and showing him all the bit and letting him help prepare it. that way he'll have no illusions about where it comes from but won't witness an animal dying

btw, in case you needed more reasons not to bring him, apparenty some of the pigs dont get properly knocked out, wake up when the knife hits their throats and scream and thrash.

Agree with the majority view on this thread that a visit to an abbattoir not suitable for a 5-y-o. (My - committed meat-eater - sister got taken to a battery hen farm at the age of about 18 and didn't eat poultry or eggs for about 2 years afterwards... she was really upset by it.) I think a 5-y-o should be able to know where meat comes from, and make his own decision. If he is in a substantially vegetarian family, he'll probably not end up eating that much meat anyway. And buy organic, locally-sourced meat, so that you feel reasonably happy about the cruelty aspects of eating it.

This reminded me of my dd1 when she was about 3 or 4 in our local farm shop... She caught sight of the carcasses hanging up in the butchery section and announced in a LOUD voice 'Mummy mummy... we're eating cows' BOTTOMS!!!'

Agree with the majority view on this thread that a visit to an abbattoir not suitable for a 5-y-o. (My - committed meat-eater - sister got taken to a battery hen farm at the age of about 18 and didn't eat poultry or eggs for about 2 years afterwards... she was really upset by it.) I think a 5-y-o should be able to know where meat comes from, and make his own decision. If he is in a substantially vegetarian family, he'll probably not end up eating that much meat anyway. And buy organic, locally-sourced meat, so that you feel reasonably happy about the cruelty aspects of eating it.

This reminded me of my dd1 when she was about 3 or 4 in our local farm shop... She caught sight of the carcasses hanging up in the butchery section and announced in a LOUD voice 'Mummy mummy... we're eating cows' BOTTOMS!!!'

Thanks Pinktinsel, good to know about the abattoir - but urrgghhh - I'm not quite veggie, but there's no way in hell I could prepare a feathery chicken (though I'm sure it wouldn't bother ds).

preparing a feathery chicken takes ages (takes us 2 hours per chicken) - and you need proper instructions on how to do it. The mess is quite incredible, too. I really wouldn't do it just to prove a point.