 |
| The British hedgehog at home |
 |
| Coat of arms of Australia |
It's probably only in the last 20 years that kangaroo has become widespread as an alternative to beef, pork and the other tasty animals that our species kills to eat because we like the taste, which really is the only reason today, whatever might have been the case for our ancestors. I usually enjoy at least one kangaroo steak on my annual visit to Australia. Emu is OK, but not so tasty in my opinion. I've never tried it, but have heard reports that koalas are fairly disgusting as meat, which isn't surprising considering that their sole diet is one type of strongly flavoured lead. In fact, I think koala meat might be poisonous: I remember my brother, who has koalas on his property, telling me that when they die, other wild animals don't eat them, but leave them to rot as a feast for the local mould and bacteria.
Of course, I don't kill the kangaroos that I eat myself, although when I was growing up, I did kill, or at least actively participate in the killing of the ducks, chickens, pigs and cattle that my family bred to eat. No, these days, I pay other people to kill animals for me. I guess that makes me, and every one else who eats meat, animal killers who, like a mafia godfather, order and pay others to do our killing and cleaning up for us. But we are still the killers and we are still responsible for the deaths of the animals that we eat - I think its a bit dishonest to pretend that if you order a beef steak, or some tasty kai yang, or yummy salmon sashimi that you are not ordering and paying other people to kill animals. And most of us seem happy with being killers of other species, although this does raise an interesting question: why is it OK for us to kill and eat other animals? Is it OK for us to kill and eat other animals? Always? And if its OK to kill and eat elephants, chickens, kangaroos, pigs, dogs (also very tasty), and lambs, is there any good reason why it is not also OK to kill and eat human beings?
For breakfast this morning, I'm following my coffee, which I've just finished, with some beefy beans; definitely no hedgehog was killed for my breakfast. And you?
___________
Reference
Veggie might be the answer of the reason that not kill any animal for food,but just vegetables are enough for life to live or not.Did the devlopment of human for million years gave us the wrong way to live?
ReplyDeleteThe question of moral on meat eaten daily also used to be doubtful for me until I come up with the rational arguments, which I have gathered from reading various sources and it comfort myself well; that is: I pay money with an intention to buy meat, from already dead animals which I don't know who killed them, rather than pay money to hire somebody to kill them. So I have no guilt alleging of being mafia godfather at all. With this argument I feel free from cognitive dissonance.
ReplyDeleteI don't think this argument can work. Whatever unknown people kill the animals we eat only do so because they are paid. Toon is right that the meat we buy has usually already been killed by people we don't know, although if we did some research, we could certainly find out who had been paid and ordered to kill for us to get the meat we eat. However, even though the particular meat we buy is usually already dead (sometimes not), it is our act of buying meat today that effectively also pays and orders the killing of more meat tomorrow.
DeleteAnd I just thought of a stronger comparison than the mafia godfather one. As Toon suggests, we don't normally know, although I'm not sure this matters much, exactly who killed the particular animal on our plate for us.
So perhaps we are really more like a murderous army general in a war who orders his army to kill all the people in an enemy city - the general does not know which soldier killed which people, but we do think that since he gave the orders he is guilty of the deaths. Similarly, during Thailand's ugly drug was under Thaksin in 2003, the man who gave the orders and the men (women too I'm sure) i positions of public influence who applauded that great evil were guilty of causing the killing as much as were the people who pulled the triggers that led to the deaths. Indeed, since it's the bullet that actually kills, if you follow that line of reasoning, murderers who shoot people aren't actually killers because they didn't kill, the bullet did, all the murderer did was pull the trigger. But I think the intention of the agent who starts the chain of actions is where the greater responsibility for the outcome lies, and that means that meat eaters like myself are the responsible causes for all of the animal killing that puts tasty meat on our plates.
I'm having roast duck from the market next to my condo for lunch today. And because I buy the duck that killed for meat eaters today, another duck will be killed today for the meat eaters to buy tomorrow.
DeleteWhat are you having for lunch?
When I reread that rather long comment, I spotted a couple of typing mistakes. I'm sure they won't be a problem as you read.
DeleteUndeniably, many beliefs and values that we inherit from our parents immensely influence our thinking, including our reasons for why we do not eat other human beings. We have all believed for many generations that it is appalling and disgusting to kill and eat other humans. On the other hand, most of the same people accept that eating animals is fine. This is why we do not feel unethical when we eat them at all. However, I personally do not eat meat that I think came from animals that suffered for it.
ReplyDeleteI think Tan makes a good point to consider here, one that suggested another question to think about.
DeleteAre the "many beliefs and values we inherit from our parents" right or wrong?
How about Koalas? Is it symbol of Australia? I can remember when I was young. After my aunt visited Australia.She gave me Koalas and Kangaroo doll. She said the both of them are unique ot Australia. I have been understanded that the Koalas and Kangaroo are symbols of Australia.
ReplyDelete