Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
TR 11:15am
24 comments:
Nicole Gelman
said...
The past few weeks I have been contemplating on this very subject myself. I have been watching documentaries such as Food Inc. that have changed my way of thinking as I eat meat. Ever since I became aware of the harsh conditions that animals are in, I’ve questioned eating meat. I have severely cut down on my meat ingestion recently due to the thought of what these animals had to go through to end up on my plate. The farms need to treat animals as food in sanitary conditions not as inferior beings that can live in disgusting environments. Animals feel pain and torture just as humans do, for them to not be able to move in their cages or not eat what they are biologically meant to eat is immoral. Who are we to alter other animal’s diets? Cows are meant to eat grass not corn. Because of my new knowledge of how the food industry works it has changed my diet significantly.
I think that it should have a balance in how to farm and kill the animals to reduce pain. There are methods that can kill an animal with probably one hit. I believe that animals are a source of food for us but the abuse on how we consume them is what concerns me. A great example of how this is taking place with dolphins is the documentary: The Cove. These Japanese people were supposed to kill them in a certain way with one blow but instead they stab them and torture them until they die and in the end the dolphin meat is not even all that and super high in mercury. Also, before we had ample spaces to have these pigs but now they wait to be killed in a cubicle because of the high demand in that particular meat. It goes back to the older post where the food consumption is high demand. If we learn how to behave ourselves and not consume more than necessary, these animals would serve their purpose without being mistreated or tortured.
I think about the things i eat everytime i take a bite. I think about the process it took for this manufactured meat patty to reach my mouth watering hunger. I sometimes feel repulsed by it. I go back and forth arguing in my mind if its ok or if its not. But there is one thing im sure of and thats that we dont need meat to survive. It has been speculated that meat actually helped humans reach the status of human sapien from its early ancestral of the neanderthal. The protein in meat helped our brains grow in size and also gave room for more brain cells to be generated to reach its current potential. Its also been documented that cooking food is much more nutritious for our own bodies. Digesting cooked food makes our own digestive process secrete more sugar from food than if it were digested raw. This therefore opens the our bodies to a much larger supply of energy to use. Ive limited my meat eating to once a month. I think about the food pyramid and the amounts of food that should be eaten in our diet in order to maintain a healthy homeostasis. I do believe that animal cruelty is wrong. The treatment of these animals is in humane. Justifying it through the means of survival is speculative in my opinion. I can survive on vegetables alone, so meat is not necessary for survival. I think we have been brainwashed into thinking that meat is necessary. The huge profits made in the meat industry can be a motive into why is it that our society here in america thrives in endorsing that eating meat is necessary. i believe the people, the masses have to realize that your diet, what you eat, what you have been taught to eat as being normal is in reality not normal. Eating habits have to be re-evaluated. This will have an effect in the future through the children they bare. Where there is a cause there is an effect even if the light isnt shining on it just yet.
Animals like us are inhabitants of this earth. No matter what separates us we have to realize that we don’t own this world; we share it. Animal cruelty is wrong, I believe that animals should be respected and treated with integrity. Now eating meat is an entirely different issue. Personally I feel that there is nothing wrong with eating meat; I would prefer eating a New York strip over a Cesar salad any day of the week. If we didn’t eat meat then what will we survive on? Personally I wouldn’t enjoy a diet consisting of fruits and vegetables; I eat for enjoyment. However, I do understand that the way the animal is treated before it gets to my plate is an issue of animal cruelty. I think that the solution lies within our government. There should be stricter laws and regulations that slaughter farms should follow, and some sort of weekly inspection that occurs spontaneously. Nonetheless at the end of the day I believe that no one cares enough to put an end to this issue. -Melida Ortega-
In this article leading scientists believe that it is impossible to know if animals are suffering, a language is needed to know if something is suffering which animals do not have. But in my opinion to realize someone is in pain deals with the way they are acting, screaming or crying. For instance, babies have no language and cannot communicate but you can definitely tell when they are in pain. The same goes for animals, they suffer just as much as the next human being does and it isn't fair to just sit back and watch people torture them. There should be animal rights just like there are human rights. Although it is impossible to have it written down on paper that animals should have rights, people should be a little bit more understanding about the situation and think of the animal as if it were their own. -Krysta Farber-
I enjoy eating meat. There's nothing like a 5 guys burger at 3 in the morning. I have seen the small enclosures in the midwest where they keep thousands of cows. The cows eat and crap thats what they do, until they are ready to get slaughtered. I don't think its the right conditions to keep animals in, but I'm not thinking about that when I'm eating my 5 guys burger. My neighbors in Wyoming did not go to the grocery store at all or eat out. They grew vegetables on their land and they went hunting a couple times a year and the meat would last a long time.
For many years we treat animals with no rights, except for when we have them as our pets. Many believe that the cruelty to animals should end. Do we ever pause and think about the advances in science we have made due our furry friends? Do we end the testing and slow down evolution? Many of the products that we use on daily basis are animal tested such as hair gel, make up, fabrics, etc... To many of us, it would be unbearable to live without some of these products. Animals will be continued to be used as a means and not as an ends. Animals have many purposes here on earth. We have to define the rights that animals should and should not have. The problem exist in the implementation of these rights as many will, have and continue to abuse them, due to the demand in many areas were animals are the primary source of the product. You and I are the consumers that demand these products that cause animal cruelty. So who is to blame?
I believe that animal rights are a must have in todays ever expanding society, like Regan says animals are "Subjects-of-a-life" in following with that statement I to believe that just by being alive one is born with rights, rights that should not exists on paper, but must less we forget are selves in a wold gone ever so wrong. The concept no the thought that we must discuss and deliberate whether another living being should be alotted rights is rediculous, but then I think that there will always be a struggle a fight, a war to be won, and a cause to be championed. For now this is are topic, or cause; what ever we choose to call it, but it is are obligation to all living beings that we give voice to those who cannot speak for the rights of their own.
This is a very touchy subject for me because I am a firm believer in animal rights. Yes I eat meat and enjoy it but at what cost? These animals are being killed in extremely inhumane ways. Why is there not an easier less harmful method? It’s not only the way they are killed but the way they are tortured that makes it unbelievable that people find no wrong in it. Why do we have to subdue animals to be tested on for our excessive products and killed for our uncontrollable need for meat? If you are a pet owner then you know that animals have feelings and personalities of their own, how is that different? Can you not see the pain in their eyes when you scold them for a wrong they’ve done? What about the millions of cows, calf’s, pigs, and chickens that die every day without knowing what kind of life they could have had, what did they do to deserve that? And I’m not just preaching, I believe this to the very end because I once had a farm with horses, cows, pigs and everything in between. I was taught that animals deserve rights just as we do, and just because they can’t say it doesn’t mean they don’t feel that way. So to anyone that feels differently please reconsider your close minded ways and realize were not the only creatures on this planet.
All across the globe carnivores exist, from the lowest depths of our oceans to the highest mountain peaks. The consumption of meat is a natural instinct in many animals as well as for humans. But humans and animals have very distinct views on meat. Meat is a life or death situation for carnivorous animals. As for humans, it is more of a pleasure. Humans have evolved enough to realize meat is not necessary food, and there can be alternatives similar to meat if not the same. Without the slaughter of an innocent animal, who never asked to be killed for its own meat. Animals do not have alternatives on what they eat and do not have well developed brains as humans do. But humans and animals, have a few things in common. Both feel pain and have the right to live a full life. If some people believe they are not animals, why don’t they act like human beings and reconsider the pain and cruelty animals go through for human use and make a stop to this.
All living things (plants and animals) deserve a certain degree of respect, and shouldn't be constantly subjected to harsh conditions. But unfortunately humans take intelligence superiority and convert it to life superiority. I have no problem with anyone who chooses to eat meat because I love a good steak myself, but at least respect the life that you’re taking. Spend a little bit more money to improve the living conditions of a being that you know will soon take the life of. Many people don't think about the suffering the animal went through while there eating (myself included), but being a thankful would be greatly appreciated.
we as humans should treat animals with more respect, just as you would somebody else with inferior resources. i think animals are better of just being free in their own enviroment and been hunted as needed then raised in a factory. because at the end what matters is how you live and not how you die. ofcourse with the masib number of humans on earth that would not be efisient at all. so our diets should be more based on plants, grains, fruits, and vegetables. and we should only share our lives with animals that actually want to live with us, for example a dog. if you have to keep an animal locked in a cage then you are already abusing the animals life.
I am a firm believer in treating animals compassionately and with respect. I am a vegetarian and animal lover and yes I believe that animals should have rights, maybe not like humans have rights but there should be laws banning animal mistreatment. I do believe that animals are intelligent and they do feel and are aware of what happens around them. I have three dogs and I can tell when they're sad or sick or in pain, they get jealous and offended and they are aware when you leave them and when you are sad or sick or etc. Of course i believe that we should stop the use of animals for food, but that's not realistic right now, but we should at least have humane methods of killing them and they should be raised in healthy happy environments. We should realize that when an animal suffers and we eat it we are eating something that suffered pain and that had a miserable life, that's not good for us either. I don't believe that we shouldn't be allowed to own animals, i love my pets and treat them well and if people love animals like they should then there should be no problem with ownership, the problem is people that use their animals for profit or treat them poorly.
This is a huge debate that probably will never come to an end. When many people are shown footages of how animals are treated in those slaughterhouses and farms it is very emotional and hard to watch for most people. But truth is that Americans are aware of how animals are treated yet only about 10% are either vegans or vegetarian that sad truth is not enough people care to change what is being done to animals, for example when I saw the documentary The Cove I swore I never would eat dolphin ever. Why is it that we feel sympathy for some animals and not for others? Like most people I love eating meat and probably never going to stop, but I wish changes could be done on how animals are treated they do deserve rights and we shouldn’t treat them like they are not beings. We are using them and killing them yet we make life miserable for them probably killing them and torturing them in the most undesirable ways, and giving them harsh living environments. I’m not saying to stop eating animals’ cause the truth is that’s how the food chain works animals eat other animals but the way we use and treat animals needs to change. Let’s not forget all the breakthroughs made by scientist that has save the lives of many humans by testing and experimenting on animals. It is a dilemma we are faced with but finding a solution to fit everyone may never happen, unless the government steps in and makes it illegal and close down places that treat their animals poorly, there will be no other way to stop the cruelty.
One may believe that the torture we put animals to is cruel and unnecessary. I would have to agree but at the same time I would have to say, no I don’t think about animals as am eating my juicy cheesy steak house burger, or my fried chicken. I do believe though, when it comes to killing, as a human we should just be able to kill the animal with one hit rather than torturing it. Just kill it quickly and make the pain much less. I' am pretty sure with all the technology we have now and days, someone can invent something that can reduce this issue. Its not that I don’t care about animals but i believe this is a issue that we won’t be solving anytime soon base on the different feelings each in individual in the world has.
We ourselves are animals, so why would we want to harm our own kind. This continues to be one of the greatest debates our world faces today. Where eating routines and religions affect strongly what humans eat. I myself am not a vegetarian so I can not say we should save all the animals, it is part of the food chain and we need these nutrients. Recently, there has been a greater change with the new comings of organic foods which although can be more costly it has also become somewhat of a fad among celebrities, and upper class people. we have to kill these animals because there is just such a great abundancy of them, what happens if we leave them all running free to die a natural death. So many factors come into play and i'm not saying we should be cruel to animals, but i do agree the correct measures need to be taken to continue everyones daily life.
When eating food the thought of where it came, from often crosses my mind. Even the thought of what happens to animals in general by humans. But then reality hits me that we got this way because of our eating habits. If we didn’t kill animals or test animals, life would be different from what we know it regardless of if its right. We are at the top of the food chain because we can kill, domesticate, and manipulate other animals. But the thought that it is wrong does not cross my mind because I know it is a necessary evil that we kill to survive. -cinderella santos
The issue of animal rights has been going on for many years. In my opinion, every living being deserves the right to live in its standard habitat and should be able to live under natural conditions. Where do we take the right to treat these organisms cruelly, but well then again if mankind has caused this horrific torture to each other it is not rare they would also do it to animals. Many humans believe that simply because nature, or god made us more powerful and more intelligent (able to understand nature processes and to manipulate them)we can reign and control all the other life forms on this planet. This is exactly the reason why Earth is dying slowly, and why this planet as we know it will change. Animals did not have the opportunity to decide how to come out, unluckily they do not possess the power of communication (language as we know it). Should that then indicate to us that they are inferior, just because they cannot express to us how they feel, and does that mean they have no emotions, feelings, or thoughts? Of course not! Animal feel pain just like we do. They strive for a life in freedom, without harassment and cruel torture from us humans. Even if we consume them, because unfortunately we are heterotrophic omnivores, and we require the energy from other organisms in order to sustain our living processes, then shouldn't we at least make sure they live a normal life. A life where they can be in their natural environment and eat their standard food, as well as live in harmony with their mates. All this pain that we cause to the inhibitors of this once beautiful planet, will one day reflect twice as strong back to us, and until that day comes we will not understand our selfish and violent mindset.
Do I wonder when I'm a eating a steak, what this piece of meat has gone through to get to my plate? From time to time, yes. Animals in farms nowadays they are seen like objects and not like the living beings they are. Yeah, we are omnivores, so we need to eat meat. But we have gotten to such a level that some people eat 4 to 5 burgers a week. Farm animals are being slaughtered on a capital level. I think animals should have some established rights like we have as humans, then there is no ground base in which we can defend them. We are abusing on our power to kill and industrializing it. If we don't make a difference, who else will?
As I read this post and saw the video I could not help but to cry and feel terrible about my eating habits. As soon as I left school I went grocery shopping and stayed there for hours trying to find out what food products supported animal rights. I found that there is not much selection at Wal-Mart so I went to Publix and Whole foods. In addition, I was completely unaware that over production of animal farming was ruining the ozone layer and polluting the oceans! We don’t even need that much protein in our diets, an actual portion of meat is only 4 oz. per meal according to the food pyramid and the recommended RDA’s. I for one will attempt to do my part and eat the least amount of animal products possible, I would say that I would try to be vegetarian or vegan but I tried this before and it did not work out. It’s just re-inventing your ideology on food, its hard but possible people just have to get out of their comfort zone and experiment new things. We should do this out of respect to the animals that nurture us, and if that’s not enough for our health.
*On a personal note I think there should be severe punishment for those perverse criminals torturing the animals while in captivity in the farms. I wish very bad things for them and would love for them to endure a day in the animal’s life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It is almost impossible that people take out the animals’ meat and derivate products out of their diets. We are used to include in our meals some type of meat, fish or chicken almost everyday at lest one portion. The best idea to respect in some way the animal rights can be that government regulates the way that corporations kill animals a less cruel way where they can feel a lot less pain and don’t suffer much about it. That will be the only way that we can respect in a better way the animal rights.
For many generations human kind has learned how to kill and use animals to support and enjoy the living. The laws of nature and natural selection have taught us that the stronger would survive and in order to do that we have to obtain energy from animal sources and use them for our own better and more comfortable living. But times have changed but the mentality and attitude towards animals hasn’t. We are not that dependent on animal food, animal shelter and other animal sources for our survival. We have so many substitutes for animal products that we are able to consume less of that and realize that this Planet is not just about humans but also about other living organisms. Plus, consuming less animal food is considered environmentally safer and healthier for people. The attitudes need to be changed: the animals do feel pain (you can see that and understand without their ability to speak) and they do live next to us and are part of life. Starting little by little, by respecting the rights of animals, by reducing the pain caused to them by humans, by consuming less animal food and using less animal products (instead of real fur buy the fake one, for example) we can make friendlier environment for all of us. It’s hard to change the habit of eating which is mostly in our “blood” since we’re born but the attitude towards animals can be changed as we learn to respect them more, to take better care of them, to treat them nicer and teach this habits future generations. Anastasiya Soldatova
Should Animals have rights? For centuries humans have denied other human beings rights without batting a lash. I believe it is almost comical that our country as a whole seems more concerned with the rights of animals; with TV commercials playing sad music and showing whimpering pets whom have been abandoned, than humans being denied rights in our own back yard (and you are lying to yourself if you think that people in the united states are not being denied rights). That being said; I think there is a large difference between animal rights and animal abuse. No animal, person or living being deserves to be held prisoner in a cage for their entire lives, tortured and fed tainted food for the benefit of the all powerful Human. Animals have been a staple of the human diet for as long as human have been around, however in present day the way that animals are being mass produced to feed the growing population is not only cruel to animals but it is incredibly damaging to the people who consume the meat and the ecosystem where the waste is disposed of, its all wrong and in my opinion disgusting. The most expensive beef you can purchase is Kobe Beef, the cows are massaged, kept as stress free as possible and are pretty much staying in a 5 star cow hotel, simply because the meat is more tender and tastes better, this is an example of what happens when people are willing to pay for what they are getting. Feeding, caring for and sheltering animals is expensive, everyday family farms raising animals in more humane ways go out of business because of factory farms who can produce more meat for less money- who cares if they are feeding the animals growth hormones that they then pass onto the people who consume it who then pass it on to the sewer system which destroys ecosystems wherever the final outlet lies? Who cares? The number one thing on the brain for most people is money- “oh damn! That steak is only $2.99/lb?! Sounds like dinner!” rarely do people actually stop to think- “why is this so cheap?” because it isn’t inexpensive- its CHEAP. And just like a cheap car or house or anything else for that matter- there has got to be something wrong with it. Animals deserve rights like humans, clean water, uncontaminated food, room to breath and move. it is morally wrong to abuse them. Anyone can tell when an animal is in pain by their behaviour even without the ability to speak and I do not understand how anyone could see otherwise. I agree with Roger Scruton, animal rights are a Grey area but factory farming is a practice that needs to be ended- especially those farms similar to chicken farms where the chicken’s breasts are so swollen and pumped with hormones that they cant even stand up. As a side note I would like to say that it has been widely proven that people who abuse animals are significantly more likely to harm people later on in life. Every life is important, denying animals basic rights is a slippery slope to devaluing human life and someday maybe we will eat babies because there are way too many of them and their meat is just so tender and delicious. [please note the sarcasm in latter portion of that final sentence]
I am going to be honest to answer this question. No, I do not think about those issues when I eat meat. However, it does not mean I do not care for animals. I respect animals as much as I can, taking out of the question when it is self-defense. Animal cruelty goes against all my believes. The way I was raised by my family was based on respect for all living things. However, I understand that some animals were put here on earth to be eating by humans. This does not mean i fully agree with the methods some companies use to make profit with those animals. Companies are so focused on making money that they do not care for the animals, and we as consumers are so focused on getting the best prices for meat that we overlooked the facts. We need to speak against this atrocity. We must respect animals because in the end, we are animals too.
24 comments:
The past few weeks I have been contemplating on this very subject myself. I have been watching documentaries such as Food Inc. that have changed my way of thinking as I eat meat. Ever since I became aware of the harsh conditions that animals are in, I’ve questioned eating meat. I have severely cut down on my meat ingestion recently due to the thought of what these animals had to go through to end up on my plate. The farms need to treat animals as food in sanitary conditions not as inferior beings that can live in disgusting environments. Animals feel pain and torture just as humans do, for them to not be able to move in their cages or not eat what they are biologically meant to eat is immoral. Who are we to alter other animal’s diets? Cows are meant to eat grass not corn. Because of my new knowledge of how the food industry works it has changed my diet significantly.
-Nicole Gelman
I think that it should have a balance in how to farm and kill the animals to reduce pain. There are methods that can kill an animal with probably one hit. I believe that animals are a source of food for us but the abuse on how we consume them is what concerns me. A great example of how this is taking place with dolphins is the documentary: The Cove. These Japanese people were supposed to kill them in a certain way with one blow but instead they stab them and torture them until they die and in the end the dolphin meat is not even all that and super high in mercury. Also, before we had ample spaces to have these pigs but now they wait to be killed in a cubicle because of the high demand in that particular meat. It goes back to the older post where the food consumption is high demand. If we learn how to behave ourselves and not consume more than necessary, these animals would serve their purpose without being mistreated or tortured.
I think about the things i eat everytime i take a bite. I think about the process it took for this manufactured meat patty to reach my mouth watering hunger. I sometimes feel repulsed by it. I go back and forth arguing in my mind if its ok or if its not. But there is one thing im sure of and thats that we dont need meat to survive. It has been speculated that meat actually helped humans reach the status of human sapien from its early ancestral of the neanderthal. The protein in meat helped our brains grow in size and also gave room for more brain cells to be generated to reach its current potential. Its also been documented that cooking food is much more nutritious for our own bodies. Digesting cooked food makes our own digestive process secrete more sugar from food than if it were digested raw. This therefore opens the our bodies to a much larger supply of energy to use. Ive limited my meat eating to once a month. I think about the food pyramid and the amounts of food that should be eaten in our diet in order to maintain a healthy homeostasis. I do believe that animal cruelty is wrong. The treatment of these animals is in humane. Justifying it through the means of survival is speculative in my opinion. I can survive on vegetables alone, so meat is not necessary for survival. I think we have been brainwashed into thinking that meat is necessary. The huge profits made in the meat industry can be a motive into why is it that our society here in america thrives in endorsing that eating meat is necessary. i believe the people, the masses have to realize that your diet, what you eat, what you have been taught to eat as being normal is in reality not normal. Eating habits have to be re-evaluated. This will have an effect in the future through the children they bare. Where there is a cause there is an effect even if the light isnt shining on it just yet.
-Jose Luis Guerra
Animals like us are inhabitants of this earth. No matter what separates us we have to realize that we don’t own this world; we share it. Animal cruelty is wrong, I believe that animals should be respected and treated with integrity. Now eating meat is an entirely different issue. Personally I feel that there is nothing wrong with eating meat; I would prefer eating a New York strip over a Cesar salad any day of the week. If we didn’t eat meat then what will we survive on? Personally I wouldn’t enjoy a diet consisting of fruits and vegetables; I eat for enjoyment. However, I do understand that the way the animal is treated before it gets to my plate is an issue of animal cruelty. I think that the solution lies within our government. There should be stricter laws and regulations that slaughter farms should follow, and some sort of weekly inspection that occurs spontaneously. Nonetheless at the end of the day I believe that no one cares enough to put an end to this issue.
-Melida Ortega-
In this article leading scientists believe that it is impossible to know if animals are suffering, a language is needed to know if something is suffering which animals do not have. But in my opinion to realize someone is in pain deals with the way they are acting, screaming or crying. For instance, babies have no language and cannot communicate but you can definitely tell when they are in pain. The same goes for animals, they suffer just as much as the next human being does and it isn't fair to just sit back and watch people torture them. There should be animal rights just like there are human rights. Although it is impossible to have it written down on paper that animals should have rights, people should be a little bit more understanding about the situation and think of the animal as if it were their own.
-Krysta Farber-
I enjoy eating meat. There's nothing like a 5 guys burger at 3 in the morning. I have seen the small enclosures in the midwest where they keep thousands of cows. The cows eat and crap thats what they do, until they are ready to get slaughtered. I don't think its the right conditions to keep animals in, but I'm not thinking about that when I'm eating my 5 guys burger. My neighbors in Wyoming did not go to the grocery store at all or eat out. They grew vegetables on their land and they went hunting a couple times a year and the meat would last a long time.
Do animals deserve rights?
For many years we treat animals with no rights, except for when we have them as our pets. Many believe that the cruelty to animals should end. Do we ever pause and think about the advances in science we have made due our furry friends? Do we end the testing and slow down evolution? Many of the products that we use on daily basis are animal tested such as hair gel, make up, fabrics, etc... To many of us, it would be unbearable to live without some of these products. Animals will be continued to be used as a means and not as an ends. Animals have many purposes here on earth. We have to define the rights that animals should and should not have. The problem exist in the implementation of these rights as many will, have and continue to abuse them, due to the demand in many areas were animals are the primary source of the product. You and I are the consumers that demand these products that cause animal cruelty. So who is to blame?
I believe that animal rights are a must have in todays ever expanding society, like Regan says animals are "Subjects-of-a-life" in following with that statement I to believe that just by being alive one is born with rights, rights that should not exists on paper, but must less we forget are selves in a wold gone ever so wrong. The concept no the thought that we must discuss and deliberate whether another living being should be alotted rights is rediculous, but then I think that there will always be a struggle a fight, a war to be won, and a cause to be championed. For now this is are topic, or cause; what ever we choose to call it, but it is are obligation to all living beings that we give voice to those who cannot speak for the rights of their own.
This is a very touchy subject for me because I am a firm believer in animal rights. Yes I eat meat and enjoy it but at what cost? These animals are being killed in extremely inhumane ways. Why is there not an easier less harmful method? It’s not only the way they are killed but the way they are tortured that makes it unbelievable that people find no wrong in it. Why do we have to subdue animals to be tested on for our excessive products and killed for our uncontrollable need for meat? If you are a pet owner then you know that animals have feelings and personalities of their own, how is that different? Can you not see the pain in their eyes when you scold them for a wrong they’ve done? What about the millions of cows, calf’s, pigs, and chickens that die every day without knowing what kind of life they could have had, what did they do to deserve that? And I’m not just preaching, I believe this to the very end because I once had a farm with horses, cows, pigs and everything in between. I was taught that animals deserve rights just as we do, and just because they can’t say it doesn’t mean they don’t feel that way. So to anyone that feels differently please reconsider your close minded ways and realize were not the only creatures on this planet.
All across the globe carnivores exist, from the lowest depths of our oceans to the highest mountain peaks. The consumption of meat is a natural instinct in many animals as well as for humans. But humans and animals have very distinct views on meat. Meat is a life or death situation for carnivorous animals. As for humans, it is more of a pleasure. Humans have evolved enough to realize meat is not necessary food, and there can be alternatives similar to meat if not the same. Without the slaughter of an innocent animal, who never asked to be killed for its own meat. Animals do not have alternatives on what they eat and do not have well developed brains as humans do. But humans and animals, have a few things in common. Both feel pain and have the right to live a full life. If some people believe they are not animals, why don’t they act like human beings and reconsider the pain and cruelty animals go through for human use and make a stop to this.
All living things (plants and animals) deserve a certain degree of respect, and shouldn't be constantly subjected to harsh conditions. But unfortunately humans take intelligence superiority and convert it to life superiority. I have no problem with anyone who chooses to eat meat because I love a good steak myself, but at least respect the life that you’re taking. Spend a little bit more money to improve the living conditions of a being that you know will soon take the life of. Many people don't think about the suffering the animal went through while there eating (myself included), but being a thankful would be greatly appreciated.
DANIEL RESTREPO
we as humans should treat animals with more respect, just as you would somebody else with inferior resources. i think animals are better of just being free in their own enviroment and been hunted as needed then raised in a factory. because at the end what matters is how you live and not how you die. ofcourse with the masib number of humans on earth that would not be efisient at all. so our diets should be more based on plants, grains, fruits, and vegetables.
and we should only share our lives with animals that actually want to live with us, for example a dog. if you have to keep an animal locked in a cage then you are already abusing the animals life.
I am a firm believer in treating animals compassionately and with respect. I am a vegetarian and animal lover and yes I believe that animals should have rights, maybe not like humans have rights but there should be laws banning animal mistreatment. I do believe that animals are intelligent and they do feel and are aware of what happens around them. I have three dogs and I can tell when they're sad or sick or in pain, they get jealous and offended and they are aware when you leave them and when you are sad or sick or etc. Of course i believe that we should stop the use of animals for food, but that's not realistic right now, but we should at least have humane methods of killing them and they should be raised in healthy happy environments. We should realize that when an animal suffers and we eat it we are eating something that suffered pain and that had a miserable life, that's not good for us either. I don't believe that we shouldn't be allowed to own animals, i love my pets and treat them well and if people love animals like they should then there should be no problem with ownership, the problem is people that use their animals for profit or treat them poorly.
Do Animals Deserve Rights?
This is a huge debate that probably will never come to an end. When many people are shown footages of how animals are treated in those slaughterhouses and farms it is very emotional and hard to watch for most people. But truth is that Americans are aware of how animals are treated yet only about 10% are either vegans or vegetarian that sad truth is not enough people care to change what is being done to animals, for example when I saw the documentary The Cove I swore I never would eat dolphin ever. Why is it that we feel sympathy for some animals and not for others? Like most people I love eating meat and probably never going to stop, but I wish changes could be done on how animals are treated they do deserve rights and we shouldn’t treat them like they are not beings. We are using them and killing them yet we make life miserable for them probably killing them and torturing them in the most undesirable ways, and giving them harsh living environments. I’m not saying to stop eating animals’ cause the truth is that’s how the food chain works animals eat other animals but the way we use and treat animals needs to change. Let’s not forget all the breakthroughs made by scientist that has save the lives of many humans by testing and experimenting on animals. It is a dilemma we are faced with but finding a solution to fit everyone may never happen, unless the government steps in and makes it illegal and close down places that treat their animals poorly, there will be no other way to stop the cruelty.
Armando Guerrero
One may believe that the torture we put animals to is cruel and unnecessary. I would have to agree but at the same time I would have to say, no I don’t think about animals as am eating my juicy cheesy steak house burger, or my fried chicken. I do believe though, when it comes to killing, as a human we should just be able to kill the animal with one hit rather than torturing it. Just kill it quickly and make the pain much less. I' am pretty sure with all the technology we have now and days, someone can invent something that can reduce this issue. Its not that I don’t care about animals but i believe this is a issue that we won’t be solving anytime soon base on the different feelings each in individual in the world has.
-Bryant Gavilan-
We ourselves are animals, so why would we want to harm our own kind. This continues to be one of the greatest debates our world faces today. Where eating routines and religions affect strongly what humans eat. I myself am not a vegetarian so I can not say we should save all the animals, it is part of the food chain and we need these nutrients. Recently, there has been a greater change with the new comings of organic foods which although can be more costly it has also become somewhat of a fad among celebrities, and upper class people. we have to kill these animals because there is just such a great abundancy of them, what happens if we leave them all running free to die a natural death. So many factors come into play and i'm not saying we should be cruel to animals, but i do agree the correct measures need to be taken to continue everyones daily life.
When eating food the thought of where it came, from often crosses my mind. Even the thought of what happens to animals in general by humans. But then reality hits me that we got this way because of our eating habits. If we didn’t kill animals or test animals, life would be different from what we know it regardless of if its right. We are at the top of the food chain because we can kill, domesticate, and manipulate other animals. But the thought that it is wrong does not cross my mind because I know it is a necessary evil that we kill to survive.
-cinderella santos
The Unjustified Superiority of Mankind
The issue of animal rights has been going on for many years. In my opinion, every living being deserves the right to live in its standard habitat and should be able to live under natural conditions. Where do we take the right to treat these organisms cruelly, but well then again if mankind has caused this horrific torture to each other it is not rare they would also do it to animals.
Many humans believe that simply because nature, or god made us more powerful and more intelligent (able to understand nature processes and to manipulate them)we can reign and control all the other life forms on this planet. This is exactly the reason why Earth is dying slowly, and why this planet as we know it will change. Animals did not have the opportunity to decide how to come out, unluckily they do not possess the power of communication (language as we know it). Should that then indicate to us that they are inferior, just because they cannot express to us how they feel, and does that mean they have no emotions, feelings, or thoughts? Of course not! Animal feel pain just like we do. They strive for a life in freedom, without harassment and cruel torture from us humans.
Even if we consume them, because unfortunately we are heterotrophic omnivores, and we require the energy from other organisms in order to sustain our living processes, then shouldn't we at least make sure they live a normal life. A life where they can be in their natural environment and eat their standard food, as well as live in harmony with their mates.
All this pain that we cause to the inhibitors of this once beautiful planet, will one day reflect twice as strong back to us, and until that day comes we will not understand our selfish and violent mindset.
- Lester Alvarez -
Do I wonder when I'm a eating a steak, what this piece of meat has gone through to get to my plate? From time to time, yes. Animals in farms nowadays they are seen like objects and not like the living beings they are. Yeah, we are omnivores, so we need to eat meat. But we have gotten to such a level that some people eat 4 to 5 burgers a week. Farm animals are being slaughtered on a capital level. I think animals should have some established rights like we have as humans, then there is no ground base in which we can defend them. We are abusing on our power to kill and industrializing it. If we don't make a difference, who else will?
As I read this post and saw the video I could not help but to cry and feel terrible about my eating habits. As soon as I left school I went grocery shopping and stayed there for hours trying to find out what food products supported animal rights. I found that there is not much selection at Wal-Mart so I went to Publix and Whole foods. In addition, I was completely unaware that over production of animal farming was ruining the ozone layer and polluting the oceans! We don’t even need that much protein in our diets, an actual portion of meat is only 4 oz. per meal according to the food pyramid and the recommended RDA’s. I for one will attempt to do my part and eat the least amount of animal products possible, I would say that I would try to be vegetarian or vegan but I tried this before and it did not work out. It’s just re-inventing your ideology on food, its hard but possible people just have to get out of their comfort zone and experiment new things. We should do this out of respect to the animals that nurture us, and if that’s not enough for our health.
*On a personal note I think there should be severe punishment for those perverse criminals torturing the animals while in captivity in the farms. I wish very bad things for them and would love for them to endure a day in the animal’s life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It is almost impossible that people take out the animals’ meat and derivate products out of their diets. We are used to include in our meals some type of meat, fish or chicken almost everyday at lest one portion. The best idea to respect in some way the animal rights can be that government regulates the way that corporations kill animals a less cruel way where they can feel a lot less pain and don’t suffer much about it. That will be the only way that we can respect in a better way the animal rights.
For many generations human kind has learned how to kill and use animals to support and enjoy the living. The laws of nature and natural selection have taught us that the stronger would survive and in order to do that we have to obtain energy from animal sources and use them for our own better and more comfortable living. But times have changed but the mentality and attitude towards animals hasn’t. We are not that dependent on animal food, animal shelter and other animal sources for our survival. We have so many substitutes for animal products that we are able to consume less of that and realize that this Planet is not just about humans but also about other living organisms. Plus, consuming less animal food is considered environmentally safer and healthier for people. The attitudes need to be changed: the animals do feel pain (you can see that and understand without their ability to speak) and they do live next to us and are part of life. Starting little by little, by respecting the rights of animals, by reducing the pain caused to them by humans, by consuming less animal food and using less animal products (instead of real fur buy the fake one, for example) we can make friendlier environment for all of us. It’s hard to change the habit of eating which is mostly in our “blood” since we’re born but the attitude towards animals can be changed as we learn to respect them more, to take better care of them, to treat them nicer and teach this habits future generations.
Anastasiya Soldatova
Should Animals have rights?
For centuries humans have denied other human beings rights without batting a lash. I believe it is almost comical that our country as a whole seems more concerned with the rights of animals; with TV commercials playing sad music and showing whimpering pets whom have been abandoned, than humans being denied rights in our own back yard (and you are lying to yourself if you think that people in the united states are not being denied rights).
That being said; I think there is a large difference between animal rights and animal abuse. No animal, person or living being deserves to be held prisoner in a cage for their entire lives, tortured and fed tainted food for the benefit of the all powerful Human. Animals have been a staple of the human diet for as long as human have been around, however in present day the way that animals are being mass produced to feed the growing population is not only cruel to animals but it is incredibly damaging to the people who consume the meat and the ecosystem where the waste is disposed of, its all wrong and in my opinion disgusting. The most expensive beef you can purchase is Kobe Beef, the cows are massaged, kept as stress free as possible and are pretty much staying in a 5 star cow hotel, simply because the meat is more tender and tastes better, this is an example of what happens when people are willing to pay for what they are getting. Feeding, caring for and sheltering animals is expensive, everyday family farms raising animals in more humane ways go out of business because of factory farms who can produce more meat for less money- who cares if they are feeding the animals growth hormones that they then pass onto the people who consume it who then pass it on to the sewer system which destroys ecosystems wherever the final outlet lies? Who cares? The number one thing on the brain for most people is money- “oh damn! That steak is only $2.99/lb?! Sounds like dinner!” rarely do people actually stop to think- “why is this so cheap?” because it isn’t inexpensive- its CHEAP. And just like a cheap car or house or anything else for that matter- there has got to be something wrong with it.
Animals deserve rights like humans, clean water, uncontaminated food, room to breath and move. it is morally wrong to abuse them. Anyone can tell when an animal is in pain by their behaviour even without the ability to speak and I do not understand how anyone could see otherwise. I agree with Roger Scruton, animal rights are a Grey area but factory farming is a practice that needs to be ended- especially those farms similar to chicken farms where the chicken’s breasts are so swollen and pumped with hormones that they cant even stand up.
As a side note I would like to say that it has been widely proven that people who abuse animals are significantly more likely to harm people later on in life. Every life is important, denying animals basic rights is a slippery slope to devaluing human life and someday maybe we will eat babies because there are way too many of them and their meat is just so tender and delicious. [please note the sarcasm in latter portion of that final sentence]
I am going to be honest to answer this question. No, I do not think about those issues when I eat meat. However, it does not mean I do not care for animals. I respect animals as much as I can, taking out of the question when it is self-defense. Animal cruelty goes against all my believes. The way I was raised by my family was based on respect for all living things. However, I understand that some animals were put here on earth to be eating by humans. This does not mean i fully agree with the methods some companies use to make profit with those animals. Companies are so focused on making money that they do not care for the animals, and we as consumers are so focused on getting the best prices for meat that we overlooked the facts. We need to speak against this atrocity. We must respect animals because in the end, we are animals too.
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