[Sca-cooks] Re: Humane treatment of animals

[Phlip]

No flames here, nothing to cook at the moment ;-)

Actually, I can see both points of view. I like meat and eat my fair share,
but I also accept my responsibility as a thinking human being.

I agree with you, on veal. I dislike the way veal calves are treated, and I
refuse, usually, to eat veal because of it. Last veal I had was the veal
calf I butchered for Iasmine's Coronation. I'm not a big fan or chicken or
eggs, either, for similar reasons.

But, like Muiredach, I will butcher my own meat.

The reason I do, is because I believe in accepting responsibility for one's
actions, including the death of living creatures, if you're an omnivore, as
I am. No, I can't raise an animal for slaughter- by the time you've watched
them grow from infant to adult, dealt with all of their health and other
issues, and spent time with them every day, they're too close, at least to
me.

OTOH, I will butcher other animals without (much of) a qualm. I know what
I'm doing, I work hard at making their passing as gentle as possible, and I
do my best to use every part of them, out of respect for both them and my
concept of Deity.

But, I hate it- I really hate killing things. Nurturing and healing is much
more my preference. But, I feel it's my responsibility to accept my own
actions, to look into the eyes of this living thing, and know that This Is
What I Have Chosen To Do.

I get very irritated at people who go to the grocery and come back with
their package of meat, thinking it came from the meat factory down the
street. Maybe one day it will, but until then, that's a piece of a living,
feeling creature on your plate. It's the same attitude, IMO, as that of the
person who sends their old pet to be "put down" or refers to a family member
as "passing away"- a dissociation from reality that I refuse to tolerate.

When my old friend, Stubbe von Fuchebutte died, I made the decision to let
her pass, and I held her through her last breath, and I brought her home,
lying on the front seat, where she'd always ridden. The vet wanted me to
let them do it, and hide her away in a box, let them dispose of her. No way.
She's my friend, and she remains my friend, dead or alive.

Yeah, things like that hurt, whether you're talking about slaughtering an
animal for food, or watching the death of an old friend. But one aspect of
love, is accepting the pain caused by those, and that, you love,
particularly when you're the cause of it.

Phlip