"Jonathan Ball" > wrote in message
nk.net...
> John Jones wrote:
>
> > How can you prevent a farm animal? By eliminating farms or eliminating
an
> > animal?
>
> ****wit - , nee David Harrison - is
> ensnaring you in his quagmire. He uses that kind of
> deliberately murky, weird language as a debate tactic.
>
> Here's what ****wit is talking about, in plain English,
> as opposed to his gobbledygook: if "vegans" succeed in
> getting everyone to stop eating meat and other animal
> products, there will be no demand for farm animals of
> any kind, and farmers will stop breeding. Today,
> however, because the overwhelming majority of people
> *do* consume animal products, the expectation is that
> billions upon billions of farm animals will be bred,
> raised and slaughtered.
>
> ****wit considers the mere, empty fact of farm animals'
> "getting to experience life" to be a very good thing,
> morally. As a necessary consequence, he therefore
> believes that "vegans", by wanting to "prevent" these
> farm animals from "getting to experience life", are
> doing something morally bad.
>
> "vegans" do, in fact, want to "prevent" farm animals,
> by getting people to stop demanding products made from
> them. To "vegans", the fact that humans deliberately
> kill the animals is a very bad thing, morally. I
> happen to disagree with them - I consume animal
> products with a clear conscience - but their position
> at least makes some sense, given their values.
>
> ****wit's position makes no sense at all.
As a person who was raised on an all purpose farm, which included the
raising of animals for meat and other product, this issue presents many
thoughts. Initially, of course, I think about the fact that there are many
farmers and corporations out there that depend on the income form raising,
processing, and selling animals and animal products. This would be a major
facotr in the eonomy of an area of the USA like the Midwest farm area. This
is where I was born and raised and to be "meatless" causes real horror for a
huge number of people.
To add to this though, I have to admit that I eat very little meat, but I
have eliminated those things that affect my health and well being. Many are
eliminating meat altogether and making great efforts to make that a goal for
our society. This has caused me some "pause" personally and for my family
and those from the communities of the farm states. Dairy is another story.
As ahealth care professional, I can tell you that many who do dairy farming
have been much relieved with the recent research that shows that butter is
every bit as good as oleo and just as healthy in the diet.
The can of worms that is opened only begins with the things in the text
above. As we chose our life styles and how we view the world and the
creatures in it, there will certainly be some interesting developments. The
drift away from meat may very well reverse itself in time and supplies of
meat and animal products will be in great demand.
Certainly one does not have to eat the animal products to get great
benefits--ex. porcine skin, heart valves, etc.. Ther are no easy answers,
and until one is faced with the "things" that happen in life, one cannot say
what products will be useful for them or their family and friends. Norma
>