Posing a Question

Today in class, we read the two essays by Peter Singer. These were some very interesting essays to read, with topics that were somewhat difficult to wrap your mind around. So……I thought that I would maybe pose another question to my readers, very similar to one of the ones that we were asked today and while reading the second essay tonight.

When a person eats meat, are they morally in the wrong? Many times, there are horrible cruelties inflicted on the animals while they are harvested for the flesh and products that people desire so ,over the world eat this meat even though some of these people know what happens to these animals. Does this make them like Bob, who knew that someone was going to be harmed immensely by choosing to do not nothing? Does doing nothing for these animals make people monsters(to take a word from the second essay)? Is it alright to do something that many people do, does the fact that “everyone does it” make it okay? Does the fact that many people don’t know about these cruelties make a difference? In the law, ignorance does not imply innocence, does it mean that in this case? Do any of you think that if the cruelties on animals were known all around the country and the world, that this would make a difference in the decisions that people made?Let’s say that the cruelties were well-known, would as many people eat meat if it would be made public that they ate this meat, even though there was harm inflicted on living beings?

I don’t personally think this, it is just a thought that came to my head while thinking of things to blog about this week. I just wanted to know what everyone else thought, I know that the analogy is almost nonexistent. The gap between children and the animals that I talk about is the largest gap that a person could think about. This is an example of an analogy that actually does not do anyhting for an arguement, but it is a question that could be asked.

Certainly you all have a thought on this subject and I would really love to hear it, who knows it might help me make a decision about some things to ask about in the essay for next term. So, if you could, just tell me what you would answer to the questions from above that would be helpful and I might be able use the answers for the next blog.

My mom just thinks she is HILARIOUS.

My mother thinks that she is hilarious.For the last five years, she has constantly given me crap about the fact that I am vegetarian and she is a meat-tarian(spell that right?), so she likes to find things that making fun of vegetarians and show them to me.

When we were at the Cedar Rapids Public Library and she found this book, the name which is “The Mindful Carnivore” by Tobar Serulli. This book is not making fun of vegetarians, it is a book about a man who was a vegetarian for most of his life and then one time he finds that he would rather be a meat-eater. This book is all about the reasons why he does not think that vegetarianism is very smart and why he changed back to eating meat. My mom has made the conclusion that reading this book will make me change my mind about the way that I eat. She is reading the book first and then convinced that she will force me to read the book and change my life.

Isn’t she just the funniest person ever? I think many of you would love her, she is really great honesly and I am like one hundred percent sure that she does not really want to change the way I am, but she does love to make fun of me. My dad does it too, but he does not actively try and find things to make fun of me. But I do love her, and one day I am sure that I will find something for her that is going to make sure that she gets made fun of. Come to think of it, got any ideas?

Being Friends with Meat-Eaters

I am a bit of a loner in my group of friends. When I say loner, I don’t mean that I feel lonely and such when I hang out with them, the exact opposite in fact, I love hanging out with my friends. There is something that sperates me from my awesome friends. The fact that each and every one of my friends eats meat, proudly and passionately, might I add. This means that the famillies of my friends also eat meat and many of them are entirely shocked whenever I tell them that I do not eat meat. Then comes the freak-out. This is something that happens many times and I feel bad when it does.  This is when my friends’ parents try to find something for me to eat, this is not usually an easy thing to do, because many people do not plan for making food that a vegetarian would eat.

I love the fact that all my friends and their parents care enough about my choices to help me make that possible. That is more than most people would do and I truly appreciate it, but it does cause me to feel uncomfortable sometimes, especially when those parents have to pay for something special that night.

This is something that I don’t really like about being a vegetarian, many times I wish that I had the same tastes as my friends, so that I wouldn’t feel uncomfortable. I respect all my friends for their choices and wish that they are always happy with their lives. Being different than them is something that causes me to feel awkward a lot. I will never change the way that I live my life, and if my friends never do, and wish to stay the same, I will be happy for them. It is difficult somethimes to hang out with them because we have such different lifestlyes. This is not something that is a regular occurence, it just happens whenever we eat together.  It gets better as I get to know someone better, I have one specific friend that I visit all the time and her family has gotten used to the fact that I do not eat meat, so eventually things get better. But it has taken almost 4 years for this to happen and many of my other friends that I do not hang out with as much still sometimes have difficulty with getting used to my eating patterns. One of my friends(this one is one that I have known for a very long time, but we don’t see each other as often as I would like) often forgets that I do not eat meat and makes entire plates of food for me that contain every type of meat known to the world.

But anyway, this may not be something that is very important but to anyone who is considering vegetarianism, it is something that you will have to think about all the time. Sometimes at parties you will have to provide for yourself if you want to eat things other than what is coming off the grill. (I promise that I am not complaining, but it is something that is prevalent in the world of vegetarians and I thought I should let some of you know. ) It is the reality of being a vegetarian.

Seriously, Who’s More Likely?

So after my last couple of posts,I got the idea to try and figure out what type of people would actually become full-fledged vegetarians. This is kind of a difficult topic to find out, but I thought it would be nice to see if the stereotypes actually fit with the truth of vegetarians.

I found a couple of interesting things on the web. (I used Google but I promise this will be one of the last things I use Google for.)

Anyway, I found a study on the Huffington Post about this exact thing and I thought I would share some of it. If you would like to see the rest(which I recommend, if you are into this sort of thing) is right here. One of the things that the survey says is that single people were more likely to become vegetarians than the married couples in this country. (hmmmm,I wonder if  when you get married if you are a vegetarian, your outlook changes?) Also, women are more likely than men to become vegetarians says the study which I found somewhat interesting. There is alot of really cool things (at least I think so) that this study shows and you should all look at it.

There was one other thing that caught my eye, something that I found on nearly every website that I looked at,

according to some, children with a higher intelligence will become vegetarians later in life. I have no way to know if this is in anyway true, but this idea did pop up on most of the websites that I looked at, so maybe it is. It certainly would make me feel better about myself, that somehow because I am a vegetarian, I have a high intelligence rating. (This is not to say that people that eat meat are unintelligent, because trust me I know some absolute geniuses and they proudly eat meat like it is something to be worshipped.) Then someone told me that this study was a fake, and I asked him how he knew that it was a fake and he told me that someone who willingly gave up meat could never be smart because it was the stupidest thing that a person could do. (Then we all laughed). I really want to try and find if this study is real and the claim accurate, it would definitely be something that I could brag about when I talk to my friends :).

A Hippie; sitting in a tree, playing the ukele, with dreads, eating a carrot, that screams at you and throws stuff

So a long time ago, on a blog that was posted this year, I asked you all what you thought about when you heard the word vegetarian. Then I decided that I would ask the people in my life what they thought of when they heard the same word. WOW, did I get some interesting words from those people.
I thought that I should put some of these words, or phrases on here, just for the amusement of you guys.
For the most part, the people that I asked were in my AP Language Class, there was not much of a chance to ask others in my day, but I feel like I got enough to talk about this.

I got:
Bacon
No Meat (4)
Indians
Hippies
Healthy Lifestyle
Vegetables (2)
Fiesta Bowl
Rice
Skinny (2)
Stuck-Up
Carrots
Animal Lover
Healthy
Likes Veggies
Athletic
Cares about Animals
Skinny Hipster
Self-Righteous
Pretentious

The numbers behind the words indicate that, that particular phrase was included those many times. Just to be clear, I made sure that the people I questioned were not near each other at the time I asked them, they were completely oblivious to the fact that others were being asked. There are definitely some interesting ones on there, is there not?
I mean, bacon? That is not something I expected when I asked some of these people. Not what I expected at all.
When I asked the girl about this, she said, “I think about not being able to eat bacon anymore.” Then we both laughed really loud.

But anyway, I wanted to conduct this experiment to see what other people thought about when they heard the word vegetarian. Why would someone think “Pretentious” or “Self-Righteous” or “Stuck-Up” when they heard that word. I hope that I don’t send that message to others when I talk to them, but maybe I do. Then I decided to ask others why they thought this way about people who are vegan or vegetarian. One person told me, that a lot of the experience that she had had with vegetarians was them preaching to others why their views were the right ones and that the way she was living was cruel and bad. Another told me that he thought of stuckup because vegetarians often spend extra money and he was raised to think that people who spent more money than was necessary were just trying to show off the wealth they had. This got me thinking, what message do I send to others when I tell them that I am vegetarian. I totally understand the reasons that these people gave me for the reason that they think the way they do about vegetarians, so I have one other message to send out there. Could we calm down vegetarians, and maybe not be so concerned with making others feel bad about their lives and try and just send our message with less drastic means(PETA)? Is that so difficult to do

Different Cultures, but Somehow the Same Thing.

This post will go along with my last post. The one about how dogs and cats are treated differently than other animals in our world. How pigs and cows are not cared for in the same regard as our household pets. Eating cats and dogs is a taboo in our country, there are several states that have banned the consumption of dogs and cats and there are many regulations in place to make sure that the buying and selling of dog meat is restricted within the US.

Have you ever been to another country? Have you ever looked at the foods that are eaten there? Have you ever looked into the culture of another place? I know that lots of people would say no, many people have not really been interested in looking at the others live.

Did you know that there are other countries in the world that consume cat and dog meat, like we consume pigs and cows? *GASP.
How could someone ever eat a cat or a dog? We may not eat cats or dogs, which many of us kind cruel and inhumane, almost barbaric; but we do inflict very extreme,cruel punishments on the animals that we happen to eat. One could possibly argue that what we do to the animals that we eat is almost as barbaric as eating cats and dogs.

The Dictionary.com definition for the word barbaric is

1. without civilizing influences; uncivilized; primitive:

I think this is a spot on definition of the word. Without civilizing influences, we treat the animals that we eat with almost no civility. They are not like us, so we don’t treat them as we would others. Sounds a lot like others in our history does it not?

Now I am not saying that eating cats and dogs is okay, that it is something that should be legalized, I just think that we should look at ourselves as a country, in the mirror, before we go and critisize other countries’ peopole about the way they live their lives and how they get their food. Maybe other countries should be doing the same thing to us, maybe they should be criticizing us for our practices, point us out for the hypocrites that we are. The people that eat cats and dogs may be doing something that is not the same as us, many people think that what these countries do is something to be ashamed of.

But what about what we do? Is it not as bad as what we do?

What makes them different?

In the world of animals, there are many animal lovers. Whether they be horse-lovers, cat-lovers, or dog-lovers, there are many within the world. There is a lot of concern within the world for the welfare of these animals, and making sure that they are not abused or killed by unfair means.

Have you ever seen those commercials about the animal organizations that try and save as many animals as they can. Those commercials make your heart wrench right? Who doesn’t feel something when you see the dog with a huge scar along his face, or the cat with eyes sealed shut because of “gunk” in its eyes? I see something wrong with this. (And no, I’m not saying that I’m against protecting these animals but something else.) There are other animals in this world, other than the ones on our couches everyday and night, there are animals in this world that will never see the comfort of a real home, of snuggling up with a loving owner. These are the factory farm animals. The animals that are kept in steel cages stacked on top of each other. The ones that are genetically changed so much that they are often unhealthy and sickly as soon as they are born. The ones who are trapped in sheds with other dead or dying animals like them.

These animals are abused in the worst possible way, ways that would make people want to curl up in a ball and cry if they thought something like that was happening to other animals.

So I ask you,

What is the difference between cats and dogs, and chickens and cows and pigs and fish. Why do cats and dogs get more of a sympathy vote from humans, than other animals do. Seems like there is a bit of a double standard, when it comes to the wefare of various animals.

I understand (as I am a cat lover) that these animals get more attention because, as I said before, these animals are on our couches, they snuggle up to us and make us warm at night. We as humans connect with what is right there in front of our eyes, not what is miles and miles away in some factory. We don’t think about those animals, we think about how cute our dog looked in his Christmas outfit at the family party. We don’t like to think about what happens to make our food, so we don’t.

Well, I think we should. Animals are animals and even if we end up eating them on our dinner table, they should be treated respectively and humanely. People need to start thinking about the welfare of all animals, not just a select few and there is no doubt in my mind that we could make a difference for these animals. For the ones that aren’t in such of the limelight. This may be a huge dream, one that most people believe with never happen,but it is one that should seriously thought about.

The End of the World………(cue the dramatic music)

I thought I would go along with the end of the world fever that possessed our lives for a long time with a question that I think I know the answer to.

Let’s say the world had ended on……um what day was it again; the 12th or the 21st or the 22nd? Anyway, lets say the world HAD in fact ended. If a person had survived(which, yes, I know wouldn’t have happened; but lets say it did) what would their foodn supply have been like (would their have been any thing to eat)? All the animals probably would have died, so would any survivors had to become vegetarian? Or would any animals have survived and people could just go along with their meat-eating habits? This is an extremely awkward thing to ask, but this is a question that I was thinking as the end of world approached (whenever it was supposed to be)? Would everyone who survived been forced to become vegetarian or would the opposite have happened and the world would have been forced to become exclusively carnivorous. There is the entirely probable and more likely possibility that any survivors would not have had any food left and simply starved, or eaten each other and then starved. But yea, this is an extremely uncomfortable and awkward issue and so we can stop talking about it. I mean who wants to think about being forced to become vegetarian right? It is just sick and horrible thinking about that possibiity right? But it is an interesting topic to think about, what would the world look like if it ever ended, would there still be any food resources or would we simply be eradicated and would any and all food go with us.
Anyway, have a good night guys. I’m tired.

Crazy P.E.TA.

P.E.T.A. Something that many people have heard of. Many people do not really know what P.E.T.A is though. The acronym for P.E.T.A stands for , People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. This is one of the largest animal welfare companies in the world. This group campaigns for vegetarianism and ending to the cruelty of animals. Many people do not like P.E.T.A. because they find the organization pushy nd annoying with the way they campaign.

Why could this be? What exactly does the organization do that comes across so wrong? I personally am mot involved with the organization so I decided to try and research the topic and see what others said about it and its tactics and look at what could possibly be something that would make others angry.

One such thing that I noticed would be the fact that this organization calls for ending to the production of animal fur and leather, something that fashion designers would surely miss, but there are other groups of people that use these products for their livlihood, such as farmers or hunters, they sell the products and that helps them to have a source of income.

The organization also uses guilt tactics to make other feel bad about their choices and when people feel guilty about something, often they do not like someone who points out that guilt and makes them feel worse. They(P.E.T.A) can also be a bit pushy with their tactics, constantly using these tactics to make a person feel bad.

Then there are the controversial campaigns that often gain a lot of attention for one reason, the fact that these ads contain (often women) naked humans posing with the caption, “I would rather go nude, than wear fur.” There are a lot of people who have cried out against these posters, calling them indecent and saying that they should not be somewhere where children could see them. Even though these billboards do not show any of the private parts of the body, they can be somewhat suggestive.There are some poses that can be miscontrued(I would post some of these billboards on here, but they aren’t the most appropriate.) This is something that I can understand, I’m sure that if I had children, I might be upset; but then again, they do not show anything that is hidden by the swimsuit. (Although I have seen a picture that is almost as bad)

Certainly P.E.T.A does have wonderful intentions, fighting for the welfare of animals everywhere and trying to end some of the cruelty that animals have inflicted upon them, but I think that they should seriously try and rethink their tactics. Try to connect with their audiences by more relatable means and not try and alienate some of the people that have some sympathy for animals by the suggestive and sometimes 18+ pictures they use to try and achieve their means. I mean I agree with some of their ideas but some of the means by which they go by it make me uncomfortable and I am more likely to disregard whatever the true meaning behind the poster was.

Just calm down P.E.T.A, calm down.

Horror Videos

When I say horror videos, I do not mean the type of movies when a scary man in a mask is chasing a half-naked blonde chick aroud with a chainsaw. Or the ones where the unsuspecting campers get eaten alive by some swamp monster.

Then what in the world am I talking about when I say horror videos?
I mean the ones of inside in the factory farms. I mean the videos of what happens to animals in these factories. Videos of workers assaulting the animals, videos of animals being castrated without any sort of anestetic. Sometimes there are videos of animals being thrown into boiling vats of water;while still alive. The videos are cruel and heartwrenching. The cries of the animals are pretty difficult to bear. This is something that is addressed in the book, “Eating Animals”. He uses these videos as a reason that factory farming should be greatly reduced, or maybe even banned. I personally think that factory framing should be somewhat reduced, because then these incidents of animal cruelty would be even more scarce, although this would probably not make these problems never happen. To give you all an example of what these videos show, I thought that I might post one on here, so you can see for yourself these incidents.

Just a warning though, the video can be kind of upsetting.

This is not the worst of the videos that are on the internet, but I did not want to put something on here that could be too graphic. Some of the biggest factory farms in the world use these crates, called gestation crates,(from the very beginning of the video) to keep the pigs very close together and fit more of the pigs into one big area. This helps the companies make even more money, with even more pigs.
Tell me what you think of the video, does it make you all feel sad? What do you think could be done about it?
Maybe you don’t agree with me, why?
Totally banning factory farming would be unthinkable, our world’s food supply depends on the efficient production of animals, suddenly cutting off this farming would endanger many people and their lives. Maybe we could slowly change the method of our production, to something more humane. It is somewhat of a radical thought, that is for sure, but I believe it neessary to help make our world more humane, then maybe we could eat without any guilt.