I also am finding the meat=murder argument to be a reductionsitic either/or
one, at least as put forth in this discussion. I was a vegetarian for 15
years, for reasons of money and health-I never related to the ethical
superiority tone I'm hearing here. That ended when I was farming. The
relationship I had with the animals I raised and ate transformed my experience
of eating meat. I also ate wild animals-deer and rabbits- my neighbors hunted,
and used their skins to make clothing and household items. I feel no different
about that experience than I do about knowing that carnivorous/omnivorous
animals everywhere eat the meat they kill. There is no judgement or belief of
hierarchy, no superior/inferior, nothing about stupid them/smart me, any more
than cougar judges antelope. Being responsible for both providing the means to
support the life of those animals and for butchering them awakened me to the
sacred nature of the relationship between myself and the animals...I never
butchered without profound reverence and awareness of the serious nature of
that act. I believe it would be good for everyone who does eat meat, milk or
eggs to be a part of the entire cycle. That used to be so, and the
relationship was taken far more seriously, as I understand from the old time
farmers I know (including my 95 year old grandmother).
I have also lived in Guatemala, where subsistence living is sadly
defined...there, meat is a rare event, the family farms I visited were well-
tended, the animals quite well provided for, and the event of butchering was a
fiesta event, reserved for sacred occasions. The life of the animal is
revered, and it is possible to revere life and consume it....for it then goes
on to continue the chain of life. Quite different, in my experience, than
murder.
This is a very important discussion-thanks.
