I am a vegetarian. I became one based on the unethical treatment of animals and it was my little way of saying that I will no longer support that part of the meat industry that ply its trade unethically. Also, currently, I have enough other choices that I do not need to eat meat, poultry or seafood.
My friends are pretty much all meat eaters but I believe that they are all ethical about it; in that they consume basically what they need and do not indulge in the pure gluttony that goes on in most of North America.
Why anyone would need to eat a 10 ounce stake, a rack of ribs, 25 wings, a whole lobster or veal (baby calf) is beyond me and just pure gluttony. There are many other examples. But the meat, poultry and seafood industry has only one interest and that is to make as much money as possible in any way possible, with absolutely no interest in ethics.
Ed, one of my friends, and I have discussed this very topic many times about the cruelty to animals and the pure gluttony of North Americans in general. We have also discussed what we believe is killing this planet and it is, simply put, over consumption.
People do not need to eat the above mentioned portions of food. People do not need to have a new cell phone every year people do not need to have a new laptop every year or two years. How many pairs of shoes do people need? These are just some examples.
Essentially, we need to live life and enjoy it, but with consideration for all other living things around us and the consequence of our actions on them. Therefore, as we indulge and live our lives from day to day, we should do things within reason, and realize that everything we consume requires energy to manufacture and grow and there is only so much energy on this planet. Also, the side effects of the process of growing and manufacturing can be very detrimental to this planet.
For example, much of the waste of the animals that we consume end up poisoning our water systems, and we kill over 50 billion animals per year to support our gluttony.
Happy New Year's everyone!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
He he, thanks for referencing for the meaningful conversation we had earlier. Aside from foods, I see that the modern capitalistic world has over-consumption everywhere which is pretty sad. Plastic bags in the garbage cans used only once, foam boxes used to house electronics just for once, and those plastic handlers for a 6 pack of beer which will eventually kill so many wildlives. Saying this and probably purchasing and demanding these merchandise myself, I feel pretty guilty and to the extent a little bit hypocritical. However, I think we all learn by knowing as the first step; and I'm learning to cut down on things that I really don't need. Each little bit helps (in reference to the old man and starfish story). Happy New Years Bud!
ReplyDeleteI agree, soapboxes are awesome
ReplyDelete