Thread: Video - World's Largest Hatchery - Um, wow.

Originally Posted by Taosaur

Why would anyone surely choose that? One of the worst aspects of industrial animal agriculture is that we summon so many beings into lives of torment. It would absolutely be better if we were turning less of the earth into miserable pigs.

I don't know about "absolutely." How could one claim that a moment of life, of consciousness, no matter how that time period happens to turn out, is worse than not living at all? Who really has the authority to make that decision...? We can't even take a poll and ask the animals if they would have preferred to have never existed.

at first...I was quite disgusted by the meat grinder....then the same line that threw everyone else off threw me off....

however, I have to say...it would be nice if we could produce the meat more humanely for the same price...but if we cant, then I guess keep it going that way. the reason i say this is because like cloud put it (whether being sarcastic or not) the whole industry is for our consumption and I will tell you now....we didnt get to the top of the food chain by eating only fruits and vegis, any scientist will tell you that.

becoming a vegetarian is not going to stop this shit from happening.
eggs are awesome, especially in a fried egg sandwich

Originally Posted by tkdyo

at first...I was quite disgusted by the meat grinder....then the same line that threw everyone else off threw me off....

however, I have to say...it would be nice if we could produce the meat more humanely for the same price...but if we cant, then I guess keep it going that way. the reason i say this is because like cloud put it (whether being sarcastic or not) the whole industry is for our consumption and I will tell you now....we didnt get to the top of the food chain by eating only fruits and vegis, any scientist will tell you that.

The price is part of the problem--from a standpoint of public health, producing less meat at a somewhat higher cost would be an improvement, both in terms of diet and all the secondary impacts of the meat industry on the environment, disease agents, worker health, and not least of all our consciences. The present system does not nourish us, but feeds appetites that ultimately work against us.

I don't know about "absolutely." How could one claim that a moment of life, of consciousness, no matter how that time period happens to turn out, is worse than not living at all? Who really has the authority to make that decision...? We can't even take a poll and ask the animals if they would have preferred to have never existed.

Hehe, I'm letting Xei encourage my tendency to overstate Regarding who has the authority, though, we're already making these decisions--we determine these creatures' form and number and the course their lives will take. We've been playing god with their lives for millenia; we're just terrible, terrible deities.

From my perspective, it's not a matter of creating something new that wasn't there before--'a' consciousness--but of directing the flow of life and sentience into a dark, dark place. Even disregarding the obvious suffering of the animals, we as humans cannot muck around in these torture chambers and feed off of the suffering without doing ourselves harm, distorting our view of life, and holding ourselves back. Fewer pigs does not equal less life and less consciousness, just less consciousness bound up in torment.

Originally Posted by tkdyo

at first...I was quite disgusted by the meat grinder....then the same line that threw everyone else off threw me off....

The last line was a mistake. It doesn't detract from the point though.

Originally Posted by tkdyo

however, I have to say...it would be nice if we could produce the meat more humanely for the same price...but if we cant, then I guess keep it going that way. the reason i say this is because like cloud put it (whether being sarcastic or not) the whole industry is for our consumption and I will tell you now....we didnt get to the top of the food chain by eating only fruits and vegis, any scientist will tell you that.

We didn't get to the top of the food chain by factory farming animals either. We could stay at the top of the food chain without doing it. And we aren't really at the top of the food chain either: there is no top of the food chain. One day, microbial organisms are going to eat us.

Taosaur, you make a good point. I never said I was AGAINST it though. I would love for it to be more sanitairy thats for sure

Philosopher...I think you misunderstand my last line there, my point is we are where we are, big brain and all, due in large part to the consumption of protein in our omniverous diet...meaning I was pointing out from a health standpoint being a vegan isnt a great thing either

Wow, that video is just gruesome. Especially that poor chick that fell through the washer.
It's just not right to have industrial machinery handle chicks, though those workers weren't exactly better. Humans

About the grown meat debate:
I'd much rather eat grown meat than meat from a being which lived a bad life and endured needless torture. It's not as if an animal not being born is a crime against anyone. It's about reducing suffering.