I just came back from watching Fast Food Nation and I have to say that I am sorely disappointed. The movie is based upon the best selling book by Eric Schlosser that details how the fast food industry has been transforming our culture and our lives.
But instead of carrying the objectivity and solid arguments found in the book, the movie version is nothing more than just blatant mudsling at meat eaters. For 2 straight hours, the movie spells out for you how eating meat equals to murder in subtle scenes of slaughter and animal bloodbath.
Frankly, I am sick of these vegetarians imposing their beliefs upon others. It used to be that vegetarians were very mild, nice folks typical of a meek herbivore. But lately they seem to have grown very aggressive. I used to have a friend who refused to attend any of our barbeque gatherings even though we have promised him vegetarian meals. His excuse was that he does not want to come anywhere near the “grill of death”. Not a week goes by without him preaching about the virtues of being a vegetarian. And no, he does not do it for religious reasons.
He was the only herbivore that I had to put up with. Now it seems that they are everywhere.
About 3 months ago, herbivores wrote in to the local press to complain about excessive advertising by a fast food restaurant here that advertises its meat products on giant billboards. Local herbivores have also taken to the streets distributing “Love us, not eat us” and “Meat Eaters are Murderers” stickers. Fellow herbivores have taken to pasting these stickers very proudly on their vehicle bumpers.
I have nothing against people who abstain from meat for religious reasons. They are usually not that imposing. It’s the self-declared righteous “crusaders of animal rights” that I usually have a problem with. I suspect that they are the ones behind the movie installation of Fast Food Nation. Damn I wasted my seven bucks.
Well I don’t know about you but I’ve had enough of being called a murderer. I think it’s about time that us meat eaters stand proud for what we believe in and prepare for ourselves a good arsenal of replies and rebuttals, just in case we find us in an argument with herbivores. Please feel free to add to my list of rebuttals.
People Eating Tasty Animals (PETA) Rebuttals.
1. Meat Eaters are Murderers
The next time you come across a herbivore who tells you that you are a murderer for killing animals , ask them to show you their wallet, watch strap, shoe or handbag. Chances are that it’s made of leather. I find it to be total hypocrisy for herbivores to tell others not to eat meat, but they themselves are happily using products made of dead animals. So much for “righteous crusaders of animal rights”.
My view of meat eating is very simple. Every living thing that God has created has a function here on earth. Once the function has been carried upon, the being will pass on. A sheep that lives a life on earth will die one day anyway. But should you eat its meat, the sheep dies so that you and your family can live. Its function is your sustenance for another day.
2. Meat Eaters Cause Pain
How do you know that broccolis don’t scream every time you pull them from the ground? Like animals, plants have lives too. They breathe. They reproduce, they contain their own form of blood and they most definitely eat and drink – just like all living things. Just because you do not hear them scream does not mean it’s not there. Think about it.
3. Eating Meat Is Bad for Health
Tell that to the people living in the likes of the Sahara, the Middle East, Alaska, the Himalayas and all the other places where vegetation just will not grow. The fact of the matter is this; human civilization just would not have made it in these areas if it was not for meat eating. Eating fish and deer would have been the only form of sustenance you would have should you find yourself in miles and miles of ice caps or dry desserts.
People who insist that everyone should just eat vegetables do not realize that they are looking at the world through self-tinted glasses. Not everyone is lucky enough to live in fertile regions where vegetation grows in abundance, where vegetables sprout on command. Many of our ancestors would not have made if it wasn’t for the meat that they ate. Learn to appreciate that.
4. Eating Meat Is Against What Nature Intended
Let’s do some mathematics here. Currently there are more meat eaters than non-meat eaters in the world. Many of the world’s population, especially those in the Middle East and Africa, are predominantly meat eating societies who rarely touch vegetables since access to plants is very limited there. YET we are having a shortage of food globally.
Now imagine if EVERYONE were to turn herbivore overnight. We will be in direct competition with the increasing number of animals for food. Goats, cows, chickens and ducks – the population of these animals will now all be expanding exponentially. That’s because we stopped eating them remember? These same animals will now be competing for the grains and leaves that you will be eating. How’s that for a global food shortage? It will not be hard to see how meat eating is actually doing the world a great favor.
So go ahead. Go eat a steak and be proud of it. The world lives another day because of you.
P/S : Is it true that the word “vegetarian” is an old Red Indian word for “lousy hunter”?
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I am not sure that the word "vegetarian" is an old Red Indian word for lousy hunter.
ReplyDeleteHowever, it is interesting to note that words associated with vegetables are seldom used in the positive form. eg. "Don't expect to be successful if you vegetate in class!" or "He had a severe accident and is now a living vegetable".
I am an animal lover, but I don't like to eat beef, mutton, lamb because I have a very sensitive nose that finds the pungency too strong to tahan. I certainly don't begrudge my friends to eat whatever they fancy. Remember, one man's meat is another man's poison. Let us live, and live live.
I disagree with the animal rights position but your arguments are laughable.
ReplyDelete1. Chances are, animal rights proponents will be vegans and will not use any animal products at all. No eggs, no honey, no leather. Your view of eating meat is simple because you obviously have not thought very hard about it. If you want to invoke god, prove that god exist first. Should you not eat mutton, the sheep would not exist in the first place. There is no "function" of the non-sheep. Talking about sustenance, can vegetarian food not keep you alive and healthy?
2. Do you have to prove that plants feel pain or do I have to prove that they don't? Reaction to stimulus does not equate to pain. Either way, the argument is not that plants don't feel pain but animals do. Let's loosely define pain as a stimulation that cause unbearable discomfort. Do you deny that animals with a nervous system will feel pain? Do plants feel the same kind of pain? Let's assume they do. How much plant material will a vegan eat in a year? How much meat will you eat in a year and how much plant material would the meat you ate have consumed from birth till slaughter. Assuming you want to cause least harm, veganism beats eating meat.
3. Not many vegetarians argue that meat in itself is bad. It's more of a food safety argument. E coli, bird flu, mad cow disease etc. The common argument that a vegetarian diet can be as healthy as a meat diet is a refutation to claims that vegetarian diet is unhealthy, not a reason for not eating meat.
4. If access to plant material is limited, then meat you eat consumes what? Fact is you need plant materials to feed meat animals. Get rid of meat animals and fields used to plant animal feed can be converted to planting whatever plant material is in demand by humans. And you free up space which were previously used to house the animals.
The world won't turn vegetarian overnight. Supply falls with demand. We stop eating them, we stop breeding them. What exponential growth?
"So go ahead. Go eat a steak and be proud of it. The world lives another day because of you."
Go ahead, eat a steak. But don't be proud of it. There is nothing to be proud of. Just recognize that an animal with similar capacity for pain as you died for your meal.
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Do invertebrates feel pain - http://www.parl.gc.ca/37/2/parlbus/commbus/senate/Com-e/lega-e/witn-e/shelly-e.htm
The Conscious Carnivore: The Ethics Of Eating Meat - http://members.tripod.com/~BayGourmet/carnivore.html
Every group in society just want to have their say to preach their opinions, just like you and me with our blogs.
ReplyDeleteOne argument my vegetarian friends present is that technology is so advanced now that we can do without eating meat, and hence we should lessen the pain of animals since we CAN.
ReplyDeleteMy counter-argument is that, there is not enough land for plant production if we all turned vegetarian. It will also harm biodiversity if we started to produce a few crops in great quantities. Forests will have to be cleared for farmland, and I think it is just not feasible.
As for whether eating meat is against what nature intended...
Meat-eating is definitely not unnatural, if you look at carnivores around you. They sure don't care about pain and suffering of their prey. From human anatomy, our bodies have evolved for meat-eating. Our teeth are adapted for an omnivorous diet.
To Dodo:
ReplyDeleteYour arguments show very well how uneducated you are and how much you have not been exposed to the world outside your tortoise shell.
I have ben to a Pashtun village in pakistan. Over there everybody eats meat everyday. Yes every day a form of mutton is served. Bread is a luxury.
Why? Becuase the only plants that grow there are SHRUBS that can only be eaten by goats. You eat these shrubs you will die!
There are many more places like these in the world. Tell me now, how do you expect these people to go vegetarian?
http://www.powerhealth.net/selected_articles.htm
ReplyDeletethis website has some good arguments against vegetarians.
I used to be a vegetarian but as I am allergic to all legumes (beans, peas, soy... basically any alternate source of protein) I would have eventually died if I didn't go back to eating meat. I am a huge proponent of animal rights but I don't equate eating animals with cruelty to them. It's far worse to keep animals alive in laboratories whilst they suffer at the hands of scientists and cosmetics developers than it is to "humanely" kill them for food.
ReplyDeletedon't click the powerhealth link. it's spam
ReplyDeleteTo Dodo
ReplyDeleteYou said:'How much plant material will a vegan eat in a year? How much meat will you eat in a year and how much plant material would the meat you ate have consumed from birth till slaughter. Assuming you want to cause least harm, veganism beats eating meat'
Let's define least harm as eating the least of either an animal, or a vegetable.
An animal eats X number of vegetables in its lifetime. A vegan eats Y number. Total vegetables 'harmed' = X+Y.
When a non vegan consumes an animal, he saves a little less than X number of vegetables, < X. Not to mention the non vegan might consume some vegetables as well < Y, and the final number of vegetables consumed will still be lesser than X+Y, for < X + < Y is < than X+Y. More vegetables saved! Yippie!
Hence, eating meat beats veganism.
To Dodo again:
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned: 'If access to plant material is limited, then meat you eat consumes what? Fact is you need plant materials to feed meat animals. Get rid of meat animals and fields used to plant animal feed can be converted to planting whatever plant material is in demand by humans. And you free up space which were previously used to house the animals.'
A phenomenal discovery by scientists reveals that not all land are suitable for growing vegetation that humans can or will eat, and this can be found in geography textbooks in secondary schools all over Singapore amazingly.
'If access to plant material is limited, then meat you eat consumes what'.
If the cow eats shrubs, grass or weed and these are the only vegetation available on that terrain and climate, I presume you have no qualms about feasting on such a crusine either?
'Get rid of meat animals and fields used to plant animal feed can be converted to planting whatever plant material is in demand by humans. And you free up space which were previously used to house the animals.'
Read carefully. The writer is referrin to barren terrain and harsh climates like the mountains or artic regions. I dont suppose they have any 'animal feed fields' do they? I dont also suppose the land there are arable as well right?
If you want to argue that one can still be a vegetarian despite having no vegetables (ie no land for crops), at least do so under the correct context. Your argument in this case only applies to areas where yes, there is arable land but that is used otherwise for growing 'animal feed'. Comprehende?
Hehehe. I like the way you think out of the box. :)
ReplyDeletei'm not for, nor am i against vegetarianism. i do, however, get upset with the bashing between the two sides.
ReplyDeletei enjoyed reading all of ridzwan's articles very much. i really really do. that is, until i came across this post.
i understand how he/you may get upset with these in-your-face activists promoting their meat=murder. perfectly understandable. but hey. it'd be nice if he/you could understand more.
which made me come up with this post of mine.
if anyone's interested.
Yuchiro said:
ReplyDelete"Your argument in this case only applies to areas where yes, there is arable land but that is used otherwise for growing 'animal feed'. Comprehende?"
Just to correct you, it's 'comprende'. Or my favourite: capische.
And I do comprende that my post is totally insignificant :)
p.s. Ridzwan, you've made me a fan of your blog, keep it up.
Dennis Hopper: "I don't believe you."
Christopher Walken: "That is of minor importance. What is of major F*****G importance is that *I* believe YOU."
- 'True Romance' (1993)
Yuchiro said:
ReplyDelete"Your argument in this case only applies to areas where yes, there is arable land but that is used otherwise for growing 'animal feed'. Comprehende?"
Just to correct you, it's 'comprende'. Or my favourite: capische.
And I do comprende that my post is totally insignificant :)
p.s. Ridzwan, you've made me a fan of your blog, keep it up.
Dennis Hopper: "I don't believe you."
Christopher Walken: "That is of minor importance. What is of major F*****G importance is that *I* believe YOU."
- 'True Romance' (1993)