Rant: On eating Cows

[Coventina]

Last night, before I fell asleep I was channel surfing and came across a program on PBS about show cattle.

I starting flipping between it and SNL.

I haven't eaten beef in more than a decade. My reason for quitting was mad cow. I read an article in "In These Times" when mad cow was still "underground". It scared the living daylights out of me and I stopped eating beef that day.

I've never been particularly interested in cows as a species, but the longer I've been away from the consuming of beef, the more disgusting it has seemed to me. But that show last night was a real eye-opener. Now that I know about cows, their relationships, behavior, etc. I could no more eat a cow than I could a human child.

Does that make me a vegetarian wacko? To compare a cow to a child? And if so, why? Scientists often compare an animal's mental ability by equating it to the age of a human child. IIRC, a dog has the mental age of a 3 year old and the emotional life of a 7 year old. It gives us an idea of the experience of the animal we are dealing with. It can never be "just" like that, but roughly equivalent.

The raising of cattle for slaughter and consumption is morally reprehensible. Yes, I said it. I stand by it. I'm not going to pussyfoot around it and say it's the WAY we do it (factory farms) but that we do it at all.

I know I'm preaching to the choir here. But the sad fact is, there is no way I could post this on DU anywhere BUT here and not get jumped on like a trampoline on gym day.

[flvegan]

1. Have you ever noticed

how folks don't eat cow? They eat steak. Or hamburger, or prime rib. Folks eat fish, or they might eat chicken, but they don't eat cow. I think that cows and pigs are the threshold animals. They're cute, and you can touch them at petting zoos and read about them in children's books. One might have trouble distinguishing between emotion and food if one were to eat a pig filet or a cow pattie.

I made a funny.

[Coventina]

2. yes I have noticed that, and I don't think it's an accident

Although I think there is a different mechanism at work in both cases.

Pigs are thought to be dirty (which is wrong, although they are often kept in filthy conditions THEY are not responsible for) so I think people wouldn't like the idea of eating "pig strips" although "bacon" is just fine & dandy

With cows, I think people actually do have romanticized notions about cattle drives & placid dairy cows chewing cud peacefully in green pastures while their calves frolic. They don't want those pictures associated with the steak on their plate, it might make them feel a twinge of guilt.
Although the REALITY of what is REALLY behind the steak on their plate should make them feel far more guilty than that.

Yeah, I said they should feel guilty.

Please understand. I'm not yelling at you or anyone here. You know all this stuff way better than I do. And you are way ahead of me on this issue in hundreds of ways. I'm just really fired up and angry after having watched that show last night.