Nice piece taking on the concept of "humane meat"

[KamaAina]

Full disclosure: The author is a personal friend and is one of my all-time favorite human beings. :loveya:

http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/can-animals-save-us/humane-meat-no-such-thing

I recently debated Nicolette Hahn Niman at an art event in California. Niman is a cattle rancher and author of Righteous Porkchop. I am a 28-year-old disabled artist, writer, and vegan. The event was held in a largely inaccessible building in front of an audience that had just dined on grass-fed beef—a rather ironic scenario for a wheelchair-using animal advocate like me!

Throughout the debate I argued that limited interpretations of what is natural and normal leads to the continued oppression of both disabled people and animals. Of the 50 billion animals killed every year for human use, many are literally manufactured to be disabled—bred to be “mutant” producers of meat, milk, eggs, and other products but unable to function in many ways....

As a disabled person I find arguments based on what’s “natural” highly problematic. Throughout history and all over the world, I would have, at worst, been killed at birth or, at best, culturally marginalized—and nature would have been a leading justification. Disability is often seen as a personal tragedy that naturally leads to marginalization, rather than as a political and civil rights issue. Many people now reject using “nature” to justify things like sexism, white supremacy, and homophobia but still accept it as a rationale for animal exploitation and disability discrimination.

The distinction that Pollan makes is especially troubling when one considers that slavery and patriarchy were both seen as simply natural at one time. The argument that co-evolution justifies animal exploitation is similar to an argument that patriarchy is justified by thousands of years of history, culture, and genetics. One cannot argue that the domesticated animal chose slaughter any more than one could argue that women chose patriarchy....

[flvegan]

1. I agree, there's no such thing as "humane meat" at all.

And this paragraph:
"Niman uses nature as a justification for animal slaughter in another way, arguing that, since it is normal and natural for animals to eat other animals and humans are animals, we are justified in eating meat. But violent, painful deaths are also “normal and natural” in nature."

This is the most STUPID talking point I've ever heard, and (sadly enough) it gets used on DU constantly. Fact is, it's not normal and natural for ALL animals to eat other animals. And those pathetic little canine teeth of yours don't make you a damn lion.

Kudos to your friend on the article.

[KamaAina]

2. Well, I AM a Leo

:-)