quote:
Originally posted by Doc Demian:
Matt, the dumbest fucks I know are people who condemn hunting but who buy KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) or battery farm eggs, or meat from pigs who are kept in "sow crates", or who eat veal and pate de foie gras.
Yes, people who eat meat ARE on somewhat shaky ground when they condemn hunting while continuing to eat factory-farmed animals. Yet that still doesn't change the fact that "sport" hunting is a vile practice. Many meat-eaters (and i've talked to a shitload of them at countless animal rights events/gatherings, believe me) at least feel guilt about ingesting animals, but a "sport" hunter is without an ounce of remorse or shame for their disgraceful conduct. Your average meat-eater will at least listen to what you have to say about alternative dietary choices and the basic plight of "food" animals, but you just have 0 chance at ever hoping to reach the kind of fuck-Wad who finds it enjoyable to go out into the woods and blow some living creatures brains out--- not because they NEED food due to extreme poverty, etc--- but just for the fun of it. It's been my experience (both as a former meat-eater AND a vegan/part-time animal rights activist) that most people don't eat meat out of crueltry but instead out of habit. Almost every single culture has embraced meat-eating since the very beginning, and it is just absolutely ingrained all the way down the line. Who among us doesn't associate certain foods with family, comfort, and happiness? Hell, every one of us probably have at least a dozen recipes that make us fondly remember a past family gathering or event. Eating is a very social thing, and the simple truth is that most people DO eat meat--- great big shit-loads of meat and animal by-products (milk, cheese, butter, etc, etc, etc). Foods containing animals and their by-products is what the average person has always known and been around, so that is only natural. And another very important thing to remember, Doc, is that the vast majority of meat-eaters out there have no idea just how much their "food" suffered before winding up on their plate. Most people don't know the level of suffering that factory-farmed animals endure before finally being slaughtered.(Or even the countless horrors they experience while AT the slaughterhouse, for that matter.) Like I was already saying, I don't believe for a second that most meat-eaters are cruel-natured monsters who don't give a shit about what these animals go through. No, most of these people think that "food animals" live in humane conditions until they are slaughtered for human consumption. They do not know the truth, and why should they? On every jug of milk we see cartoons of smiling cows, on every container of sausage we see happy, dancing pigs. How many people have ever been to a real factory farm or slaughterhouse? How many people--- other than vegans and activists--- really know the gory details about what goes on in these places? Most meat-eaters eat animals out of custom and habit, not malice or cruelty. "Sport" hunters on the other hand are just callous, cruel assholes who kill for recreation without a shred of conscience. Give me your average "in the dark" (willfully OR otherwise) meat-eater over a vicious, fuck-faced "sport" hunter any day...

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* Sorry for all the preachin', gang, but I would like to finish up by posting some links to some very interesting sites about veganism/animal rights. Here goes:

www.veganoutreach.com (This site gives a very cool over-all answer to the question "Why Vegan"?)

www.peta.org (This link takes you to the PETA site. Now, I know these guys can be a little nutsy and extreme sometimes, but as the largest animal rights advocate group on the planet they also accomplish great things on a daily basis--- take a look around this site if you get a chance.)

www.GOVEG.com (Go here to receive a FREE vegetarian starter kit--- it's a great, informative little booklet--- and since it's free you have nothing to lose by ordering one so "hop" to it, gang! [wink] )

www.dairysucks.com

www.milksucks.com (Sorry, I couldn't remember which was the right name for this site. Check it out, though--- it contains a great deal of info on the myth of the "happy cow".)