I'm not a vegetarian, but...?

Question

Okay. Here's the thing. My mother is a vegetarian and although I'lll NEVER stop eating meat I do think as a compassionate human being I ought to do something. I stopped eating at KFC because the chickens there aren't just killed (which is fine with me as that's the circle of life), but they die sloooowly and suffer the entire time. Often they are boiled in hot oil while steal barely alive! It's horrible!

Now I'm thinking about the baby cows (i.e., calves) who are turned into veal. "Within moments of birth, male calves born on dairies are taken away from their mothers and loaded onto trucks. Many are sold through auction rings where they are subjected to transportation and handling stresses. The fragile animals are shocked and kicked, and when they can no longer walk, they are dragged by their legs or even their ears." They are chained so they can't move which results in disorders and they are starved.

I love veal... and I will continue eating it (rarely though, just so you know). But is there ANY company that isn't so severe in the process?

while still barely alive** (Correction)

Answer 1

Read a book called, "Animal Liberation" by Peter Singer sometime. You have just scratched the surface of the problem. Seriously, Our taste for flesh does not only make us disgustingly cruel and ignorant, it is a major contributing factor in global warming. The untold cruelty and suffering we inflict on other species is a disgrace.

Answer 2

"I stopped eating at KFC because the chickens there aren't just killed (which is fine with me as that's the circle of life)"

Umm, this is hypocritical. You're implying that other places 'just' kill their chickens (or pigs, or cows). This is not so. The entire meat industry is barbaric. You won't find a humane slaughterhouse (besides, what the hell does that mean? It's an oxymoron).

You said you would "never" give up meat. Why? Is it the taste? How do people give up cigarettes and alcohol? Their addiction is far greater than yours. If they can do it, why not you? If it's not the taste/convenience, what other reason can there be? A true sacrifice is in giving up something you don't want to give up (I have to credit one of the meat-eaters on this forum for that quote. I forget who).

The above answerer with the long name:

Actually, those are well known facts (one correction though - hot water, not hot oil). I have seen videos of this and I'm sure you have too.

Winenut,

Assuming that beef production is (marginally) more humane than veal, bull calves can be castrated and raised for beef. Of course in my world, they wouldn't exist to begin with.

Answer 3

Do you think it's just for KFC that the animals suffer horrible treatment? It's ALL chickens who are brutalized in the slaughterhouses. PETA and other pro-veg organizations go after KFC because they're a large company who buys a lot of dead chickens!!! Hello! If I could use italics here, I would, but listen up: There is no such thing as "humane" slaughter. All animals--cows, calves, pigs, chickens, ducks, sheep, goats, etc.--suffer greatly during the slaughter process. Heck, during their whole lives. And if you know just how cruelly the veal calves are treated, how on earth can you justify eating dairy and veal?

By the way, I wouldn't trust "free-range" as far as I can spit. It's often just a bunch of greenwashing. It's not humane, it's just less cruel.

May I suggest you read "Slaughterhouse" by Gail Eisnitz or "Skinny *****" by Kim Barnouin and Rory Freidman?

And I used to think I'd never stop eating meat--I'm sure a lot of veg*ans think this way--but I did, and I've been vegan for five-and-a-half years. I wish I'd done it sooner.

Answer 4

Buying dead animals at a supermarket already plucked and sometimes prepared is not "the circle of life".

All animals that are killed for food suffer. It's not just KFC chickens.
PETA targets KFC because they haven't "improved" the living conditions of their chickens. Or atleast that's what they (PETA) want us to think.

The things that you are talking about are factory farming practices, KFC aren't the only ones that use the methods that you described.
>>> "Often they are boiled in hot oil while steal barely alive! It's horrible!"
I think that you are referring to feather removal, where they scald the feathers off with hot water-- not oil.
But you've probably read somewhere that the birds are still conscious while they're feathers are scalded off, because of improper stunning methods.

If you don't like the way veal is produced, then the only way to avoid contributing to the industry it to stop eating veal.
The reason that calves are confined the way that they are is to make the meat tender. If you eat veal, you can be sure that it was confined in a way that constricts it's movement.

And not to rain on your parade, but if you consume dairy you are supporting the veal industry.


Edit:
@ "me-- whatever"
Hmm, I thought that I explained this to you very well. I guess you just don't get it or don't want to get it.

I do what is "within my power".
Not eating veal is within my power.
Not consuming dairy is within my power.
Not consuming eggs is within my power.
Many things are within my power.

Moving out to the middle of nowhere, leaving my life behind is not within reason and is not practical.
So giving up vegetables is not within my power.

Like I said earlier, I AM NOT a vegan. So don't think that you can hold me to your definition of a vegan.


You can not prove anything that you are saying, all you gave us was a link to someones adapted version of the definition found on the Vegan Society's site-- which, in case you forgot, does not support your opinion.

Edit:
"Me----"
I'm not exactly sure what you are talking about.
By "they" you mean the person who asked this question?
If you do, are you seriously going to tell me that it's not within someone’s power to give up veal?
I find that hard to believe.
Unless of course someone was lost at sea and the only thing available for them to eat was a baby cow that they just happened to have lying around the boat.

You still can not prove anything that you have been saying. So until you do, expect to be called out on it.

Answer 5

the more you do, the better. However, if you eat meat you'll just have to reconcile that with your own conscience. All veal is cruel, as it is a white meat, this is done by making the calves anaemic by feeding them food of the wrong type for a calf. It is this anaemia that causes them to be barely able to walk. Most chickens are probably killed in a way that's not that different from KFC's practices. If you want to eat meat with a clear conscience, you'll need to do the wrestling with your own conscience.
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loads of celebrities are campaigning against KFC, that's where I heard the info. Apperently KFCs own staff asked the big boss man to change the chicken rearing/killing practices and at least bring them up to the same standards as the other fast food chains such as McDs and BK and he refuses.
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what I read about the 'boiling in oil' thing was that live chickens at KFC places are put into a boiling liquid to remove feathers. At other meat producing places the chickens have their throats slit first.

Answer 6

I'm glad you wish to do something, but you have a major, major flaw in your thinking right from the get go. Where did you get that KFC info? It's obviously total crap since a quick logic check will tell you that the chickens are fried in pieces, not as whole birds, so they obviously aren't alive when they hit the fryer. I don't even like KFC, but geez, let's be real here.

And while I agree, veal production is kind of sad, what do you do with all the bull calves? And your information is again erroneous. Abuse to the calves toughens the veal and goes against the whole point. I don't eat veal, either.

Have you been reading the PETA web site? Bad girl.

Answer 7

I eat meat, but only organic beef and chicken, and sometimes bison. I know where it comes from, which farm, and many times I have met the farmers/ranchers.

That makes me feel a lot better. Organic meat isn't feed poisonous rat droppings like conventional cattle, nor is it pumped up with antibiotics to offset the inevitable disease.

Free range chickens sounds so humane, doesn't it? But unless you know the whole story, all animal products are questionable.

I also consume dairy products only from organic sources.

I don't think our bodies are designed to digest the horrors of comtemporary animal killing processes like you described. If you want to continue eating meat, I would recommend checking out organic meat, visiting farms, and continuing your research.

Answer 8

I'm vegan, and I thought I'd never be able to stop eating meat and now I'm not even eating animal products! So I can't say if you'll be a future vegetarian but its possible. And I agree they do, do terrible things to the animals. Its enough to kill them but to torture them for life and such is just plain inhuman.

Answer 9

U really should be a vegetarian. It is a beautiful healthy life style. That is disgusting to eat veal. How can u live with urself knowing that beautiful innocent animals are dying FOR YOU. What makes u better than them huh?

Answer 10

I do not eat veal because of how it comes about. Nor to I eat foie gras for the same reason. And lord knows I NEVER would eat at a KFC if I happened to run across one in the UK. I think there's one in Suffolk and Preston.