Fish are friends, not food. I'm not going to lie, I came up with this title in class the other day and I felt so clever about it, you can even ask George, Nathaniel or Chris. My cleverness aside *wink*, this title does relate a whole lot to the topics we have been discussing in class. In Hooked On A Myth, we explored the idea that fish feel pain and are conscious of it. I believe that fish along with many other animals, do know what pain is. I don't think it's fair that we take advantage of animals. Just because they can't speak doesn't mean that they do not suffer or even know what pain is.
Braithwaite suggests also that if we can not determine what our own consciousness is, then how can we decided whether or not animals are conscious. I think humans are pretty selfish in the way that we breed animals for slaughter and don't even treat them in a humane way during the days that they have to be alive. Now, I am not saying that everyone should stop eating meat. I mean, people have been eating animal meat for centuries upon centuries, so there is no way you can convince everyone to stop eating meat. What, I think should happen, is that animals should be given a happy life even if they are only alive for a month or so. We as humans have assumed this role as "God" for the animals that are below us on the food chain (our food chain that is) and yet we don't take the time to at least provide a good life for these animals that we are determining fate for.
I think the least we could do is give the animals a good place to live not only for them but also for the cleanliness of the food we eat. Most animals that are bred for their meat are kept in dark dirty places and fed processed food that is supposed to speed up their growing process in order to meet a deadline for that meat company. Not only is this a sad way to treat animals but its an unhealthy way for us to be raising our livestock and the things we put inside our bodies. If we were to give the animals open places to live and the right kind of food not only would we be doing a good thing for those animals but it would also be a way for us to start eating "clean". These animals aren't here for long, and its up to us to give them good lives while they're here. Fun fact: it has been proven that pigs are smarter than dogs. Just something to ponder the next time you're chewing on a piece of bacon.
In short, what I took from the articles that we read in class, is that we as humans have a responsibility to take care of the creatures and animals that are around us and if we are determining the life span of these animals, why not provide a good life for them while they're here? We also need to take a step back when we speak of ourselves so highly in the animal kingdom; we are incapable of determining our own consciousness, so who are we to say that other animals aren't conscious as well?
I understand where you're coming from. I believe that we should take better care of animals and treat a lot better than we initially do. When you think about it, pigs for an example are dirty animals, they have disgusting living conditions and yet we still eat them. farmers don't try to give them cleaner living conditions nor do they try to keep them clean. That's gross because sooner or later we're eating that animal and we have no idea what it consumed or what its been through and we'll probably never care either.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you entirely because animals should be treated well even if its for a short period. You made me think about if the animal im eating was stuck in a cage for their entire life and probably wasn't kept very clean then i wouldn't want to eat them. They deserve some type of care and respect because we are taking away their lives to keep our race alive. You're very right on the fact that we can't tell everyone in the world to just stop eating meat because lets face it, meat is delicious! And everyone isn't going to listen but we should treat them better. They have feelings and pain receptors and they should be killed in a less hostile way. We are on top of the food chain and we should be less animalistic and more humane and compassionate toward other animals.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you! As I think back to all the fairs I've gone to throughout life it makes me sad seeing all those animals caged up. The animals have so much potential, yet they lay lazily or excitedly eat all day. They have the potential to be happy and enjoy life and I don't see them doing that caged up. On the opposite side, if it wasn't for petting zoos or Normal zoos we wouldn't have much of an opportunity to see the creatures of this earth......
ReplyDeleteI don't know where I was going with that lol. All I know is that animals are worthy of respect, just like all of mankind. The end haha.
I think I got the whole fair thing, because you wrote about fish and I was thinking about how you can win a fish at the fair at a game booth. Okay, bye now.
ReplyDeleteI understand where your coming from. People should really start caring more about how animals are treated in those slaughter houses because if we are being given bad meat it is only going to hurt us as well. If companies that owned these slaughter houses actually cared about quality over quantity it would be so much better for animals and humans. Part of me wishes I could go vegetarian or vegan, but I just can't live off of that life style. Also, humans think they are so much better than other animals, but what right do we have to assume that. I mean we are the only animals that start wars and kill just because we can. I agree with you on the fact that we have a responsibility to take care of the animals. If humans are going to put themselves in the role of "God" they should at least show some compassion for the animals that they consider to be below them.
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