The Purpose of Animals (food, review, chickens, diet)
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jimbo - yeah, pigs would probably survive. that's why i singled them out a bit. there are still plenty of wild pigs in the world, and plenty of those come from domesticated lines.
The question was "is everyone became Vegetarian or Vegan what would be the purpose of animals?".
Certain animals will continue to provide sustenance for the carnivores. We could use cowhide for clothing for instance, and then use the meat to feed our carnivorous companions such as dogs and wolves.
Last edited by Green Irish Eyes; 07-22-2010 at 11:10 AM..
Reason: Deleted unnecessarily rude comments
Very interesting question--and one I've pondered myself.
I guess, as others have said, certain domesticated animals bred and/or tamed to serve man (donkeys, horses, cows, goats, pigs, factory turkeys/chickens/ducks) would die out and others would go feral successfully.
There are wild donkeys, pigs/hogs, goats, ducks and turkeys, for example. The animals that have been monkeyed with--like the factory turkeys and chickens--would die out..or maybe, after a few generations--would adapt to living a natural life.
Longhorn cows were pretty wild and wily and survived on the range just fine as opposed to our common de-horned 'meat' cows such as Herefords, or mild cows, such as Holsteins, which wouldn't do too well at defending themselves in the wild against predators...
Once upon a time, the U.S. had huge herds of free-roaming buffalo living on the prairies that were used for food/hides before Europeans came and killed them off for 'sport'...now we raise feedlot cattle that need tending and antibiotics and are given growth hormones to fatten them up faster. Not such a great trade-off, eh??
Wild horses seem to do pretty well on the range as mustangs...
As far as leather, I don't really know...would hides from animals that died a natural death from old-age or disease, and living in the wild, tend to be scarred and unusable?? And how would you gather the hides unless the animals were kept in captivity?
Interesting question! Our domestic animals have been bred and tweaked to serve our needs, animals in the wild just are. No purpose other than to 'be.' Just like us...only less harmful, for the most part.
There really need not be a purpose for animals. Human beings are the ones who bred animals to the point of overpopulation and exaggeration and distortion of their original features. All for our pleasure.
We do not need to worry about the time when every one becomes a vegan or vegetarian and cow pigs and chickens rum amok.
How self centered are we humans if we think that other animals only were put on earth to serve us as food What is the purpose of humans, other than to ruin the earth
that being said, i think a much more realistic goal (although it's still not all that realistic) is a world where meat and dairy consumption is decreased to the point where animals can exclusively be raised on small, sustainable farms where they are treated humanely, rather than on factory farms. i'd be really happy if we got to that point in my lifetime, although i'm not holding my breath.
interesting thought. while i'm not a vegetarian, i'm enjoying reading through the threads here and getting a good perspective on the reasons behind it. while some of the ideas seem a bit, ummm...out there imho, i appreciate the perspective.
something that got me thinking about becoming a vegetarian was when i butchered some hogs with my wife's family. we got the pigs from a small commercial farm and i was saddened by the condition they were living in. makes me not want to contribute to this type of system.
sadly, i love bacon too much to make the switch right now. and we just moved to chicago near an italian grocery store that makes the most amazing sausage. but i digress...anyhoo, i agree. we weren't made to eat as much meat as we do. the goal you stated would be worth working towards.
I'm not sure that domestic animals resemble their wild ancestors, because we've practiced selective breeding for so many thousands of years. I understand that cows used to be fierce plains animals, but we just kept breeding the docile ones -- probably similar to what we're doing with the bison, now.
I believe truffle hunters in Europe do use pigs, but we Americans like things the way we've "always done it."
When I see wildlife, I've never wondered if they had a purpose. I simply love to see them. It saddens me that now when I walk in the wild places, I don't see nearly the number of critters that I did when I was younger. I hate seeing them next to housing developments and commercial districts, because they don't know what I know.
I wonder what people are for, if we only see value in things that serve a purpose to us. How sad that is to consider.
When I see wildlife, I've never wondered if they had a purpose. I simply love to see them. It saddens me that now when I walk in the wild places, I don't see nearly the number of critters that I did when I was younger. I hate seeing them next to housing developments and commercial districts, because they don't know what I know.
I wonder what people are for, if we only see value in things that serve a purpose to us. How sad that is to consider.
Well said.
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