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I have been an "almost vegetarian" for half of my life now. (I occasionally eat fish).
I have no desire to start eating meat again, however, I sometimes wonder what the purpose of animals such as chickens and cows are, if they are not meant for human consumption.
If everyone in the world were to become vegetarian or vegan, what would happen to all of the animals? Would we stop breeding them, and they would become extinct? Or is there another purpose for their existence?
I wonder why bomb squads don't use pigs instead of dogs as sniffers since they are supposed to be smarter than dogs, and have a better sense of smell.
I have also thought that a humane way to get leather from cows would let them live out a peaceful existence, and then when they die of old age, we could use the skin for leather. (I'm sure some people would oppose this, but it's still a thought).
I'm interested in what others have to say.
Thanks!
Last edited by Green Irish Eyes; 07-22-2010 at 11:11 AM..
... I sometimes wonder what the purpose of animals such as chickens and cows are ...
I think animals such as chickens, cows, fish, flowers, trees, humans, etc are an expression of the wonderfully un-understandable marvel of the persistence of life. "Life" is the miraculous mystery that unites me with other living beings and forms the basis for my vegetarianism. Late in my life I found I could no longer support the industrial scale misery and horror that is inflicted on fellow sentient beings to produce my "food."
I imagine that many of the genetically bred animals, such as turkeys who can't stand up, cows with unnaturally swollen, prodigiously producing udders, sows raised in tight crates to produce piglets, where they can't stand up or turn around, egg producing chickens raised in tiny metal enclosures where they never see the ground or the sun, all of these miserable forms of animals would cease to exist if it were not for the hellish, industrial scale factories where life is corrupted on a huge scale in order to produce cheap "food."
The animals that would remain would be those who naturally survive according to the laws of evolution, survival of the fittest if you will. I have only recently begun to think about my theory of life and its persistence. Don't know where I fit But I remember a quote from Carl Sagan back in the 70's, "We are a way for the universe to know itself." That's pretty deep I wish I knew some folks with whom I could discuss my "strange" ideas When I got home from work today I enjoyed seeing a big weed that was growing up from a tight crack in my driveway, despite its poor location and the heat and the drought
Feral cows seem to do fairly well in most places. Chickens probably would die off aside from some islands and places where their jungle fowl ancestors now live.
Dogs are more culturally accepted than pigs. Aside from children most people will leave a working dog alone and let it work. People would stop and stare at a pig. They'd want to touch it and ask questions about it. Plus a big pig would be significantly bigger and stronger than its handler which would be bad thing in times when obedience is most required. Back when dogs began to be trained for law enforcement people didn't know pigs were that smart either so there's a lot more experience in training dogs from then and before.
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That makes me wonder what the purpose of an animal like humans is.
There are chickens and cows because the respective species have been pretty good at something for a pretty long time. Chickens and cows have become extremely successful due to their usefulness to humans, but they made their own way for a very long time.
That makes me wonder what the purpose of an animal like humans is.
that's exactly what i was thinking! what is the purpose of any kind of animal, really?
there was a time when chickens, pigs and cows were exclusively wild animals. now, except for pigs, they've been completely domesticated and can't really survive without human support.
i do think that in a world where everyone was vegan, cows, chickens and possibly pigs and sheep would eventually die out. perhaps some would be kept as pets by enthusiasts, but i'm not sure about that, especially when it comes to cows. but that is better than their being bred just to live short, awful lives and be slaughtered.
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.
I think animals such as chickens, cows, fish, flowers, trees, humans, etc are an expression of the wonderfully un-understandable marvel of the persistence of life. "Life" is the miraculous mystery that unites me with other living beings and forms the basis for my vegetarianism. Late in my life I found I could no longer support the industrial scale misery and horror that is inflicted on fellow sentient beings to produce my "food."
I imagine that many of the genetically bred animals, such as turkeys who can't stand up, cows with unnaturally swollen, prodigiously producing udders, sows raised in tight crates to produce piglets, where they can't stand up or turn around, egg producing chickens raised in tiny metal enclosures where they never see the ground or the sun, all of these miserable forms of animals would cease to exist if it were not for the hellish, industrial scale factories where life is corrupted on a huge scale in order to produce cheap "food."
The animals that would remain would be those who naturally survive according to the laws of evolution, survival of the fittest if you will. I have only recently begun to think about my theory of life and its persistence. Don't know where I fit But I remember a quote from Carl Sagan back in the 70's, "We are a way for the universe to know itself." That's pretty deep I wish I knew some folks with whom I could discuss my "strange" ideas When I got home from work today I enjoyed seeing a big weed that was growing up from a tight crack in my driveway, despite its poor location and the heat and the drought
Dogs are more culturally accepted than pigs. Aside from children most people will leave a working dog alone and let it work. People would stop and stare at a pig. They'd want to touch it and ask questions about it. Plus a big pig would be significantly bigger and stronger than its handler which would be bad thing in times when obedience is most required. Back when dogs began to be trained for law enforcement people didn't know pigs were that smart either so there's a lot more experience in training dogs from then and before.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by groar
that's exactly what i was thinking! what is the purpose of any kind of animal, really?
there was a time when chickens, pigs and cows were exclusively wild animals. now, except for pigs, they've been completely domesticated and can't really survive without human support.
i do think that in a world where everyone was vegan, cows, chickens and possibly pigs and sheep would eventually die out. perhaps some would be kept as pets by enthusiasts, but i'm not sure about that, especially when it comes to cows. but that is better than their being bred just to live short, awful lives and be slaughtered.
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.
I would disagree about pigs. Pigs are exceptional general survivalists and a domesticated pig that has "flown the coop" almost immediately begins to undergo morphologic changes and reverts to a feral state. Within a few weeks a pink, cute domestic pig will have grown long, dense black hair and will start growing tusks. If that pig has offspring, they will not look anything like a domestic pig with the commuted snout and flat nose. Instead, they will look like this:
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But I remember a quote from Carl Sagan back in the 70's, "We are a way for the universe to know itself." That's pretty deep 
I wish I knew some folks with whom I could discuss my "strange" ideas 
When I got home from work today I enjoyed seeing a big weed that was growing up from a tight crack in my driveway, despite its poor location and the heat and the drought 
