A couple of weeks ago, I decided to go vegetarian. So far so good, except for a trip to McDonald's that is part of our driving-to-New-Jersey tradition. I am still eating fish, which gives me options at restaurants. I won't be eating another double burger on this week's Thanksgiving road trip to New Jersey, though. I've hardened my resolve.
This decision is based on moral issues. I know that animals who are raised to be food are treated horrifically and I don't want to be part of the problem.
It's also a health decision because not only are the conditions bad for animals, but they are frequently bad for the consumer too. The worse condition the animals are in, the less healthy it is to eat them.
If I could be guaranteed that the meat came from an animal that was killed humanely, I would feel a lot better about eating it. But humane practices aren't the standard.
I might not have to worry about animals at all anymore because according to this article, it will soon be possible to grow meat in labs using bioengineering. No live animals would ever be involved. That sounds gross and sci-fi, but it might be a grocery store option in ten years. The article points out that lab meat would not only prevent the slaughter of animals, but it would help the environment: in the United States, livestock produce 1.4 billion tons of waste each year.
1 comment:
I don't have a problem eating animals because most animals have eaten animals from time immemorial. However, I'm sure mass production has made things a lot more disgusting and inhumane than they were a hundred years ago when the cows roamed grassy fields until they were slaughtered. (I'm still reeling from the image of the wolf in your post on fur.)
I'm looking forward to bioengineered meat.
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