In regards to eating meat

[Diana]

I think saying that meat eaters are in denial is an ignorant and ironic statement.

Not you, Austin. You aren't in denial at all. Diana and I were speaking in general terms. Most meat-eaters seem to be trying to justify their actions.

Not you. You are clearly very aware.

I had thought about it, and you are more right than I would initially accept. But I think there are far more "aware" meat eaters than might be given credit for. There are many many people, like my customer base, who go to great lengths to learn about the process of meat production and what it means for themselves and the animal, practically and spiritually. As I said a while ago in this thread, I have a few (the number has increased) customers who used to be vegetarian because of the state of the meat industry, and now eat meat because they realize there are way to be involved with your food to a point where you can visit the farm that it comes from and ensure that you agree with the practices used raising the animals. This demographic is growing rather rapidly and as people learn about the state of the meat industry they are discovering that it doesn't have to be that way. Inhumane treatment of animals doesn't have to be the only option for meat.

However, there are some meat eaters in strong denial. For example, at my market, I have pictures of chickens on the front of my tent to show people how free and natural they are allowed to behave (our chickens are uncontained and can do absolutely whatever they want). A man passed by with his wife and said "Do you want to get some chicken?" She looked horrified and said "God no! I can't buy a chicken when I see it alive! That's horrible!"

This woman represents a very large demographic as well. People are in denial that the meat they eat was once a living being. What's even worse is the idea that she didn't want to know where her food came from...meaning she will most likely buy her meat from a big industry meat producer, where chickens are stuffed in a cage or a room, never see the sun or touch grass or anything natural at all.

To go even further, I might even say people that eat meat and aren't willing to kill the animal themselves are in denial. When vegetarians say "if everyone had to kill their own meat, there would be many more vegetarians," this is a true statement. There are different layers of denial for meat consumers. But I would ask, please don't ignore the consumers who aren't behind that veil of denial. They are fully aware of what they are doing and have much love and appreciation for what their food is and where it comes from, and try their hardest to be involved in the process.

That all being said, I would also say there are a number of vegetarians either grossly uninformed or in denial about the process that their food goes through as well. Is buying conventionally grown vegetables from the grocery store any more humane for animals or the environment than buying meat? The state of industrial food production, not just meat, is appalling. Some people think buying "organic" helps alleviate this problem, but it hardly does. If you buy organic produce from the grocery store, this act is supporting businesses which care little about the environment and do great harm to ecosystems, which would include all types of animals. There might be a very small percentage of food in a grocery store which is sustainably grown, but if you don't know exactly the source of your food, how can you know?

Also, while I know many vegetarians are aware of the state of the soy industry and the harm it does to the environment and agriculture in general, there are a great many who don't. GMO soy alone, which is nearly 99% of all soy production, is horrendous. These soy fields are carpeted with herbicide and pesticide which completely eliminate any traces of an ecosystem (including the thousands of being above ground as well as the trillions, yes TRILLIONS of beings bellow ground). There is also a horrendous amount of deforestation going on in South America to help meet a demand for soy. I would say that as many suffer and die because of these practices as do in the big meat industry.

Leaving aside soy, Big Produce in general treats the plants that they grow as separate from nature. They eliminate ecosystems and either carpet fields with chemicals, synthetic (convention) or not (organic). Many times, the produce you buy at the grocery store comes from all over the world. Think of the environmental damage that is done transporting food here? Much of it even comes from countries which are on the verge of famine and have food strikes. How awful is that? The laborers are often treated close to slave labor.

I feel that eliminating meat from one's diet is not enough to ensure the elimination of suffering of animals (and the Earth). Buying food local and making sure the producer is sustainable is the only way to be involved with your food intimately enough to know that it is responsibly produced with no suffering. This means giving up much of what we have become accustomed to. Learning to cook seasonally and giving up things which don't grow locally can be hard. No fruit in the winter, no tomatoes in the off-season...it requires much flexibility, but if you are buying conventionally grown (whether organic or not) produce from around the world, just think of the damage being done to ecosystems (which include animals) and the Earth in general.

All excellently said, and I agree, although I do think there is less fear in commercial harvest than commercial slaughter. Thank you for this. Awareness of the whole is key. And then, doing something about it .