Making animal rights and biocentrism a major political topic

[farmer]

Just as long as you don't take away the calves after they're born.
Calves need to nurse, just like any mammal. Corn products are not healthy in any living creatures' diet.

Of course we take the calves away after they are born. We become the calves mother and by milking the cow we become the calf in the cows mind.

 

[koshergrl]

Humans are animals too. Don't forget that. We are no better than any other species.

Define "better". We are the only species that engages in written communication, who makes musical instruments, who has placed men on the moon. We are the only species that cultivates the land, creates art (with an understanding that we are creating art...please don't call up Koko's fingerpaintings as an example of an animal being artistic). We have developed medicines and can transplant organs in order to prolong life.

I don't mind it when people advocate for animals to a point. But when their advocacy limits itself to the ridiculous, trite meme "we're no better than Fido!" then I recognize it for what it is...progressive nutbags who feel guilty about every step they take on this earth, and every morsel of food they take in, because they think every other creature on the earth is more worthy than they are to life.

Sorry, I don't buy that. I don't give a shit if calves nurse or not. I like milk, and I like meat. I'm not concerned that the steak I'm eating was deprived of it's mom's tit when it was a newborn, resulting in mental anguish for the whole 2 years of its life.

For one thing, I know it's absolute hogwash. Having raised calves I can testify they don't give a shit.

 

[boedicca]

One of my friends has recently converted to Veganism. I can't fully express how boring it is to be lectured that eating meat is EVUL. Try telling that to a mountain lion; good luck forcing one to respect little lambs and to become a vegan.

Humans are omnivores; it's natural and healthy for us to eat other animals.

 

[Rikurzhen]

They still experience the same emotions as us.

No they don't. Stop watching so many cartoons.

This comment deserves more appreciation. You cut right to the heart of the matter.

 

[Rikurzhen]

One of my friends has recently converted to Veganism. I can't fully express how boring it is to be lectured that eating meat is EVUL. Try telling that to a mountain lion; good luck forcing one to respect little lambs and to become a vegan.

Humans are omnivores; it's natural and healthy for us to eat other animals.

 

[SmarterThanTheAverageBear]

What is the most effective way of making animal rights a real political and ethical focus in this country? In addition, what is the most effective way to influence the masses towards a biocentric focus towards life instead of the superiority of the human species?

Should people be shown the images of slaughterhouses and processing plants around the country in order to truly know how they got their pork chop? Should people be forced to help kill and gut their cow before they sit down for their steak at a restaurant? Should people be allowed to use animals as entertainment even when that animal has no concept of what it is that is it being exploited for? Should people be allowed to abuse or neglect an animal? Should people experience the same anguish that animals feel when experimented on in order for them to have empathy for that life?

This is not an attempt to change minds. I am genuinely curious what everybody simply thinks on the matter. I myself am a proud vegan and advocate of animal rights and biocentrism, but i am just wondering what your thoughts are.

animal rights

okay animal you have the right to be petted by me if you're cute and cuddly, eaten by me if you're tasty , or killed by me if you annoy me.

 

[SmarterThanTheAverageBear]

Alex, you should be more concerned about the slaughter of humans around the globe rather than the slaughter of animals.
If you can convince the masses to stop the first, your chances of convincing them to end the second increase.
Though it could be a hard sell. I love cow.

I'm concerned about both

All change starts from within. Volunteering is generally always a good thing. Doing something, helps in more ways than one.

I have and still do volunteer for a number of causes in the Seattle area. My concern for humans though is less due to the fact that in many cases humans have the ability to help themselves and control their own destiny whereas animals and our environment are at many times at our mercy. We experiment on animals, we use them as entertainment, and we enslave them for various uses. We pollute and destroy the Earth due to humans misguided belief that we are the superior species that has dominion over everything. It it those areas of concern in my opinion that need to be changed, not my point of view.

we in fact ARE the superior species that dominates over everything, else we'd be out in the dog pen eating alpo whilst Fido had a steak in our easy chair.

 

[Abishai100]

Animal Fur

Understanding historical context is intellectually rewarding in this issue.

The early cave man, for example, found it prudent and useful to hunt and kill animals not only for food but also for warmth-protective fur clothing. In the modern world, the fashion industry is heavily criticized for trumpeting frivolous use of animal fur coats. Is fashion purely frivolous or does it speak to an enduring instinct of man to camouflage his body (with clothing, etc.) to command authority among other animal species?

I think it is wise to say that the advent of cotton as a clothing material reduces the need for animal fur and unless we go into another Ice Age, man may not need to hunt animals again for warmth-protective fur clothing.

Either way, how have we appreciated the sacrificial contributions of animals during man's self-awareness evolution?







Fur - Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

 

[sameech]

What is the most effective way of making animal rights a real political and ethical focus in this country?

Won't happen

In addition, what is the most effective way to influence the masses towards a biocentric focus towards life instead of the superiority of the human species?

Require every home to have a dog

Should people be shown the images of slaughterhouses and processing plants around the country in order to truly know how they got their pork chop?

It will cause people to resent your cause in the same way the pix of aborted babies do.

Should people be forced to help kill and gut their cow before they sit down for their steak at a restaurant?

Well it would certainly make them realize "Hey I should raise and slaughter my own cows.

Should people be allowed to use animals as entertainment even when that animal has no concept of what it is that is it being exploited for?

My dogs like attention

Should people be allowed to abuse or neglect an animal?

I suspect what you consider abuse and neglect are different than what most people consider abuse and neglect

Should people experience the same anguish that animals feel when experimented on in order for them to have empathy for that life?

Well that would be very Old Testament, which is not synonymous with "enlightenment" or "modernity"

This is not an attempt to change minds. I am genuinely curious what everybody simply thinks on the matter.

Asking how can we influence the masses and say it is not an effort to change minds seems a bit suspect.

I myself am a proud vegan and advocate of animal rights and biocentrism, but i am just wondering what your thoughts are.

Industrial food production is bad for our species and the planet, but it probably favors animals more than you would be willing to admit. A lot less waste than when people have to hunt for their own survival.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

The question is not, at this time, whether or not we eat or wear non-human animals. Its how we treat them. There is no excuse for the cruelty of animal use industries. It continues because hypocritical people will tsk tsk about cruelty to a puppy but pretend they don't notice the every day and much worse torture that they cause to be done to other animals.

 

[Delta4Embassy]

What is the most effective way of making animal rights a real political and ethical focus in this country? In addition, what is the most effective way to influence the masses towards a biocentric focus towards life instead of the superiority of the human species?

Should people be shown the images of slaughterhouses and processing plants around the country in order to truly know how they got their pork chop? Should people be forced to help kill and gut their cow before they sit down for their steak at a restaurant? Should people be allowed to use animals as entertainment even when that animal has no concept of what it is that is it being exploited for? Should people be allowed to abuse or neglect an animal? Should people experience the same anguish that animals feel when experimented on in order for them to have empathy for that life?

This is not an attempt to change minds. I am genuinely curious what everybody simply thinks on the matter. I myself am a proud vegan and advocate of animal rights and biocentrism, but i am just wondering what your thoughts are.

Want animal rights to become a major political issue, the next time someone hops the White House fence, sic the dogs on them. When they tear the guy apart "saving the President" we'll start talking about animal rights as a national issue.

 

[whitehall]

It's all about politics. Where was PETA and the Sierra club other animal rights groups when Barry Hussein signed an executive order that allowed windmill farms to keep killing migratory birds and hawks and eagles and even the occasional condor for the next 30 years? Most of the so-called "animal rights" groups are nothing but dirty tricks political pressure groups run by the DNC.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

It's all about politics. Where was PETA and the Sierra club other animal rights groups when Barry Hussein signed an executive order that allowed windmill farms to keep killing migratory birds and hawks and eagles and even the occasional condor for the next 30 years? Most of the so-called "animal rights" groups are nothing but dirty tricks political pressure groups run by the DNC.

Comparing a few hundred or even a few thousand to THIS?

TEN BILLION in the US alone. And that's just so-called "food" animals.

Nope. You'll have to do better than that.

 

[Ernie S.]

It's all about politics. Where was PETA and the Sierra club other animal rights groups when Barry Hussein signed an executive order that allowed windmill farms to keep killing migratory birds and hawks and eagles and even the occasional condor for the next 30 years? Most of the so-called "animal rights" groups are nothing but dirty tricks political pressure groups run by the DNC.

Comparing a few hundred or even a few thousand to THIS?

TEN BILLION in the US alone. And that's just so-called "food" animals.

Nope. You'll have to do better than that.

Do you eat meat?

 

[Luddly Neddite]

The sad fact is that people really don't care that they subsidize cruelty. There have been so many videos that show the reality of the livestock industry but really, people choose not to face the fact that they are the cause of what they refuse to even look at.

People who eat meat will rant and rave about other cultures eating a relatively few dogs, they'll rant about cruelty to pets but will eat a dead animal and pretend its not the same.


Take responsibility for what you say and do.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

It's all about politics. Where was PETA and the Sierra club other animal rights groups when Barry Hussein signed an executive order that allowed windmill farms to keep killing migratory birds and hawks and eagles and even the occasional condor for the next 30 years? Most of the so-called "animal rights" groups are nothing but dirty tricks political pressure groups run by the DNC.

Comparing a few hundred or even a few thousand to THIS?

TEN BILLION in the US alone. And that's just so-called "food" animals.

Nope. You'll have to do better than that.

Do you eat meat?

No. I have not eaten dead animals for more than 30 years.

I also do not eat dairy products or wear leather.

I do eat eggs from a neighbor's chickens. If I did not have that source, I would not buy/eat factory farmed eggs from battery chickens.

 

[initforme]

I am no vegan. But I strongly belive that animals should never be abused nor neglected. Those that abuse dogs and cats should receive the same treatment only suffer more pain. Its called being humane. Those sick people must pay the price.

 

[koshergrl]

It's already illegal to mistreat and abuse animals.

Next.

 

[sameech]

The sad fact is that people really don't care that they subsidize cruelty. There have been so many videos that show the reality of the livestock industry but really, people choose not to face the fact that they are the cause of what they refuse to even look at.

People who eat meat will rant and rave about other cultures eating a relatively few dogs, they'll rant about cruelty to pets but will eat a dead animal and pretend its not the same.


Take responsibility for what you say and do.

As someone who has hunted and slaughtered pigs, I think your thinking we all bury our heads in the sand is a bit naive.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

The sad fact is that people really don't care that they subsidize cruelty. There have been so many videos that show the reality of the livestock industry but really, people choose not to face the fact that they are the cause of what they refuse to even look at.

People who eat meat will rant and rave about other cultures eating a relatively few dogs, they'll rant about cruelty to pets but will eat a dead animal and pretend its not the same.


Take responsibility for what you say and do.

As someone who has hunted and slaughtered pigs, I think your thinking we all bury our heads in the sand is a bit naive.

I stand by what I wrote. My bet is that very few do not know the meat they eat is produced with absolutely mind-numbing cruelty. They know and they choose to ignore it.

Less than 6% of our population hunts and most people live in urban areas. For many, the closest they get to a real animal is when they sit down in front of their dinner plate. For them, "meat" is bloodless, clean, pristine, wrapped in plastic and found under bright lights in a display case. Hell, many believe their tomatoes come from a grocery store and have no clue as to the reality behind their food.

Further, many people, if they think of it at all, have the image of something like Davy Crockett when they think about hunting.

I don't have much respect for hunters because I've often seen the result of what they actually do. I doubt most people, including hunters, would be able to kill their own food if dropped off at a slaughterhouse but peoplere willing to pay others to do it for them. Although I question the motives of many who hunt, I will give them that they are willing to get their hands dirty.