Unfortunately, today's entry is another last-minute one, due to the overwhelming amount of things that I needed to do, so I had to tap into reader challenges early. Today's challenge was prompted by the following video:
My entry has nothing to do with the video, per se. More about... meat sentience and how we as humans treat it.
I take no issue with vegetarianism. From a health standpoint, it's actually probably quite prudent. And if you have a stance against feeding upon the flesh of another creature, it is a valid point.
The issue that I do take serious offense to is the idea that my eating meat is amoral.
I'll tell you two quick anecdotes, one of which I find so nonsensical that I feel it needs to be shared, the other I want to actually comment on.
Years ago, a friend of mine happened upon a PETA rally in the DC area. Out of curiosity, he approached one of the protesters and asked her why eating meat was such a crime if carnivores naturally did so as well.
Her response was, "Because they aren't smart enough to make things like tofu."
...
Months after my friend told me this little tale, I overheard a brief conversation while waiting in line at the library. This took place between a middle-ish aged suburban mother and her daughter, probably about 12-years-old, upsettingly skinny, had untamed mousy blonde hair that fell to her back, and wore Birkenstocks.
Mother: "We're going out for fish."
Daughter: "Eww, I hate fish."
M: "Since when?"
D: "I don't eat animals!"
I zoned out for a bit, possibly to admire the fact that I could actually probably trace the outline of this girl's ulna, unimpeded by her skin. I snapped back to attention just in time for this little gem:
D: "How would you feel if you were going grilled??"
M: (Rolling her eyes at this point) "I wouldn't care."
D: "Nuh-uh! Yes, you would! You would mind if you were going to be cooked on a grill and eaten instead of natural death by barracuda!!!"
So. Just to recap - humans eating fish is like a cardinal sin, but getting eaten by this bastard:
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| Image via Nature |
TOTALLY COOL.
At the time, and for years after, I couldn't help but snort, perhaps a bit loudly. But thinking back on it now, I recognize that she was using innocent, over-simplified tween logic because she was fracking 12-years-old. At that age, I made some really idiotic blanket statements, too. And, in a roundabout way - she had a point. The general scheme of things, it is technically a lot more "natural" (in this case, "natural" being synonymous with "normal") for a tuna to be chomped on by a carnivorous, occasionally cannibalistic, predator versus being taken by the vast overfishing that humans practice. We certainly don't feed out of instinct or eat only when hungry, as "natural" processes might dictate.
But whether or not that tuna is mentally cogent enough to recognize when it has been deprived of its rightful demise is really quite beyond me. Are there trout, swimming about, talking to their other trout friends about their esteem of their family? "Oh, little Jim made me real proud last year - he was mauled by a bear. But that Patricia? What a disappointment - EATEN BY A FISHERMAN."
Humans have a weird sense of entitlement when it comes to animals and food.
To be fair, if I was dragged by a lion or something out to the middle of their pride to be slaughtered (Well, first I'd probably look for Simba), yes, I'd be a bit pissed. But realistically - despite our surprising seat at the top of the food chain, without our weaponry and technology, we're quite frail, and sometimes animals are much smarter than we give them credit for. I probably couldn't fault it too much for making a meal out of me.
After all - we're all made of meat.
Until the next.
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