Two years ago, my younger sister decided that she did not want to eat meat anymore. Her decision was based on her notion that “animals are cute and don’t deserve to die for humans.”
Whenever I am home and munching on a burger while she eats her soybean casserole, I can do nothing but shudder at such a childish statement. Of course, to young children, animals are cute and fuzzy animals.
They also learn that a cow goes moo, but for some reason it is difficult for children to realize that the “chicken fingers” they love so much comes from the same “chicken” that Old McDonald had on his farm. EE -II- EE- II-OHHH..
In a surprising way, adult vegetarians still feel the same way my sister does. To these people, animals have an innate right to life and don’t deserve to be slaughtered for human consumption. They use words like “humane treatment” and “barbaric practices” to describe the meat industry.
To these sentiments I must respond, “How and why should we treat animals humanely?”
Are animals our equals in the world? Treating animals humanely means treating them like humans.
If animals were humane, then they could have the capacity for symbolic thought.
The day I see a duck doing algebra is the day I eat tofu and like it.
Or we could give animals seats in government. That would make up for thousands of years of abuse. But I think the last person to do that was Caligula, and people called him crazy.
Another argument used by vegetarians is the case of pets. If I own a pet, than that means I care for animals and wouldn’t watch to see Fido or Mr. Wiggles slaughtered for food. Yeah, I own dogs. I love to have them around. I’m not going to eat them, but if I had to eat them, I would. I’m sure that I can get a good recipe for German short-haired pointers somewhere.
I love animals. That’s why I love to eat them. I never had a “meat-less” stage, because I realized that meat is both nutritious and an important part of my diet. Where else am I going to get the necessary protein and fiber? Beans? TOFU?
In the name of curiosity, I went for a couple of days without eating meat. I must say that I have never experienced a more bland and inhumane period.
Essentially, I was eating the same things that rabbits would eat. A veal cow ate better than I did.
Veal cows seem to provide the most frustration for vegetarians due to their especially “harsh” treatment. What’s so harsh about being in a box and eating all you can eat? That’s the life for me. That’s all cows do anyway: graze and die.
What’s nicer than feeding a cow as much as it needs, giving it steroids, and pampering it so that its muscles are nice and lean? The veal cow gets better food than most student at the Orleans Room.
Meat is the spice of life. Animals eat other animals out of instinct. But because humans have a conscience, I should not enjoy a steak? Whenever I try to understand the logic behind vegetarians, I always go back to my sister.
Either she is mature beyond her years (she’s 12 and as mature as Disney) or she shares the same childish mindset that many adults share. Animals are tasty.
We treat them as humanely as they should be, given the fact that they are not human.
Give me a break and go eat a steak.
~Jason Bolte is an English literature junior. He loves to eat meat!
