Thursday, February 20, 2014

First Look: The Morality of Raising Animals for Meat



I wanted to share a link to this article from Modern farmer I found fascinating that questions the practice of raising animals for meat.  Rarely have we heard farmers talk so honestly about raising and slaughtering and what it means to them personally.  Most people have never gutted a fish, let alone know what it is like to raise animals for food.  So it is interesting to see questions raised by someone who's life is very much about close contact with these animals.  What we do know is that agricultural systems are greatly enhanced by them, especially when those systems attempt to mimic nature.  Our relationship with them though has evolved.   There have been and most likely will always be questions of ethics in meat production as there are in many other areas of our culture.  Many feel it is time to stop eating animals all together.
This raises the question of how we fit into the natural environment we are trying so desperately to preserve.  What is our part in nature as the most evolved species?  If everything on this planet is temporary, even the planet itself, what is the best way to steward what we have for however many generations are left?

Questions

There are many arguments for and against raising animals for meat.  You can see some of them in the comment section after the article.  What are the personal ethics that we bring to make decisions about our food?  How do our choices affect this complicated world we live in?   I will speak more about this and other burning moral questions in the second look at this topic.