Ethics of the Meat Industry

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My brother-in-law is on a new kick about not eating certain kinds of meat because of the way the "meat industry" can sometimes cruelly treat farm animals. His newfound convictions sometimes come up in conversation, but I haven't been able to really bring up any good points.

One avenue I've been mulling over is to draw an application from the Corinthian church who were letting the buying of meat that had possibly been offered to idols hurt their conscience. Paul basically says, "don't ask, don't tell" about whether the meat that a Christian was buying had been offered or not, and not to let it bother them.

Of course, the reason was that idols really aren't gods, so we know that offerings to them didn't "taint" the meat at all, so I'm not sure how far this could apply in the "ethical treatment" arena.

Anybody have any ideas, or websites with information that counters the mostly one-sided body of "facts" that support this view?

 

[D28guy]

Well, I am an animal lover, and it makes me sick to my stomach when I see these cases of animal cruelty. I dont know how anyone can not be sickened and angered by it.

Those who are guilty of animal abuse...whether its cows, chickens, dogs, cats, seals, minks, or any other type of animal, should be prosecuted...and harshly.

I have no problem with eating meat, or killing animals for the meat or fur. (unless extinction is a possibility of course) I also have no problem with people who enjoy hunting, for the sport of it. I personally would not be able to pull the trigger while looking at that beautiful animal, but thats just me.

But if you are harvesting animals for food you MUST TREAT THEM HUMANELY, or be harshly prosecuted, imo.

Mike

 

[Gold Dragon]

This reminds me of a video called The Meatrix that explains some of the concerns folks have about the meat industry in a light-hearted way.

 

[Gold Dragon]

Anybody have any ideas, or websites with information that counters the mostly one-sided body of "facts" that support this view?

I can't do that because the facts are that there is a lot of animal abuse and questionable practices in the meat industry. It isn't just the PETA folks that are concerned. Poor animal treatment leads to diseased animals and public health problems.

 

[Jkdbuck76]

I live in farm country. I can get a half of a beef from any number of farmers and have it killed by a small slaughter house and flash freezed.

And I didn't have to buy it from THE EVIL MEAT CORPORATIONS.

Would your friend feel better if he got his meat from a local farmer and not from an EVIL MEAT CORPORATION?
And I mean that in all seriousness by the way. I mean, some people (aka "hippies like my little sister") have
some kind of an aversion to EVIL CORPORATIONS yet stick all their money in 401k's...which depend upon the
success of EVIL CORPORATIONS to florish.

My rant is over. Your friend should buy meat locally and support American farmers.

 

[gb93433]

We used to get our meat out the back door. Most farmers I know would never treat animals in a cruel manner. However there are idiots.

Remember sometimes how Christians treat one another in church. I have seen cases of discrimination on the basis of race and socioeconomic status. Where are the same folks who think it outrageous to mistreat animals when it comes to those who mistreat other Christians. Pastors could tell many many stories.

 

[DHK]

The Lord ate meat on a regular basis.
He kept all the regular feasts which demanded sacrificial animals and partaking of such animals.

The Word of God declares all animals, even the uncleans ones (to the OT Jews) as now clean. He did that when he gave a vision to Peter in Acts 10.

But he was even more clear in
1 Timothy 4:4-5 For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: 5 For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

Every creature of God is good for food. That includes beef, sheep, seals, whales, bear, etc.
The only condition is that God also gave us dominion over all the earth, which indicates that we have the responsibility of taking care of the earth. In doing so it would not be wise to be eating animals that are at the point of extinction (which I am sure none of us are doing.)

 

[readmore]

Would your friend feel better if he got his meat from a local farmer and not from an EVIL MEAT CORPORATION?
And I mean that in all seriousness by the way. I mean, some people (aka "hippies like my little sister") have
some kind of an aversion to EVIL CORPORATIONS yet stick all their money in 401k's...which depend upon the
success of EVIL CORPORATIONS to florish.

Yes and no... He thinks ensuring that the meat people buy is from a "local farmer" who treats his animals properly is the least a normal meat-eater can do, but to him it's just not worth it, he'd rather give it up altogether (also partly for health reasons, which I don't have a problem with, although the "science" behind this seems dubious). His problem really is with the EVIL MEAT CORPORATIONS and the fact that "you never know if the meat you're getting comes from a corporation like this, and the chances are, it is."

The Lord ate meat on a regular basis.
He kept all the regular feasts which demanded sacrificial animals and partaking of such animals.

I've tried going there. He says that "farm animals were treated better back then." It's because of today's practices, such as keeping them in small cages, fattening them up with certain kinds of food, weening them from their mothers early, cutting their tails short, giving them hormones, etc. that it becomes unethical to support the industry by buying meat.

 

[just-want-peace]

---I've tried going there.---

I think I would just warn him not to drool on my steak while I'm eating.

 

[DHK]

I've tried going there. He says that "farm animals were treated better back then." It's because of today's practices, such as keeping them in small cages, fattening them up with certain kinds of food, weening them from their mothers early, cutting their tails short, giving them hormones, etc. that it becomes unethical to support the industry by buying meat.

Every creature of God is good and nothing to be refused.
You are making moral judgments where they are not needed. Go by the Word of God. You say animals were treated better back then. You have no proof that always was the case. The Jews and Christians had a problem when buy meat from pagan market places. They didn't know if the meat had been offered to idols. There were plenty of things that they didn't know about that meat--including how pagans treated their animals. There was no SPCA or PETA to regulate people at that time. Meat was meat.

What was the attitude of Jesus toward animals and their owners:

Mark 11:15 And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves;

He didn't gently lead them out of the outer court of the Temple. He drove them out with a whip. He wasn't very gentle.
BTW, they sold doves, pigeons, turtle-doves, and other birds. How were they kept in that day? In cages of course.
Neither do you know how crowded the outer court was with thousands of Gentiles who could not enter any other place of the Temple, but were stuck there with all the cattle, birds, and all the other animals and their excrement. It was a very crowded place, and not very sanitary.
You have nothing to complain about.

Every creature is good and nothing to be refused.
Tommy Titcomb, missionary to Africa, putting the Biblical adomonition into practice: "Eat whatever is set before you asking no question for conscience sake," found out later that he had been eating "human eye balls."
Give thanks unto God for what you do have.