Tom Dunne conversion?

Thoushaltnot

Apparently, Tom will be interviewing someone who's written a book on why we should all give up meat, on his radio show this morning - Newstalk 106fm.

Aha, it's Jonathan Safran Foer..."Eating Animals" - so, sometime between now and midday, if you're interested.

Thoushaltnot

Yup, on in 5 - after the ads and news.

Washout

say anything interesting?

fillefatale

I missed this! Is there a podcast?

Thoushaltnot

Washout wrote: »

say anything interesting?

"I frankly DON'T love animals".

Me too!

Mind, I don't hate them either and I don't see any excuse to treat them cruelly but I'm not in the "awww, I love ALL animals" camp.

J.S.F. was mainly talking about the U.S. factory farming (eg."feedlot farms"), which is obscene, as opposed to our own. According to him, factory farming methods account for over 90% of farms in Europe, iirc, which is a disturbing figure. I'd need to read the book though.

mrsdewinter

Thoushaltnot wrote: »

J.S.F. was mainly talking about the U.S. factory farming (eg."feedlot farms"), which is obscene, as opposed to our own. According to him, factory farming methods account for over 90% of farms in Europe, iirc, which is a disturbing figure. I'd need to read the book though.

I didn't hear the original item but I'm not sure how useful these items are. How do farming practices here compare to those in the States? As a bystander in the debate (I still eat meat, though I don't cook it at home, and am trying to cut down; my issue with meat is based on world resources, not ethics or animal cruelty - yes, I'm a dilettante), I find arguments that cite huge feedlots in the US midwest unconvincing when I only have to go 20 miles down the road to see seemingly happy beef cattle grazing in large, lush fields.

You see, there are a lot of people like me, who feel a little uneasy about eating mounds of meat, and who could be coaxed a little further along the road towards a more vegetable-based lifestyle but this isn't it...

Basically, is there a good Irish writer out there who has successfully pleaded the case for vegetarianism here?

CokaColumbo

mrsdewinter wrote: »

Basically, is there a good Irish writer out there who has successfully pleaded the case for vegetarianism here?

I don't know about Irish but Gary Francione who is an American is responsible for the abolitionist philosophy in animal rights: http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/about/

He argues that it is wrong to kill an animal regardless of how well or how badly we treat him/her. In this way, his arguments can be wholly applied to Irish agriculture.
Veganism is the moral baseline for anybody who rejects the killing of non-human animals according to the abolitionist approach, not vegetarianism, as there is no moral distinction between meat and dairy.

Washout

CokaColumbo wrote: »

I don't know about Irish but Gary Francione who is an American is responsible for the abolitionist philosophy in animal rights: http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/about/

He argues that it is wrong to kill an animal regardless of how well or how badly we treat him/her. In this way, his arguments can be wholly applied to Irish agriculture.
Veganism is the moral baseline for anybody who rejects the killing of non-human animals according to the abolitionist approach, not vegetarianism, as there is no moral distinction between meat and dairy.

I do see a moral; distinction between meat and dairy...for one the animal is not dead from milking.

however in chickens there is good chance that an egg can be fertile.

CokaColumbo

Washout wrote: »

I do see a moral; distinction between meat and dairy...for one the animal is not dead from milking.

however in chickens there is good chance that an egg can be fertile.

Well there is a reason that you and I have never seen any elderly cows chewing the cud in a field. That's because when the productivity of a 'dairy' cow drops below a certain level, she is killed and made into beef.

I am not being judgemental here but by drinking milk people are not only treating animals like things, they are also responsible, by sustaining the industry, for the killing of dairy cows. The same is the case for all hens, regardless of living conditions (i.e. organic, free range etc.).
If somebody thinks its wrong to kill an animal for his/her meat, I just don't see how they can legitimately continue to advocate the consumption of dairy and egg products.

Finally, I think I'm right in saying that a hen's egg is no more likely to be fertile than the normal menstrual discharge of a human female.