Food

[CanadianStraps]

I love meat, always have and likely always will. I'm also a lover of life in many forms. I am fiercely opposed to animal cruelty in any form, and I also believe in the food chain and its importance for a healthy lifestyle. There is always balance.
The thought of taking a life is very different from that of eating a piece of prepared meat. Challenging someone for partaking in the latter while refusing to engage in the former is childish and petulant, quite shortsighted and frankly ignorant. People eat solid food like meat before they develop proper memories, but you dont show your 6 month old the right way to slaughter a pig and hope they can do it themselves before they're 2.
2 weeks ago at my acreage I culled and prepared a hare and 2 grouse. Neither phase me beyond what I would experience buying them from the grocery store. It's been years since I hunted a deer, I imagine that would be more difficult... but venison is great, so. Am I interested in hanging up and slicing open a big Galloway? Not really. But I'll eat a steak tonight and sleep fine, I know where my food comes from. And I'd leap up and kill it now if it meant defending the right to freely eat meat. The only reason the cow exists is to feed people, so while I'll also fight to ensure that cow is treated and culled humanely, let's not forget about that food chain.

[Dan R]

...The only reason the cow exists is to feed people, so while I'll also fight to ensure that cow is treated and culled humanely, let's not forget about that food chain.

Bingo! And let's not forget that the food chain is relative. If you are fly fishing in Alaska, running in the wilds of California, or swimming off the coast of Australia, you may not be at the top of the food chain. But we do need to treat our food with some degree of respect. Without it, we would not be here.