Do you eat meat?

[Ptarzan80]

Originally Posted by #LHB#

Ptarzan just for shits and giggles were do you get our information from? 840 gallons of water to grow the corn for 1 pound of meat? That is the biggest problem, people are so far removed from the farm they dont actually know what goes on and they believe any of these crasy ass numbers and animal activist who actually dont no there ass from a whole in the ground. We row crop farm,raise cattle and also raise chickens for Perdue. We get paid per pound of meat from Perdue we also get docket for chickens who are bruised. So why do you think we would be cruel to the animals? Our birds are also raised in air conditiond houses with heat and also tunnel ventalation, they are never given antibiotics or hormones(at the same time when they start dying every one says why dont you help the) they are fed a diet of corn,marigoles and other grains. They are all natural. Oh and remember the bird flu panic, that didnt bother us because our birds are raised in a controled enviroment, but the people who raised cage free chickens are the ones who got it so were we cruel for that to? We also were called to a meeting because PETA members were going to farms and throwing the main breaker and filming the chickens while they were suffocating and then putting it on tv so who are the bad people again? All I ask is do your own research go talk to actual farmers and ranchers dont believe everything you read. One more thing cattle arnt just fed corn there is alot more that goes into it.


You may be interested in this.
http://www.extension.org/pages/35850...om-backgroundi

I am not talking about local farms, but large factory farms. The figures come from an interview that Robert Lawrence gave. He is the founding director of the Center for a Livable Future at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and previously was the director of the Division of Primary Care at Harvard Medical School and director of health sciences at the Rockefeller Foundation. Forgive me for thinking he might know what he's talking about.

[Ptarzan80]

Originally Posted by SCIfor55yrs.

Ptarzan80, it is hard to come away from what you have written without feeling that you consider yourself to be on a higher moral and intellectual plane than those of us who eat meat. If you feel that animals have a right to all amenities humans have access to and appreciate, and to provide them with any less is cruel, I find that a bit extreme. Moreover, it can be argued that what is unsustainable is the human population growth rate that is overwhelming the earth's resources, not efficient farming methods or what foods we eat. To some extent, it is that population growth that is the driving force behind attempts to develop more efficient agricultural methods and products. Certainly, as with many human endeavors, mistakes are made and we learn from them.

I apologize if I've given that impression, and it is my own fault for not having a better way with words. I come from a large family, all of whom are meat eaters, and certainly don't think less of them for it. I couldn't agree with you more about the human population being unsustainable, but it is really more about the unsustainable practices we engage in (and yes, factory farming is one of many practices) than it is about actual human numbers.

[#LHB#]

Well I still dont know what you are calling a factory farm if Perdue isnt one, most all the hog and poultry producers are family owned farms but grow and sell under large names Perdue,Tyson,Smithfield, ect. 99.9% of all farms factory or famiily farms do it the right way and care for there animals and land. If you take care of the land the land will take care of you. Its documented that more runoff from the general publc polutes more water than all of the farmers combined. Alot of people dont know that most of the organic chemical cause more damage than conventional chemicals because they are not regulated by the usda. I know a organic farmer who puts tobacco spit in his sprayer to keep bugs off of his crops, but cant put chemicals on it because its organic. We run gps on our equipment to be as close to perfect as we can be. Farmers are raising yields despite loosing land to development, conventional farmer are sustainable on the other hand grass fed and organic is not. Dont get me wrong by all means support the little guy they have a nitch operation and if that is what you like great it takes all kinds to make the world go around. But that kind of farming will not support the world like conventional farming will. Also there is nothing waisted every part of the animal and leftover farm residue is used in some way or another, we will become more efficient because we have to, the world and the growing population depends on it. As far as Robert Lawrence goes im shur he is a smart man and obviously has had alot of accomplishments but im sorry 850 gallons of water to grow 1 pound of meat is the stupidest thing I have ever herd, ask someone who raises the crops without irrigation that produces 200bu corn not a pencil pusher who has never had dirt on his hands or turned a wrech. Im sorry for blowing up on you im shur you are a great person but it just rubs me wrong when people run what I put all my of heart and soul into in the ground with false statements. I also dont like people abusing animals there is no excuse for it. For the most part all the farmers and ranchers do it the right way there are just some who are the bad apples that give it a bad name kind of like those activists who fire bombed those feedlots in Cali.

[grommet]

"The Good Old Days - They Were Terrible!" by Otto L Bettermann. I strongly suggest you read it.

People were starving and now for a dollar you can buy meat - a hamburger. Compare anything to starving and you are doing better. Things were terrible and not long ago. Factory farming has kept alive millions. It has been cruel but only according to it's generation and technology. It has improved miraculously. Turns out that less stressed animals make healthier animals which mean less harvest lost to disease. It also produces a better product. It is in the interest of meat producers to treat their animals well. This understanding has come slowly in the largest producers but it has come fast and hard. The improvements in the last 20 years would amaze the average consumer.

Done properly, animals receive very little stress even to killing time. I've seen animals simply go from living to down, no reaction. Living in the wild is no bargain, it is brutal. I have seen a pack of coyotes attack a large single deer. It was one of the most horrible memories of my childhood. They terrified the animal to distract it until one by one they could grab on to it. The deer turned and turned, struggling. I couldn't keep watching.

The brutality towards people that continues in vegetable and fruit harvest is .. terrible. Working in those strawberry fields and picking lettuce is awful. A vegetarian diet supports that economy. My perception of the situation is that we have more quickly improved how we treat animals in the meat industry than agricultural workers in the fruit and vegetable harvests.

I don't want animals to suffer, nor people. My two cents.