Free Love and Strict Diets

As a hunter and meat eater, I'm just as much against the core beliefs of PETA as anybody else, but they're not entirely wrong all the time. There are in fact verifyable abuses and somebody needs to be a whistle-blower on them. For example, watch the following video, but only if you have a strong stomach:

http://www.peta.org/feat/chineseFurFarms/index.asp


Now, personally, I don't think it is wrong to eat meat in general. I do think that in this day and age it is wrong to go through life eating meat and whatever else comes your way (even if in moderation) with no regards to how it got to you, where it came from, what is in it, how it was raised, how its purchase is affecting other things on this earth, how its ingredients is affecting your health, etc.

 

What exactly would it take for it to be somebody elses business? People like you think that this could never happen, that it should never be anybody else's business, but I think that is wrong.

For example, what if you liked bottled water alot, specifically Dasani. Is this none of anybody's business?

What if I told you that by drinking Dasani you were causing severe water shortages for an entire village over in India, would you still have that attitude, that it's none of anybody else's business?

That's exactly what happened, and if that's not an example of a real morality question related to our food chain, I don't know what is, and that's just one of many examples.

 

I never said it was wrong to eat meat. But it's good to keep in mind, I think, that eating meat does come from death, and death comes from sin. There was no meat in the Garden, and not even until after the Flood, and I don't think there will be meat in heaven.

 

Ironically, the trucks and vehicles and machinery used for recycling (think about all those trucks picking up stuff at hundreds of thousands of homes, and thousands of recycling centers) causes pollution.

 

The question is though, do you really need bananas, or is it a luxury made available very recently in history due to modern conveniences, probably at the expense of other people and the planet? Did you know that the banana growing region of Colombia is controlled by terrorist organizations? The largest player in that slaughter-house is the United Self Defense Forces of Colombia, which Chiquita had to pay off in order to keep their employees from being killed. This organization has massacred thousands of people and control most of Colombia's cocaine exports. They have a 20,000 person strong small army and 70% of their operating costs comes from cocaine sales.

There's plenty of American fruits you can eat that doesn't involve a massive amount of murders, drugs, and gasoline. Sorry that this philosophy deprives you of your precious bananas. Does murders and drugs involved in our food chain not trigger any potential morality issues?

 

Swaimj, it looks like you need to give up bananas!

 

I'm sure you like steak too. So, would you knowingly eat at and support a restaurant in Philly that was owned by a mafia boss who was known to be responsible for several murders? I seriously doubt it, even if he owned every steak house in town... you'd just go somewhere and eat chicken or something. If you would, this conversation is pointless. This and the banana situation is much different than some random crime happening at some random business because the criminals weren't the ones running the business. You're trying to say that the murdering terrorists controlling the bananas in Colombia is on the same level as if a Chiquita banana truck driver was murdered during a car jacking. Not quite the same thing. By purchasing a donut from your local Dunkin Donuts you are not knowingly supporting murderous drug dealers. If you were, I would question why you continue to go there.

 

Hold the phone here corndogggy, what are you talking about here? Drinking Dasani causes water shortage in India? Can you give us a reference here. I am not doubting you, actually it hits close to my earlier argument against the organic food industry.

But I do know that Dasani water is bottled by Coca Cola and that it is nothing but tap water run through a carbon filter with a little salt added as a preservative. That is correct, Dasani has sodium in it, look on the bottle. Now Aquafina, bottled by Pepsi, goes through ozone disinfection and contains no salt. (Did I mention I used to work for Pepsi?)

How does Dasani cause water shortages in India?

 

Very interesting cordogggy, I googled it and found the story. New York Times story here:

http://bitten.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/16/things-go-better-with-coke/

There are water shortages in parts of India (well this story says there was back in 2005) and some local villegers protested that Coke's Dasani facility was using too much groundwater. It was not Dasani for US markets, but for markets within India.

Coke's response is also in the article:

So Coke basically said the drought was causing water shortage not them, but they also took the step of bringing in water.

It does point out the irony of producing "luxury" water for the rich while others die to lack of sanitary water.

 

If my argument is not valid, then admit that you would knowingly visit a steakhouse owned by a murderous mafia boss.

 

So, you won't pay to receive food from a murderous restaurant owner, yet you will pay to receive food from a murderous terrorist organization. What is the difference?

I'll tell you the difference - layers. Americans are comfortable with things as long as the first layer that they're dealing with is a pretty picture, and beyond that, they don't seem to care how ugly it is, even if their purchase does in fact contribute to this ugliness.

 

http://www.portfolio.com/news-markets/international-news/portfolio/2007/09/17/Chiquita-Death-Squads

I just think it's kind of silly to see a number such as those 3,778 people who were massacred over our banana dollars and think nothing of it, that there is no moral issue here. That's over 1,000 people more than 9/11. And for the record, I never said my actions don't carry moral questions. All I'm saying is that in this day and age I do think we have to ask and consider these questions, because who we choose to support could make significant differences if we all strived to ask these moral questions and took action. This goes well beyond just food choices, but food is a very valid item in today's world. I don't see how you can see clear evidence of massacres due to our money from buying bananas and say in your heart that there are no moral issues involved in our food chain.

 

So when I go into my kitchen and prepare food, you think it's your business. I got news for you, nothing in my private life off this board is your business.

 

God is the one who gave man meat to eat, if it's sin, then it comes from God.

 

All I've got to say to you is thank goodness I don't have to eat your food. :thumbsup: :laugh:

For each individual person, I don't give a rip what they do. It doesn't matter unless ALOT of people change their ways, ask these moral questions, then do something about it. For people to say that there are no moral questions period, that all things are permissible and completely fine... considering this day and age I think it's either highly ignorant, or highly immoral. Probably sometimes both.