Boo! Happy halloween!

[Michael Vincenzo]

I thought this was cute! Happy Halloween everyone!

 

http://blog.peta.org/archives/P2zombie300_sm.jpg

[JoeyBryant]

Oh lawd, the guilt trip

 

Although everyone has their preferences, I rather enjoy my meals without Vegetarianism being imposed in my face, especially in such a dark way.

[Michael Vincenzo]

Oh lawd, the guilt trip

 

Although everyone has their preferences, I rather enjoy my meals without Vegetarianism being imposed in my face, especially in such a dark way.

 

C'mon! I just thought it was a cute poster appropriately themed for Halloween. I make no judgment about meat eaters (I used to be one) and often sit down to a meal with plenty of non-vegetarians. Although I am a big proponent of vegetarianism, I would be no better than a right wing Christian if started shoving beliefs down people's throats.

 

I could have just as easily used this one, if you prefer: (now isn't that pretty?)

 

 

 

http://www.mediapeta.com/petaliterature/Images/300-VEG900.jpg

[rvwnsd]

 

I could have just as easily used this one, if you prefer: (now isn't that pretty?)

 

 

 

http://www.mediapeta.com/petaliterature/Images/300-VEG900.jpg

 

That picture reminds me of the Eastern European/Greek/Asian market I used to shop at in Chicago. Around the holidays, they sold sheep's heads wrapped up in plastic just like the steaks, chops, and ribs. One time, another customer made a comment about it being gross. I asked her where she thought lamb chops came from. She didn't answer.

[SoCal]

Now see I thought "PETA" was an acronym for "people eating tasty animals". Am I wrong?

[Guest OCBeachbody]

On the flip side what about the Rights of Chlorophyllic Beings?

 

People often forget plants are lifeforms too, they re-act to their environment, and emit ultra-sonic sound that indicate if they need water, are full, are injured, etc....

 

Why is it okay to harvest millions of plants and rip of there flesh? Most plants are defenseless... at least Animal can run and defend themselves if they felt like it!!!

 

lol..... Happy Halloween from the flip side....

[Guest zipperzone]

On the flip side what about the Rights of Chlorophyllic Beings?

 

People often forget plants are lifeforms too, they re-act to their environment, and emit ultra-sonic sound that indicate if they need water, are full, are injured, etc....

 

Why is it okay to harvest millions of plants and rip of there flesh? Most plants are defenseless... at least Animal can run and defend themselves if they felt like it!!!

 

lol..... Happy Halloween from the flip side....

 

OK..... You've convinced me. I can't eat meat or fish, veggies are a no-no. Help me, I starving to death.

[JoeyBryant]

C'mon! I just thought it was a cute poster appropriately themed for Halloween.

 

Ugh, both photos are stomach churning LOL....The exception was yesterday I happened to be right in the middle of my turkey when I opened it.

 

Otherwise, Happy Halloween....lets eat

[Guest tuesclavo]

Nice Head Shot

 

I could have just as easily used this one, if you prefer: (now isn't that pretty?)

 

 

Won't even repost that pic. That's peta's approach. With or without the graphic shock factor, alot of people are uncomfortable with the topic. If you're ethically motivated to stop doing something that your peers continue to do, the inescapable implication, spoken or not, is that they are doing something unethical. Hence the the discomfort evident in people's responses, usully masked in hostility and ridicule. Sometimes though people stop and think and change too, which is what I did.

[+ honcho]

I am *not* a vegetarian (or vegan). (Although out of sheer stinginess I don't eat meet very often).

 

Nonetheless, y'all might enjoy this (dated) bit of propaganda.

 

http://www.themeatrix.com

 

(which I did see)

(google also turns up themeatrix2.com moremeatrix.com)

[Michael Vincenzo]

PETA...often misunderstood

 

Won't even repost that pic. That's peta's approach..

 

I appreciate your post with exception to the generalization of PETA's approach. Because I am very familiar with PETA, I can assure you that their tactics are not a single note approach. They have the cutest campaigns targeted toward children. They have funky campaigns that are targeted towards younger adults. They have issue appropriate campaigns that are targeted toward seniors. Then their are the campaigns that the media will run, always careful to refuse footage that might offend their advertisers who are often responsible for some of the most horrific animal related atrocities.

 

Go to YouTube and search Ingrid Newkirk. She is the founder and CEO of PETA and is amazingly intelligent and poignant. Here is a quote from her that should explain things a little better:

 

Regarding PETA's controversial campaigns, Newkirk has said: "The fact is we are the biggest group because we succeed in getting attention. ... The fact is we may be doing all sorts of things on a campaign but the one thing that gets attention is the outrageous thing. It simply goes to prove to us each time, that that is the thing that's going to work; and so we won't shirk from doing that facet — in addition to all the other things we do that you never hear about because no one cares"

[Guest]

Most animals (including most humans, I would venture to say) go through life with much pain and suffering. In most cases, death is a painful and often slow process as well. I do strongly support efforts to reduce needless pain and suffering in animals raised for human consumption. I will only eat eggs from cageless hens, and only drink milk from free-farmed cows. I also support every legislative effort aimed to reduce cruelty (and I won't eat veal, of course). It is very possible to raise animals who suffer less than if they lived in the wild.

I do object, however, to the notion that wild animals live careless lives like some sort of Disney cartoon, and that raising animals for food necessarily entails animal suffering. Most animals die of starvation, predation, disease, or injury. They do not die peacefully at the hands of a hospice nurse. While examples of needles cruelty do exist (and should be adressed legislatively), arguments for vegetarianism should not imply that eating animals is cruel, because it doesn't have to be. Humans are among the very few animals who don't have to worry about being eaten, among the countless trillions.

[Orson Kane]

We don't need all be vegetarian....

 

We can agree or not whether it is right to eat the flesh of animals. but I do think we should all care about how good our food is for our own bodies (If you have seen Michael's body - especially up close - you will see a lack of animal flesh hasn't hurt him). A really good book we should all read is "Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating" by Mark Bittman, a food writer for the New York Times.

 

Bittman tells a story in about 100 pages (and you can get the punch lines by reading 10) that we basically consume too much highly processed food of questionable nutritional value, and that most meat comes to us from industrial farming operations that (issues of treatment of animals aside) use huge amounts of feed and especially fuel (for fertilizer for the feed). Bittman's argument isn't that we go on some strict diet for the rest of our lives but rather that we be more mindful of our eating, with less processed food and (yes) less meat (especially beef). The book covers a lot of ground in short space and should convince you to eat in a way that will make you healthier (I painlessly lost 10 pounds that never wanted to go away after 2-3 month of changing my eating a bit), and helping the environment quite a bit along the way.

[justaguy]

Each man to his own conscience, and his taste. I happen to like veal.

[Michael Vincenzo]

Each man to his own conscience, and his taste. I happen to like veal.

 

I would like to own slaves (any race will do) so that I wouldn't have to clean my apartment, walk my dogs, iron my clothes, or do my laundry, but......

 

For those of you unfamiliar with what veal is, other than the item on a menu:

 

Male calves—“byproducts” of the dairy industry—are generally taken from their mothers when they are less than 1 day old. The calves are then put into dark, tiny crates, where they are kept almost completely immobilized so that their flesh stays tender. The calves are fed a liquid diet that is low in iron and has little nutritive value in order to make their flesh white. This heinous treatment makes the calves ill, and they frequently suffer from anemia, diarrhea, and pneumonia. Frightened, sick, and alone, these calves are killed after only a few months of life. “Veal” is the flesh of a tortured, sick baby cow, and a byproduct of the milk industry.

 

If you would like more information on the dairy industry and it's "byproducts": http://www.goveg.com/factoryFarming_cows_dairy.asp

 

It's one thing to argue about eating animals that have been raised with humane and healthy animal husbandry, but that model doesn't exist anymore.

[justaguy]

Yes, and the byproduct is delicious. Why draw the line at "humane and healthy animal husbandry"? Isn't the point of all that care to slaughter and eat it? Slavery. Are you equating human life to that of other life forms?

[JoeyBryant]

I'm still a bit lost as to how Halloween and Animal activism are related. The message certainly isnt happy by any means...and if anyone wants to knock a particular preference of someone, I think they should be willing to give a full alternative. And switching to veggies cold turkey doesnt sound like a very good one.

 

Afterall, this isnt an activist's forum...at the very least not even a nutrition forum...I could have chose not to read it, but being that the message was hidden behind a Holiday greeting, couldnt help but. Some vegans out there are no different than the bible-throwing ministers running around these days. And I'll be damned to have someone tell me I shouldn't escort or eat meat

[justaguy]

It did kind of veer into something else.

[Guest]

 

It's one thing to argue about eating animals that have been raised with humane and healthy animal husbandry, but that model doesn't exist anymore.

 

While people certainly have the right to eschew (instead of chew) meat, if one buys meat which is certified organic by the USDA, one can feel confident the animal has not been mistreated, since it must meet these standards:

§ 205.239 Livestock living conditions

 

1. The producer of an organic livestock operation must establish and maintain livestock living conditions which accommodate the health and natural behavior of animals, including:

 

1. Access to the outdoors, shade, shelter, exercise areas, fresh air and direct sunlight suitable to the species, its stage of production, the climate and the environment;

 

2. Access to pasture for ruminants;

 

3. Appropriate clean, dry bedding. If the bedding is typically consumed by the animal species, it must comply with the feed requirements of §205.237;

 

4. Shelter designed to allow for:

 

1. Natural maintenance, comfort behaviors and opportunity to exercise;

 

2. Temperature level, ventilation and air circulation suitable to the species; and

 

3. Reduction of potential for livestock injury;

 

2. The producer of an organic livestock operation may provide temporary confinement for an animal because of:

 

1. Inclement weather;

 

2. The animal's stage of production;

 

3. Conditions under which the health, safety or well-being of the animal could be jeopardized; or

 

4. Risk to soil or water quality.

 

3. The producer of an organic livestock operation must manage manure in a manner that does not contribute to contamination of crops, soil or water by plant nutrients, heavy metals or pathogenic organisms and optimizes recycling of nutrients.

 

Even humans have no guarantees of safe shelter and food...

[Michael Vincenzo]

Yes, and the byproduct is delicious. Why draw the line at "humane and healthy animal husbandry"? Isn't the point of all that care to slaughter and eat it? Slavery. Are you equating human life to that of other life forms?

 

I very clearly see the big picture that everything in this world is connected.

I will never be convinced that mindfulness is considered a character flaw.

 

I started this post with intentions of sharing a holiday appropriate poster that is related to a cause that means something to me. I do not like suffering of any kind, whether to humans, animal, or environment. I have researched this subject intensively and think that, although not convenient for most people to pay attention to, it honors human intelligence to share the truth and shed light on what is purposely hidden from view.

 

I think we can all agree that we would like to live in a safer and more humane world. This particular cause is where I feel that I can make the most difference.

[Michael Vincenzo]

While people certainly have the right to eschew (instead of chew) meat, if one buys meat which is certified organic by the USDA, one can feel confident the animal has not been mistreated, since it must meet these standards:

§ 205.239 Livestock living conditions

 

One of the reasons that I am so passionate about this subject is that we are so easily sold information that is false. I would love to agree that the USDA is there to protect animals and their welfare. Evidence always proves otherwise:

 

http://www.hsus.org/farm/news/ournews/veal_investigation_110209.html

 

http://www.hsus.org/farm/news/ournews/undercover_investigation.html

 

http://www.hsus.org/farm/news/ournews/congress_downers_usda_070908.html

 

Without animal rights activist groups, much of these atrocities would never be documented. Animal rights activists have been begging people to listen for years and this is why they come across as being aggressive.....nobody listens.

[MsGuy]

As a kid I worked summers in a major meatpacking plant. The Federal inspectors were treated as simply another production problem to be worked around. The idea of running an industrial scale slaughterhouse while treating the beasties humanely is just double-speak. In this context humane means at most no more (and no less) cruelly than necessary to operate an efficient kill floor.

 

None of which stopped me from being an omnivore. It did stop me from eating potted meat products for several years. Don't ask, you really just don't want to know.

[Guest]

One of the reasons that I am so passionate about this subject is that we are so easily sold information that is false. I would love to agree that the USDA is there to protect animals and their welfare. Evidence always proves otherwise:

 

http://www.hsus.org/farm/news/ournews/veal_investigation_110209.html

 

http://www.hsus.org/farm/news/ournews/undercover_investigation.html

 

http://www.hsus.org/farm/news/ournews/congress_downers_usda_070908.html

 

Without animal rights activist groups, much of these atrocities would never be documented. Animal rights activists have been begging people to listen for years and this is why they come across as being aggressive.....nobody listens.

None of the articles to which you referenced regarded organic farming. The standards I quoted were for organically farmed animals. If your sources can show cruelty in organically farmed livestock, I'd like to hear it.

[Michael Vincenzo]

None of the articles to which you referenced regarded organic farming. The standards I quoted were for organically farmed animals. If your sources can show cruelty in organically farmed livestock, I'd like to hear it.

 

Good point. I like that you are open to knowing about this. From the research that I have done, the best intentions seem to be contradictory to economic sense. Still, I am optimistic that we will, one day, live in a world where the motive for money does not supersede kindness.

 

http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/failed_messiahcom/2009/11/organic-slaughterhouse-shut-for-inhumane-treatment-of-animals-had-operating-license-suspended-3-time-345.html

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/03/vermont-slaughterhouse-cl_n_343934.html

 

The text below comes from the above link:

 

Organic rules now are geared mainly toward ensuring meat labeled organic comes from animals raised without hormones or chemicals.

"I think consumers expect organic regulations to cover all aspects of animal welfare, including slaughter and transportation," Dehne said. "If we need to tighten the regulations in regard to processing facilities, and come up with guidelines to address more humane transportation, I think we would respond to the expectations of the organic consumer."

 

http://www.goveg.com/organic_products.asp

 

http://www.veganpeace.com/organic/organic_meat_dairy_eggs.htm

 

http://www.newser.com/story/73188/video-sting-shuts-down-cruel-slaughterhouse.html

[devonhunter]

omg... the hottest guy, in the hottest scene, in the hottest film i ever saw in my young gay life is an animal rights activist too?? i think i'm going to pass out, this is too much perfection in one human being... go away! xoxo