Quote: to keep the milk coming (instead of running out when the baby doesn’t need it any more) they constantly suck it out and have the mother cow (crying for the baby) in a small, metal cage which has a floor of concrete and no grass to graze on; just moan grass and steroids. How could any one support that?
Wikipedia: Modern dairy farmers use milking machines and sophisticated plumbing systems to harvest and store the milk from the cows, which are usually milked twice or thrice daily. During the warm months, in the northern hemisphere, cows may be allowed to graze in their pastures, both day and night, and are brought into the barn only to be milked. Many barns also incorporate tunnel ventilation into the architecture of the barn structure. This ventilation system is highly efficient and involves opening both ends of the structure allowing cool air to blow through the building. Farmers with this type of structure keep cows inside during the summer months to prevent sunburn and damage to udders. During the winter months, especially in northern climates, the cows may spend the majority of their time inside the barn, which is warmed by their collective body heat. Even in winter, the heat produced by the cattle requires the barns to be ventilated for cooling purposes.
Also, Cows aren’t like humans. They can’t cry. They have different emotions concerning different things. It’s the exact same as weaning a puppy, or separating a kit from a doe rabbit.
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1. Quote: Besides, apart from the welfare of animals, farting cows are a big problem, is it not them who are contributing to green house gases? I find it hard to understand why people on this thread are so willing to eat meat and dairy, we don’t need it, its NOT vital, yet to get it on your plate animals have to be reared artifically and killed in a barbaric way....
2. Quote: The reason we have intensive farming is because everyone wants cheap meat, its nothing to do with space.
3. Quote: Ezekiel 34:2-4. Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should not the shepherds take care of the flock? You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you did not take care of the flock! You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally
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First of all, let it be known that I respect vegetarians, though I do not agree with their practices for the same reasons. I don’t expect to change anyones views with this post, but want to let the omnivore’s point of view be spoken.( I, too, am a Christian as well, by the way.) I know that all barns/ dairy production methods are not the same, so thank you to those who don’t say that every barn has the same practices, whether cruel or not as some may view.
1. OK- so cows ****. so what? so do we, and no one gets on us about it. So they’re contributing to greenhouse gasses. So does every other animal when they **** too, but cattle just do it on a slightly larger scale. But who is more to blame for the greenhouse effect, cattle, or humans? I mean, we drive your car to work every day (or use public transport, whatever). we go on holiday via plane, or car, or train, or boat, or whatever. We switch our lights on, our stove on, our TV on... Who is making the bigger impact here??? I mean, we aren’t going to wipe out humans because they’re doing this!!!
b. you’re right. we don’t NEED it now that we have all sorts of supplements to make sure we get enough of certain minerals and nutrients. However, it’s the natural way. Plus, animals don’t HAVE to be raised “Artificially”, or be killed Barbarously. Theoretically, rabbits have been raised “artificially”. It’s due to mankind that many breeds are surviving today, or even exist. So what if one is raised for meat/ dairy, and the other is for a pet/ show???
2. Not necessiarly, but true. However, think about it. For one raw steak, what would you pay?? £3-5?? How much would you pay for, say, spinach, to get the same amount of iron, etc??? Meat just makes sense when you’re just trying to get by. You can make a good meal using £2.50 for a pack of ground beef, or you could spend £2.50 and buy a little fruit. healthy? yes! tasty? yes! Could you survive? probably, but you would be hungry a lot, i’d say. If you can afford organic meats, etc, then go for it. But if you’re barely getting by, cheap meat is the way to go. It won’t give you everything you need, just like fruit won’t, but you’ll end up getting more for your money.
3. This is more of a parable than anything else. you can use it in any terms as you like, but I think it’s mainly talking about humans, not sheep. It’s just saying to be selfless, not selfish. Plus, I might add that it just says to take care of the sheep, not to not eat them. You can eat the curds, kill the choice meat, and sell the fleece, but you have to bind the flocks injuries, otherwise you won’t get much further.
Finally, if you ask me, we should be lucky we can even be so picky about what we eat. Think about the millions of PEOPLE who are STARVING to DEATH. about the genocide, starvation, AIDS, disasters, etc etc. We can complain about day old calves being shipped off to be killed, but what about the 200,000 to 400,000 people murdered in darfur??? To be honest, I think we need to focus on our fellow humans before we completely focus on animal welfare. Millions of brothers, sisters, dads, mums, sons, and daughters are starving, and their F&F can do nothing about it but watch them suffer. Millions are being shot, bombed, gassed, etc etc, but everyone here seems to be preoccupied with making Cows happier instead. How could you look one of those people who was helplessly murdered in the eye, and tell them that you were too busy making life better for livestock to help save their lives??? I believe that God put us in charge of everything on this earth, but if we can’t control ourselves, how can we possibly be responsible for other creatures???
Sorry for such a long post... apologise for ruffled feathers but I think a different opinion is always helpful. Might I add, most sites as such are extremely biased, so not everything is 100% fact. I am far from perfect, but try to do the right thing whenever I can.
