Moral Musings, Potentially Controversial

[zalon_draconis]

W. K. Clifford, a philosopher, wrote an essay on the morality of beliefs. He uses a couple of examples of people whose beliefs he would find reprehensible, such as the ship owner who tricks himself into thinking that his rickety ship is safe before sending some immigrants off on it, or the political malcontents who press charges against a leader

Comments

[zalon_draconis]

Another example of and excuse people use to come to terms with their laziness:

"The world is already too polluted to make a difference"

[anti_dust]

If you find yourself becoming lazy again, remember that for two and a half years, you didn't eat any meat at all. If this is important to you, then maybe you will be able to pass on meat entirely rather than eat meat from a questionable source. Also think of if/ when you are willing to make exceptions; decide what you will do at a restaurant; decide what you will do at someone else's house.

That theory about men and boys acting like idiots at mealtimes makes a lot of sense, but I don't think you need to go through the entire process to learn a bit of reverence. It's amazing how messy some of the students who eat at Donovan, and working there I've noticed that the tables full of guys do leave more mess behind. You wouldn't believe how often I see piles of fries on the tables, floor, even chairs. They buy the food for eating, but apparently don't care enough to keep it from being knocked over. (And I'm not just talking about random accidents here. This happens all the time, and it's careless.) What I'm wondering now is whether

[lilyellowflower]

If they were being pumped with neurotoxins, especially enough to kill a cow, there's no way in Hell that it'd be safe for people to eat. I know that they feed some animals hormones to make more breast on the chicken and make them grow too quickly into eating-size, but I just shudder to think that animals would be killed with poison and then eaten. That's just not healthy for people.

[zalon_draconis]

They usually pump enough into kill it just before electrocution, in case that doesn't kill it. They also fill it with food coloring, anti-coagulants, and one other thing I never remember. That way, all the blood rushes out quickly, a long with most of the poison, and the meat stays red and appetizing.

[scypres]

I have a friend who has a small (organic) cattle ranch, and he and his wife invited me for dinner one night. Our meal was chili with ground beef, and it might seem strange to some that I found it comforting that the beef in our dinner had a name: Big Mama. Big Mama had died of natural causes after 17 contented years in the pasture. (Seventeen is far too old for steak... but was fine for chili!) My friend intended to use every part of her: from horns, to hide, to hoofs. He gave me several packets of frozen meat to take home, and whenever I made dinner with that meat I thought fondly of her.

It was also good to know that even the cows on my friend's ranch that didn't get to live their full natural lives were well-cared-for and well-fed for the time that they had.

[zalon_draconis]

Sounds yummy. I would be glad to know that the animal had a decent life.