The Vegetarian Torture

[CallMeIshmael]

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Vegetarians - if you have kids, are you raising them in a strictly vegetarian household, or cooking meat on occasion for them / allowing them to eat it outside of the home?

-Al

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Ooohhh, good question!

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No really, imo.

Every single "normal" family for past few thousand years (and in reality much much longer than that) has imposed their moral values on their children. If you have kids one day, you will do the same.

Why we might think a vegetarian 'should' be different is beyond me.

[The DaveR]

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But if you are a vegetarian for moral reasons, there has to be something about the animal that makes it deserve not to be killed... what is it? It has to be to avoid "cruelty," or "torture," or other human concepts.

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Are you trying to say that its not morally wrong to treat animals cruely? To torture them?

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This is a good question.

In an absolute sense, I'm not sure about this. It certainly doesn't seem "right" to commit cruelty or torture on animals, but I don't believe that "morality" applies to non-humans.

However, relative to human morality, I look at it this way:

If hooking up a monkey's testicles to a car battery might help us discover a cure for cancer, I have two things to say:

Red is positive and black is negative.

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You are remarkable at finding new ways to be wrong.

[Aloysius]

CMI - your response presupposes that being vegetarian is a moral choice, which for some vegetarians it's not.

Also, I know people who are religious, or in interfaith marriages, who are not raising their children under a single, guiding religious moral system. They are giving their kids a choice in the matter.

Personally, if one has a strong moral issue with eating animals, I think it's perfectly fine (as with religion) to raise your kids with your beliefs. Provided you are educated about possible health consequences.

Since I'm not a parent, I'm not sure how I'd approach imposing my values on my kids in certain areas.

-Al

[Phoenix1010]

Can I get Cliff's notes on why this thread became so enormous? I thought Censored's reply should have ended the thread within the first ten posts, so I didn't check back in on it.

[Evan]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
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Vegetarians - if you have kids, are you raising them in a strictly vegetarian household, or cooking meat on occasion for them / allowing them to eat it outside of the home?

-Al

[/ QUOTE ]
Ooohhh, good question!

[/ QUOTE ]


No really, imo.

Every single "normal" family for past few thousand years (and in reality much much longer than that) has imposed their moral values on their children. If you have kids one day, you will do the same.

Why we might think a vegetarian 'should' be different is beyond me.

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Seems to impose more health risks than rasing your kids catholic or not allowing them to date til they're 15. Most moral impositions are annoyances at worst, but this one has the possibility (read POSSIBILITY, I know these things can be done in a safe way) to be potentially dangerous.

If you were a tight rope walker in the circus would you automatically raise your kids to walk tight ropes?

[Evan]

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Can I get Cliff's notes on why this thread became so enormous? I thought Censored's reply should have ended the thread within the first ten posts, so I didn't check back in on it.

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Read it, there's some good stuff.

[El Ishmael]

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If you were a tight rope walker in the circus would you automatically raise your kids to walk tight ropes?

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On a top 10 list of worst analogies ever, this is, well, it's on the list.

[DrewDevil]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
But if you are a vegetarian for moral reasons, there has to be something about the animal that makes it deserve not to be killed... what is it? It has to be to avoid "cruelty," or "torture," or other human concepts.

[/ QUOTE ]


Are you trying to say that its not morally wrong to treat animals cruely? To torture them?

[/ QUOTE ]

This is a good question.

In an absolute sense, I'm not sure about this. It certainly doesn't seem "right" to commit cruelty or torture on animals, but I don't believe that "morality" applies to non-humans.

However, relative to human morality, I look at it this way:

If hooking up a monkey's testicles to a car battery might help us discover a cure for cancer, I have two things to say:

Red is positive and black is negative.

[/ QUOTE ]

You are remarkable at finding new ways to be wrong.

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I'm sorry, but I don't listen to people who think "Midnight Run" is a bad movie.

[The DaveR]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
But if you are a vegetarian for moral reasons, there has to be something about the animal that makes it deserve not to be killed... what is it? It has to be to avoid "cruelty," or "torture," or other human concepts.

[/ QUOTE ]


Are you trying to say that its not morally wrong to treat animals cruely? To torture them?

[/ QUOTE ]

This is a good question.

In an absolute sense, I'm not sure about this. It certainly doesn't seem "right" to commit cruelty or torture on animals, but I don't believe that "morality" applies to non-humans.

However, relative to human morality, I look at it this way:

If hooking up a monkey's testicles to a car battery might help us discover a cure for cancer, I have two things to say:

Red is positive and black is negative.

[/ QUOTE ]

You are remarkable at finding new ways to be wrong.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm sorry, but I don't listen to people who think "Midnight Run" is a bad movie.

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Mmmkthx.

[Evan]

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If you were a tight rope walker in the circus would you automatically raise your kids to walk tight ropes?

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On a top 10 list of worst analogies ever, this is, well, it's on the list.

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I like you and you're even starting to annoy me. Isn't it obvious that it's intentionally exagerated?

How about this...if you only ate fruit (a much more radical and potentially harmful diet) would you raise your kids to do that? I don't know much about vegetarianism, I don't know what makes it dangerous or safe, and I don't know if it's any more dangerous for young kids than adults. How is it unreasonable for me to wonder if a parent (like paluka) would raise his son to be vegetarian when there's a possibility (based on my lack of knowledge) that it could harm him?