A bill outlawing horse-meat factories passed recently in the USA in spite of a veto threat by Dubya, (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/09/08/MNGI9L1RMK1.DTL) and the bill outlawing the slaughtering of horses even had support of GOP base types, beef-and-potatoes bro-dawgs who incidentally have no problem sitting down and eating cow, seen as much lower in their hierarchy of life-worthiness, I guess.
I don't take all my moral cues from punk groups, but the old NY hardcore band Gorilla Biscuits, who were vegetarian, did have a point when they sang the song "Cats and Dogs Have All the Luck." Because that's pretty much true. If we thought of cows or pigs the way we do cats and dogs -- that is, privileged/more humanized than other animals -- they'd be safe from the slaughterhouse-manufucatory as well, just like horses now are in the US. Horses are movin' on up!
And no, celery does not fucking feel pain. That's a dumb argument. At least argue from some angle besides that one. It's almost as bad as saying that you need to eat a cheeseburger because if you don't, you're not working class enough to be down with the proles, or something, and they might not be receptive to your message. Might as well adopt all kinds of stereotypically "working class" behaviors to appear "down with the people" if that's what matters. Like, let's all also go to church, or do what the majority of America does in every aspect of their life. Lowest common denominator, here we come! Gotta connect with folks, ya know!
Thanks, but no thanks.
-B.
--- Miles Jackson <cqmv at pdx.edu> wrote:
"No, the killing of animals is an absolutely necessary element of any functioning ecosystem."