Meet Your Meat

[Christopher O'Brien]

Here's an interesting look at a small part of the process of processing YOUR meat....
Purchasing and eating meat should be a licensed privilege. A mandatory three-day training should be enacted giving you a complete look at the process of getting the meat into your supermarket. Birth canal-to-plastic wrap. After a training/licensing process, I wonder how many people would become instant vegetarians... Here's a "taste" of how it's done in today's modern world... And this is the clinical Japanese version... the western version is much more bloody, dirty & disturbing.

 

[Gene Steinberg]

Well, I guess it's veggie burgers from here on.

 

[Randall]

Here's an interesting look at a small part of the process of processing YOUR meat...

It looked like a pretty clean operation, in a freaky sci-fi nightmarish sort of way. I just love how they ended the video with medical prep scene or an obesity operation. It's like the great cycle of nature warped into a dark and ironic exposé on mass consumer meat packing. Oh how the wonders of cutting edge engineering never cease to amaze ( please excuse the pun there ). OK, now that my appetite for one of those delicious chipotle flame broiled gourmet burgers over at my local grill has been temporarily doused ...

... I'm switching to whale burgers:​

 

[mike]

Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.
- Albert Einstein

If slaughter houses had glass walls, everyone would be a vegetarian.
- Paul McCartney

 

[LeBombette]

I became a vegetarian after reading Black Elk Speaks...not that he promoted vegetarianism, but it was the idea that if I'm not prepared to kill it, then I shouldn't eat it. Not to mention that most beef in the US doesn't give you the nutrients that meat is supposed to because it is grain fed and not grass fed, full of hormones, etc. and our safety standards are crap. When I lived in Japan it was a huge deal that they had approved to allow some US beef into the country...that was just a few years ago. They had a ban on it for a long time due to our poor health codes for meat processing and most Japanese people still didn't want to eat it, so much so that restaurants had to label any product with US beef so the buyer could beware. By the way, this is a country of people that risk death to eat fish (blowfish) and they won't eat US processed beef...go figure. I look forward to your book, Chris, sounds very interesting.

 

[Han]

I am of the opinion that "humans" have always eaten meat, indeed our closest "living" relative (chimps) often hunt cooperatively for small monkeys, however meat is not part of their staple diet. in other words they (chimps) will eat flesh when they can, but they do not depend on it.
Meat is also eaten by all sorts of animals previously thought to be pure herbivores, although they do not "hunt" even Deer have been observed eating carrion.

Personally the reason I stopped eating meat again (I was raised vegetarian but started eating meat at 15) is because although I made great efforts to only eat "organic" meat, I came to the conclusion that even animals that have been raised in the correct (imo) way, still have to go to a main "abattoir" for slaughter (legal reasons I believe) and I do not trust that they are treated with respect, the only power I really have is over what I buy or dont buy, so for now at least I am not going to eat meat*.

One other thing that often pisses me off is when people/morons claim to be vegetarian only to tell you that they eat fish. I mean WTF fish do not grow on trees they are creatures, and to make it even worse fish seem to be exempt from any ethical consideration about the suffering caused by the way they are dispatched, what I am trying to say is that there are laws in place that dictate they way that livestock should be slaughtered, so how is it legal that fish are drowned and or gutted alive? you would be wrong to think that nobody has thought about the "proccess", because fishing gear has been "developed" to cause less "damage" to the catch i.e. better condition of fish = better price at market. It would be more humane to electrocute the fishes before proccessing but that would increase costs. Then we have the issues of bycatch, over fishing and the pollution of our seas.
It breaks my heart when I visit a supermarket and see the amount of "wild" fish destined for the bin (trash u.s). Don't get me wrong I find the amount of farmed meat thrown away disgusting, but those animals were not "taken" from the wild. (sorry for my rant )

*this might change when they have mastered "in vitro meat" (lab grown meat).

After thought: I also find the idea that vegitarians are wimps hilarious (just think shao lin monks and Alexander the great etc)

 

[pixelsmith]

I like eating different animals and many animals like eating different humans. I do sometimes think it would be a good idea for everyone to hunt, kill, butcher, discard remains then eat a large animal at least once early on in ones life. Looking into the eyes of a large animal as you shoot it then moments later removing organs that are still twitching or moving is quite an experience.

 

[Randall]

I like eating different animals and many animals like eating different humans. I do sometimes think it would be a good idea for everyone to hunt, kill, butcher, discard remains then eat a large animal at least once early on in ones life. Looking into the eyes of a large animal as you shoot it then moments later removing organs that are still twitching or moving is quite an experience.

I get your point, but I'm of the opinion that animals in the wild have a hard enough time as it is without being hunted by humans too. We grow our own animals for our own consumption. We have no need to kill the wild ones too, so we should leave the "mighty hunter" attitude on the shelf, and if we're gonna eat meat, be content with the domesticated ones we've already killed.

 

[Gene Steinberg]

Tell the hunters who demand their second amendment rights to kill animals.

 

[Gene Steinberg]

Evolving into vegetarians isn't about to happen any time soon. We'll probably evolve into machines first. As for Paul:

Paul McCartney before becoming a vegetarian:

After over 20 years of being a vegetarian

Where's my whale burger ?
​

What do you expect for a 70-year-old man? What would he have looked like if he still ate the whale burgers?

 

[Jeff Crowell]

One reason why I will never become a vegetarian ... bacon.

Another is a good steak cooked on the grill.

Regardless of the gross videos, all I have to say is "Yum."

 

[Randall]

Tell the hunters who demand their second amendment rights to kill animals.

I have, and they give you all the typical excuses. A classic was when this one deer hunter said that if we didn't shoot them then the wolves would eat them, to which the guy next to him said, "Well you could just shoot those too". I suddenly cracked up at how it exposed the mighty hunter gun culture for what it was. He didn't like that too much. I think I've met one person who had a quasi-legitimate reason for hunting for food. He was one of those backwoods survivalists who did the whole Grizzly Adams thing but for real. Once in a while he'd come to town and give lectures on how to survive in the wild.

 

[pixelsmith]

I get your point, but I'm of the opinion that animals in the wild have a hard enough time as it is without being hunted by humans too. We grow our own animals for our own consumption. We have no need to kill the wild ones too, so we should leave the "mighty hunter" attitude on the shelf, and if we're gonna eat meat, be content with the domesticated ones we've already killed.

The mighty hunter attitude is the way of life for many here in Minnesota and I take a little offense at your remark. Deer are plentiful here and need to be harvested or people die from hitting them with cars. I almost died a couple times myself from hitting deer. I see at least 15-20 a week right along side the road and many more out in the fields. You sound like a city boy who has never even shot a squirrel and ate it. I buy my beef from a friend who raises them like pets. Grass fed, no drugs, clean and spacious stalls at night and lots of acres to roam around in. I get my chicken, turkey, eggs and milk at similar places all run by friends. You can eat your crap beef and grocery store eggs and milk but they don't even come close to the flavors I enjoy.

 

[Randall]

The mighty hunter attitude is the way of life for many here in Minnesota and I take a little offense at your remark. Deer are plentiful here and need to be harvested or people die from hitting them with cars. I almost died a couple times myself from hitting deer. I see at least 15-20 a week right along side the road and many more out in the fields. You sound like a city boy who has never even shot a squirrel and ate it. I buy my beef from a friend who raises them like pets. Grass fed, no drugs, clean and spacious stalls at night and lots of acres to roam around in. I get my chicken, turkey, eggs and milk at similar places all run by friends. You can eat your crap beef and grocery store eggs and milk but they don't even come close to the flavors I enjoy.

Oh here we go. Let's blame the deer. I haven't seen many deer working on road crews have you? The fact is that humans built the roads right through where they live and the deer had no choice in the matter. So now they have to cross how many lousy roads and risk getting killed by traffic just so they can scratch some food off the freaking ground, or get a drink from some stream if it's not too polluted, all while avoiding getting eaten by predators ( assuming we haven't already shot all of them as well ). Oh but still, let's blame the deer.

That being said, I'm not saying that the answer is as simple as banning hunting. There is also some justification in the rationale that as the top predator in the food chain we should have the right to responsibly grow and/or hunt our food. If that helps reduce road kill too, so much the better. So I'm not being judgmental and I don't intend to offend you personally. I simply choose not to hunt because I have no need to track down and kill some wild animal when there's already perfectly good meat at the local store. Also, since you mentioned it, I really should find a shop that handles beef the way your buddy does. Thanks for reminding me about that.

BTW, I lived in small mountain town for many years and I worked in the middle of Glacier National Park after that. I've seen plenty of animals in the wild and I also enjoy nature shows, and that's why I say wild animals have it tough enough without humans hunting them down as well. I get satisfaction out of seeing them living. I'd only hunt them as a last resort if my survival depended on it. Even then I'd feel guilty. But I still wouldn't hesitate if that's what it took.

 

[stonehart]

Here's an interesting look at a small part of the process of processing YOUR meat....
Purchasing and eating meat should be a licensed privilege. A mandatory three-day training should be enacted giving you a complete look at the process of getting the meat into your supermarket. Birth canal-to-plastic wrap. After a training/licensing process, I wonder how many people would become instant vegetarians... Here's a "taste" of how it's done in today's modern world... And this is the clinical Japanese version... the western version is much more bloody, dirty & disturbing.

Grew up around farming .. I know full well how meat is made so to speak and I agree it could turn the uninitiated into a vegetarian very quick.
I guess it is the insulation of the supermarket that has the masses psychological removed from the reality of the process... lets face it that nice looking packaged bit of prime beef looks all well and good in a supermarket fridge.
But having said that the conditions of modern industrial beef farming is more akin to a Factory than a farm.

I would say eat organic meat but that wont change the reality of the situation one bit as the killing process still happens, but having said that because I eat organics (well so called organics as that is a debate in and of itself) I don't tend to eat that many meat meals a week.. would be around two maybe three... why? Hell it is expensive!!

 

[pixelsmith]

Oh here we go. Let's blame the deer. I haven't seen many deer working on road crews have you? The fact is that humans built the roads right through where they live and the deer had no choice in the matter. So now they have to cross how many lousy roads and risk getting killed by traffic just so they can scratch some food off the freaking ground, or get a drink from some stream if it's not too polluted, all while avoiding getting eaten by predators ( assuming we haven't already shot all of them as well ). Oh but still, let's blame the deer.

That being said, I'm not saying that the answer is as simple as banning hunting. There is also some justification in the rationale that as the top predator in the food chain we should have the right to responsibly grow and/or hunt our food. If that helps reduce road kill too, so much the better. So I'm not being judgmental and I don't intend to offend you personally. I simply choose not to hunt because I have no need to track down and kill some wild animal when there's already perfectly good meat at the local store. Also, since you mentioned it, I really should find a shop that handles beef the way your buddy does. Thanks for reminding me about that.

BTW, I lived in small mountain town for many years and I worked in the middle of Glacier National Park after that. I've seen plenty of animals in the wild and I also enjoy nature shows, and that's why I say wild animals have it tough enough without humans hunting them down as well. I get satisfaction out of seeing them living. I'd only hunt them as a last resort if my survival depended on it. Even then I'd feel guilty. But I still wouldn't hesitate if that's what it took.

They put deer crossing signs all over the place but the deer always tend to cross the road elsewhere. Fuck the deer, they had their chance to evolve and they chose hooves instead of thumbs. (sarc). Humans are here, we build roads to travel on and the deer choose to cross our paths. The deer kill some of us and we kill some of them. It works both ways.
Yes animals seem to have it tough but they are born outside, live and eat outside and would not do well in a house equipped with a kitchen and bathroom.... it the thumb thing. You do not have to feel guilty about killing and eating an animal. It is the way things work. Eat or be eaten.

 

[Randall]

It is the way things work. Eat or be eaten.

 

[stonehart]

They put deer crossing signs all over the place but the deer always tend to cross the road elsewhere. Fuck the deer, they had their chance to evolve and they chose hooves instead of thumbs. (sarc). Humans are here, we build roads to travel on and the deer choose to cross our paths. The deer kill some of us and we kill some of them. It works both ways.
Yes animals seem to have it tough but they are born outside, live and eat outside and would not do well in a house equipped with a kitchen and bathroom.... it the thumb thing. You do not have to feel guilty about killing and eating an animal. It is the way things work. Eat or be eaten.

Life feeds on life ... this is necessary.

 

[Muadib]

One reason why I will never become a vegetarian ... bacon.

Another is a good steak cooked on the grill.

Regardless of the gross videos, all I have to say is "Yum."

Boom, thread over. Fuck vegetarianism, what is it for? Do you think you're going to live forever? A couple of extra years added to the end of your life when you probably won't even remember your own name? If it's out of sympathy for animals then I can accept that, or if you find the whole meat process disgusting, I guess I can understand that, but for health reasons? If it's so good for you, why do you have to take vitamins and supplements in order to prevent yourself from keeling over due to the loss of essential nutrients? Besides, tofu tastes like shit, give me a bacon wrapped steak any day.

It's another example of the polarization of opinion in this country. People want to subscribe to one extreme or the other. Should you eat meat at every meal? No. Does that mean you should never eat meat? No. Like in most things, a healthy balance between the two is often the best way to go.

 

[Randall]

What do you expect for a 70-year-old man? What would he have looked like if he still ate the whale burgers?

So I deleted the post. Too many people must have thought I was serious and/or just didn't appreciate the juvenile humor. Interestingly your quote still seems to have stored a mini copy.