The beef situation just keeps getting worse over here. Now there’s an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. It really is quite dramatic, with analysts showing maps predicting the spread of the disease and newscasts full of footage of burning animal carcasses. It’s like a bovine version of The Stand or something.
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my personal PSA: http://www.meatstinks.com
now that that’s been said…nice literary analogy! the stand is one of my faves by King.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. My sis was a vegetarian for years, so I’ve had all the attacks hurled at me. The problem is, I *like* meat. I mean, I love the taste of steak and hamburgers and sausages and fried chicken. I don’t condone cruelty to animals, but I’m not sure I think asserting our rightfully won place at the top of the food chain is necessarily cruel. Perhaps it’s an agnostic thing. Anywhoo, you’re more than welcome to argue the point with me. But I’ve got to warn you, I’m not easily swayed by pictures of cute little piggies. Most animals frighten the dickens out of me, which could be why I subconsciously prefer to exorcise those demons by eating them.
That said… I like “The Stand” as a book, but I love it even more as a film. Gary Sinise as Stu Redman is, to me, the ultimate iconic personification of “A Man.” He can be my common-law husband anyday. 🙂
my reason for being a vegeratian–ok *pescatarian*–is the state of factory farming [in the US]. the conditions that an animal has to endure before being slaughtered [in frequently horrible and inhumane ways] are not only cruel but unhealthy, not only to them but to us, the end user. i really think that the increasing outbreaks of moo-cow and piggy diseases are a product of that.
the original impetus for my going [semi-]veg (besides my roommate being one as well) was the pig farm cruelty case (you can read about it at meatstinks, if you so desire). the sadism that the farm workers were capable of was/is mind-boggling.
even though the health/cruelty issue is my primary beef (heh), i don’t know that i would still eat a steak from a cow that had been raised and fed well. i’ve just lost the taste for meat. now sushi, that’s a whole other story.
and i second your vote for mr. sinise as EveryMan. all in favor? “aye!”