The Slaughtering of Animals in Factories. Moral dilemmas in the modern world

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We are all called to be good stewards to the Earth and its animals. My question is this: Is it good stewardship to the animals if people support factory killing and harvesting eggs and dairy from animals for food considering that the factories frequently screw up the slaughtering process and really don’t care of the humane treatment of the animals?

The factory raising of animals is horrid, I have been to a few slaughterhouses and places where the animals are raised. It really isn’t a “happy go lucky” place they say it is.

So is it morally acceptable to go buy the meat, eggs, and dairy from these factory settings? In your opinion will there be ramifications with God in the end of your life if you do? If so, why? If not explain why not.

Note: I am not a PETA terrorist, but I do believe that animals should be slaughtered (kosherly) in the most humane way possible.Animals should be able to live in open places. Factories do not provide this.

Just something to think about. Part 2 on the human body coming up.
 
Animals are not rational beings and so the aspects of comfort and happiness are not catigories that they even have. True it is better that animals are open-range but I am not sure that there is a moral axiom that can support that a factory setting is immoral (however I am willing to enter into the discussion). Now, treatment is important in the vein of the fact that we should not treat animals in a way that overly harming to them because while they cannot suffer they can feel pain and it is not necessary to cause undue pain to an animal. Animals should be treated as a gift from God and not a plaything to rip apart but what one may consider distasteful might not necessarily be immoral.
 
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Fox:
We are all called to be good stewards to the Earth and its animals. My question is this: Is it good stewardship to the animals if people support factory killing and harvesting eggs and dairy from animals for food considering that the factories frequently screw up the slaughtering process and really don’t care of the humane treatment of the animals?

The factory raising of animals is horrid, I have been to a few slaughterhouses and places where the animals are raised. It really isn’t a “happy go lucky” place they say it is.

So is it morally acceptable to go buy the meat, eggs, and dairy from these factory settings? In your opinion will there be ramifications with God in the end of your life if you do? If so, why? If not explain why not. QUOTE

I myself struggle with this issue frequently. I have been buying eggs now from free range hens and limiting my red meat consumption. I am trying to go vegetarian but its becoming a slow process with me because I’m used to eating meat daily. No way would I buy and eat geese pate, what they do to those poor geese is horrible. I have known many vegetarians who are healthier than I am and attribute their health to their eating habits. Since the Bible isn’t specific on animal stewardship, I’m not sure what God will say to us for eating meat from factory farms. However as we are called to stewardship we should try to eliminate the suffering of animals (and I do believe they suffer)
and prevent the type of cruelty found on factory farms. This may mean activism to try to get politicians to enact laws for humane treatment of farm animals.
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Fox:
Note: I am not a PETA terrorist, but I do believe that animals should be slaughtered (kosherly) in the most humane way possible.
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Kosher (and other ritual) slaughter is the only exception to the animal stunning requirement of the Humane Slaughter Act:
The only exemption to the statutory requirement of rendering the animal insensible to pain prior to shackling, hoisting, casting or cutting is ritual slaughter. Animals may be approved for slaughter in accordance with the ritual requirements of a religious faith that prescribes a method of slaughter where the animal suffers loss of consciousness by anemia of the brain caused by the simultaneous and instantaneous severance of the carotid arteries with a sharp instrument. Examples of ritual slaughter include Kosher slaughter and Islamic (Halal) slaughter.
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Dear friends

I worked many years ago for an animal rescue centre. I’ve seen alot of needless animal suffering. Animals do and can suffer displaying behavioural reactions and problems due to suffering cruelty and neglect. I have seen animals kept in close confines without natural environments become extensively violent to themselves and to other animals. All manner of behaviour and psychosis ensues, eg, plucking of own feathers, self-harm, habitual repetative movements, lack of appetite, excessive in-fighting/ increasing violence, severing of own limbs, eating own excrement, cannabilism and the list varies for different species.

Animals are not spiritual, but they are like us in their basic needs and require love and kindness to thrive as well as their requirements of food and water.

It simply is not justifiable for humans to treat animals as they do based on supply, demand and profit margins.

I am no animal rights activist, this is just plain common sense to me.

God Bless you and much love and peace to you

Teresa
 
From the Catholic Catechism:

**Respect for the integrity of creation **

2415 The seventh commandment enjoins respect for the integrity of creation. Animals, like plants and inanimate beings, are by nature destined for the common good of past, present, and future humanity.[194] Use of the mineral, vegetable, and animal resources of the universe cannot be divorced from respect for moral imperatives. Man’s dominion over inanimate and other living beings granted by the Creator is not absolute; it is limited by concern for the quality of life of his neighbor, including generations to come; it requires a religious respect for the integrity of creation.[195]

2416 Animals are God’s creatures. He surrounds them with his providential care. By their mere existence they bless him and give him glory.[196] Thus men owe them kindness. We should recall the gentleness with which saints like St. Francis of Assisi or St. Philip Neri treated animals.

2417 God entrusted animals to the stewardship of those whom he created in his own image.[197] Hence it is legitimate to use animals for food and clothing. They may be domesticated to help man in his work and leisure. Medical and scientific experimentation on animals is a morally acceptable practice, if it remains within reasonable limits and contributes to caring for or saving human lives.

2418 It is contrary to human dignity to cause animals to suffer or die needlessly. It is likewise unworthy to spend money on them that should as a priority go to the relief of human misery. One can love animals; one should not direct to them the affection due only to persons.
 
I have always been infuriated by the antagonism many on this board have towards animals. Many try to hide behind Aquinas and other Church fathers to support their disgusting positions. That anyone can spend a few minutes with an animal and think they do not feel things like pain, happiness, etc., is just beyond all comprehension to me.
 
The factory farming thing is something that has bothered me for a long time. I used to see trucks with chickens being hauled around and these tiny little cages are just stacked one on top of another; it’s difficult to describe and horrific to see. We genetically alter them to get as much meat as possible in a short amount of time, thus altering God’s creation (pretty much what Benedict said in the above quote).

I’m not sure that I see factory farming as sinful, but I do think anyone with a conscience has to consider the issue.
 
If this issue troubles you–as it does many of us–investigate your other options. If you buy meat/dairy/eggs from an organic family based or cooperative farm, not only are you eliminating the cruelty associated with mass-breeding, raising and slaughter, you also decrease the incidence of disease, eliminate the presence of hormones and antibiotics from your food and support a more sustainable type of agriculture. This is a great issue to raise–I don’t think most people are insensitive to this problem, many are simply unaware or never stop to consider it. If you have Whole Foods grocery stores in your area, they are a great resource for this in one stop.
 
I have promised animal rights activists and I promise them again that when the world finally decides to stop slaughtering the young child in the womb, I will then give all my energy to their efforts.

Until then; sorry I simply can’t reconcile giving it any time at all.
 
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Fergal:
I have promised animal rights activists and I promise them again that when the world finally decides to stop slaughtering the young child in the womb, I will then give all my energy to their efforts.

Until then; sorry I simply can’t reconcile giving it any time at all.
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Dear Fergal

I see your logic here, but if people cannot respect animal life what hope is there ever of respecting human life. It is well documented in forensic psychology that a serial killer/or persons who commit crimes against human life will kill and carry out cruel acts to animals in their youth only to move on later in life to carry out murder or cruel acts towards humans.

Animal cruelty and human cruelty is not disassociated, it comes from the same place, the culture of death, that life is worthless, a commodity that is expendable for whatever reason groups and idealisms see fit. Expendable to fuel the ‘self’, especially if ‘idealisms’ see it as an inconvenient life.

First we master the earth and it’s animals and manipulate, destroy, exploit and abuse it, then we master humanity and abuse, manipulate, exploit and destroy it for whatever we see fit to use it for, it is all part of the same thing and stems from a general disrespect of the God given gift of life. It is all part of the culture of death explained away as a benefit to humanity.

Complete madness. The world is de-sensitised to it’s own awfulness, evil and sins. Sometimes I look at the world and wonder how long I will have to endure it!

It might help you Fergal to think of the paralells given for abusing and acting cruelly to animals for our benefit and those of justifying abortion…1 They cannot feel pain 2 They are not like us 3 They are lesser than ourselves 4 They are expendable 5 We have a right to choose whether we want them or not 6 They do not have souls 7 They are burdensome etc etc etc

Fergal, abortion comes from the same poverty as disregard for all life.

God Bless you and much love and peace to you

Teresa
 
So you suggest totally ignoring one form of cruelty and injustice just to concentrate on your obsession with another?

True, we cannot hope to solve all the world’s problems, but I think it’s wrong to blatantly ignore a problem we can do something to change simply because our interest is in another problem.

Let me put it another way–should you ignore helping the poor simply because abortion is your “cause”?

I’m not downgrading the fight against abortion, but it isn’t the only thing out there we need to be working on. I think abortion is ONE issue, not the ONLY issue. (I’m sure I’ll catch a lot of flak about that.)
 
I agree with springbreeze—both abortion and animal cruelty are born of a cavalier desensitivity towards sentient beings, the thought that fetuses are just blobs of matter or that animals are ignorant and incapable of feeling, pain, etc. A person who throws a bag of unwanted kittens or puppies into a river has the same mindset as someone who terminates a pregnancy just because it’s “inconvenient” or “didn’t fit into my plans right now.”
 
Island Oak:
If you have Whole Foods grocery stores in your area, they are a great resource for this in one stop.
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There is so much else to weigh, though. If it is a long trip, that makes lots of gas. Also, if you only go every so often, that limits your access to fresh produce and its health benefits. Food packaging is an issue, too. What does the store support otherwise? Is it advertising mad? Is the food local? Etc. I think it is a hard issue.
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seeker63:
both abortion and animal cruelty are born of a cavalier desensitivity towards sentient beings
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In an individual case, this need not be so. Some supporters of abortion look upon it as a reduction in suffering (say the little baby has spinal bifeta sp?) and simultaneously look upon animals as basically not differentialbe from humans, hence they treat the animals quite well. Just based on the few humans I know, the animals rights people are usually pro-choice.
 
That anyone can spend a few minutes with an animal and think they do not feel things like pain, happiness, etc., is just beyond all comprehension to me.
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Of course they can “feel” pain and happiness. Those are just bio-chemical electrical reactions in the physical organ of the brain!

That does NOT mean they have an immortal spiritual soul or are conscious of their feelings or Self…or conscious of their consciousness of their feelings, etc…something that cannot be derived from any purely material explanation.

Animals, if there is a justifiable good use for people, may be slaughtered or even made to feel pain.

What is wrong is to be cruel purely for the sake of being unnecessarily cruel. But even this is not wrong because the animals are actually conscious (which they aren’t) but because of the depravity that would be involved in a human doing such an act for some sort of sick pleasure on their part.

Also, as Pope Benedict said, the use of animals for human purposes must not promote a materialistic or consumeristic culture. Its not that its intrinsically wrong to genetically modify animals or keep them in tight quarters to grow them or even to break a calf’s legs to make its meat better IF there is a justifiable human use for such things. Whats wrong is not that such things are cruel (because the animals are not conscious) but that such things are unneccessary and NOT justifiable. They are decadent luxeries. Materialistic, consumeristic ventures that exploit our stewardship over nature and turn it into some sort of gluttony. Its not an “animal rights” issue with the Pope, but a stewardship and materialism issue.
 
**"Of course they can “feel” pain and happiness. Those are just bio-chemical electrical reactions in the physical organ of the brain!

"That does NOT mean they have an immortal spiritual soul or are conscious of their feelings or Self…or conscious of their consciousness of their feelings, etc…something that cannot be derived from any purely material explanation.

“Animals, if there is a justifiable good use for people, may be slaughtered or even made to feel pain.”**
**“What is wrong is to be cruel purely for the sake of being unnecessarily cruel. But even this is not wrong because the animals are actually conscious (which they aren’t) but because of the depravity that would be involved in a human doing such an act for some sort of sick pleasure on their part.”

*[Many animals that are slaughtered for food purposes are in fact still conscious when the process starts. And many others are forced to live in miserable conditions beforehand.]
 
Dear friend

A baby is not conscious that they are a baby until they are told so and the brain has developed sufficiently in order to process that information for it to make sense to that baby. Your argument on how to treat animals based on consciousness is the same argument used as to whether to abort babies due to their consciousness. Your argument floods down the drain for me. It is not about consciousness, it is about what is just and merciful, what is kind and loving.

All animals have souls. Humans have spiritual souls and animals have non-spiritual souls, this does not make them a creature to be used and abused as we see fit, this makes them at our mercy.

Philosophers and Scientists have held this debate on consciousness for decades and not one of them has been able to establish that animals are not conscious of their environment. Infact it is clear from many social group studies of chimpanzese in the wild that they do make conscious decisions and are aware of their social standing and environment, are able to solve problems and create tools. Good grief I’ve even seen my dog solve the problem of his food bowl sliding across the floor, by placing his paw in it to keep it steady! The theories you outline are just unproven theories that exist created by the superior intelligence of man that in my opinion can be profoundly more stupid than any animal!

God Bless you and much love and peace to you

Teresa
 
Batte,
“That does NOT mean they have an immortal spiritual soul or are conscious of their feelings or Self…or conscious of their consciousness of their feelings, etc…something that cannot be.”

Then explain why most mother animals defend their young to the death. Or explain when animals save humans from being harmed like saving them from fires, natural disasters etc.

The crux of the matter on animal morality is if people have the strength to go against the norm and stand up for the right to Life.
 
I posted a citation from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and also quotation from our Holy Father. Why is there argument? Faithful Catholics are called to be considerate of God’s creation, period.

Does that mean we disregard the unborn? No! Does that mean we go out and fornicate? No! Does that mean that we exploit the poor? No! Does that mean we lie under oath? No! Does that mean we cheat our neighbor? No!

We’re supposed to obey all of God’s commands! That means:
  1. no abortion
    2)Treat animals kindly
    3)No fornications
  2. Help the poor
  3. No cheating or lying
  4. etc and so forth…
Get the drift? Therefore, our love of creation shouldn’t be limited. If we’re gentle with farm animals and advocate for kind treatment of them, it doesn’t mean that we think abortion is hunky dory, and visa versa. Right?
 
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