Can you love and eat animals?

[@azoidayden]

This is a great question coupled with a great response. I think you correctly identify the cognitive dissonance inherent in loving animals while eating them. It’s interesting to draw arbitrary lines between species, expressing horror at potentially eating dog meat while continuing to consume chicken. It makes sense though because speciesist attitudes are deeply ingrained in western culture, in which some animals are deemed worthy of moral consideration while others are objectified as food. I appreciate your honesty and your admission to continuing to consume meat primarily because it’s “delicious” and convenient, despite acknowledging the ethical issues. This prioritization of personal pleasure over recognized ethical concerns is a common barrier. I do think you mischaracterize vegan motivations. Your response assumes that people asking such questions are being judgmental or trying to “trap” others. This mischaracterizes many vegans’ genuine concern for animals and desire for ethical dialogue. You also suggest that questioning the ethics of eating animals is inherently antagonistic. This creates a false dichotomy between “militant” veganism and complacency, ignoring the possibility of respectful, nuanced dialogue. Don’t misunderstand me though, I think this video is rife with positive aspects and great self awareness. You acknowledge abstaining from meat is ethically superior, you recognize the problematic nature of animal ag, even done with apparent care for animal welfare, and admit that if personally required to kill animals for food you wouldn’t do it. I think your response is profound and I really appreciate you taking the time to think about this and share it with the community. I think love, in its truest sense, involves respect for the autonomy and well-being of the loved one, a desire to protect from harm, and valuing the other’s interests and life. Our physiological conflict arises from holding two beliefs/values, in this case: valuing animal life and well-being, and participating in a system that commodifies and ends animal lives for pleasure. I think all animals capable of suffering deserve equal moral consideration. Even at its most humane, animal ag involves separation of mothers and offspring, confined living conditions, and premature death, which are incompatible with any meaningful definition of love. In most developed countries nutritionally adequate plant-based alternatives are readily available, choosing to eat animals despite having other options demonstrates that taste preference is being prioritized over animal welfare. I also think true love is demonstrated through actions, not just feelings. Actively participating in a system that exploits and kills them contradicts any claim of love. If we consider history, humanity has gradually expanded its circle of moral consideration. Just as we’ve recognized the rights of various human groups over time, extending our compassion to animals is a natural ethical progression. Thanks for inspiring these thoughts with your video ❤.

[@NoahKalina]

Thank you for this really thoughtful comment.

[@irakalina9502]

Hi Noah, I think what you thought was dog meat was the burger we both had in China. If that happened in Cuba then it was two places on your travels where the burger was not beef. I, too, was traumatized by the taste and texture of that thing. I think that question was a great one.

[@SueCarole]

Good question. And an even better answer. Please leave the tree leaning over the wall. It and the branch are perfectly positioned.

[@NoahKalina]

Thank you. Yeah. I probably will!

[@BudParr]

There's a wonderful (for fans of his) documentary about John Berger called Four Seasons in Quincy that for some reason interjects a section on this topic. I recall a family in the French countryside who had a deep relationship with the land and their animals, yet had no problem killing them for food. I think the question suggests false dichotomy. I think the real question is, instead, "Can you love and eat animals who have suffered through factory farming." I think not, even though that's difficult to do on a day-to-day basis. Michael Pollen's The Omnivore's Dilemma was a game changer for me in that regard.

[@NoahKalina]

I've read almost all of Pollen's books except for that one. I am putting it on the list.

[@PlGGS]

Definitely part of why I stopped eating meat

[@deanpeterson_]

Same.

[@c-mon.re-arte]

It ‘s really cool to see how the fog changes and the light change..I commented before pretty cool!! you are talking your mind out in one of your photo set, if you play with the timeline back and forth you can see the changes so cool, the photo is different every second

[@teorec]

I get that it's annoying, but I don't think it's wrong for someone to bring these things up. They're trying to make the world a better place, and the ugly truth is we really are part of the problem, and part of what they have to fight if they want to see real change in the world. It's uncomfortable, but it makes sense.

[@CraigEmpson]

...Peter from Germany would have known 😄 I do love animals , but I love eating them even more, of course animals we class as pets are off limits.

[@maximoformanek]

Nature is wild...

[@edwardrow]

title is sending me and I haven’t even watched the video yet

[@edwardrow]

watched the video, still sent, excellent experience 11/100

[@NoahKalina]

Thank you!

[@timtrautmann]

I’m going to integrate this weather station with my home kit stuff. You think I can make it work? 15:42

[@NoahKalina]

Someone told me that it doesn’t work with HomeKit. I don’t know since I could never figure out how HomeKit works. I do know there are numerous weather stations that are HomeKit compatible.

[@timtrautmann]

@@NoahKalina I’ll let you know how it goes. I have plenty of time to hack on things these days.

[@NoahKalina]

definitely let me know.

[@jonwaltermoceyhanton]

i believe in you noah i believe you can go full vegan i believe you have the fortitude make it happen dude

[@NoahKalina]

When vegans consider farm raised eggs vegan (which they should) I will consider it!

[@jaycarlson6291]

@@NoahKalina Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. If the chickens don't mind you eating their eggs, I say don't let it stop you. You'll be 90% vegan, saving much animal life, the climate, and your health!

[@NoahKalina]

@@jaycarlson6291 I think the health aspects of going vegan/vegetarian are dubious but if you find that you feel healthier that's great!

[@jaycarlson6291]

@@NoahKalina For some people perhaps! BUT, the protective effects can pay out in spades as you age. AND, eating a whole food vegan diet has been PROVEN to prevent and reverse heart disease and many cancers. It's really a big deal.

[@lmnk]

Yes.

[@jonathanmarks_photography]

chickens are murderous eaters themselves, aren’t they? does that mean we can, as humans, be just as murderous? that is what I wonder. cows don’t, however, have the same murderous eating habits…unless you think grass has some sort of sentience…so eating them feels worse some how. such a heavy philosophical quandary. your thoughts are good.

[@NoahKalina]

Yeah. Lots of animals are brutal about what they eat. I guess we as empathetic humans should be held to a higher standard.

[@samkingco]

haven't watched the vid yet but the answer is no

[@theguy3599]

First

[@yayamusic558]

I love animals as much as i love eating animals

[@travisalexphoto]

The caller is most likely posing you a vegan versus carnivore question. It's usually a common talking point amongst vegans, that ultimately, to eat meat, means you don't truly love nature or animals. If you truly love it, the only true path to them is going vegan. I respectfully disagree, I find that the majority of vegans are urbanites, who have not spent time with actual animals and nature And understanding ecom systems, or what it even means to live in a non-urban center to have access to food so privileged, enough to be to make that distinction, and most people who are more Progressive and conservationalism, as well as nature preservation, are those who are hunters, fisherman, and wild gamesman. There's no group of people that cares more about the conservation, protection, and well-being of nature and animals. Then people actually actively hunt them Because they want to be able to have those resources available for the next generation and their children's children. Just my two cents, but, I can't fully infer what they're asking either, so depending on what they're really trying to ask, I could should be talking on my ass.

[@NoahKalina]

This is a good comment. I think you are correct about a lot of these things.

[@janos1945]

I love meat