The real beef.
And the next step along this thought process is: “All taboos and cultural norms around food are a social construct and there is no right or wrong.”
However, consider that false accusations of the form “That tribe over there eat human flesh” are much more common than tribes that actually eat human flesh.
There are some very common rules. Don’t eat your neighbor; don’t have sex with your mom; don’t shit in the well; the tannery goes downwind of town …
Something being a social construct doesn’t make it inherently incorrect, subjective, or pointless. What it does mean is it is not a law of the universe, it is open to critique, reform, and dismantling. If a culture has a food taboo rooted in ethical beliefs or medical beliefs for example I feel like the words right and wrong are applicable.
Why would these things be equal?
In India, cows are revered as living deities. I know I don’t worship my dog. While both mindsets lead to a revulsion at the idea of eating said meat, I don’t think we’re talking about the same emotions at all.
I don’t think we’re talking about the same emotions at all.
Yes, we are.
Love and respect.
I know I don’t worship my dog.
So you would be ok with me killing it and serving it to you? (no, I never would)
Serving my dog? No.
Serving a farm raised dog intended for consumption like a pig or cow? Yeah I’d try it.
My personal oddities aside, I still disagree. I don’t think worshipping a holy entity is at all the same as loving your pet. Maybe it is for you, but I know I don’t feel commonality between what I feel for my pet dog and what I feel for God.
For example, I give my pet treats and teach him to do tricks. My relationship with God is one of respect and wondering. Would you say that’s similar or different?
Your relationship with your dog is much more significant since he probably cares about you, is a good companion and can be proven to exist (unless you’re making him up for the purpose of these comments). A relationship with god is a one-sided time/effort/focus sink that provides no benefit to anyone involved unless they’re in on the con and passing around a collection plate.
If someone doesn’t eat beef or tries to discourage others from doing so because it might be magic, they ought to lay off their bullshit. Stuff like that carves out a blind spot in peoples’ critical thinking where things like ayurveda, homeopathy, chiropractors and acupuncturists can hide and prey on the desperate. Accepting the less-harmful aspects makes it harder to reject the dangerous ones.
My personal oddities aside, I still disagree. I don’t think worshipping a holy entity is at all the same as loving your pet. Maybe it is for you, but I know I don’t feel commonality between what I feel for my pet dog and what I feel for God.
This is actually a good point because as someone who doesn’t really believe in god - or rather, any god that mankind thought up, I definitely don’t think the same way of my cat.
I heard a great story from an Indian student years ago, that as he left to come to school in American, his mom looked him dead in the eye and said “don’t eat beef.” In school in Texas he was offered Chicken Fried Steak… chicken, right? So he tried it and loved it. After a few times he found out the truth, but it’s so delicious he still eats it (don’t tell his mom).
Yep, what’s interesting is while Hindus accept is a religious thing (Not a fan of religions), anti dog eaters take a more we’re objectively morally superior approach which really grinds my gears.
Considering we are eating a god right in front of them, they are remarkable civil about it all. I’m not a fan of religion either, as I’ve seen it bring out the worst in people. I wish there was more patience, understanding and empathy in the world.
I’m not Hindu but my Hindu friends have said that a misunderstanding of the religion. You don’t eat the cow because it’s produce milk. As such it’s more useful alive. You get fertilizer
It’s not a god. It’s more like the communion wafer.
I could be wrong but that’s what I’ve been told my multiple Hindus
In Catholicism a communion wafer is quite literally the body of Christ – not symbolic. And Christ, as part of the holy trinity, is literally God. So Catholics do actually believe they’re chomping down God every Sunday morning.
Incorrect. Cow is a sacred animal in the Hindu culture. It is because one of the Hindu gods has a cow as his servant. People also refer to cow as their mother and worship cows at some places too.
Your Hindu friends probably aren’t familiar with their own culture.
I always assumed pretty much that. There is so much obvious utility in this prohibition.
I’m sure a farmer may be tempted to eat his ox but then he’s pretty much fucked as a farmer forever.
I really have no problem with people eating any animal. You just have to separate the animals you have for pets and the animals you eat. Don’t mix them.
If people have a dog for eating, I have no issue with that. But if someone takes a dog that they’ve loved and played with for years and then eats it? That’s going to mess their family up.
Naaa that’s ridculous. You’ve never lived on a farm I presume. Or raised any sort of traditional libestock. We eat chickens and cows and goats we raise, the heirarchy of worth of conciousness is the issue here.
That’s not what they’re saying. Raising an animal for slaughter is not the same as raising an animal as a pet. People bond with their pets the way they bond with family members. Chickens and cows and goats might be loved right up until the day they are killed for food, but it’s expected that they will die and be eaten.
I grew up on a farm.
We had goats we named and we’re sort of pets. And we had goats that we butchered and ate. No problem.
Crazy how pigs are as intelligent as a three year old and nobody cares when they’re killed for food but all the carnists get mad when i go looking for my next meal at the local daycare. All of a sudden low intelligence isn’t a good excuse to kill sentient beings
(/s if it isn’t obvious, i’m strongly against killing anyone from any species, especially when it’s for pleasure. And let’s be real, if you’re reading this odds are you don’t need to eat dead animals to survive, so the real reason boils down to the pleasure you get from their dead body)
