Barbaro The Topic of Larry King Tonight

[somerfrost]

Originally Posted by GenuineRisk

And the biggest evil we perpetrate on them isn't even the slaughter- it's the conditions we keep them while we're raising them to get big enough to eat. The misery they spend their short lives in is awful- jammed into cages so small they can't turn around- tails and beaks cut off, never seeing sunlight. For their entire lives. So, I wish PETA and other animal groups would focus on getting factory farms outlawed. Several European nations have done it, and people there still seem to manage to eat meat, so I imagine we could do it, too.

Plus factory farms are really, really bad for the environment. And for the small farmer.

Agreed! That's my position...I don't want to tell people what to eat or wear, we are flesh eaters and that demands harvesting animals for food...but it must be done humanely. I do disagree with the concept that PETA becomes the problem...in the 60's, the Black Panthers, SDS and many other militant groups were called "the problem"...it's a tactic used to manipulate public opinion and divert attention away from the real problems of society. Without racism and violence against black folks, there wouldn't have been a Black Panther movement, without a stupid war there would have been no SDS...I think it's better to scream about injustice, even if it makes some folks uncomfortable, than to sit and wait for your turn to be the victim. Obviously extremism becomes dangerous...violence can never be justified but short of that...well, the old slogan, "part of the solution or part of the problem" comes to mind!