Do you think the consumption of meat is ethical correct?

[Stryder1978]

Jangles,

It was the early 90's when I was down under, so the laws have changed since then.

However, the controlling of animals like roo's, wild boar etc. in Australia is really no different than what Victoria7's dad is doing in Missouri to protect their garden. There are more whitetail deer in America now than there were 100 years ago - and given the number of people being killed on the road by them, I think the hunting limits on deer need to be changed!

[Strider]

Lately, I've been thinking about switching to a vegetarian diet(I have a vegan brother and sister-in-law, as well as many of my hipster doofus friends), until my stomach threatened to hold my intestines hostage if I went veggie. There'd be a bloody insurrection if so much as a piece of tofu passed my lips.

So I went to Koreatown and had Korean BBQ for dinner.

I have been cutting back on red meat and eating more fish, which I don't mind as I love seafood. But every now and then, I get the craving that only a prime cut of beef can satisfy...whether it comes in the form of a filet mignon or a rack of ribs.

I've also noticed that many of the vegans I know are constantly sick and have a ghostly pallor to their skin. It's as if their immune systems are weak due to a lack of protein.

I don't buy supermarket and/or factory farm meat...organic and free range for me. Also no corn-fed beef; it's gotta be grass-fed beef...the flavour and nutrients are far superior.

[Jangles]

Stryder,

I know what you mean about craving a big piece of juicy steak. If it's been a while since I ate one, I can almost feel the iron and goodness seeping into my veins with each mouthful.

My daughter is vegan, as some of you are aware. She is healthy enough, but it's a pain in the ass having to cook limited food for her, or see my kitchen get annihilated while she prepares her meals. I have nothing against vegan's or their food, some of which is incredibly tasty and I enjoy ..... as long as they don't preach their ways to me.

Stryder1978,

I totally understand what you're saying about the control of wild animals, but having visited Australia yourself, you'll realise that our cattle stations (large farms) are up 34 thousand square kilometres in size and the kangaroo's etc. are massive, marouding herds. These herds wipe out the complete landscape of any greenery, right down to the roots and these farmers have milions and millions of dollars worth of beef cattle or sheep. I realise farms like those are the extreme in size, but thats the basis of our animal farming which is affected by roo's and native wildlife that needs culling. I'm assuming similar would happen with large crop farming as well, but I don't know much about their practices.

So while killing animals in order to protect crops, personal vegie gardens, or natural grass feed for cattle is all basically the same in the scheme of things ..... in the culture i've been brought up in, I still find it appaling to kill an animal to save a few vegetables in my own garden, no matter how much hard work I've put into it.

It's actually a coincidence this has come up now, because i'm in the middle of extending my vegie garden and fencing it for the spring crops, which i'll be putting in very soon

[chillumpuffer]

Consider: The lady on the left is 51 years old. Her name is Gillian McKeith and she a TV health guru and is an ardent vegetarian strongly advocating organic produce only. The lady on the right is also 51 years old. Her name is Nigella Lawson and she is a TV cook who advocates a balanced diet of meat, butter and eggs along with veggies and she washes it down with wine.

Ethics be damned...I'm going CARNIVORE!

Great comparison Stryder. But the picture is slightly misleading. McKeith's picture was taken from a game show "I'm a Celebrity Get Me out Of Here" where the contestants are plonked in the Australian rain forest and deprived of anything remotely of interest. Food drink, fun etc. It was a classic though as "the public" voted her to do a number of tasks ranging from eating cockroaches and alligator penises to drinking wombat piss or something like that. It was of course fixed for the general amusement of the public as Mckeith crumbled before our eyes to a point where she fainted ( fake) and completely fell apart. I would suggest this picture was taken at about the Zero hour

The Picture of Lawson on the other hand who is a yummy mummy TV "Cook" who is married to one of the richest men in Britain,gladly indulges hereself in anything but healthy food. Her shows are the worst rubbing in on how the rich live. She makes food for her "friends" who are always beautiful and adore her waist busting delights whilst looking postively svelt themselves. I am sure they are actors. And to add insult our Nigella wouldn't even use her own Kitchen for some shows so the BBC hired a location kitchen instead. If you ever catch one of her Christmas specials it's always perfect, as the kids open their gifts by a roaring fire, under a tree that would be small in a Norweigan forest.

But the worst insult was Nigella's quick bites. She would always wander down her Knightsbridge high street going in to eye wateringly expensive deli's that sells Ham for £10 a slice and bread at the cost of a small bakery up north, whilst always rubbing it in that " I know when you don't have the time" and "when you work full time". Neither applies to fatty. And anyway the photo was more than likely taken after a day of make up.

[beetleron]

I don't know when you were here in Oz, but our strict gun laws came into force around 1996. Since then anyone wishing to possess or use a gun must have a firearms licence and be over the age of 18. Owners must also have secure storage for their firearms. So if a person does not have a licence, their possession of a gun is illegal. Australia has some of the most restrictive firearms legislation in the world

I Freekin Knew it..................

MaCcaa killed my kitty................

[MollyHendrix]

Here in Australia, it's illegal to own a gun ..... unless you have a special permit, which is hard to attain. Our gun laws are very strict, which I fully support.

I've never even seen a real gun, except in movies or pictures.

As for wandering dogs taking dumps in my garden ..... it's annoying yes, but i'd be more concerned over whether the dog was lost rather than inflicting some sort of pain on it.

My next door neighbour has a dog that leaves mine fields on my front lawn. I just clean them up or mow over them with the lawn mower. I've never said a word to them.

Ok, but I live in America, so we can own guns, and we exercise that right.

And since we are talking about dogs: not only do we not shoot them, we give any dog who comes to our house milk bones or other dog treats. They are so cute!! They tend to stay around for a while as well.