For as long as I can remember, I’ve struggled with the conflict of loving animals and loving meat. Chicken fingers, cheeseburgers, steak, all of the above. I thought that I was contradicting myself when I advocated for animals but made myself chicken for dinner. I thought I could never be a true lover of the earth and its inhabitants if I didn’t take the plunge of becoming a vegan (which is something I have absolutely no will or desire to do).
It’s not that I’ve wanted a pet cow in my backyard, or to have chickens roaming through my house. When I say “I love animals,” I mean I value their lives, I believe they should be treated as beings, not as products.
Does eating animals after they’re killed make me a liar to these beliefs?
After the internal conflict continued to grow, especially when I got my own apartment and became responsible for buying my own food, I read up on the subject. I came across good news.
It’s up for disagreement, it’s allowed to be argued, but the conclusions I drew have given me some peace of mind.
What I realized is that yes, it is OK to simultaneously love cows and burgers, chickens and nuggets, turkeys and Thanksgiving. It’s OK to call myself an animal lover and preach for their well-being and still enjoy a steak for dinner.
If the demand for meat doesn’t exist, the existence of that specific animal will dwindle. So what would be better? An animal to live a life that will eventually come to an end in order to be eaten? Or an animal that simply doesn’t live at all, that doesn’t get a chance to be born?
Many would agree with the latter, and for reasons that probably hold legitimacy, but I choose to believe the first.
What matters, and this is the important part, is that lives of animals still need to have meaning, even if their ultimate purpose is to be consumed. They need to be given a life that is happy and fulfilling. They need to be properly and well fed. They need to be free of unnatural growth hormones. They need to be raised in a way that isn’t scary or demeaning. They need to feel compassion.
And it’s the job of the animal lover, like myself, to be mindful and aware of this. We need to do our research. We need to check labels. We need to stop eating and promoting brands that are cruel and inhumane to their livestock.
I’ll be the first to admit that it’s a more expensive path to get well treated and hormone free meat, but it’s the path that won’t contradict my beliefs. It’s the path that I don’t have to feel guilty about. If nothing else, it’s a healthier path.
We appreciate our moms for making us dinner, we appreciate the chef who creates a masterpiece meal, but do we ever actually stop and appreciate the food? Appreciate the animal who had no say in giving its life in order to keep us well fed and heathy? Probably not. But we can show our appreciation and love by ensuring the food we eat didn’t live a miserable, scared, or filthy life before it reached our plate.
It’s not an easy task and it’s certainly something I’m still working on getting better at, but it’s worth the price and worth the work to be a true animal-loving-meat-eater.
