Fish and pain

[Rhiannon]

I've always found the distinction between eating concious and unconsious beings bizzare. Life is life, and we consume it to survive.

I think it's degree of suffering. And what we ourselves can stomach.

[wigginhall]

Is it about conscious/unconscious?  Different cultures have different taboos, e.g., we tend not to eat monkeys, but some cultures do.  I wonder if any anthropologist has looked at this, as we seem to treat animals worse, the less like us they are, e.g., fish.  Having said that, we also exempt pets, so I don't know how that fits.

[Rhiannon]

Is it about conscious/unconscious?  Different cultures have different taboos, e.g., we tend not to eat monkeys, but some cultures do.  I wonder if any anthropologist has looked at this, as we seem to treat animals worse, the less like us they are, e.g., fish.  Having said that, we also exempt pets, so I don't know how that fits.

I think with horses and dogs we have a culture whereby we see them as faithful and noble servants. Eating them is not the done thing. I became vegetarian years ago as a result of the campaign to end the export of live horses to the continent for slaughter.

[SusanDoris]

I've always found the distinction between eating concious and unconsious beings bizzare. Life is life, and we consume it to survive.

If by some remote chance a massive meteor hits the Earth before I die, I just hope that I find myself in company with a practical person who knows how to fish, jus for a start and isn't squeamish.

[Steve H]

Shouldn't this thread be called either "Fish and bread" or "Poisson et pain", and have something to do with the feeding of the five thousand?

[Udayana]

If by some remote chance a massive meteor hits the Earth before I die, I just hope that I find myself in company with a practical person who knows how to fish, jus for a start and isn't squeamish.

It seems to me that the chances of humans exterminating fish life are much higher than that of a meteor impact wiping out civilisation and agriculture?