Re: What do you think of Organic/free range meat?
Totally agree with Arti and PFC and Gertvegan (Kiera sayz 'hi!' btw ;)). Using the quality of an animal's life as a justification for their death, as in "it's alright to eat that animal coz it's had a good life" to me is sick! I don't think I've ever heard a murder inquiry go like: "oh well, the victim was humanely killed thru a shot in the head and she was living it up beforehand. Hell, she was even on a night out when it happened, enjoying herself! So let's leave it and look at some bugger who was less fortunate when they died."
I don't cut any meat eaters, who say they eat only "organic" or "free range" meat any slack. If they are this far aware of the living conditions of animals and still feel it's justified that they eat them, they're even worse than the complete ignorants who eat "meat fortified with antibiotics and growth hormones".
Using marginally better living conditions as an excuse to keep eating animals is totally lame. And as has been said, there are no real regulations for it anyway. That's how an RSPCA "Freedom Foods affiliated chicken farm turned out as being a battery farm without wire between the chickens! As far as I'm concerned, unless the animal involved is a cute, cuddly "pet", that cannot be gained from financially, who is on death's door because of abuse, they do not have to count on the RSPCA for any sympathy, let alone action. And Compassion in World Farming to me is a contradiction in terms.
Re: What do you think of Organic/free range meat?
Sigh...
Well I have a lot of respect for RSPCA and CFWF anyway. They are much better then organizations like PETA that run 'meat is murder' campains which offend more people then they convert. Plus it's not ethnical to keep a cat vegan and indoors which is what PETA recomend.
I've lived with meat eaters (infact I'm still living with meat eatering critters but I make sure they only ever eat free range/organic meat). People like my dad will never go vegan even if he does know the conditions animals are kept in because he thinks people NEED meat. The best I could ever hope really is that he will switch to free range/organic more.
Being vegan is great. The more vegans the better. Unfortunately though we will never convince everybody to be vegan. The best we can hope for really is for a majority of vegans but a few genuinely organic/free range farms for the few people left that THINK they NEED meat to survive plus our carvivorous pets of course. If it was ever illigal to eat meat, people who think they NEED meat would just go black market and its easier to hide a factory farm then a free range farm. I believe in being realistic.
Re: What do you think of Organic/free range meat?
I believe in not being defeatist. While there might be a chance that I won't see the entire planet go vegan within my life time, that doesn't mean I have to condone anyone who thinks they somehow have the right to kill non-humans for their own sake.
It was a PETA campaign that made me go vegan and interested in animal rights. However, I do not agree with their tactics and some of their campaigns any more. But that's a different topic alltogether, which has already been discussed in another thread. Same for the "is it ethical for a cat to be kept indoors and on a vegan diet" argument. All I want to say about that is that - in my experience - it depends on the cat whether or not they'd be happy to live a life indoors and he meat that most cats get is as far removed from their once natural diet as a vegan diet would be. All animals, whether human or non human, need nutrients, and it really doesn't matter in what shape or form it comes, as long as the body can access and process it.