hand-holding / 10
I kinda feel like I have to add a different unachievable goal now, but I got nothing, so feel free to drop suggestions (for something that's not going to come true? lol)
Reminder that "proship" simply means "I don't care what ships you like, fics you read, or fanart you draw, because it's all fictional and it's not indicative of your real life morals or behaviors, so I won't harass you over it."
That's it. That's all it means.
So as a deeply empathetic person (especially to animals) who also eats quite a bit of animal protein and who grew up in rural Ohio which is a heavy farming and hunting community - I have thoughts.
1) If you see things like this and you cannot make peace with it and decide to become vegetarian or vegan - that is completely valid!! I support your choice!! I am not here to convince you otherwise. Having a plant based diet is awesome and my only words of advice would be to ensure you’re getting enough plant protein but I’m completely sure you already know that 💖
2) At risk of sounding dismissive (which is not my intention), much of the obloquy I see around farming comes from people who may not be familiar with farming practices. This is a farrowing cage. The purpose of this cage is to prevent the sow (mother pig) from rolling over on her piglets when she is nursing. It’s meant to be temporary and not a permanent containment for the sow. You’ll also see devices for cows and horses that squeeze them or stabilize them in different ways. Out of context they seem inhumane but they are actually a net positive for the animal. A tremendous amount of thought is put into making animals as comfortable as possible and there are even these elongated swirling tracks for cows in slaughterhouses that calm them down before they are slaughtered and processed because when they are lined up in slaughterhouses they become horrified and it’s an incredibly inhumane experience for them.
3) Eating meat requires an animal to die. It’s sad. It’s hard to grapple with. Especially in the west where we live such clean and sanitized lives that are completely separated from any level of discomfort or burden - seeing the reality behind food can be distressing. My personal take is that when you have to see the reality of where food comes from and/or you are the one to take an animal’s life for your own sustenance, you appreciate the value of food more.
4) I am not a fan of mass farming. I am not obtuse to the fact that it’s an industry that directly supports a growing global population and reduces food insecurity. But it is not humane. It is truly horrific the way that animals are treated in mass production facilities. That is why I encourage people to shop at local markets for meat, poultry, fish, and dairy. We have a local cattle ranch where we try to source all of our meat because you can literally see the facilities and the animals live great lives. There are also local farming collectives that have pickup and delivery for products. I also am aware that we are in a recession, social programs for food have been cut, and people are struggling. If you need to buy meat from Walmart to feed your family - please do not let anyone make you feel bad about that.
I know that this is a super nuanced topic and it’s sad! Justifying animals dying is hard! I just wanted to offer my perspective as someone who is incredibly sensitive and thinks a lot about these things. And there’s seldom a scenario where something is “all good” or “all bad”. There’s so much nuance and there’s never a “right” opinion or perspective. I love you all - from carnivores to vegans 🫶🏾