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blimixFor those who don't know (which is anyone who isn't local), I've lately been making an effort to not buy factory farmed meat. My money should not support cruelty to animals — especially not such terrible cruelty as those animals experience.
I'm not going vegetarian, and have no problem with animals being raised and killed for meat. (At least, no problem that is not compensated for by the "yum" factor.) Also, I'm not strict about the source of meat at restaurants, or in processed foods that happen to contain meat, because only a small portion of that money goes toward the meat. (Though I was gratified that Putnam Market in Saratoga serves free range turkey on its sandwiches.)
As can be expected, this has reduced my meat purchases: Humanely farmed meat is less commonplace and more expensive than the alternative.
Recently, after buying some locally farmed turkey at the coop, I realized that I could buy fish more cheaply. And I like fish more than turkey. So why spend the money on turkey?
See, I don't care about the feelings of fish. I don't regard them as having the mental capacity to experience true misery as we know it. This is because they do not show facial expressions with which I empathize.
My only current fish restriction is that I do not buy farm-raised salmon. This dates back to the issues of diseases, parasites and ecological destruction due to salmon farms in streams. Salmon farms are now in oceans (as far as I know), and I don't know how much of my previous aversion should still apply. I'm also increasingly aware of other industry problems: Species threatened by overfishing (and by fishing for other species), "dolphin-safe" tuna being no such thing, and the destruction of coral by roller trawling. But I don't have enough knowledge (yet) to make informed decisions about what fish I should and should not buy, given both a sense of proportion and a sense of ecological responsibility.
I'll do some research on my own, but if you would like to point me toward good sources, you are more than welcome to do so.
I'm not going vegetarian, and have no problem with animals being raised and killed for meat. (At least, no problem that is not compensated for by the "yum" factor.) Also, I'm not strict about the source of meat at restaurants, or in processed foods that happen to contain meat, because only a small portion of that money goes toward the meat. (Though I was gratified that Putnam Market in Saratoga serves free range turkey on its sandwiches.)
As can be expected, this has reduced my meat purchases: Humanely farmed meat is less commonplace and more expensive than the alternative.
Recently, after buying some locally farmed turkey at the coop, I realized that I could buy fish more cheaply. And I like fish more than turkey. So why spend the money on turkey?
See, I don't care about the feelings of fish. I don't regard them as having the mental capacity to experience true misery as we know it. This is because they do not show facial expressions with which I empathize.
My only current fish restriction is that I do not buy farm-raised salmon. This dates back to the issues of diseases, parasites and ecological destruction due to salmon farms in streams. Salmon farms are now in oceans (as far as I know), and I don't know how much of my previous aversion should still apply. I'm also increasingly aware of other industry problems: Species threatened by overfishing (and by fishing for other species), "dolphin-safe" tuna being no such thing, and the destruction of coral by roller trawling. But I don't have enough knowledge (yet) to make informed decisions about what fish I should and should not buy, given both a sense of proportion and a sense of ecological responsibility.
I'll do some research on my own, but if you would like to point me toward good sources, you are more than welcome to do so.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-06-28 01:37 pm (UTC)Seriously, though, I'd love it if you would continue to post on any information you find out along these lines, since I have similar feelings about meat. Although, since my wife is vegetarian, I don't really eat meat at home (other than crustaceans, which fall under the same "not enough mental capacity to care" umbrella as your fish), so I'm more interested in info on restaurants.
Also, as far as "good" fish go, I hear a company based in Hawaii is starting to seriously ramp up on giant floating open-ocean fish-hatchery operations, which are reportedly about the best thing going in terms of not being environmentally abusive and keeping down disease and other troubles. I think they're still a bit expensive at this point, though.
Sadly so far the only thing I've found that I can reliably buy along all these lines are free-range chicken eggs, which are both tastier and presumably more chicken-friendly, and only marginally more expensive.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-06-28 01:48 pm (UTC)See free-farmed (http://www.eco-labels.org/label.cfm?LabelID=157) vs free-range (http://www.eco-labels.org/label.cfm?LabelID=111).