Got the cat!

I am not allocating blame! Whether I like cats is irrelevant. Clearly it will be infected by a human, or possibly by another cat which was itself infected by a human. And it may be able to go to a different house and infect another human; or meet a cat outside and infect it, so that the other cat can carry the infection to a different house.

The point is not who is to blame for the cat's infection, the point is that cats can be a vector to totally defeat social isolation, especially in urban areas where they are prevalent.

If only your wise and responsible decision was more common!

We also regularly kill whole extended families in countries we are not at war with using drones. At least we are consistent.

Even as someone with Jewish heritage, I?m uneasy about Halal and Kosher slaughter. However, it is tightly controlled- at least the legal side ( illegal slaughter of any kind is another matter ) - and there are safe guards in place.

Some vegetarians / vegans are determined to convert others and insist meat eaters are cruel, animal hating, monsters. That just proves being a veggie and an intolerant bigot aren?t mutually exclusive.

Wait until one falls down?

They don't, it might just be nice if more people ate less meat for all out benefits.

Because those not eating meat are not responsible for as much cruelty and pollution you are.

And without a cull, we will have to manage our resources and the environment better and that means less meat and more veg.

Cheers, T i m

Maybe it's ironic rather than coincidence, but countries with low meat consumption have a shorter life expectancy.

Tightly controlled? No vet need to be present, so no safeguards, and the animal doesn't need to be stunned prior to slaughter.

You're having us on.

Well, at some point you would go without then, unless you had something the guy with the coconuts wanted. Not quite the same thing as killing a cow though eh. ;-)

See above.

That makes sense when what you are paying for is fair, humane, good and moral (ideally).

If you are paying someone else to kill a cow because you couldn't do it yourself (as with a hitman), I question if you should then have the right to eat meat.

It's not the same thing as not being able to climb to get a coconut. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

And the same applies to a cow ... and not by putting a bolt though it's forehead. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

That's the idea! ;-)

I'd prefer not to see any slaughter at all (and so why I don't eat meat). If we don't breed animals to kill and eat we can do away with all those regs. ;-)

One or the other?

Cheers, T i m

But 'two wrongs' mate ...

And generally we (or our leaders) have a voice to argue our case, a cow doesn't.

Now, if you made each fight fair, that might be different, or let the animals have animal help.

Like, a race to press a number sequence between a human and a chimp when it's only displayed on screen for 60mS, get it wrong and the loser dies. ;-)

At least in *their* element, something our size, like an alligator, shark or tiger would give us a run for our money.

Cheers, T i m

I know a good / easy way to fix that. ;-)

Of sorts. Again, you would have to witness one yourself to decide if doing it at all was really necessary.

That would be nice, given they are saving the world a load of pollution, pain and suffering?

Not all. Some are just ignorant, un-empathetic or simply disconnected (by choice or otherwise) from what goes on behind the scenes to put that lump of lamb on their plate.

Like, if everone who wanted to eat Foie gras actually had to force the large metal tube down the throat of a duck or goose and force feeding them corn until their livers were 10 times their natural size, then maybe the practice would become much less common.

Or if you wanted to drink milk, you had to lead the two day old calf away from it's mother, for ever and you did, then that's fine (well it isn't, but again at least you would be more 'connected' re what it takes to get you that milk).

I wonder how much more tolerant they are for giving all animals the right to live and not be exploited?

You know when many people smoked, I knew it was 'bad'. I never did it because I couldn't see the point, it was expensive and dangerous (fires and health). I predicted a day when the innocent, the non-smokers would have their rights back, and here we are.

The same think will happen with meat eating, milk drinking and especially as the environmental costs also build up and the planet can no longer sustain all those people under those terms.

(I think it's weird enough for an adult to drink human breast milk, let alone the breast milk of a different species!).

Cheers, T i m

I think there would be so many variables to make it difficult to determine any link.

In the same way the cholesterol levels are much higher amongst communities who happen to also consume *homogenised* cows milk.

If you have enough resources to be able to afford to eat meat in sufficient quantity they you might also be able to afford better healthcare and other nutrients.

I believe the vitamin B12 is one of the key ones we typically get from meat so if you aren't eating alternatives that also give you your RDA your health may suffer (many vegan foods specifically contain or are fortified with B12).

Cheers, T i m

Unfortunately, Brian is one of those who obviously likes his food and isn't really interested to put animal welfare over his dinners. He's not alone of course.

I wonder if they do to meat packaging what they did to cigarette packaging, more people might considered what consequences their choices are making.

Now, just like BAT, the NRA, the cattle farmers are quite a powerful bunch (especially in the states) and so you often have to wind your way through all sorts of hype and lies that will easily distract those not actually interested to face the facts.

As I have said, if you *are*willing to attend a slaughterhouse, pull the trigger on a cow and witness the process from there to burger than I guess you earn your 'Right to eat beef' certificate. If you aren't willing then it's pretty weak to have to expect someone else to do the killing for you (and that's very different to say sewer cleaning or any other 'dirty' job as they don't generally involve killing something (especially in the prime of it's 'life').

Cheers, T i m

I know what the rules are. Perhaps you should read them.

Oh yes?

From what I've seen, cats are better at the social isolation and distancing thing than the populace of our large cities.

Now, if we could increase their life expectancy and reduce their tendency to breed like rabbits..