To Kill or Not to Kill: The Great Meat Debate
“Anger over sheep slaughter” the BBC reports. Some parents are up in arms over the slaughter of a sheep that was raised by school children on a farm.
One mother says that she feels it’s wrong to kill the animal and it’s the equivalent of boiling up the family pet for dinner.
Here’s a short clip of the headteacher speaking out on the issue.
A discussion has been taking place on facebook, many parents believing that the headteacher is admirable and that there’s nothing wrong with teaching the children where their food comes from. On the other side there are a couple of people that are less happy, one person believes that they can teach children the same lessons without the practicalities of killing and selling the meat to re-invest in other animals. Another who eats meat because she doesn’t like anythingelse is uncomfortable with the reality and although is happy enough to eat the meat does not want to have the ‘death part’ in her face.
I think there are a couple of issues here;
1. Is it ok to eat meat but not be prepared to face the reality of where it comes from?
2. Is it ok for primary school children to be taught in such a practical way how a farm works and about the production of meat?
Let’s take point one;
I’m a meat eater and I believe that if you’re prepared to have an animal killed for your own consumption you need to be prepared to face the reality that the animal is reared to be killed for food. If you’re in anyway uncomfortable with that then you should be considering whether you should be a vegetarian. Just my point of view.
Point two;
We’re far to quick these days to wrap our children in cotton wool, I agree with the headteacher these children are learning several valuable lessons (farming, entrepreneurship, decision making) and let’s not forget it was the children who voted 13-1 to have the animal slaughtered, who are we to stifle their learning because of our own hang ups? The animal was not a pet, it was reared on a farm in a farming community. This is life, we can’t pretend that meat just appears in plastic packaging in Tesco. This scenario will allow those children to make informed decisions on whether as adults they will pursue a diet that includes meat.
What do you think?
Before I get started let me state that I flirt with being a vegetarian, after a dream I had about a giant chicken…
Top Ender knows where her food comes from. She knows that meat comes from animals, and that is some countries people eat things we personally consider pets.
This animal was raised on a farm, not as a pet, but as a farm animal and this is where meat comes from.
We were eating Duck one day and Erin asked if it was ‘a real duck’ we were honest, she didn’t want to eat it (she doesn’t want to eat much except chicken nuggets) and that was fine.
My brother in law has 4 lambs he keeps on a field with his two horses. They all have names and are played with by the children (aged 2 and 12). 2 of the lambs will be taken for slaughter in a few weeks and no doubt we will get a leg or two.
I feel a bit uneasy naming an animal and then killing it! … but then I’m a big wuss.
As a family we have been vegetarian for almost a year. I had flirted with it for many years due to my inability to ‘face’ where my meat/fish was coming from. I liked to buy it pre-packed and ignore the reality, which made me feel like ‘what right do I have to eat living creatures if I can’t face the reality?” However, my husband was a ‘I could never not eat meat’ kinda guy who believed that one day he would like to raise/kill his own animals for meat, so it was simply easier all round.
THEN we went to work at a veggie hotel/restaurant in France and hubby looked after the animals (obviously not bred for meat!) and we ate the most wonderful food. Suddenly we realised that a) we could not face the reality of killing animals for food and b) a veggie diet was so much more varied and delicious than we had ever realised.
Thus, our thinking now is that it is not necessary to eat meat and certainly if you are going to eat meat then you should be able to deal with the ‘reality’ … I have great respect for people who raise and kill their own animals for food – I think that to have respect for where the food comes from is the least meat eaters can do. I therefore think that YES we should be showing our children where their food comes from. We all show them where vegetables come from, so what is the great taboo with meat/fish? I fear it is our own inability to deal with it.
Sorry to ramble, but it is a subject close to my heart!!!!!
Great comment Alice, which echos exactly how I feel. I’m pretty glad that the school went through with the slaughter in the end, it was what the children had voted for.