I'm a pretty lax vegetarian/pescetarian. Hell, I'll eat that rabbit scarfing on our garden if I catch him.
Rather than target intelligence, I'd target how high the critter was on the food chain. I don't know how smart eagles are, for instance, but they are top predators, all the toxic stuff that gets passed up the food chain ends up in their bodies. Same reason cannibalism is bad news.
Intelligence does seem to be associated with being higher on the food chain. Is it ok to eat an animal because it's dumb? No more so than eating one "because" it's intelligent. We already pick and choose based on how cute or ugly something is, I guess I don't want to eat anything that I could potentially communicate with. I'll admit that's as arbitrary as many other people's rules on what they do and don't eat.
I have no ethical issues with consuming insects, they eat our crops, after all. But most Westerners have problems with them. We'll have to become less squeamish, there are good reasons to believe insects will become a much larger part of our diet in the future, if we want to try to feed a couple more billion people.
My dietary choices are mainly environmental, secondarily ethical, third personal health. I don't like the massive pollution that factory farms create. I also don't like the way most feed animals are mis-treated. And, animal flesh is the primary source of cholesterol, so avoiding it certainly won't hurt me.
There are some insect food start-ups in the U.S., though if I want crickets all I need to do is leave a tarp down on the grass and harvest in the morning.
Tuna, while not a "top" predator (sharks will eat them), is pretty darn close. Just sayin.
Octupus brains are unusual, and they appear to have some high-level functioning that is surprising given how "simple" their brains are - fascinating creatures.
I'm with you on the humanitarian front. While it's not always an option for me, I'd much rather eat something hunted in the wild than something raised on a mass-production farm, and I'd rather eat something raised with a good life than either. I'd really, really like to have a small chicken flock for this reason.
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timeasmymeasure
I hate to be a pedant....
Date: 2011-07-22 12:52 pm (UTC)But calamari is squid, not octopus.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squid_%28food%29
Re: I hate to be a pedant....
Date: 2011-07-22 04:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-07-22 03:03 pm (UTC)I say this as a carnivore--just curious to hear your answer.
no subject
Date: 2011-07-22 04:39 pm (UTC)Rather than target intelligence, I'd target how high the critter was on the food chain. I don't know how smart eagles are, for instance, but they are top predators, all the toxic stuff that gets passed up the food chain ends up in their bodies. Same reason cannibalism is bad news.
Intelligence does seem to be associated with being higher on the food chain. Is it ok to eat an animal because it's dumb? No more so than eating one "because" it's intelligent. We already pick and choose based on how cute or ugly something is, I guess I don't want to eat anything that I could potentially communicate with. I'll admit that's as arbitrary as many other people's rules on what they do and don't eat.
I have no ethical issues with consuming insects, they eat our crops, after all. But most Westerners have problems with them. We'll have to become less squeamish, there are good reasons to believe insects will become a much larger part of our diet in the future, if we want to try to feed a couple more billion people.
My dietary choices are mainly environmental, secondarily ethical, third personal health. I don't like the massive pollution that factory farms create. I also don't like the way most feed animals are mis-treated. And, animal flesh is the primary source of cholesterol, so avoiding it certainly won't hurt me.
no subject
Date: 2011-07-22 04:42 pm (UTC)As a general point of reference, chocolate covered ants are delicious.
no subject
Date: 2011-07-22 04:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-07-22 06:54 pm (UTC)Octupus brains are unusual, and they appear to have some high-level functioning that is surprising given how "simple" their brains are - fascinating creatures.
I'm with you on the humanitarian front. While it's not always an option for me, I'd much rather eat something hunted in the wild than something raised on a mass-production farm, and I'd rather eat something raised with a good life than either. I'd really, really like to have a small chicken flock for this reason.