MEAT

To kill or not to kill- that is the question...If you're an Innuit or hunter/gatherer, there is no problem: you kill to survive. But here in the affluent West, when there is plenty of non-animal protein available, the question becomes more problematic. However, ultimately, the moral argument must trump all other considerations. 

As Simon Fairlie explains in his meticulously argued book "Meat- A benign extravagance", there are many legitimate technical justifications for keeping animals destined for slaughter.Thus animals may also double up as draft beasts (horse, oxen); they may act as insurance against crop failure or to be fed wastes (pigs) or to clear ground and remove pests (poultry, pigs).For the nomad of course, the great advantage of an animal is its mobility- you can't take your allotment with you on the road!  Such scenarios provide ample reason, from an energetic standpoint, for eating meat. 

Fairlie also quite rightly takes issue with vegans and the concept of a vegan agriculture. How will the vegan control crop damage by deer, rabbit, badger or squirrel?  Without some culling, crop losses could become substantial. In the past, the poacher helped to control this problem and it often provided a source of protein for the needy peasant. Otherwise, of course, veganism is more defensible than is a vegetarian diet since the consumption of any dairy product necessarily involves animal slaughter.

So, we can provide numerous arguments to explain why animal protein is consumed all over the world. However this does not address the moral issue- is it right to kill? I would suggest that the answer is basically- no. And this may help explain why indigenous cultures often have elaborate rituals surrounding the eating of animal flesh- to appease the gods- it reflects their respect  for life. In our culture we have no such qualms. However, many of us may feel uneasy about eating meat and this reflects our intuition that, if we don't need to eat meat when there are alternatives, it is wrong. Although we often use all manner of intellectual arguments to "justify" our actions, none of these can override the moral issue.

Every action we take has its impact- this is inescapable. Every hurt we cause, verbal or physical ultimately also hurts us Whatever suffering our actions cause, whether evident to us or hidden from us, we will also suffer.These are universal principles. 

Ultimately, the answer has to be that we should listen to our intuition- that quiet little voice that we hear first but which generally is then overridden by the mind with all its justifications.Intuition, which may present as a "voice" or a "gut feeling" is always right- because it represents the voice of God, cosmic wisdom, the all-pervading truth.