Obviously this question is only for people who eat beef regularly.
But I just was wondering, what IQ/ability would make you swear off beef? If they could speak like an 8 y.o, would that be enough to cut off beef? If they got an IQ of 80, would that do it?
I’ll go with the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy answer and say the cow likely will offer me in person which cuts of meat I prefer. It’s sole purpose in life is to be part of the food cycle. It knows that and it accepts it.
And that’s what i say, it I ever meet something higher on the food chain, I will hand myself over and give it a clap.
If they were smart enough to start protesting, I could see myself eating mor chikin.
Yeah, even if the spelling on their protest signs was atrocious, I’d still appreciate the effort and order some nuggets.
I don’t know if there’s an IQ amount, but there’s probably a dollar amount. The more expensive it gets, the less I’ll eat, and then eventually I won’t bother.
Basically the same here. Pepsi has basically priced themselves out of the market for me.
At the point where it consciously knows that we breed and slaughter them for meat. That would be my red line. I don’t know what IQ that equals to.
How do you know livestock cows don’t already know this?
I know they don’t know this consciously because of their behaviour. If we suppose they were intelligent enough to understand their predicament, I would expect them to protest in some way. For example by breaking out of their captivitity, trying to kill their captors, or even commit suicide.
This is not the behaviour we observe from cows. They seem perfectly happy to bond with and follow along their captors (farmers) right up to the point where they get a bolt through their head.
This - to me - clearly indicates that they are far below an intelligence level where they can understand the living conditions we put them in.
Because they’ll just walk into the slaugherhouse unaware like a dumb cow.
The point at which it could collaborate with others and fight back.
Until then, it looks like meat is back on the menu, Boys!
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No smarter than they are now.
Do you eat beef regularly? If so, then you would stop, and if you’ve already stopped you were precluded from this question so really shouldn’t have answered.
I do currently, but I was vegetarian for over a decade and vegan for part of that. I never buy beef and only eat it because I work in a restaurant and eat for free.
But the intelligence isn’t really at issue, the ecological impact is why I don’t buy beef. That and the taste: it’s a C-grade meat at best, way below pork and most poultry, especially given the higher price point.
I think your should stop eating any meat the moment you don’t feel like you have what it takes to look at the animal in the eye while you kill it for consumption.
If you think you can’t do that, then you should reconsider your meat consumption.
I’m approaching this point in my life and reducing consumption accordingly.
Cows can be moderately smart when raised as such. It’s humans who selected the specific traits we considered more convenient for our needs, and breed them like that.
Would that philosophy extend to other parts of life? I feel like at the surface this sounds great, but when thinking why this sounds great i cant help but wonder if its even possible to look at choices with these kind of angles.
It’s a good question. I don’t know. There are many reasons why I like meat. And there are many reasons why it’s problematic.
I think this is a potentially applicable philosophy. It won’t solve the “problems” but at least will make it a more consistent experience for everyone involved (except the animal perhaps)
Intelligence has nothing to do with it. Intelligence isn’t even well defined or measurable. Things like IQ are designed for humans, so they would not be applicable to other beings. They’re barely even useful for human applications.
It’s an interesting question though. First, I’ll ask myself why I eat beef in the first place.
- It’s tasty
- It’s relatively cheap
- Very nutrient dense, so it’s easier to consume
Why do I not eat dogs or cats?
- They are not socially acceptable to consume
- They contribute positively to my life in other ways than being a food source
I’m pretty sure that a dog/cat could be dumb as a rock and I still wouldn’t eat them because I’d still enjoy their company.
Now I do try to reduce the amount of beef I consume, but it’s mainly for environmental reasons.
Cows and pigs are great company and can get really attached to you.
How does that differ - but just social norms?
Nothing. That’s my point. Unless you count the practicality of having a pet cow/pig in a city.
Ah, ok, gotcha. Then we see it the same, I think
Well, some people believe that pigs are as smart as toddlers. So a cow would, at a minimum, have to be smarter than a pig.
Have you met a toddler? They’re fucking stupid
Well, some people believe that pigs are as smart as toddlers. So a cow would, at a minimum, have to be smarter than a pig.
Kind of an interesting thought process. It seems like the assumption is “I’m doing it, so it has to be fine”.
The problem with thinking that way is people have flaws, and if you think like that you’ll just take it as a given whatever you’re doing is already correct and never fix any personal issues.
Basically, I wouldn’t be able to eat anything that speaks (I haven’t and don’t intend to, but that’s not what would prevent me from eating a “talking” parrot, for instance)
They’ll basically need to become smart enough to sue for their right not to be eaten and win before I stop eating them.
They’re already smart enough :) but up close they’re a burpy gassy mess, feels like a sentient bioreactor who is really fussy about what delicious grasses their friends found on the other side of the hill.
I raised some pigs a few years ago and I kept waiting for that time when I’d go out to their pen and look into their eyes and swear off meat forever.
It never happened. They were fucking delicious and I’m glad they’re dead. Pigs are fleshy bulldozers wrapped around a garbage disposal.
Lol, ok Ron Swanson.
When they’re capable of doing a conversation with me.
Cause of death: Social Anxiety
RIP
I think it should be mandatory for everyone to spend at least one day of their young adult life hunting, killing, dressing, and cooking. The experience will likely alter the person’s entire outlook on life and meat in general.
I never forget that meat was a life that mattered; with a personality; good and bad days; life; experience; struggle it lost to me. It doesn’t stop me from eating meat. I wish I had the ability to hunt for what I need. I know my own ethics, like when to take a clean shot, and only taking what I need. Animals in industrial livestock facilities are mostly managed by unethical criminals. None of us asked to be born in such an overpopulated world. Unfortunately, this is the impossible problem. If you are smart enough to see the issue of overpopulation, that is great, but even if you avoid having children, those that are not so bright will always enumerate.
That’s the paradox though isn’t it?
If smart people were “too smart to reproduce” then we have a whole generation being raised by people who weren’t
Smart enough for them to stop being eaten. But at this point they’d have to have similar intelligence to ours, which means we’d probably be at war with them anyway.
