Pigs are as smart as dogs. Why do we eat one and love the other? • Hacker News Board

Re: Pigs are as smart as dogs. Why do we eat one and love the other?

#41

Post by bananabiscuit » Fri, Sep 25, 2020, 5:39 PM UTC

doteka wrote: post #35

bananabiscuit wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Russia, nobody knows that dogs can’t eat any type of food. The dogs there don’t know this either.

Such a weird comment. Are you proud of large-scale animal abuse or what exactly is the point you are trying to make here? As someone born in the former Soviet Union, “Russia does things this way” is not a good thing.

Nope, not proud. Russia is definitely fucked up. Just bringing up an interesting fact, I do seriously wonder though, why these dietary restriction aren’t generally known in Russia, and it is interesting that the dogs do handle it. I even know one family that specifically makes an very onion based dish for their dog as a treat because she likes it so much, with no ill effect.

For the record, I avoid giving my dog anything that is considered in-appropriate by American standards.

Re: Pigs are as smart as dogs. Why do we eat one and love the other?

#42

Post by HashingtheCode » Fri, Sep 25, 2020, 9:12 PM UTC

bigwavedave wrote: post #40

HashingtheCode wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No. You see the abundant food choices in developed countries and yet only a small percentage of the population is vegetarian or vegan. The reason why people choose a vegetarian/vegan diet is also varied and sometimes has nothing to do with wanting to stop the suffering of animals. Losing weight, a healthier body, peer group pressure are alternate motivations. The decisive factor is not poverty. I was also in the Phil…

>I was also in the Philippines, and I was able to eat quite well for my 3 months there. This right here tells me that you were not living in or even among the truly impoverished individuals I mentioned. Not a single family I've referred to is "able to eat quite well". Do you honestly believe anyone would eat the rancid trash strays running around their tarp/salvaged wood hovel if they had any other option? Your inabi…

> Your inability to accept the reality of this kind of desperation and suffering tells me how much of this true compassion you actually feel.

Get a grip and don't try to judge my level of compassion or understanding regarding these people. I have been to worse places in India, where there is a large % of the population who are vegetarian and who live in abject poverty.

If people are inclined to, they will eat vegetarian. The cost of meat is more than than rice/beans/lentils/dhal etc.

Re: Pigs are as smart as dogs. Why do we eat one and love the other?

#43

Post by HashingtheCode » Fri, Sep 25, 2020, 9:27 PM UTC

johnkarahalis wrote: post #24

voxl wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is reducing suffering ethical? When you squash a bug does it suffer? Most lie and say it doesn't, because the exact chemical signals aren't there, but if you could ask the bug it would not want to be crushed. What about plants? Do they enjoy being uprooted and eaten? Well, there is no chemical process that we call "suffering" so it must be okay. But, these mammals you see, they're so close to us! And we don't lik…

Is there evidence that plants feel pain or that bugs do not? I don't know of any, but I would definitively be interested as that could change my view. I want to go wherever the evidence leads, even if it's uncomfortable. In either case, if plants did feel pain, would a person cause more suffering by eating plants or by eating animals that eat plants?

Empirically, we know that animals/insects feel pain. The same cannot be said for plants at this time. Therefore we can act on the information we have and not what we might speculate on, until such time as evidence provides a definitive answer.

If at some time in the future it can be proven that plants feel pain, then it will depend upon their level of pain as they do not have a central nervous system nor brain as animals/insects.

Everyone will have to decide for themselves what course of action to follow, as we do need to consume food in order to survive.

Star Trek replicators would solve all these philosophical quandaries.

Re: Pigs are as smart as dogs. Why do we eat one and love the other?

#44

Post by bigwavedave » Fri, Sep 25, 2020, 11:19 PM UTC

HashingtheCode wrote: post #42

bigwavedave wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I was also in the Philippines, and I was able to eat quite well for my 3 months there. This right here tells me that you were not living in or even among the truly impoverished individuals I mentioned. Not a single family I've referred to is "able to eat quite well". Do you honestly believe anyone would eat the rancid trash strays running around their tarp/salvaged wood hovel if they had any other option? Your inabi…

> Your inability to accept the reality of this kind of desperation and suffering tells me how much of this true compassion you actually feel. Get a grip and don't try to judge my level of compassion or understanding regarding these people. I have been to worse places in India, where there is a large % of the population who are vegetarian and who live in abject poverty. If people are inclined to, they will eat vegetar…

>The cost of meat is more than [snip]

THIS is where you're misunderstanding- the stray dogs and cats these families eat are free; hard to find rice and beans that are cheaper than that. You're telling me to stop judging another person's compassion? The hypocrisy here absolutely reeks. Flagging my comment because a fact disagrees with your paradigm is certainly mature. I'm disengaging- I won't free you of your delusions. Good grief.

Re: Pigs are as smart as dogs. Why do we eat one and love the other?

#45

Post by HashingtheCode » Sat, Sep 26, 2020, 4:35 PM UTC

bigwavedave wrote: post #44

HashingtheCode wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Your inability to accept the reality of this kind of desperation and suffering tells me how much of this true compassion you actually feel. Get a grip and don't try to judge my level of compassion or understanding regarding these people. I have been to worse places in India, where there is a large % of the population who are vegetarian and who live in abject poverty. If people are inclined to, they will eat vegetar…

>The cost of meat is more than [snip] THIS is where you're misunderstanding- the stray dogs and cats these families eat are free; hard to find rice and beans that are cheaper than that. You're telling me to stop judging another person's compassion? The hypocrisy here absolutely reeks. Flagging my comment because a fact disagrees with your paradigm is certainly mature. I'm disengaging- I won't free you of your delusio…

My point before you went on this tangent of people living in slums, is that a vegetarian diet is cheaper and more compassionate. So here are some facts for your wazoo....

https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/country_result.jsp?cou...

Rice (white), (1kg) 51.41 ₱ 40.00-65.00 Eggs (regular) (12) 87.86 ₱ 60.00-120.00 Chicken Fillets (1kg) 194.91 ₱ 100.00-280.00 Beef Round (1kg) 304.93 ₱ 200.00-450.00 Apples (1kg) 127.25 ₱ 44.09-213.32 Banana (1kg) 73.52 ₱ 40.00-150.00 Oranges (1kg) 118.48 ₱ 40.00-262.60 Tomato (1kg) 64.46 ₱ 30.00-120.00 Potato (1kg) 86.40 ₱ 30.00-150.00 Onion (1kg) 88.76 ₱ 40.00-150.00

As you can clearly see, vegetables and grains cost less than meat.

Your point, that killing and eating stray dogs, rats, cats, etc, because they are freely available, is an absolute extreme fringe case and you negate the fact that these slum inhabitants also earn money and they can buy vegetables and live a more compassionate life if they chose to.

Also I did some research on your claims about slums, in the Payatas slum outside of Manilla city near Quezon, the couple in the below linked article with their 4 children eat food from dumpster diving known as "pagpag" even though they earn up to 1000 pesos per day. It is a choice they make to eat discarded meat. They don't have to, but they choose to.

https://www.businessinsider.in/in-philippine-slums-meat-scav...

You can try to make a point that eating free stray dogs is necessary for impoverished slum dwellers, but the facts seem to contradict your position. Killing is never compassionate.

BTW, I didn't flag your comment, someone else who doesn't like the smell of your BS emotionally charged rant did.

Oh and please disengage for all our sakes Dave.