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The Penguin Oil Industry (2019)

thetravellingcheetah.com

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Re: The Penguin Oil Industry (2019)

#31

Post by cpwright »

entropi wrote: post #20
smcl wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The image of thousands of penguins every day being rendered into oil makes me deeply sad, and I've no idea why it affects me more than the other animals we raise as livestock. It's not just that they're cute - since cows are IMO quite adorable - I cannot put my finger on it.

I thought about this too. The explanation I've reached is that when it comes to livestock, there is a certain amount of.. respect? going into the process. We are raising and exploiting cattle for thousands of years now, and every part of an animal is either directly consumed or used in other ways. Many cultures have elaborate rituals surrounding the slaughter, etc. This, I think, gives the impression of value to us.…

I don't know that there is respect for the cow; but the cow is an asset that you've paid for. You don't want to waste the cow, because it cost you money either to buy or raise. The wild penguins cost you nothing, so wasting them has no impact on you. Wild Bison were not used responsibly either.

Re: The Penguin Oil Industry (2019)

#33

Post by wombat-man »

brnt wrote: post #26
eightails wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or honestly this can apply to much of the commercial meat industry. It usually isn't pretty.

Industrial meat to be more precise. I've pretty much stopped buying meat from supermarkets, and buy from a local farmer who does his own butching. Funny thing is, it's not even more expensive. No middlemen!

That's kind of hard to do in the US, or at least it was when The Omnivore's Dilemma was written. The author visits a really great farm, but the farmer still had to send out cows and pigs somewhere else to get butchered due to laws about what slaughterhouse facilities need to have.

Totally ok to butcher your own chickens though.

Re: The Penguin Oil Industry (2019)

#35

Post by PlatonicSkittle »

brnt wrote: post #28
PlatonicSkittle wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You should go vegan. As a lifelong vegetarian, it will be easier than you think, since you're already used to resisting the temptation of foods with animal ingredients. While it's easy to imagine that dairy and egg industries don't require killing animals, they're only economically viable if they do kill animals. As for cheering up, remember that being vegetarian and vegan does make a large difference at the individu…

I'd like to argue that while you are right for supermarket meat and animal products, you might try having a look around your village, if you live near/in one. I buy eggs from a guy in town who runs a chicken coop next the village pond, which I am free to observe/feed, and can be certain no chickens are killed in the process of producing those eggs.

I don't want to get into a long debate, but even backyard chickens often have problems.

For one, while the chickens aren't abused while they lay eggs, are they killed when they stop laying eggs regularly, after about 2 years? Chickens live for up to 12 years, but only lay eggs regularly for around 2 to 4. It's possible they are raised for their full lifespan, but it's something to ask about, nonetheless.

Second, roughly for every laying hen purchased, there was a male chick that had no economic value, so it was killed shortly after it was sexed. This is done by hen breeders and is outside the control of those who actually keep the hens, short of not buying the hens in the first place.

Re: The Penguin Oil Industry (2019)

#36

Post by michael1999 »

azalemeth wrote: post #7
smcl wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The image of thousands of penguins every day being rendered into oil makes me deeply sad, and I've no idea why it affects me more than the other animals we raise as livestock. It's not just that they're cute - since cows are IMO quite adorable - I cannot put my finger on it.

The other thing I don't entirely get -- and I am not entirely sure I want to know -- is why penguins . The article highlights that they're a bad "oil" animal. Rendering livestock remains down is not a new idea and is something that would have been done industrially on land at the time of this expedition. I am a lifelong vegetarian, but I am not sure that my partner would let me get away with going totally vegan. Thin…

They were already there, and had exterminated the walrus and seal. Who knows what they would have done after running out of penguins.

Re: The Penguin Oil Industry (2019)

#37

Post by Robotbeat »

PlatonicSkittle wrote: post #35
brnt wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd like to argue that while you are right for supermarket meat and animal products, you might try having a look around your village, if you live near/in one. I buy eggs from a guy in town who runs a chicken coop next the village pond, which I am free to observe/feed, and can be certain no chickens are killed in the process of producing those eggs.

I don't want to get into a long debate, but even backyard chickens often have problems. For one, while the chickens aren't abused while they lay eggs, are they killed when they stop laying eggs regularly, after about 2 years? Chickens live for up to 12 years, but only lay eggs regularly for around 2 to 4. It's possible they are raised for their full lifespan, but it's something to ask about, nonetheless. Second, roug…

Well that’s interesting to know. I think it is possible to do backyard chickens for eggs ethically, then. Just get an equal number of male and female chickens (gotta keep the females separate when still laying?) and keep them as pets long after they’re done laying.

Eggs as a delicacy rather than as a major part of the diet.

Re: The Penguin Oil Industry (2019)

#38

Post by Robotbeat »

sneak wrote: post #29
somedude895 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you look at how sausages are made I think it won't be long until that happens: "We used to kill animals, grind their bodies into a paste and then stuff that paste back into their own bowels." Sounds pretty gnarly when you put it that way.

Most animal-derived products sound pretty gnarly when you consider them somewhat dispassionately, even the ones that don't harm the animal by default: cheese is an opaque pregnant cow nipple fluid, curdled into solid chunks with intestinal enzymes, strained and squished, and tossed in a cave for a bit to get the mold and bacteria goin'. Best served drizzled with bee vomit.

That still sounds good to me, actually! :)

I like the idea of animal products as a delicacy with the animals treated kindly the whole time, as pets.

Re: The Penguin Oil Industry (2019)

#39

Post by droopyEyelids »

adamcstephens wrote: post #18
YeGoblynQueenne wrote: post #16

>> Penguins have a high fat content, owing to their Subantarctic habitat. However, each penguin produced a measly 400 ml of oil. That’s five penguin lives for just 2 litres! Each digester could hold approximately 3,000-4,000 pounds of oil. However, much of the oil produced was wasted, as penguin oil came with one major drawback – it was often contaminated with feathers, and thus was discarded because it was ‘not pure…

When you teach an entire civilization that nature is for man’s exploitation, other living creatures have only the value that can be extracted.

If you think this is gruesome, or that it's only other living creatures that get treated this way, I'll point you to King Leopold 2 of Belgium and his treatment of the congo.

https://www.amazon.com/King-Leopolds-Ghost-Heroism-Colonial/...

Warning: this book will probably give you mental trauma.

Re: The Penguin Oil Industry (2019)

#40

Post by msrenee »

PlatonicSkittle wrote: post #35
brnt wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd like to argue that while you are right for supermarket meat and animal products, you might try having a look around your village, if you live near/in one. I buy eggs from a guy in town who runs a chicken coop next the village pond, which I am free to observe/feed, and can be certain no chickens are killed in the process of producing those eggs.

I don't want to get into a long debate, but even backyard chickens often have problems. For one, while the chickens aren't abused while they lay eggs, are they killed when they stop laying eggs regularly, after about 2 years? Chickens live for up to 12 years, but only lay eggs regularly for around 2 to 4. It's possible they are raised for their full lifespan, but it's something to ask about, nonetheless. Second, roug…

I'm sure there have been chickens that lived to 12 years old, but most breeds I know of live 5-8 years. Saying that chickens live for up to 12 years is like saying humans live up to 130 years. Yes, it happens, but the majority die in what, their 70's or 80's?

I'm not sure what you want to do about roosters. I'd be willing to bet most male jungle fowl die young in the wild too due to lack of flock protection and battles for territory and mates. A more humane way to kill them would be better, but the fact that they don't go to some farm somewhere that somehow has space to keep them more or less separated as they generally don't get along with other roosters is kind of just a fact of life. That would be quite the lonely life when you think about it too. The same way breeding stallions are often miserable and starved for equine interaction.

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