We are all Family. Let’s maybe not eat each other, so much.

The other day there was a post on Reddit about how you could buy a cow and then butcher itand get tons of meat in your freezer and eat it. I think that’s way more mindful a way to do things than buying meat in a restaurant where we have no idea where it came from, or buying meat in plastic wrap at the grocery. It’s more immediate. But it was telling that one of the top comments in Reddit said:

“I once bought half a cow from the guy just down the road, when I lived in Boise. In retrospect, I should have bought one from someone a little further away. We got to see the cow every day while driving around, and my girlfriend’s daughter wanted to name it. It becomes hard to explain to a 4 year old why you’re killing and eating the family “pet”.

…Mistakes were made that year. Bottom line is, if you buy a cow, don’t tell your kids or let them see it everyday…”

Because the more immediate we are to killing sentient beings, the less we want to do so. That’s a sign of our basic goodness.

On the other hand, out of sight, out of mind—this is how we can feel okay about things we don’t want to look at, like how pigs are treated, or chickens, or orangutans (palm oil).

All photos via Imgur: