this post was submitted on 09 Jan 2024
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Uplifting News

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Welcome to /c/UpliftingNews, a dedicated space where optimism and positivity converge to bring you the most heartening and inspiring stories from around the world. We strive to curate and share content that lights up your day, invigorates your spirit, and inspires you to spread positivity in your own way. This is a sanctuary for those seeking a break from the incessant negativity often found in today's news cycle. From acts of everyday kindness to large-scale philanthropic efforts, from individual achievements to community triumphs, we bring you news that gives hope, fosters empathy, and strengthens the belief in humanity's capacity for good.

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[–] [email protected] 117 points 10 months ago (23 children)

"Breeding animals for consumption is fine, except this one."

It is slightly odd how people are like, "cows? Gimme that burger. Sheep? Mmm, mint sauce. Chicken? Batter that baby up". But then suddenly everyone turns into a vegan when it's a dog or a horse.

I've got no interest in eating dog meat, but where's the consistency?

[–] [email protected] 33 points 10 months ago (6 children)

I've got no counterpoint, but I had the same realization, and it has made me question not being vegan. I'm like 80% without trying, but also replacing eggs and cheese is difficult

[–] [email protected] 74 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Fuck vegan absolutists, the fact that you're trying is enough

[–] [email protected] 33 points 10 months ago (4 children)

I am firmly of the belief that most of the issues in the meat/dairy industry would be resolved if everyone simply consumed less of them as opposed to becoming vegan. That's how I live my life and I've gotten praises from doctors and nutrition specialists about my diet. Exercise is another thing tho....

[–] [email protected] 20 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Right, that's what I tell people too. I still eat fish on occasion, and if I order food to go and it's accidentally meat, I will eat it to not waste it.

Have had a few relatives look at me blankly, like they've never considered it, when I tell them they don't NEED to be vegetarian but reducing meat/dairy requires little effort. Sometimes they will send me pictures of the reduced meat meals they make now, which I think is so cute haha. Meat even just as a side dish and not the main course goes a long way :)

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Animals would still be getting exploited and killed tho

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 10 months ago

People aren't consuming less, though, they're consuming more. Global meat consumption is still rising. Despite supporting myself on a retail-industry income, I'm still able to be 100% vegan, and support zero animal cruelty.
Less is great. None is best. Your only rationale in your comment for why eating less animal products is better than going completely vegan is... that's the way you live so you want that to be the case?

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (2 children)

Trying is good but very real animals are still suffering for eggs and cheese.

Is it really wrong to think that the right amount of animal cruelty is none?

[–] [email protected] 29 points 10 months ago

Reducing without a strict diet is much easier for people. Small wins. If you can make a "I only eat meat, what are veggies?" person reduce their meat intake at all, that's a super big win. Changing your entire meal prep is a huge undertaking and most people just won't do it because it's too overwhelming. Reducing meat to a side, and being more mindful? Way easier.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 10 months ago (3 children)

Chickens just lay eggs. It's just a thing they do. The factory chicken farms are fucked and shouldn't exist but ethical eggs are a thing.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 10 months ago (2 children)

They've been bred to lay an extreme amount of unnaturally big eggs.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 10 months ago

I think even ethical eggs end up with some amount of suffering or premature death. Like those videos of the baby chicks being ground up.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

A large portion of health issues and causes of death chickens face are egg related. Sometimes the eggs get stuck, sometimes they break before being laid and cause an infection, vent prolapse, cancer, etc. That's not to say I don't think we should eat eggs, with a lot of cooking there is just no good substitute, but even the most pampered hen doesn't have it easy.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 10 months ago

You can do it :)

It can be scary thinking about it but give it a real try and you'll realize that it's actually much easier than you thought.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago

I like to get eggs from my neighbors who have backyard chickens if they have extra. I can see them, know they're not in pain, or mass produced :)

Cheese I still have no idea. Their isn't anything easily available, like almond milk for dairy milk. The vegan ones I've tried (years ago) are gross and full of emulsifiers. Always striving/looking though.

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 10 months ago (1 children)

There's none, it's based on what society tells you to feel empathy for. Dog eaters and corrida enjoyers are no different from people eating massively produced industrial chicken, they just live in an environment where it is normal to do that.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 10 months ago (6 children)

The base difference is that dogs evolved side by side with our species to develop and return emotional bonding and feedback with humans.

All other animals we managed to domesticate, at best, tolerate us or fear us. Cute little photos of cows and pigs enjoying being hugged and petted are exceptions, not norm.

I've been trying to understand, for years, what happened to turn dogs and cats food in asian countries (beside famines, hence desperation) but every single source I was ever able to find always gets muddled in exotheric notions of ”medicinal" use or some other folklore high tale.

For context: in Vietnam, cat meat is often served as being "little tiger".

To the extent of my knowledge, the rest of the world never needed to wrap an animal in an exotheric tale to declare it as potential food.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago (1 children)

lol, that’s every domesticated animal.

I’d rather focus on banning the ones further along on the path to having a conversation with us. Like the damn Octopus

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

How can you tell this happened more to dogs and cats than any other domestic animal? Many people report farm animals to establish emotional bounding too, typically cows wanting to play and cuddle, way more than the average cat. Cows are also considered sacred by a notable percentage of humanity.
I'm pretty sure there are thousands of other examples of traditions providing tales about why some animal is eaten. One Christian example that comes to me is Easter lamb.
I think your point is still the cultural bias I talked about earlier.

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 10 months ago

It's purely for a cheap optics win. President Yoon is a fascist incel that has been taking L after L, so he worked to ban dog meat despite almost nobody eating it except the absolute poorest of society. Dog meat isn't a delicacy, it wasn't something people ate because they saw it as high status, it was largely abandoned by an increasingly westernized South Korea, except for those who couldn't afford anything else. Barely anyone was eating it.

Instead, it's virtue signaling by a fascist looking to grab cheap publicity wins rather than actually making good systemic change. Dog meat wasn't an especially pressing concern, it was an almost gone practice out of necessity, coming from food insecurity, especially during and after the Korean War.

TL;DR still a good thing, but ultimately just a publicity stunt to distract from the fascist President Yoon butchering the economy and targeting women, minorities, and disabled people.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 10 months ago (1 children)

a horse

They eat horse in Korea, too. It's just not as widespread as dog, so no ban yet.

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

don't forget that india cow is sacred, so it's even worse for them seeing us eating cows than us seeing others eating dogs

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I agree. The only counter I can think of is that for thousands of years most dogs have been bred as companions or workers. To me it feels like a violation of some ancient pact to slaughter them. I doubt this has much merit. Just a feeling I get.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Yes this is a magical thinking cope to handle the cognitive dissonance

I mean "ancient pact"? really?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago

Hey what can I say im not sure how else to descibe it. Its just a vibe. I understand that sparing one intelligent animal over another is completely arbitrary. I'm not trying to reconcile some dissonance either. I've eaten whale and horse in the past, and if I got really hungry Fido might end up on the menu too.

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 10 months ago

now do beef

[–] [email protected] 10 points 10 months ago (11 children)
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[–] [email protected] 7 points 10 months ago

Lets see if the dog farmers keep their promise (or threat) to release all the now unneeded dogs in the capital.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago (2 children)

I downvoted this post as I don't find this uplifting at all. I don't eat meat, and I love my dog, but there's no reason to single out dog meat consumption other than cultural norms and globalization. It seems like an unreasonable position for the South Korean government to have taken.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (2 children)

My Korean meat farm rescue Jindo and I disagree with you.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 10 months ago

You gave him such a great gift of love and care. I'm so happy you did that.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (2 children)

Iirc the reason for singling out dog meat was because of the cruel ways dogs in particular are killed for dog meat.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

I've never really gotten the controversy on this one, the only real difference is dogs are the only primarily carnivorous mammal we as a species eat in any volume. Otherwise the problem appears to be mostly emotional, like I have a furball and I'd never eat him but I don't have an emotional connection with the beef marinating in the fridge.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I'm actually surprised this is in uplifting news, unless outlawing meat consumption at all and enforcing veganism is uplifting. Which it might be to some people, but I like eating meat.

I'm eagerly awaiting lab-grown meat to become cheaper than slaughtered meat, though!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago

I would LOVE it if they had lab grown meat that could approximate real types of meat. I would stop eating slaughtered meat immediately and never go back.

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