robertdavies, to each his own. I have vegetarian and vegan friends, and I am mostly a carnivore, with veggie tendencies only on occasion. We each have to make our own choice of what to eat. Great points about the intelligence, and inhumane (in some cases), treatment of pigs. If it were all based on ideals, I would be a vegetarian, but my belly-cravings direct me otherwise. Jambone makes a great point about whether it is broccoli or lamb, respect the life of that which we eat, and the environment in which it is raised. I couldn't agree more. What we put into our soil, we put into our own bodies. We are more connected to the Earth than we tend to believe. We allow the walls of our house to act as visual barricades to the Earth and it's bounty, but the connection is still there, regardless of our recognition. If eating foie gras is what tickles your fancy, eat foie gras, change your fancy, or acknowledge that we don't always get what we desire.
I've learned quite a bit, growing up on a farm where we killed and cleaned, for our own consumption, chickens, deer, cows and pigs, and doves. It has been a long time since I've done that, but more recently, fishing and crabbing, has reminded me of the power we have and the restraint which we can use, to protect valuable life of all living things. I love the idea of fishing, just to fish. It is as much or more about being in nature and meditating as it is catching fish, and now I often go fishing without a pole, line and bait. Unless I want to eat a fish or crab, I don't mess with the act of fishing. Instead, I just go with the state of mind of fishing.