In regards to "Palin turkey slaughter exposes Thanksgiving's darkside," an article in the Nov. 26 to Dec. 2 issue of Ka Leo, please stop implying that eating meat is some kind of moral hypocrisy. The reality of life is that plants are alive, mammals are alive, insects are alive, etc. The nature of the system on Earth is that living things feed on other living things (unless you are a plant and are able to convert sunlight directly into energy).
If you don't like the system, then go sit on your high horse and starve yourself to death, because that is the only morally "consistent" thing to do. Just because an animal looks more like you than a plant or a bug does not make it morally wrong to kill it. That is an emotional argument, not a moral one, in my opinion.
I will certainly concede the point that the conditions under which much of our food is grown, processed and packaged causes a lot of undue suffering. But unless everyone wants to spend more time and money on their food, this sort of assembly-line practice is the most cost-efficient way to go. If people really cared about it so much they would support businesses that provide free-range meat, berries picked in the wild and veggies from wild gardens with bugs crawling all over them. It would cost a little more, but would also be more "morally" acceptable.
The facts, however, show that people are more concerned with having enough disposable income to buy their iPods and mocha lattes than they are with the quality of life for the plants and animals they consume. The free market may be problematic in a lot of ways, but it is very good at telling you what is important to people - you just look at how consumers spend their money. Nathaniel Smith Meteorology graduate student
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