Why I dont eat pork

Kamarasa daw an dinuguan
This might look gross to some non-Filipinos. After all, they buy their pork cut up and packaged. Lucky for us, especially children like Aaron, we get to see the 'real' world. I wouldn't like to be insulated from all this 'gross reality.' Diri man ak hi Imelda nga dapat la 'the beautiful' an dapat makit-an. ;-)

We are our own worst nightmare.
I've often thought it odd that people are afraid of such things as ghosts and aliens. First, why do we assume that they've come to harm us? Second, how much more cruel could they be to us than we are to other 'beings' different than ourselves (e.g. pigs, cows, monkeys, etc.) In fact, we are very similar, genetically, to both pigs and monkeys; unlike aliens, ghosts or vampires which if they do exist, have no DNA. Their connection to us is much more remote than ours to a pig or gorilla which has nearly identical DNA. It hasn't stopped us from cutting off their genitals to grind into powder to help with our impotency or cutting off their hands to make into an ashtray.

If an alien were to visit us and stick a knife in our throat and drain our blood into a bucket while we screamed in pain and terror, would we think them incredibly cruel? They might just be having a party and want to invite a few friends and need some blood and flesh to make it a really special occasion.

I do agree with the other person who left the above comment. If you're going to eat pigs or cows or chickens or whatever, you should know how they're treated and killed. You should be OK with it because you are responsible for the action. Even though you don't kill them with your hands, you are killing them with your mouth every time you eat one. So, at least be responsible for your choices.

Personally, I try to not eat anything that I couldn't kill with my own hands. Not that I do, but I could. I could kill a fish and I could kill a bird. Not that they are any less deserving of life but for whatever reason I can stand by and watch them die without incredible remorse.

A Pig learns to Die in the Year of the Pig
Arrghhh Nes! I watched the video! A horror flick since Wes Craven, John Carpenter...Maybe I wouldn't eat pork now because in the afterlife, I might be born again as a Pig...hope not in the Philippines or in China but in Farmer Hoggett's farm..What's my premise here? The more I'll eat pork, the more I'll become a Pig! Then I would know my destiny...dulz here

Re: We are our own worst nightmare.
There is a saying that we can know the degree of a nation's evolution by observing how its people treat their animals. If we look around the world and see how we pamper our pets, how we raise and kill animals for food, or how we unthinkingly kill the ecosystem with our irresponsible living (pesticides, pollution, logging, genetic engineering, etc).. we'd probably think we haven't improved much as a humanity. We're as barbaric as when we used clubs to kill for food.

Incidentally, we treat our fellow human beings no better than we treat our animals. What is so different from war and torture (and tolerance for it) to killing a pig this way for a fiesta?

However we look at it, there is no justification for killing. Any kind of killing, be they animals or humans. We still have far to go..

what I found most disturbing
Since I'm not familiar with this practice of cutting a pigs throat and draining its blood while it's still alive, I'm curious why it is necessary that it be alive to suffer through this? Does this help drain the blood faster since the heart is still pumping blodd through its system? Why not just cut off the head and drain the blood and at least allow the animal to die quickly and painlessly? It seems the least we could do.

Research has probably been done on this topic, but I wonder what kinds of chemicals are released into the animal's bloodstream as it is being tortured. And what, if any, effect does this have on the people consuming the flesh? I realize people have been doing this for thousands of years or longer, so it may seem to be having no effect, but how do we know? Perhaps this this contribute to certain inante fears or tendencies towards violence or maybe it shortens our life or perhaps it benefits us in some way. Are we what we eat?

In response to your comment about society's treatment of animals and the environment - research has shown that cruelty and violence towards animals (especially in young boys) is significantly correlated to violence towards other humans later in life (especially women).

Re: what I found most disturbing
What I know, is that there's no reason for the slow death and the torture. For most Filipinos, an animal is just an animal. Many love their pets, but this love do not extend to other animals. Love or respect for other beings is not part of the religion, unlike in Buddhism, or Hinduism where animals can be gods or reincarnations. So animals have lesser functions in this Catholic society. They serve as food, pet/toy, farm-worker, pest, wall decor, and only later with the Western influence, science experiments and companion. Filipinos show surprise when an animal shows signs of intelligence. When an animal is killed slowly, it is because of that ignorance that animals do not have feelings or do not deserve our respect. It is not surprising that 'lesser' people (in society) are treated like animals too.

As to the slow death, it is explained in Yoga Philosophy, that when an animal (especially a pig) is killed, it goes through stages of fear, pain, and suffering which release toxins to the system. These toxins are found in the meat which we eat, that's why pork is not recommended. Or any other meat for that matter.

As an American, you might encounter a rebuttal that if we torture our animals in the killing, you torture your animals while they're still alive (animal industry where animals are kept in enclosed spaces so they'll be discouraged to move/exercise, thereby producing soft meat/muscleless meat). But none of these are acceptable excuses, a torture is a torture whether in life or in death. That's why, it's better to just avoid eating tortured meat.

Sure, we become what we eat. We are after all, made up of chemicals and energy. We eat the chemicals found in the meat, and we imbibe the 'aura' of the animal into our systems too.

In the Philippines, some people eat dogs and cats, and tortured chicken, and dump live crabs into boiling water. In Baguio, dogs are still a specialty, in Luzon there's also a food specialty called pinikpikan, a live chicken that's repeatedly and gently beaten all over the body to produce blood clots, then cooked. So sometimes, it's not just ignorance, it's also lust for violence and the satisfaction of torturing a helpless being, for the sake of fun and food.

Don't ask me what satisfaction they get from it. What I do know is that humanity as a whole is still shrouded in ignorance about a lot of things. LOTS of things.. Modernization hasn't made us any wiser.

the kindness of animals
I don't approach the treatment of animals from a religious perspective but from a biologist and as a person who has seen the intelligence in an orangutan's eyes and have been the recipient of its tenderness. If you ever felt the strength in the grip of an orangutan through the bars of a cage, and felt with certainty that if it had the slightest inclination for revenge, it would've snapped your leg and twisted it completely around in the socket you might feel grateful to them for not following in our bipedal footsteps. I was petrified while I stood there motionless waiting while it decided what to do with my leg. And I adored this creature and would've so readily forgiven it for having done that as a small repayment for taking away its freedom, its sexuality, its self-determination, its dignity - I wasn't directly responsible, but I am responsible. It was one of the noblest acts I've ever witnessed. It's not the only time I've seen an animal exhibit incredible tenderness and character.

I agree that our factory farming is incredibly cruel. In fact, I think it less cruel to cut the throat of a pig while it's still alive - that pain only lasts a few moments. So much better than forcing an animal to live each day in its own excrement, being fed its own flesh...

I'm not purporting to be holier than thou. I'm not judging Aaron's father or Filipinos or anyone - we all have the blood on our hands. I don't tell people my eating preferences until I'm asked or someone else brings it up. I don't preach about my 'beliefs' about animals or environmental consciousness and I never would've posted any of this had you not asked me to. My connection to animals is deeply personal.

To me, eating a dog or cat isn't any different than eating a pig. The nervous system and brains of mammals is similar and all are capable of experiencing pain. I think the most compassionate animals to consume are insects. They can walk around with a leg missing and hardly seem to notice. Besides, there are plenty of them and you don't have to destroy large tracts, polluting the water, raising them. There are enough to feed the world right now.

About the religious aspect. Catholics and other people of various religions make exceptions to their rituals all the time. You can be a Catholic and choose not to be cruel to animals if you follow your heart and it tells you differently. I doubt anyone has been excommunicated for being kind to animals. :-)

Modernization has not helped. It has made us even more removed from the natural world and the less connected we are, the less we care about how we treat it.

animal tales (tails?)
You'd never know English was my first language by reading my comments!

More animals tales...

When I go to my neighbor's house, their dogs, all four of them, get insanely excited to see me. They squeal and whine and wag their tails with frantic delight. Even I find it odd. I don't give them that much attention and I never give them treats or do anything special, for that matter. (Often my dog is with me and he gets irritated if I fawn on them too much.) My neighbors always laugh and comment on the furry frenzy.

Another dog that lives across the street is quite small and ugly by most standards. She even snorts like a pig. I've never fed this dog, but she always greets me - and only me - when I come home. She barks at everyone else.

I'm touched by these things and I wonder about them. If I haven't been especially affectionate or generous with them, why are they so fond of me? Do they sense something unseen?

Re: animal tales (tails?)
I have the same effect on kids. I think they can sense they're loved.

But speaking of dogs, I should also do a post on dog slaughters here. A Filipino friend of mine in the US suggested that and she said I'd probably get lots of criticisms from it..

Not for the reason of attracting more readers here (I'm okay with the few who visit :-) but for raising the awareness of the animal slaughters going on, not only here but all over the world.

In Baguio where dog meat is considered a delicacy, selling dog meat has been banned since the city got its flack from the international community. Still a delicacy is a delicacy. Do the Japanese stop eating endangered species? These things just go underground, and the dog slaughter and dog meat selling continues in the wet market's black market.

Someday in the far far future, we as a race, might just all stop eating meat. In the meantime, we poke the pig's throat insides with a knife, and we club dogs to death, and chickens too, and sell dolphin and whale meat to the Japanese for a big price. All in the name of delicacy and party food and big dollars.

im invited to a philipiano night in my church on saturday..and they are serving a whole pig...i feel quite disturbed by this as i feel its a cold and quite undignified thing to display a dead animal and have no thought for it as a being...just as a meat!! bothers me alot....

its really sin a who eat wiil never be forgive for there act ....how a person can kill and eat only for there taste of touge...i really hate non-vegetarian.specially after seeing this more...