this post was submitted on 28 Aug 2023
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How smart would cows have to become for you to stop eating beef? (lemmy.world)
submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
133 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Obviously this question is only for people who eat beef regularly.

But I just was wondering, what IQ/ability would make you swear off beef? If they could speak like an 8 y.o, would that be enough to cut off beef? If they got an IQ of 80, would that do it?

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

1958 Humane Methods of Slaughter Act.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Thanks for the link. It says nothing about making them unconscious before slaughter. They're just saying that the slaughter should be quick and not subject the animals to additional suffering beforehand:

No method of slaughtering or handling in connection with slaughtering shall be deemed to comply with the public policy of the United States unless it is humane. Either of the following two methods of slaughtering and handling are hereby found to be humane:

(a) in the case of cattle, calves, horses, mules, sheep, swine, and other livestock, all animals are rendered insensible to pain by a single blow or gunshot or an electrical, chemical or other means that is rapid and effective, before being shackled, hoisted, thrown, cast, or cut; or

(b) by slaughtering in accordance with the ritual requirements of the Jewish faith or any other religious faith that prescribes a method of slaughter whereby the animal suffers loss of consciousness by anemia of the brain caused by the simultaneous and instantaneous severance of the carotid arteries with a sharp instrument and handling in connection with such slaughtering.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The Act requires all meat companies selling to the US government to provide stunning by mechanical, electrical, or chemical means prior to the killing of cattle, calves, horses, mules, sheep, swine, and other livestock, except in the case of slaughter for religious or ritual purposes. Stunning must be accomplished in a manner that is rapid and effective before the animal is shackled, hoisted, thrown, cast, or cut. (While the law refers to β€œother livestock,” poultry is not specifically included.)

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

So I went a little further by reading parts of the actual regulations, i.e., the implementation and enforcement of the act, because I'm genuinely curious to learn about this. It seems that they're defining stunning as basically destroying the brain of the animal before killing the body. For instance: "Unconsciousness is produced immediately by physical brain destruction and a combination of changes in intracranial pressure and acceleration concussion." It seems like a distinction without a difference, since they're essentially killing the animal by "stunning" it or making it "unconscious".

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Stunning it doesn't kill it, it renders it unable to feel pain. They sell the cow brain so no, it doesn't destroy it. Midwesterners love some cow brain to eat, it's sold in grocery stores.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I found another source explaining it from experience: https://www.grandin.com/humane/cap.bolt.tips.html

It seems that we may both be partially correct: If a penetrating bolt is used the animal is killed instantly. If a non-penetrating bolt is used, the animal sometimes revives. What we don't know is how prevalent each approach is. Either way, re-reading your initial post that I responded to I realized that this debate doesn't matter. Your point seems to have been that they don't feel pain as they're killed, and I concede that you're correct. I missed that this was the point you were making, and that you were not mainly arguing whether the animals were killed instantly or not.

Edit: Just to add that I concede the point that they don't feel pain only in a general sense. Looking at that last link, it seems that this procedure would have a lot of room for error and I'm sure that as a consequence a lot of cows suffer unintentionally.