On 20/10/2020 20:47, Dave Liquorice wrote:

I have no problems with people eating meat provided they could string
up the cow, pig, sheep, goat, horse, WHY, slit its throat then gut
and butcher the carcase. It's the complete disconnection between the
animal in the field and the lump of meat in a neat plastic tray,
wrapped in film, on the supermarket shelf that's the problem.

When I was very small, we used to keep chickens in a run, using the now
defunct air-raid shelter as their coop. I knew where the chicken feed
was kept, and I used to feed them though the wire. Although small, I
knew which hens were which, and they used to come up to the wire if they
thought I had some feed.

Every now and then, the licensed slaughterman who lived just up the road
would come round. He would kill a couple of the chickens by wringing
their necks, then breaking their jaws so they would bleed out while
being hung by their tethered feet. At the right time, my parents would
pluck them, clean them, dress them for the oven, cook them, and serve
them as a special treat. I saw all these processes taking place.

This was a time of post-war rationing, which was stricter than it was
during the war. I don't suppose people remember that at all, or that the
quality of the vegetables and fruit on offer was simply dreadful, due to
government policy, so a roast chicken dinner was really something to
appreciate - and we did. I still like roast chicken to this day.

--
Spike