As they closed their eyes to pray
I looked at the table and saw an array
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Of body parts of animals who not only died
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But spent their whole lives caged inside
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At least we're not the ones to end up in dinner plates. That's something to be thankful for.
This is actually a nice thread. I never really said grace before any meals.
I tried it once or twice or a perhaps a couple of times, but I mean, I don't really do it.
And now seeing this in this new perspective gave me much thought.
Thanks for all those people and agents who provided and contributed to my sustenance and nourishment.
I didn't hunt for this food, but I have availed them without doing the efforts of breeding them, raising them, slaughtering them, and processing them because of my economical status.
I just had to pick them up from the market.
But, I'm pretty sure that you were grateful for the other "blessings" that came your way…like being in good health to be able to go to the market, or having the means to buy these things from the market (whereas others are not or don't)…to me, saying grace or being plain grateful is kinda a mindset.
Since you guys are talking about eating meat, I couldn't resist bringing this up. Somebody once told me that based on her research, man was biologically "constructed" to be a vegetarian and not a carnivore. Proof? Man, since early evolution, never had canine or incisors for tearing flesh, unlike the carnivores in the animal kingdom from where we supposedly evolved. Instead, his teeth were constructed for grinding, like those of non-carnivore animals. Any comment?
Our resident vegan Nancy has an article about that:
http://filipinofreethinkers.org/2010/09/18/animal…
Interesting read. Thanks for the link.
My three-cents opinion: I believe that this issue (saying grace before meals) is more of symbolism than anything else. We express our appreciation (the religious people to their god, others to the forests, seas, etc.) for the food that is on the table (even if the 'being' being alluded to had nothing to do with its preparation, etc.), the nourishment that it gives to the body and the fact that we are in good health to eat it (not sick, maimed, invalid, etc.). The kind of food laid out in the table is immaterial (carnivores, vegetarians, etc. all have their own food preferences, regardless of its source or preparation). Saying grace before meals is no different from being appreciative or expressing thanks when something good happens to us, etc.
Well, my point in this poem is that believers praise a supposedly loving god for providing them food without thinking that such god must be cruel or at least indifferent for allowing animals to suffer like that.
I understand your point. However, the choice of food one eats is man's and not God's, or whomever others give thanks to. Like a vegetarian would leisurely enjoy eating his salad (and still say grace before the meal), the Pope would also relish eating a fat, juicy steak, without nary a thought as to much the cow must have suffered just for him to be able to eat.
However, as man becomes more aware of this thing, he may change his food choices/preferences, just like the FB founder who thought it more humane to eat only what he killed personally, believing that this would eliminate the suffering of animals, among other reasons.
Hi Innerminds. I have nothing against eating animals, although I have everything against saying grace before meals.
I guess what is wrong with the whole meat business today is not about the death of the animals we eat, but about the inhumane way we treat them throughout their lives and even unto their death. Predation is natural, yes, but what kind of predator imprisons his prey their whole life? And what kind of predator kills his prey in the most inhumane way? I can feel what you are saying in this article.
Finally, the meat industry today is very environmentally harmful industry. So I guess the immorality is not really in the killing of animals for food, but in the way we modern humans do it.
Anyways, astute observation as usual, innerminds.
Thanks, Pecier!
There’s nothing wrong with this, it just a part of the food chain. Anyway,In old testament God commanded to kill and burn a Lamb for an offering to him and for the forgiveness of thier sins. (Remember Cain and Abel?)
saying grace makes as much sense as those North Koreans giving thanks and praise to their great leader Kim Jong-il for everything that they have
Ah???????????
thanks be to god?
what about the farmers?
what about the butchers?
what about the cooks?
what about everyone else who ACTUALLY DID SOMETHING TO GET YOUR FOOD TO YOU???
Thank you Lord for all those who prepared this food. Done.
@Laoshir
Lemme get this straight – you're thanking these providers indirectly, by thanking the one guy in the whole equation that did not do a damn thing to prepare your food?
There's always a debate in every government issue because people are always using their religious belief as the basis of argument. They are acting as if their faith is the unanimous source of truth….Unlike the traditional prayer before eating, this is how I pray after every meal…Salamat po Dios ko sa biyaya mo, bagama't biyaya mo'y ako naman ay nagtrabaho..
I remember one of those presentation made by PETA, aka: meet the meat. They show gory shots of how animals are slaughtered so we have steaks.
Prayer really does no harm, old culture, giving respect for the animal you just killed for providing for you nourishment and God for providing it. A short prayer of thanks is ok by me.
Now if you go to the levels of Ricky Bobby, i would definitely start eating regardless if the prayer is done or not.
I find it no harm in Praying Grace Before Meals….it is just thnaksgiving and worship prayers, from the source of your meal…you can pray infront of an altar; pray facing Mecca; pray and chant: "Hare Khrisna"; offer prayers to "Anitos" on the trees on your backyard, etc…It's your business, and it is your faith…
But don't you think it's absurd that we thank God for providing us food but at the same time other sentient beings are suffering for the sake of our nourishment?
thats what they called "circle of life". Though human is different than lion's eating their prey since human cages first these animals before slaughtering them. But then again, this world cant afford humans to hunt everytime we are hungry.
When invaders from a space-faring civilization with technology far superior to ours comes to earth, and starts eating human beings, they will say Grace before every meal.
A catholic oxymoron: St. Francis of Assisi – the patron saint of animals, isn't even vegan.
When he said that all the animals were his brothers and sisters and that he loved them, did he really mean to say that he loved how they tasted?
it meant, he's talking to them & fucking them at the same time.
Feeling better now?
Even during the time when I was a serious Catholic, I never said "grace" before eating, unless someone leads us to pray. Seeing this now as an agnostic gave me a new perspective. Thanks for an enlightening article. ^^