There’s also the question of the “by products” of the meat industry; the male chicks that are ground up alive or smothered because they aren’t useful, the veal calves that can’t be produced humanely, the cows that are kept perpetually pregnant to produce milk.

I’m happy that you’ve thought out your decisions and chose what was most comfortable for you ethically. I happen to chose differently, but that doesn’t mean I’m judging you.

H.Houlahan, if you wonder about whether I keep dogs or cats, why not just ask me? I do have pets, a dog and three cats. My dog eats a vegetarian diet supplemented by eggs I bring home from the animal sanctuary. I’m perfectly comfortable with my decision to feed him this way, I’ve done my research and he is one of several vegan/vegetarian dogs I know who are thriving. He’s a perfect weight, has a beautiful coat and nice teeth, and gets a clean bill of health at every vet visit.

My cats eat a meat-based dry food. I adopted them long before I was giving my own diet consideration, and I’ve yet to find a vegan diet that I’m convinced is healthy for them. I chalk it up to one of those unavoidable and uncomfortable concessions I have to make to live in the real world. I also take birth control that contains a milk by product and was probably tested on animals and drive a car every day. Being vegan isn’t about being pure, it’s about living in the most ethical way that I feasibly can.

I can eat a mostly plant-based diet — and in fact, I do. But it’s not healthy for my dogs and cats (especially cats) to do so, and so they are meat-eaters.

I am very comfortable with buying the meat of humanely and sustainably raised meat animals. In addition, I have my own laying hens, and someday may well raise chickens or other animals for meat. That way, I can absolutely control the care my food animals get, from birth to death.

I believe in the circle of life. We are all of us destined to become another being’s meal. My interest is in having good lives and good deaths.

And if so, does she feed them a strictly vegan diet?

And if so, how those animals fare, welfare-wise, under this husbandry?

If Smaki does not keep dogs or cats (or ferrets, pythons, tarantulas, cormorants, tame velociraptors), is she devoted to eliminating the ownership of carnivorous animals?

Because it would seem that owning a carnivorous animal and feeding it appropriately could never be ethical to Smaki.

Gina said: “Smaki … so you think there’s no humane way to kill? Are you against euthanizing a terminally ill pet?”

I don’t believe that there is a humane way to kill a healthy, sentient being. Euthanizing an animal that is terminally ill or in unrelievable pain, or that has severe “mental health” issues that would prevent it from leading a satisfying life is something else altogether. In those situations I believe that we have an obligation to the animals we are responsible for to end their lives painlessly.

I admire Grandin’s work. And I’ve heard her speak to a packed house full of scientists, saying some things that I think a lot of them were a bit surprised to hear.

Personally, I find her refreshing.

Reminds me of the quote “There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.”

I see the point. Actually, I see both points, which is a problem I often have with many issues and keeps me from taking a firm stance. I am like Switzerland in that respect sometimes.

I think if one accepts that people eating meat is not going to go away, then we should try and make the process easier for the animals. However, if one is going to try and eradicate the people-eating-animals thing wholesale, then anything short of a total ban on killing animals is seen as a capitulation.

Rage on, tiny readers - let’s see where this goes.

You might try tinyURL.com to help with those long links.