Bentzy18,
I am not doubting the permission that god gave for man to eat meat. It does not state anywhere in the chumash that god gave man permission to eat as a reward for saving them. This is simply a commentary opinion–Its not law.
Just because man sinned, and was kicked out of gan eden, didnt change the fact that man was still vegetarian and all animals as well. Nobody ate meat. Yes, sin was introduced into the world, but there were still no meat eaters. Meat eaters only appeared after the flood.
If it was perfectly good, and ok, to eat meat in the eyes of Hashem; would there be such an emphasis on ritualistic slaughter? These laws are meant to make it MORE difficult; for the person to REALLY have to think about taking a life. Regarding your comment about the pre-flood world not being “on the level” to eat meat: People in those times were closer to Hashem in that generation, than we are today (Yes, even here in “Lakewood ir ha kodesh”). Why are we eating meat based on that opinion? How does saving animals lives equate to being able to eat them? That claim is ridiculous. Basically, he was saying, ok animals, i am going to save your life and then when we get out of this boat, i’m going to eat you. Makes lots of sense.
The level of factory farming these days is unprecedented. The amounts of animal products that people consume has never before been seen. I do not wish to post on a yiddishe forum sources of kosher animal cruelty, but I assure you, a simple use of google’s powerful search engines, and you’ll find what I’m talking about. Animals living in cramped quarters, eating other animals purchased from veterinary hospitals after being euthanized (often from being diseased), IS against the Torah. Poultry being fed such fattening foods that their legs break because they cannot support their own bodyweight, is not against some law? Even indirectly? Hashem gave us common sense to know what is right and wrong. People are so blinded by their desire to eat meat, and the factories by their profit margins–common sense, and simple compassion, are a rare commodity, in these dismal times.
Animal testing may be beneficial in some cases but i was specifically talking about testing on animals that are alive. The same labs that test for diseases and other sorts also put shampoo into the eyes of rabbits just to see their reaction. That is wrong.
I’ll finish off by saying that it was god who created the human body. Anybody who knows a little about the body knows that the human digestive tract is very long and complicated. It is designed for digesting vegetation. This compared to a carnivore, whose digestive tract is very short and simple, designed to quickly digest meat in a few hours. It takes days, sometimes weeks for meat that is eaten to leave the body. Sometimes never leaving at all but staying in the digestive tract, and causing people to become sick. Hashem, who designed the body, knew exactly what was good for it, and what was not. The major diseases in this country can be traced back to the consumption of non fibrous foods (animal based products): colon cancer, heart disease, and prostate cancer are just a few ticks on a list that goes on and on. Hashem, who designed the human body, knew this. The permission to eat meat was a concession to mankind. Did anyone ever notice that when people get sick they always tell them to eat more fruits and vegetables? Maybe if we followed our diets the way Hashem intended, we would be sick less often, or even have a lower obesity rate? Its no mitzvah to get heart disease, high cholesterol or any of the other associated diseases from eating animals. Eating meat on this factory farming level also causes many problems on a global scale. It is just a very destructive activity. The level of factory farming these days cannot be sustained for a long period of time without major problems. There’s not a person on this planet, myself included, that doesn’t want their children to have a better life than they did. If changes aren’t made to our neshamos, our bodies, and our planet SOON–our future doesn’t have much of a chance at all.