A light bulb moment for my son!

[Treehugger267]

We were taking our boys to the restaurant today after my youngest's t-ball game. I asked them what they wanted to order. My youngest said, "a hot dog, french fries and sliced oranges." My oldest thought maybe the same, but asked what a hot dog is made of. I said, "pork." He asked what animal pork was. I told him a pig. He was quiet until we got out of the car. Then he said, "Mom, I know why you don't like meat. It's because you care about the animal's feelings, right?" I told him that was exactly right.:love:

[animallover7249]

:smitten:

So cute! How old are your boys? Did the older one order a hotdog?

[Treehugger267]

My boys are 5 and 7. Yup, he ordered the hot dog. But, he's been doing a lot of thinking. Right now, this is all very new to him. I gave up meat about 2 months ago. I'll bet he will be the one who gives it up. He is a deep thinker and is so compassionate. I am trying to present all of this in a very gentle way and I think he is starting to get it.

[nataliex1122]

Awe! That's so sweet, sounds like you have wonderful kids. :D

[karenlovessnow]

That is so cool...I like that you are not shoving it down their throats and letting them grasp the concept on their own! :)

[isowish]

that's a nice story :)

[evan_fabiani]

thats awesome. its so inspiring to see a 5 year old grasping the concept that most of our poplutation does not

[Fromper]

Follow it up by showing them Charlotte's Web. :p

--Fromper
:juggle:

[Irizary]

We were taking our boys to the restaurant today after my youngest's t-ball game. I asked them what they wanted to order. My youngest said, "a hot dog, french fries and sliced oranges." My oldest thought maybe the same, but asked what a hot dog is made of. I said, "pork." He asked what animal pork was. I told him a pig. He was quiet until we got out of the car. Then he said, "Mom, I know why you don't like meat. It's because you care about the animal's feelings, right?" I told him that was exactly right.:love:


That's a nice story. One thing you might consider is instead of using words like "beef" and "pork" to say what a meal consists of, to use the more descriptive animal names - cows and pigs. I think the words are a way that people use to deny the actual animal who died for the food. Like, there isn't an animal called a "beef."

[Treehugger267]

That's a nice story. One thing you might consider is instead of using words like "beef" and "pork" to say what a meal consists of, to use the more descriptive animal names - cows and pigs. I think the words are a way that people use to deny the actual animal who died for the food. Like, there isn't an animal called a "beef."

Actually, that's the first thing that came to my mind to say. I've got to get over putting my eyes down and trying to brush over the subject. We were all in the car, me, my husband and my boys. My husband has been pretty good about all of this, but has growled a couple of times telling me not to make them feel guilty about what they eat. So I have been trying to please everyone and just handing out little bits of info as asked.

[magentamonkey]

That's a nice story. One thing you might consider is instead of using words like "beef" and "pork" to say what a meal consists of, to use the more descriptive animal names - cows and pigs. I think the words are a way that people use to deny the actual animal who died for the food. Like, there isn't an animal called a "beef."

My dad did that to me, but unintentionally. He thought it was witty. It's ironic that he (and the rest of the fam) are omnis and I'm the only veggie... :think:

[kpickell]

I think the words are a way that people use to deny the actual animal who died for the food. Like, there isn't an animal called a "beef."

Um, no. I shake my head every time I hear a vegan claim that omnivores are in denial because it's so removed from reality. It's just that beef and pork is more descriptive of the type of meat that you're eating. People are not idiots that don't realize beef comes from a cow, they just recognize there are multiple types of meat that come from cows and you need a way to distinguish them. If they were trying to hide from the fact that they're eating animals then they wouldn't readily order chicken, turkey, duck, fish, and all the other single-meat type animals by name.

[Idhan]

I guess it goes back to the Norman invasion of England in 1066 -- French words for the animals were used to name the meat derived from those animals. (Boeuf means ox in French, and gets turned to beef in English. Porc means pig in French, which gets turned into pork in English. Mouton means sheep in French, which gets turned into mutton in English.) I suppose the question is -- why were the old Anglo-Saxon names for the animals retained, while the French names for the animals were turned into names pertaining exclusively to the meat? Why didn't they both stay Anglo-Saxon, or both switch to French-derived? Or why didn't the animals become named French-style while the meats became based on the Anglo-Saxon words for the animals?

[wheesaidshe]

Hmm, no I don't think anyone is saying people aren't intelligent to realize beef comes from a cow, but oftentimes we are on autopilot. Idhan you offered good information and I learn something new every day!

Still. I don't think people are so unintelligent that they don't know what milk is, but I mean c'mon do they ever think about it? I honestly think most people aren't veg*ns because they choose to NOT think about it!

Pointing out (or "reminding" people) that milk is actually breastmilk from a cow's teat intended for her calves and not adult humans would get someone to stop and think longer than if I simply used the word milk. That's been my experience, anyway.

[Quinoa]

why were the old Anglo-Saxon names for the animals retained, while the French names for the animals were turned into names pertaining exclusively to the meat?
Just my guess based on English classes, no scientific evidence at hand:
French was the language of the invaders/rulers. I could imagine that they were mainly the ones who got to eat the meat. Anglo-Saxon remained the language of the (rural) people. I assume they farmed the animals, but usually would not get to eat much meat/flesh (both words from Anglo-Saxon I think) themselves, at least not on a regular basis. Thus the words for the eaten parts of individual animal species were eventually adopted from French into what then became English, while the modern names for the animals are retained from Anglo-Saxon. Or maybe not...

[Punk_in_Drublic]

That's a really sweet story, good to know some kids are thinking about what they are eating :)

[paganveg]

Great story! You've got some sweet kids there! :)

[zoebird]

i don't know why it would be wrong to "feel guilty" about what one eats, if one disagrees with eating such a thing, even if one is a kid.

[animallover7249]

Um, no. I shake my head every time I hear a vegan claim that omnivores are in denial because it's so removed from reality. It's just that beef and pork is more descriptive of the type of meat that you're eating. People are not idiots that don't realize beef comes from a cow, they just recognize there are multiple types of meat that come from cows and you need a way to distinguish them. If they were trying to hide from the fact that they're eating animals then they wouldn't readily order chicken, turkey, duck, fish, and all the other single-meat type animals by name.
THANK YOU!!!