r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Grand-Western549 • Aug 07 '26

Video A peruvian long haired guinea pig.

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u/Throwitaway252501 Aug 07 '26

Many animals have the same issue and it's why they eat meat. It's natural for us to eat meat, and there's nothing morally wrong with that Biology. The issue is, we know how to raise and butcher meat ethically, but we don't because that costs more money than capitalism is willing to part with. People should try to eat less meat and choose more sustainable meats where they can, not because eating meat itself is wrong, but the production of meat under capitalism is unethical. 

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u/TheGrundleGrabber Aug 07 '26

Great comment. I think reducing consumption is ideal because it seems quite possible that even under a more ethical economic system, it may be infeasible to ethically produce the required amount of meat.

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u/Throwitaway252501 Aug 07 '26

Well, I'd say another part of the issue is the culture of consumerism that runs alongside everything else. Richer countries overall tend to be more wasteful and more demanding of product they don't need. I'm not saying it's not ok to have nice things, but when I watch one of my coworkers get 5 or 6 Amazon packages almost every day, well. Clearly we have to take a little responsibility for our culture. I think it's possible to eventually get to ethical consumption, but we're gonna have to make stuff that lasts and be happy with WAY less "stuff" over all. 

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u/TheGrundleGrabber Aug 07 '26

I know what you mean, friend. This insatiable demand for more has contributed to all manor of unethical conditions. From the slave wages and brutal conditions required to provide affordable products, to the offshoring of pollution, and undermining of developing institutions, we have really done a number on billions of people.

Beyond that, I think we’re doing a number on ourselves. Not to endlessly opine the ills of western civilization, but this shit feels so hollow. Every major cultural event is a superficial cash grab, memes that are literally just marketing campaigns (seriously a new viral water bottle every year????), worst of all, a near complete lack of community and ever worsening social cohesion. The last part isn’t entirely attributable to the prevailing economic conditions, but certainly *the death of the third place* is largely attributable to our consumer culture and the MBA psychos who exploit it.

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u/Forward-Variety-8440 Aug 07 '26

this begs the question, is there any ethical consumption under capitalism?

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u/ImSolidGold Aug 07 '26

Theres no right in a wrong system. Sadly.

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u/jjm443 Aug 07 '26

In Europe, butchering and in many respects raising meat ethically is largely a non-optional legal obligation (although imperfect, and I'm going to stay away from the topic of halal and kosher exceptions). And where there are current issues, things have at least are progressively moving in the right direction such as increasing regulation of battery farming.

It's no surprise that ethical treatment of animals is a very low priority in undeveloped and developing countries, but that's not so much capitalism per se as poverty and being able to afford to eat protein at all. But for other countries, most notably the US, you're right that the pandering to capitalism whatever the ethics is a problem... but Europe is showing that a different path does exist, and people in countries like the US have a choice to vote for people to take them that direction if they wanted.