Um... WHAT?!?!?

[amptondooz]

I looked at a book that wa scalled The Pig That Wanted To Be Eaten. I looked at it and it said that they found out the pig didn't want to be alive so they killed it and then obviously ate it. Well, you wouldn't want to live on a small farm where there is nothing to do all your life!

[strigercake]

Where did you find a book like that and why would someone even write a book like that? Some people!

I wonder how they figured the pig didn't want to live anymore, it isn't like the pig said, "kill me, I don't want to be alive."

I think that is just an excuse just to eat the poor little piggy.

[PiggieMom]

That is really weird. I wonder also how they found out they had a suicidal pig. Morons.

[SandyF]

Maybe the pig had tried unsuccessfully to hang himself (knots are tricky if you don't have opposable thumbs).

From what I can tell from the review on Amazon, the book is designed to present situations for philosophical and ethical consideration, such as, if a bank ATM gives you too much money, do you return it-? Etc.

[ohbrazil]

I love pigs, I grew up on a farm with them. On the ranking of intellegence it goes Humans > apes > dolphins > pigs. They cry real tears. They are so much like a 3 year old and with so much personality that after spending a prolonged amount of time with them I could never eat another.

[Faunn]

What about birds? Parrots? There pretty smart. That is a weird book, why would someone try to make any money off a suicidal pig? Weird...And sad, since pigs are so cool!

[Lyndsay]

I think that my Philosophy teacher used a book that was called similar, it made us think about why we thought what we did, and be able to back it up with strong and sound reasoning. There is one specifically that we had to answer that was called : The pig that wants to be eaten. My answer was :

I firmly beleive that eating animals has gone over board, and the human race is taking it too far. In original referance to the thought that someday maybe animals will be modified to want to be eaten, is absurd! Living in a generation where animals are as genetically modified as the crops we grow, one would think that we could eliminate the suffering of millions of animals in slaughtering houses each year. Being part of a pro-vegetarian forum helps information be readily available to me. Every person consumes on adverage 360 animals per year. Adopting a vegetarian lifestyle is rewarding and healthy. With that comes the sence of knowing that less animals are dying, and the demand for them is decreasing. Consuming more vegetables and fruits is something everyone should do, but few are up to the challange of eating no meat, instead eating nuts, seeds, and legumes to fofill our protein needs....

Teacher gave me a 4 out of 5, and said "but what if the animal desires to be eaten naturally? like a chicken with no brain." But I figure if it didn't have a brain then it wouldn't be living anymore.

[salana]

360 animals a year??

Who eats a whole chicken or cow a day??

[Lyndsay]

Oops I think I ment to type family. Sorry.

[daftscotslass]

If anyone wants to be cheered up read "The Pig" by Roald Dahl. The pig questions the meaning of life and realises that he's going to end up as bacon. To prevent it from happening he decides to eat the farmer.

[amptondooz]

Lol, I've read that!

[Access]

There aren't many cases in nature of animals wanting to be eaten, the only one that comes to mind is spiders, other insects, or fish. I think there was a study with elephants a few weeks ago that demonstrated a compassion / reverance for older members of the pack, even after they had died.

Certain types of fish undergo a type of 'programmed death' once they spawn. This is to increase the chance of survival of their young. That way older fish and younger fish do not compete for limited food resources.

A male black widow spider will, after mating, sacrifice himself and be eaten by the female of the same species. This is probably the best example of an animal that 'wants' to be eaten. He desires to be eaten or is programmed to submit to it since this will maximize the chance of his genes being passed on.

Scientists see depth of elephant feelings - Science - Specials - smh.com.au

I find it unlikely that farm animals would develop this same 'need'. If anything, breeders are artificially selecting against this trait rather than for it. The animals that are deemed 'terminal' (typically 90%) do not get to re-breed and once they reach viability are eaten. Only the remaining 10% are bred (and not eaten). So in no way does the act of being eaten contribute to one's own genetic meteriel being passed on.

[smileyface cavy]

I love pigs, both guinea pigs and pig pigs.

[Spacehamster]

Roald Dahl also wrote a short story "Pig" and that's a very unlike "The Pig" but also deals with vegetarism....in a depressed way.

I can imagine that a lot of farm animals are not as much scared of death as they are of dying.
The only thing worse than being death is having no life.
That's why I currently eat organic meat instead of no meat.

But since I have cavies I feel worse about meat eating by the day.
Their hind legs feel a bit like chicken legs and that scares the heck out of me!
I can't eat chicken now without feeling bad...so I stopped buying it.

[Teria]

On a side note: ravens are FAR more intelligent than parrots.