Re: Random stuff - the anything else thread
 

Whether you like it or not people eat pigs and very tasty they are, but they don't come ready wrapped on supermarket shelves, in sausages or pies, they are born, they grow, they're slaughtered, butchered and prepared for sale at which point they're purchased, cooked and eaten.

The school principal thought it was a good idea to acquaint the pupils with the facts of life as they apply to meat production. I understand that some might not approve of meat eating but it's a fact of life and not illegal, at least not yet. I think that exercises like this should be applauded as too many kids gro up thinking food simply appears on their plates with little thought as to where it comes from.

So at what point did educating kids about pig rearing become a bad idea? If it was considered a good idea from the educational viewpoint at the outset, why should outside pressure, pressure that doesn't consider the educational nature of the decision but simply seeks to impose a particular point of view, hold sway?

My gripe is with the principal who felt that a good idea should be abandoned because outside pressure, that I consider inappropriate, pushed him/her to do it. He/she's not doing the job they're being paid for. What next? Will the school be teaching creationism because a pressure group tells him/her to teach it or will the idea that the earth is flat become mainstream?

Re: Random stuff - the anything else thread
 

I often wonder why BC and maybe other parts of Canada dont make highway lane markings more visible by using lane reflectors.

In BC the excuse often used is snow plows will remove them however we passed through areas with active snow and plowing and reflectors were used.

They were installed in a way where plows did not scrape them off.

Re: Random stuff - the anything else thread
 

In the U.K. we have cats eyes in the middle of the road.

Re: Random stuff - the anything else thread
 

Re; educating kids about where meat comes from, in the early 60's our school field trips to Prince Albert, Sk. included touring the Co-op Dairy and the Burns Meats plant (in grades 3 and 4), which I can still describe in detail. :blink: I'm all for it, and think there's nothing wrong with learning not only where it comes from, but how to get it done yourself, if only just in case.

Re: Random stuff - the anything else thread
 

So you don't want to be introduced to your dinner? I don't remember whether or not you are vegetarian but given that view you should be. Isn't it better than not knowing where your bacon comes from?

Re: Random stuff - the anything else thread
 

If we're in a plane crash in the bush I'm going to be sizing up the vegetarians right away.
But seriously, free country, matter of choice, some can't and some can't do without. In the old People's Guide to Mexico the section on dining described trying to order something without meat in it and it still arrived containing chicken, and when confronted the cook protested "But it isn't red."

Re: Random stuff - the anything else thread
 

My SIL kept 4 pigs this year. I had bacon sandwiches from one of them yesterday. Excellent tasting bacon, only fat from the grilling, no white rubbish from additives.

It was the smallest pig we had, now in the freezer. He had a really nice attitude being the runt and I for one knew where the bacon came from. No regrets.

Re: Random stuff - the anything else thread
 

I've never wanted to be 'educated' on where it comes from, as I think it's unfortunate that we consume animals.

Re: Random stuff - the anything else thread
 

At what point? How about lately! The fact that thousands of people have decided that it's wrong to 'educate' kids that pigs exist solely to be eaten (true) evidences the shift in thinking.

As usual, your gripe is misplaced. Pigs kept for food is also a "particular point of view" and there's no harm in challenging it.

In any case, I don't think it will be long (1-2 decades) before we shift to factory grown meat and the ethical treatment of animals will become commonplace.

Re: Random stuff - the anything else thread
 

March 1 is National Pig Day, when the pig is celebrated for it's admirable characteristics, but the further south you go the more it becomes about the bbq.

Re: Random stuff - the anything else thread
 

:lol:

Re: Random stuff - the anything else thread
 

But where would you get the bacon for the ice cream from?

Re: Random stuff - the anything else thread
 

Pigs are eaten by humans, it's not fake news. Challenging the idea that pigs should be eaten is acceptable.

What is not acceptable is to censor the curriculum. Pupils should be educated to be able to make up their own minds, having experienced the issue first hand, rather than be told what to think.

'Ah' I hear you say, 'by keeping the pigs and telling them they'll be killed for food, aren't you introducing bias into the argument in favour of eating meat?'

Not so. If eating meat was a new idea then I agree that would be the case, but meat eating is an established widespread activity.

'So' I hear you argue 'is veganism, shouldn't we also teach that?'

Yes we should, we should even have schools grow their own vegetables if that's what needed.

'But the school only kept pigs and didn't grow vegetables, so isn't that introducing bias?'

We aren't told whether they did or didn't, but I think that growing plants is a more familiar activity than keeping pigs so pupils will already be more aware of where vegetables come from.

Censoring what can and cannot form part of the curriculum based on personal preferences results in undesirable outcomes as supporters of evolutionary theory have found in recent decades to their cost.

Re: Random stuff - the anything else thread
 

It's not censorship of common knowledge; it's acceptance of a different ethical view. There is nothing to complain about here, indeed I would applaud the school on their sensitivity. Better yet, would be to keep the pigs as school pets, and teach the children to be considerate to them. And not send them to the abatoir when they are old, but let them live their lives.

Re: Random stuff - the anything else thread
 

The kids or the pigs?