When I read this article I was so impressed. Because, there is no such concept existing in Japan. So I decided that I ask for some opinions about this topic in the Japanese web forum that I participate in. Then whole lotta people left me comments. Actually I was slightly overwhelmed.
Total: 16 comments
I tried to translate these Japanese comments into English. But I'm not sure I could get the meaning acrossed properly... and I can't translate them all, so I picked up main responses.
(
http://tokyowadoko.blogspot.com/2005/08/green-tea-frappuccinos-suck-mr-meat.html)says:
"We act as though we own these creatures. We make them our slaves. And, they cannot fight us, because we trap them. We murder them. We chop them up into little pieces. And bind those pieces together with seasoning. And eat that flesh, the blood cells, the DNA. The formerly alive chicken or cow or duck or pig or deer or fish is now a chunk of meat. Slavery is (according to dictionary.com) the state of being under the control of another person. I’d say those creatures are under the control of humans who kill them and eat them. What if we were the helpless creature…being made into chicken nuggets or hot dogs or hamburgers? So, what. They are only animals. We are carnivorous. We have teeth for meat eating. We are smarter. I guess I’m wrong. Eat more meat. Mmm meat. Meat. Meat. Mooo."
Question: What dou you think of this?
Janitor's opinion:
■It seems that vegetarian has various kinds, such as animal protection, earth environment, religion, healthy improvement, personal reason (allergy etc.). Moreover, not only a meal but the life form ( the life which does not use an animal: life which uses neither a syamisen nor a damisen nor a biwa) -- VEGAN, DIETARY VEGAN, VEGETARIAN, OVO-LACTO VEGETARIAN, LACTO VEGETARIAN, STRICT VEGETARIAN, but you can't lump them together.
What you have to be especially careful about when you're carrying out such an ideological talk with foreigners is that you have to get them understood our thought as well as we understand theirs. Although it's not related to this talk but before we can understand a minority people, it can be said that our culture which has a eating habit of whale traditionally, as a grobal minority, cannot eat a whale, either. In the vagetarian thought as it's aforementioned, there is no necessity of forcing a sense of values mutually except earth environment. Although animal protection may be to some extent influential things mutually, since this also has the difference between the culture, the thought, and the geographical conditions of each country, it can also be said that the field which must not interfere with people of foreign country at present.
"God will make people govern all the things of the ground and all the things that crawl on the ground" is written in Biblical "Book of Genesis" by the instruction of Christianity.Unlike the natural view which is living in the natural blessing country like in Japan, in the U.S., the consciousness of governing and controlling nature is high, and natural destruction and environmental conservation awareness are cried out much earlier than in Japan, and they have the history in which they have controlled nature in Europe and US. Therefore, It's true and general view that animal is being controlled as a slave (it's another story whether it's right or not to use the expression of slave) by human beings as he saids. Consequently, productive industries, such as stock raising and culture are being the main industries in Europe and the United States rather than hunting industries, such as a fishing. On the other hand, Japanese has the strong consciousness which has enjoyed a natural blessing and delicacies from the sea, and lucking consciousness against the influence on the nature by capturing the animals, so it makes them quite weak position in advanced nations. Although it has strayed from this subject to the environmental problem, not only a meal but destruction of life is needed even in Japan, and it's never praised act for Buddhism as well. However, these act are accepted as one of "the work of man" in religion, so we're eating meat.
An important thing is coexistence of a vegetarian and a non-vegetarian, and I think it's better to concentrate the talk there. Is it a thing called cultural communication?
Unfortunitely since Japan is insular country, so we are very exclusive society in terms of ideologically. Therefore, the vegetarian has not been accepted in the society, and there is no place where they can dine out in comfort.Although I think our society would become the one that concider such people. I suppose it would take more time.
Other opinions:
■I think it's contrary to the nature to say that you can eat vegetable but you can't eat animals.Even plants are living thing. It's natural to eat to live for human being. I can't help but thinking that God permit this (eating meat). So we should have the natural blessing without killing beyond necessity numbers.
■I think that you can't blame for someone to eat meat as well as you can not blame for rabbit to eat meat.
■I want you to appreciate for eating when you eat. And you should take eating as sacred thing to do. Moreover, parents should teach their children the importance of food.
etc.
After I read all the responses, I noticed the difference between men and women. Men tend to be more positive about eating meat. Contrary, women are more cautious about eating them. Like "You should think the importance of eating food more..."
Hmm... It's interesting and I'm a sooo bad translator.
