Wendy's totally repugnant advertisement

[Pat Volk]

This ad is the most ridiculous and asinine ad ever.This joker says that he is a meatarian and it is"his personal choice" and he is committed to it.This is a slap in the face for vegetarains such as myself whose vegetarianism is a immutable lifestlye and center of my life. for me it is a personal committment and I have been practicing it for over 20 years. (I am 80 years old).This joker shoud be made to watch the video and or visit a slaughterhouse,(Howard Lyman said that if you ever have a chance to visit a slaughterhouse, don't.

[Mandy Ellis]

i agree - it should be mandatory for all meat eaters to work at a slaughterhouse. i think that most people have no idea of how meat arrives on their tables at home - prettily packaged and sterile - and for some the actuality and reality of this would probably be advantageous in that it would turn them off meat consumption for life. i've been a vegetarian for 16 years - the last 4 of these i've been vegan and i think you're right when you say it's a life choice - i really could not ever see myself eating meat again in my life and it's very much a personal commitment for me too.

[Pat Volk]

Thank you, Mandy, for your comments.Some replies are from bible qoting belligerent folks who strongly believe that "animals are made for us"If so, and if God made them, why did he also make them to suffer and to feel pain.this is a self-serving myth and our prejudice (lack of empathy) against fod animals is so deeply ingrained that those who harbor it are not aware that it is a prejudice.The last great prejudice, racism, sexism, and speciesism/Again, thank you."They are othe nations, caught in the web of life and time with us.",

[MuttMommy]

I am a "Bible-quoter" and can tell you that EVERYTHING I know about God tells me that He did NOT put animals on the earth for us to consume. Permission was given later, after the fall of humankind. In God's original creation (the Garden of Eden) there was no killing of animals. That permission was given in Genesis 9, after the flood when there were no plants available to eat. I think that was God telling us we could do what we have to do to survive, not telling us to have rib-eating contests and to continue eating meat when it is not medically necessary or necessary in any other way for that matter.

[Nancy Ball]

I agree with the comments made about this Wendy's commercial. If nothing else, it would turn me off going there for anything. They need to pull this one.

[Deuce]

You're correct in the assertion that it's asinine. That is specifically the direction the commercial tries to take. The logic of the commercial is completely flawed and it's more interesting to look at it from that point of view.

Its manner is asinine which underlines how ridiculous someone would have to be in order to partake in such a lifestyle. It also demonstrates that the commitment by vegetarians is universally recognized; hence, there is no reason to feel that it's a "slap in the face." Also, I might suggest looking at the burger. He's completely off his diet by eating it because it contains vegetables. A full fledged vegetarian does not eat meat AT all.

Dietary requirements are kind of a personal choice. There are some of us who realize the cruelty and need a steady diet of meat. I wish we could be more like some of the African tribes (not trying to be racist, just giving a specific example from a documentary that I watched recently) that use the whole animal, but our society doesn't quite allow for it. So, the best I can come up with is taking a little extra second to enjoy the animal and thank its sacrifice.

-Deuce

[Cari Lombardi]

I have not seen this commercial, but will have to check it out. As a vegetarian of 15 years, while I appreciate Deuce's viewpoint of using the entire animal and appreciating/thanking the animal for its sacrifice (it is better than our current horrendous practices of factory farming), it is not the answer. These animals deserve a life free from suffering, compassion from us humans, and we do not need to eat meat in order to survive as proven by the many vegans and vegetarians in existence. Sorry if I sound preachy, but we must look beyond our own set ways and look towards freeing animals from pain and suffering.

[Pat Volk]

Watch the ASPCA video on factory farming and weep. I defy anyone to watch this and ontinue to eat :meat:, i,e, dead animals.
and yes it is more humNE to shoot wild ones but that too is a sacrilege and unneccessary. Let them eat TOFU and beans and rice.!
I am going to try to get thatvideo and give it to eneryone .
palin is a hunter.

[Michaela]

Not all meat eaters should have to visit slaughterhouses. I think people who slander vegetarians/vegans should definetly get a taste of that, but not people with equal diets of both, like most people.
I do agree that it is a horrible commercial though. It really is sickening.
~Michaela

[Pat Volk]

why should meat eaters never see what is necessary for meat to appear on their plates?I don't say be made to, as this is not a possiblity but they pay money for this (and please watch the ASPCA video on factory farming) and do not have any idea or even a concept of factory farming. The truth shall set you free. If you buy a puppy from a mill you should know about puppy mills and then be able to make a decision. People who know nothing of the horror of the killing floor are unaware of what their dollar is paying for.No one less than the inimitable Howard Lyman recommended that no one ever go into one. How could anyone make a decision not to eat meat uness they saw something ,even a video or a flyer.(perhaps like Paul McCartney it was when a sheep wandered into their kitchen while they were eating lunch or like some friends of mine in New Orleans who saw a trcuk load of suffering animals and became vegetarians immediately.
Why should these carnivores never know the suffering they are causinf.They do not want to know. I was not a vegetarain unti I was 56.at which time I learened the facts, the truth.I am now 80 years old..
I have protested at circuses and helped to disseminate information.I have staged veal calf protests.Unless the truth and reality are know no one will change. Look at whay happened in the cosmetic industry ,dog labs, when people were made aware /
Isn't this what the animal rights movement is all about-education and choices?

[Paul Casarona]

Pat,
You raise some interesting points and I thank you for expressing them. I am 43 years old and became a vegetarian last Oct. I had actually been thinking of the possibility of becoming vegetarian for many years, but always assumed it would be much harder than it has been. I could lie and say that I am doing this for dietary reasons or to decrease global warming, both of which are important issues to me, but the truth is that I am a vegetarian for spiritual reasons. I have always been fairly Buddhist in my beliefs and always struggled with the idea of killing any living thing, but at the same time I realize I do not live in a monastery.

The unfortunate part in regards to this discussion (IMHO) is that too many people in this country don't really spend enough time thinking about what their beliefs are and why they believe what they say they believe. Some believe what their parents have always believed, some what their preachers tell them, some what our politicians say. But how many of us have the courage to examine, dare I say question, our own beliefs and the ethics we use to form them as readily as we question the beliefs of others. It is for this reason that I have always thought that ideas were better than beliefs. It is far easier to change someone's idea than to change their beliefs.

As far as condemning meat eaters to visiting slaughter houses, well, this just will never happen. I agree that many would consider forgoing meat after the experience, but that is exactly why they won't go and see it for themselves. We live in a greed based society that is heavily influenced by mass media and full of over-weight people whom seldom think beyond "I love the way this tastes!” I know that I am preaching to the choir here, but you folks who are doing the right thing seem to be the only ones who will listen. Bless you all.

Best wishes,

Paul & Jake
Auburn, AL

[Jackie]

i have never seen this commercial - does anyone have a video? it's probably on the main page and i overlooked it

[bams481]

I feel rather offended by this post. Maybe it struck me the wrong way, but it seems to me that people (myself included) that eat meat are being insulted to the highest degree in this thread. I believe that animals are to be used as food, just as animals eat animals, it is important for humans to eat meat as well. Cecil explains the human anatomy here:

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/674/are-humans-meat-eaters...

Deuteronomy 12:15
15 Nevertheless, you may slaughter your animals in any of your towns and eat as much of the meat as you want, as if it were gazelle or deer, according to the blessing the LORD your God gives you. Both the ceremonially unclean and the clean may eat it.

This however does not make me an animal hater, as I am in search of a Kosher butcher whose Jewish faith requires humane slaughter

Your beliefs do not give you the right to take other people's liberties away. In America, we have the right to do and be as we wish, and no one has the right to 'force' anything on anyone