[morgante]

> Most farmers don't seem terribly bright (there are of course exceptions).

Way to stereotype vast groups of people.

Also, it's more or less totally inaccurate. Modern farms (even small ones) are multimillion dollar businesses and definitely require savvy.

All the farmers I knew in rural Vermont had been to university (often for agriculture studies) and definitely weren't dumb. They also all universally recognized that death is part of nature. They treated their animals well (these were predominantly small family farms) but also had no qualms about killing them.

My philosophy is that everyone who eats another animal should have to kill an animal once. If you're willing to do it, fine. (I am.) If you're not, then you're living your life by an inconsistent moral principal, where death is fine as long as you don't cause it—even if it's for your benefit. (Similarly, I think every politician voting for a war should be required to serve a tour of duty.)