Eating rabbit, -Morality, or just common sense ?

Eating rabbit,
We like rabbit, and it is more "digestible" than other meat [except fish- "according to our government"]
DIGESTIBLE NUTRIMENT.
The United States Department of Agriculture makes the following report on the digestible nutriment of various meats.
Fish 89 percent,
Domestic Rabbit 83 percent,.
Chicken 50, Beef 55, Mutton 65, Pork 75,

Rabbit has the lowest cholesterol value of any meat product. Compared to the next two lowest, chicken and pork (both with a value of 230 mg per serving), rabbit has a mere 164 mg of cholesterol.
Rabbit is the lowest calorie meat per serving at 795 calories per pound vs 810 for chicken, 840 for veal, 1190 for turkey, and 1440 for beef. Pork 2050 calories per pound!
Rabbit meat is the HIGHEST in protein compared to chicken, fish, lamb, pork and even beef!
Rabbit meat is highly digestible and recommended by the USDA for children and the elderly.
The USDA also proclaims rabbit meat “the most nutritious meat known to man.”

-- and, our rabbits can be raised eating foods that humans cannot eat.

I think it is a shame that the "animal rights" folks have caused such a stink,[under the guise of "morality"] that people have about stopped eating rabbit, in favor of meat sources that directly compete with humans for food by eating primarily grain. Thus raising the worldwide price of grain,so poor countries can no longer afford it- thereby greatly increasing "world hunger".
I have heard from people in Europe, that rabbit is largely "no longer available" in most meat shops, and "the country folks" raise their own.. In the US - it is becoming harder to find also..

Part of the problem is that common sense isn't so common anymore. So many people are guided by their emotions to the exclusion of their minds. I wonder why the life of a "cute" animal should be worth more than the life of an animal not perceived as cute?

All the reasons you gave for eating rabbit make good sense to me. They even strike me as good moral thinking. If we are to be good stewards of this planet, surely using our resources wisely is a big part of this.

These trends seem to come and go, and I think necessity alone will eventually cause the pendulum to swing back. I wonder if it will happen in time to do any good.

I think we all have our blind spots. I've eaten a wide variety of meats in my time. But -- sentimental and illogical as it is -- I'd have a hard time seeing domestic cat as a food animal. :roll:

Nods this is the exact reason that we are starting to raise rabbit for our table as well. As a diabetic Rabbit is a wonderful source for my diet as being so high in protein and so healthy as well. I wish people would read more before deciding that "THEY" know what's best for everyone... cause they don't and I hate that eating rabbit to many is thought as this Horrible thing when in fact humans have been eating rabbit as far back as any recorded history can find.

michaels4gardens":2b0zs1r8 said:

I have heard from people in Europe, that rabbit is largely "no longer available" in most meat shops, and "the country folks" raise their own...

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My family is from Germany (moved to the US when I was a kid), and my grandparents raised rabbits. They were farmers in a rural area, and that's just what people did, so my dad grew up on rabbit and still remembers a good deal of raising them (never bothered mentioning it until I expressed my own independent desire to raise rabbits for meat, can ya believe it?).

My parents are actually visiting us this weekend, and my mom's been asking if we can make rabbit for dinner. She hasn't had it since we moved, I think, and seems to miss it! :lol:

For what it's worth, I think that it's mostly as Maggie said. People where we live now see rabbits as pets, not a food source. But I don't think all hope is lost... a good number of my coworkers have asked me to bring in some rabbit dishes so they can try some! I'm still cautious about who I talk to about my bunnies (I know a few people in the office with pet rabbits, so I won't mention my herd around them), but more and more of the people I talk to seem open to the idea.

I don't think big corporations will ever really focus heavily on rabbit meat production (it's not the easiest animal to raise in cramped, high density environments, after all), but I'm ok with that. I think if more people want to eat rabbit, there will be more small farmers who will finally get the chance to become profitable again. Or who will have the support to make changes in Agriculture laws that are currently skewed in favor of corporate giants. It may be slow going, but I hope people move back toward a culture in which we understand what it took to get food on our plates. And I'm glad that I can do my part by raising a small herd of meat rabbits, establishing a vegetable garden, and (someday) learning beekeeping.

Living in the middle of South Dakota, I am surrounded by meat producers (beef, lamb, pork) and hunting/fishing guides. The business of South Dakota is animal product and commercial farming. Nonetheless, I laugh regularly at the squeamishness I get from my neighbors and fellow 4Hers. This time of year, I love pointing out how cute their calves are out in pasture, and the "loving" pairs of ewes and lambs in the lambing barns.

We even had a 4H parent whose kids are tired of their rabbits approach us about taking them. Although I agreed, the kids, ranchers, refused to allow their mom to bring the rabbits to me. "They eat their rabbits!" :lol:

Yup. We sure do. I will note that when we take rabbit dishes to potluck events, they are well-received.

A few people (relatives mostly) reject my rabbit eating, and refuse to allow it at family events. To the point of claiming that rabbit would make them violently ill because someone became ill after eating a wild rabbit many years ago. :slap:

There have also been many friends and relatives (especially on my husband's Italian side) that had fond memories of eating it, or else are just open minded and interested in trying something new and healthy.

I feel that the raw feeding crowd has also done much to make rabbit more acceptable, in their own way, by familiarizing a broad range of people with the concept of rabbit being an especially nutritious food source.

On the moral side, rabbits are also known to be much less of a source of just about every kind of pollution compared to other meat sources.
Also, rabbits (in the US) can easily be raised with no vaccinations. As far as I know, they are too sensitive to e-coli, salmonalla, or lysteria to be any kind of notable source for contamination. (Correct me if I'm wrong here.)

As far as the "cute" scale goes, I am a total sucker for cows. I talk to the cows in every field as we drive by them. But I love me a good cheeseburger. I see the divide between cute and livestock. I don't think we are there with rabbits. And with the growing polarization that seems to be spreading to just about every issue lately, I am not sure that will change, despite the health, ecological, economical and other benefits.

Marinea":27wz6suf said:

As far as the "cute" scale goes, I am a total sucker for cows. I talk to the cows in every field as we drive by them. But I love me a good cheeseburger. I see the divide between cute and livestock.

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They are so cute, aren't they? DH laughs his head off when I moo at them as we drive by! :in_love:

But yup, love me a good steak or burger!

Nymphadora":1cb0jzj5 said:

Marinea":1cb0jzj5 said:

As far as the "cute" scale goes, I am a total sucker for cows. I talk to the cows in every field as we drive by them. But I love me a good cheeseburger. I see the divide between cute and livestock.

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They are so cute, aren't they? DH laughs his head off when I moo at them as we drive by! :in_love:

But yup, love me a good steak or burger!

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I find pretty much every living thing beautiful, or at least, fascinating. It certainly doesn't stop me from understanding that death is built into life!

On a slightly different note, I've experienced pet bunnies who I couldn't even consider eating (Mucky, for example,) and plenty of sweet tempered and friendly meat bunnies who were fair game, despite me being a bit sad to see them go.

I'm not sure where the difference lies exactly, but the sentiment is mirrored by every member of the family so.. There must be some room for creatures that are cute, sometimes beloved pets, and sometimes environmentally friendly food. I can't find a word to fully describe the way I feel about it all, but I am comfortable with those feelings...if that makes sense?

Zass":q0apwc3n said:

On a slightly different note, I've experienced pet bunnies who I couldn't even consider eating (Mucky, for example,) and plenty of sweet tempered and friendly meat bunnies who were fair game, despite me being a bit sad to see them go.

I'm not sure where the difference lies exactly, but the sentiment is mirrored by every member of the family so.. There must be some room for creatures that are cute, sometimes beloved pets, and sometimes environmentally friendly food. I can't find a word to fully describe the way I feel about it all, but I am comfortable with those feelings...if that makes sense?

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Makes perfect sense to me, Zass. Rabbits fill so many human needs in so many different ways. Some achieve "pet status" and some are livestock.

It's not only rabbits. I started with geese thinking to have some for the dinner table, but I soon found the Pilgrim geese so altogether responsive, intelligent and adorable that I soon stopped seeing them as food. Our one remaining goose, Elsie, is definitely a pet.

We've had 2 rabbits that were long-term breed stock and people here got attached to. They were allowed to live out their natural lives and were dropped off in a field near a tree that serves as their "marker."

Here's something new: We have a small community of people from Egypt here. They REALLY like rabbit and were thrilled to hear that I produce meat. While most of our meat is for our family, it has been a small barter income. Here's the new part: they like the head. They want the rabbit skinned with the head included because the brain and the cheeks are apparently quite the treat. These folks have no regard for rabbits as anything but meat.

SoDak Thriver":te4fiwx8 said:

Here's something new: We have a small community of people from Egypt here. They REALLY like rabbit and were thrilled to hear that I produce meat. While most of our meat is for our family, it has been a small barter income. Here's the new part: they like the head. They want the rabbit skinned with the head included because the brain and the cheeks are apparently quite the treat. These folks have no regard for rabbits as anything but meat.

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I had a market like that once, I don't remember for sure what "nation" they were from- but i think it was Jamaica...

My view on letting breed stock that have become pets live out their natural lives, stops as soon as I see them begin to act like they don't feel well- [I hate old age]
With that said- I have kept some for a long time after they stopped being profitable- I tell myself "they have earned this" but it is just a cover for having grown to like them.. I once had an old sow that had become a pet, -she had a little house, and a "tether" on one front leg and a very long rope- she lived under our oak trees, enjoying the acorns, and rooting up the entire area for many years . [I had some snooty neighbors that complained about seeing a 600 lb pig in our yard every time they drove past our little house on the way to their mansion..., so that made it all the more enjoyable to let her live out front ] The kids in the area would come to the fence and pet her, and gather grass , black walnuts, and acorns from the right of way ,to feed her..

I know or have meet several people that say they can't believe that I eat rabbit. They say their so cute how can you do it how can you kill something so cute. First off I take no pleasure in killing anything that I eat. I tell them they taste great and are healthy source of meat. My kids like to play with them when they are small but after they get so big they lose interest. I also don't let other people's comments have any effect on how I live and raise my family. I have told people that baby anything is cute chickens, pigs, cows. Some folks just can't get past they think it evil to eat a rabbit and that's OK for them. Rabbits are perfect size to have kids help with chores to. I can't take my kids walking around the pastures checking the cows having calves. They think they can just go up and play with them like there rabbits and goats. I tell my kids mommy cows to more than scratch you

Outside of the internet I've only really had a problem with a complete vegan and over the years she want from keeping her own views to hatred of everyone around her that ate meat. It was just especially targeted at me after another person there helped me dispatch some quail and discussed it around her. My mom just didn't want to see them die so while they were at her place I had to take them down to the woods across the horse pasture to shoot and hang them for butchering.

Maggie shared a website - I thought it was just too cool not to repost it here ..

http://world-rabbit-science.com/
In the wake of the worsening global economy, the spread of Avian Influenza, and the deterioration of our planet's natural resources, the role of the rabbit - to provide a regular supply of high quality protein and income - under sustainable systems that utilize renewable resources at minimal costs, is presently recognized as a major livestock species in many parts of the world. The World Rabbit Science Association continues to provide leadership in promoting the rabbit through research and project development activities conducted around the world.

I love that ...