If You Were Required to Take a Course in Meat Science, What Would You Do?
By Pigglies
@Pigglies (9329)
United States
October 12, 2008 10:06pm CST
I have tried to get out of taking this required course for my major for several years. I am very thankful that the slaughterhouse at our school is no longer operational (after 6 years at the school, it's finally no longer slaughtering) so we won't be witnessing a slaughter or slaughtering any animals (or "harvesting" them as our professor says). However, we still have to learn the different cuts of meat and we have to actually cut meat.
If you had to take such a course to get your degree, would you drop out of the program or just take the course? I try to just think of it as anatomy rather than thinking of this stuff as meat. The professor said he's had vegetarians take this class but never had a vegetarian finish this class... either they dropped or they started eating meat. There is definitely no danger of me starting to eat meat and at this point, only a few months away from graduating, I am not going to drop either.
4 responses
@starryeyes90 (108)
• United States
13 Oct 08
What on earth kind of degree are you going for? If this is a class that is required for your major then I think you really need to just grin and bear it. It maybe difficult now, but in the grand scheme of things it's a very short period of time. Plus you can just look at it as an obstacle to be overcome on your way to achieving your dreams. Was that sentence a little sappy. Sorry. Good luck with your class though, try to stick it out. As they say in Winnie the Pooh "Be brave little Piglet".
1 person likes this
@Pigglies (9329)
• United States
13 Oct 08
I'm going for an Animal Science degree. I am told it is required because if we don't get into vet school, we could end up using this degree to become meat inspectors. But I know there is no way I will ever be a meat inspector, I would rather live in a tiny apartment and work in an office for the rest of my life. So I don't get why it has to be required. I think it's really only required because otherwise no one would take the class and those professors would be out of a job. Plus the school needs students to cut the meat they sell in their store.
@starryeyes90 (108)
• United States
13 Oct 08
I think it's so weird that unrelated classes are always required when people are going for a degree. A friend of mine was going for an interior design degree and was required to take several biology and life science kinds of courses. Seems like since you are trying to get into school to learn how to fix animals, they wouldn't make you take courses to learn how to butcher them. Kind of ironic isn't it? I'm sorry your in a class that goes against your principals, but like I said before try to stick it out. Be one of the few vegetarians who does complete the course. Even if you hate every living second of the class, at the end, at least you can say you stuck it out. Good luck to you!
@Pigglies (9329)
• United States
13 Oct 08
Thanks! I will definitely try to stick it out and not only that, I will try to get an A. I have been working on getting this degree for 6 years, so I don't want to throw it all away now. I wonder how schools choose what classes go with what majors. The fashion majors here have to take a lot of agricultural classes which they all hate. And the rest of the agriculture students hate that choice too because then our limited seats are often filled by fashion students.
@frankiecesca (2489)
•
13 Oct 08
I think it depends on whether or not I knew before I started the course that I would have to do it at some point as I probably in that case wouldn't have done so but, as long as you know you will be able to do it then that is good for you! : )
@Pigglies (9329)
• United States
15 Oct 08
I didn't exactly know I'd have to take this class when I started the program, but I probably would have started it anyway. I just knew it was an option to take this class. Later the other options went away and this class became required.
So far, I'm not doing as well as I thought though. Now I have a D in the class already. And that's just in the lecture portion.
@Debs_place (10520)
• United States
15 Oct 08
What school is this? I would take the class and just sick it up, look at it as an A&P class. You are dissecting the animals not cutting it.
@Pigglies (9329)
• United States
15 Oct 08
It's in Southern CA. If you want to know the exact school just message me.
If we could wear gloves I could deal with this a lot easier. But yes, I am trying to think of it as anatomy. The good thing is, we do have to know the anatomy as well so that helps. But it's hard to get myself to remember things about how to cook and tenderize and all of that lovely stuff since it is all stuff I don't even want to think about, much less study.
But apparently I was the only one who remembered that the stuff we cut off was the periosteum. Everyone else in my group kept saying it was the perimecium. Gotta love that.
@ssj3goku (113)
• United States
23 Oct 08
I think that it should never be a requirement to graduate in the first place, but If I had to take the class to get my degree then I would do it. Personally since I am not a vegetarian, it might be a little hypocritical if I eat meat and can't stand to see how it is packaged or processed. I do know some vegetarians and I do think it would be extremely insensitive to make them learn about that, much less take an entire course about it for a grade.
@Pigglies (9329)
• United States
23 Oct 08
Surprisingly though, a lot of people who eat meat can't stand to think of it before it got to what they are eating. I have a few friends like that. They can't even stand to look at raw meat at the store, they want it cooked and that's it. And if you mention it is from an animal, they are disgusted.
