--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If someone were watching from a distant…" description: "\"If someone were watching from a distant planet, our beliefs might look like this: domestic animals should be more wild; wild animals should be more dom..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/919/steven-rinella-4635_animals_if-someone-were-watching-from-a-distant_1109020.png" --- # If someone were watching from a distant planet, our… ![“If someone were watching from a distant planet, our beliefs might look like this: domestic animals should be more wild; wild animals should be more domestic; and wild meat is good, so long as someone else kills it.” quote by Steven Rinella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/919/steven-rinella-4635_animals_if-someone-were-watching-from-a-distant_1109020.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/919/steven-rinella-4635_animals_if-someone-were-watching-from-a-distant_1109020.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/919/steven-rinella-4635_animals_if-someone-were-watching-from-a-distant_1109020.png) > “If someone were watching from a distant planet, our beliefs might look like this: domestic animals should be more wild; wild animals should be more domestic; and wild meat is good, so long as someone else kills it.” [Steven Rinella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-rinella/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human dietary norms blur lines between wild and domestic, exposing ethical contradictions. **In simple terms:** Food choices reveal ethical paradoxes. Key Takeaway Reflect on the origins of what you eat. Themes ethics food culture animal rights Mood thoughtful provocative Type philosophical inquisitive When to use this quote - dietary choices - environmental policy - cultural traditions Key Concepts Moral relativism cognitive dissonance Questions to Reflect On - Do you examine the source of your meat? - How do you reconcile taste and ethics? A Different Perspective Convenient diets often ignore animal suffering. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) [Animals Domestic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals-domestic-2944704/) [Domestic Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/domestic-animals-685034/) [Domestic Wild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/domestic-wild-2944703/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Look](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/look/) [Watching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/watching/) [Wild animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wild-animals/) [Wild Meat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wild-meat-1114603/) ## Related quotes > [Beyond domestic animals and our response to their fealty and affection, we have a peculiar charge concerning the wild animals which supply our clothes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-parkes-cadman/beyond-domestic-animals-and-our-response-to-their-fealty-and/) [S. Parkes Cadman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-parkes-cadman/) > [“Although justifications for wild meat harvest in terms of food for impoverished communities must be weighed seriously, it is critical to acknowledge that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-ripple/although-justifications-for-wild-meat-harvest-in-terms-of-food-for/) [William J. Ripple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-ripple/) > [What man with a human heart, who has ever cared for domestic animals, could look into their eyes, so full of confidence and affection,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-g-white/what-man-with-a-human-heart-who-has-ever-cared-for-domestic-animals/) [Ellen G. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-g-white/) > [We have no problem with the extinction of domestic animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-pacelle/we-have-no-problem-with-the-extinction-of-domestic-animals/) [Wayne Pacelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-pacelle/) > [You can keep a dog: but it is the cat who keeps people, because cats find humans useful domestic animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/you-can-keep-a-dog-but-it-is-the-cat-who-keeps-people-because-cats/) [George Mikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/) > [Man makes very much such a nest for his domestic animals, of withered grass and fodder, as the squirrels and many other wild creatures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/man-makes-very-much-such-a-nest-for-his-domestic-animals-of-withered/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [We should stop bringing more domestic animals into existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/we-should-stop-bringing-more-domestic-animals-into-existence/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) > [I was lucky enough to be surrounded by all sorts of animals from a very young age. My sister Jo was much more into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-backshall/i-was-lucky-enough-to-be-surrounded-by-all-sorts-of-animals-from-a/) [Steve Backshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-backshall/) > [Thousands of years ago, humans domesticated every possible large wild mammal species fulfilling all those criteria and worth domesticating, with the result that there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-diamond/thousands-of-years-ago-humans-domesticated-every-possible-large-wild/) [Jared Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-diamond/) > [We have no ethical obligation to preserve the different breeds of livestock produced through selective breeding One generation and out. We have no problems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-pacelle/we-have-no-ethical-obligation-to-preserve-the-different-breeds-of/) [Wayne Pacelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-pacelle/) > [We should take good care of the domestic animals we have brought into existence until they die. We should stop bringing more domestic animals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/we-should-take-good-care-of-the-domestic-animals-we-have-brought-into/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) > [So in regard to mental qualities, their transmission is manifest in our dogs, horses and other domestic animals. Besides special tastes and habits, general…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/so-in-regard-to-mental-qualities-their-transmission-is-manifest-in/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [Cats are the slipperiest of domestic animals. Thousands of years of genetic coding has taught them to melt into azaleas, lie motionless behind garden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-paul/cats-are-the-slipperiest-of-domestic-animals-thousands-of-years-of/) [Caroline Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-paul/) > [That proves something- that a gang of wild animals can be stopped, simply because they're still human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/that-proves-something-that-a-gang-of-wild-animals-can-be-stopped/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“As dreams are the healing songs from the wilderness of our unconscious - So wild animals, wild plants, wild landscapes are the healing dreams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-pendell/as-dreams-are-the-healing-songs-from-the-wilderness-of-our/) [Dale Pendell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-pendell/) ## More by Steven Rinella > [There is a limit to political and public tolerance for sacrifice on behalf of wildlife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-rinella/there-is-a-limit-to-political-and-public-tolerance-for-sacrifice-on/) [Steven Rinella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-rinella/) > [I have done some overseas hunting, including in New Zealand and with Amerindians in the jungles of South America. In those cases, I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-rinella/i-have-done-some-overseas-hunting-including-in-new-zealand-and-with/) [Steven Rinella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-rinella/) > [Deer won't trust their eyes, and they won't trust their ears, but they'll always trust their sense of smell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-rinella/deer-won-t-trust-their-eyes-and-they-won-t-trust-their-ears-but-they/) [Steven Rinella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-rinella/) > [I got an MFA in creative non-fiction writing at the University of Montana.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-rinella/i-got-an-mfa-in-creative-non-fiction-writing-at-the-university-of/) [Steven Rinella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-rinella/) > [I trapped for 10 years, selling the hides and everything. Muskrats, raccoons, coyote, mink, beaver, otter, fox. 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The phrase 'That thing ain't gonna last five minutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-rinella/a-gadget-connoisseur-has-to-be-able-to-suspend-feelings-of-disbelief/) [Steven Rinella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-rinella/) > [I became a father in May 2010 with the birth of my son, Jim. Like many fathers before me, holding my boy in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-rinella/i-became-a-father-in-may-2010-with-the-birth-of-my-son-jim-like-many/) [Steven Rinella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-rinella/) > [I own guns now. I know how to use them. 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As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It’s a small thing to help one animal, but to that one animal it’s a big thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-baur/it-s-a-small-thing-to-help-one-animal-but-to-that-one-animal-it-s-a/) [Gene Baur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-baur/) > [We animals are the most complicated things in the known universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-animals-are-the-most-complicated-things-in-the-known-universe/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“All these creatures spend their time explaining, realizing happily that they agree with each other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/all-these-creatures-spend-their-time-explaining-realizing-happily/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [We're not very dangerous animals; we don't have a horn like a rhino or quills like a porcupine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-fisher/we-re-not-very-dangerous-animals-we-don-t-have-a-horn-like-a-rhino-or/) [Helen Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-fisher/) > [We need, in a special way, to work twice as hard to help people understand that animals are fellow creatures, that we must protect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/we-need-in-a-special-way-to-work-twice-as-hard-to-help-people/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [“Plenty of animals had pets, but few were more devoted than the mouse, who owned a baby corn snake—“A rescue snake, she’d be quick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/plenty-of-animals-had-pets-but-few-were-more-devoted-than-the-mouse/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [No creature can attain a higher grade of nature without ceasing to exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananda-coomaraswamy/no-creature-can-attain-a-higher-grade-of-nature-without-ceasing-to/) [Ananda Coomaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananda-coomaraswamy/) > [Most people are sensitized to animals through their cats and dogs, but for me it was a flounder. 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