I was familiar with the sentiment of "Meat is Murder" but never heard the song or seen the verse. I always thot it the battle cry of militant vegetarians, and like any other overzealous group, they can be pretty whigged out. (Insert PETA here)
I have been a vegetarian since 1970 (LSD induced attitude change in San Francisco) but for the first quarter century of my life I ate all sorts of meat like any normal American. It was accepted by my culture, just as naturally as constipation.
However, I understand the primitive cruelty of predator/prey - just don't want to participate any more. I think ppl need the consciousness raising of what they are a part of when they pick up that nice red piece of meat wrapped in plastic at the supermarket. I respect hunters more because they know where "meat" comes from - the brutal killing of another sentient being.
As a teenager in Mississippi I assisted in the slaughter and butchering of a yearling calf. The calf was tied to a tree and I sensed that my uncles were actually uneasy about who would take the 22 caliber rifle and shoot this cute calf between the eyes at point-blank range. I was afraid that they would push that task on me. When they shot the calf, it dropped immediately and my uncles cut its throat and hoisted it up by the back legs to bleed out. Then the butchering started.
Thru out this process of three predators descending on her calf, killing it and cutting its carcass apart, I remember seeing the mother cow standing at a distance watching us. You've seen this scene on any number of nature shows, whether it be a wildebeast or antelope whose calf is taken by lions or hyenas, it is the same and I am sure there is pain and loss for the mother.
So, I understand the sentiment of "Meat is Murder" but don't go all militant with it. There are predators in this world and ppl who eat meat should see where their place is. If you are a predator, at least show some respect for your prey - like the Native North Americans who saw the cycles of which they were a part and acknowledged the animals' sacrifice so that the ppl could survive.