In a demand-driven economic system they are the same. With a decrease in demand there will eventually be a decrease in production.Astus wrote: One shouldn't confuse killing with eating meat. They are not the same.
Quite correct. But Hungary is not involved in war at the moment.If eating meat is a problem because (in most cases) it is a result of someone killing an animal, and by buying meat one indirectly is involved in the meat industry, paying taxes is even more problematical. Or, for instance, I work at an IT company that I know is involved in government and military things too, therefore my work indirectly supports the soldiers on the battlefield.
On Planet Earth, at this time, unless we really work hard at separating ourselves from society, we cannot disengage ourselves from the overall creation of suffering that the larger society engages in. If we disengage ourselves from that society then we may violate our Bodhisattva Vows (of course we can always go to a society that creates less suffering).
If you live in a NATO country then you do in fact indirectly support the current wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan through your taxes (unless the society has a peace exception in the tax system - I am unaware of any such society). If you are a US citizen then you have to consider the alternatives - not supporting defense activities will in fact lead to more killing on US soil eventually because there are groups of people who do want to kill US citizens on US soil.
We need to be creative and find alternatives that at least reduce suffering. But in our current situation, we cannot eliminate the suffering of food production or through normal activities disengage ourselves from participation in war.
Kirt