Having been exposed to PETA material before, I expected the violent mistreatment that was shown in the video. What I did not expect was my complete reaction to all the material shown. It was the point at which the cows were shown struggling in dire pain as they were hanging upside down slowly bleeding to death from the neck that I began to weep for the suffering of these animals. To think for a minute that these animals don't have personalities like you and me, or even so much as to ignore the pain and suffering that all living things feel is downright ignorance. After reading the article assigned, "The Cost of Cheap Chicken", I began to wonder if eating meat was seriously worth the cost. Certainly I have been convinced that factory farming is downright unethical and unhealthy for both the animals and us as consumers. Environmentally, factory farms are damaging to their surroundings. They also are breeding grounds for disease and illness which no doubt alters the very DNA of the chicken or cow that you are consuming for the "benefit" of your own DNA. I figure I can easily save myself from these bad karma sources of nutrition and protein, but my personal shopping choices alone won't stop the cruelty. As a culture and as a country in a globalized world, we must take much bigger measures to establish laws and guidelines in the production of food we ourselves eat and rely upon. I remember from the article the Tyson corporation claiming to be America's #1 source of protein. Well if that's all the have to offer us, perhaps we need to learn to turn our backs like we are beginning to do with the oil corporations and find alternate sources of protein for our diets that don't have such a moral toll on our bodies and consciousness. I found these two books that expand on the subject:
Ford, Barbara. Future Food: Alternate Protein For The Year 2000. New York: Morrow, 1978.
Call #: TX53.P7 F67 Location: Wilson 4w
Bharadwaj, Monisha. India's Vegetarian Cooking. London: Kyle Brooks, 2006.
Call #: TX837 .B535 2007 Institution: George Fox Location: Newberg, Main Stacks
Monday, April 14, 2008
The Cost of Change
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2 comments:
It is true that it often appears that an animal is in pain or is suffering greatly as it is being killed, but would you not expect it to? It is important as consumers of meat to recognize that the food you are eating was once alive. It is natural for humans to eat meat and it is natural for animals to be killed so that others may survive; why then are humans so surprised when forced to face the more gruesome aspects of being a carnivore? Some might say that it is inhumane to "smash an animal against the floor" but no one would ever complain when seeing a lion overwhelm a gazelle and begin to consume its flesh while it is still alive and writhing......
My .02.
I agree that animals have personalities and they can DEFINITELY feel pain. My gosh, it's obvious as the poor pigs were squealing in pain as they were castrated and the cows mooing in pain as they were branded. It seems so wrong and sick. Animals can feel pain, just like we can and to see chickens struggling while beaten and left to suffer was just horrible. I can't believe this is what the meat industries allow their workers to do...just so they can make a ton of money.
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