horrorshow
February 19, 2008
This morning I was shocked out of my sleep by the audio track from the video taping of the treatment of cows in the slaugterhouse involved in the recall of 143 million pounds of beef. I’ve never heard anything like it. Worse than my worst nightmares. What drives a human to be able to do such things to any creature is something I hope to never imagine.
I’ve not eaten any meat in over a decade. I’m a lacto-ovo vegetarian. I eat milk-products and eggs. In the last 2 years, in large part due to going to the farmer’s market, I’ve been able to see the places I get cheese and eggs from.
We’ve met the cows we get our cheese from and the chickens where our eggs come from. We meet the people who take care of these animals every week at the farmer’s market. The animals live outside in large spaces. When they get sick they get treated by a vet. When they are too old or hurt they are humanely put down. These animals don’t ever seem to encounter anything which causes them terror or shock. They will probably never have a reason to make the sounds that the cows from the video above made. I know we’ll never get to a point where people stop eating animals but I do hope we get to a point where all animals raised as livestock lead a life which is peaceful and as natural as possible. I also hope that when they die they can die a death which is as terror-free as possible.
If you can stomach it, watch the video in the article I linked to above. After watching it if you do not think you can be party to anything that causes that kind of terror then If you eat meat think about where you get your meat from and how the animals are treated before death. Think about if you would miss meat much if you stopped eating it. If you consume eggs, milk or cheese, make sure you know from where they come and if you have the chance go and visit the farms.
Follow your food chain, make sure you know what’s happening at all the links in the chain. Make sure you’re comfortable with being involved in those links.
