“I feel that fiction will get to more people than nonfiction,” she said, citing Gail Eisnitz’s “Slaughterhouse” as an example. “When you have a book called ‘Slaughterhouse’ sitting on a table, how many people are going to buy it? How many people are going to read it?”
Most people don’t want to see what is going on at animal factories, she said, “but if you don’t see it, you don’t know what’s going on. I know there is this perception, this feeling, that if you know something like this is going on, then you have
to do something about it. No, you do not. You don’t have to do something about it. But the fact that so many people think you have to do something about it keeps them from wanting to know anything about it. At least if you know, then you can do something about it.”
Did you read the AP exclusive, Video shows workers abusing pigs?
An undercover video shot at an Iowa pig farm shows workers hitting sows with metal rods, slamming piglets on a concrete floor and bragging about jamming rods up into sows' hindquarters.The truth is even worse than fiction.
On the video, obtained by The Associated Press, a supervisor tells an undercover investigator for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals that when he gets angry or a sow won't move, "I grab one of these rods and jam it in her (anus)."
I haven't read Dakota yet, but I have read enough things about the meat industry to be uncomfortable even though I eat meat. I think this is a significant reason that I buy all my poultry from a farm that raises and slaughters their own, despite the fact that it costs considerably more than in the store, and I go to a butcher that sells only locally praised, mostly grass-fed pastured meats from local farms who care about the quality of the meat and its handling. I realize that I am extremely fortunate to be able to do this and this option is not available to everyone. I also recognize that I spend considerably more on our food than most Americans do, and that too is a luxury although I am not conviced it should be a luxury. But that becomes a much bigger issue than just the price of food.
ReplyDeleteThanks to Grandma Ann at Sitting Knitting, we are joining her and her daughter in purchasing a side of (organic, grass-fed) beef from Tawanda Farms in NorCal. That should provide each family w/ ~40 pounds of beef for the year.
ReplyDeleteIt is intermediate in price when compared to purchasing "conventional" and organic beef in the stores. Raising cattle on grass rather than grain is better for the cows and for Mark's cholesterol levels. Also, much less antibiotic use and risk of E. Coli.
Aside from the issue of animal cruelty, I wish meat-eaters would think about what becomes of the waste products created by all of the animals produced for food. That alone should make everyone think about the wisdom of eating so much meat of any kind, in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteGrandma Ann points out that each side of beef is about 165 pounds so each family will receive 55 pounds.
ReplyDeleteWe take delivery in October. I need to clean out the freezer to get ready.