the meat industry. Now there’s a controversial subject.
Not only the meat itself, but the industry and the method by which it’s created. This also applies to all animal food products like dairy, eggs, even honey!
I’ve discovered a number of things about it and not all of them are pleasant. Apparently there are a number of travesties present in the world today, travesties that are unique or at least, more prolific and exposed in our time.
Thanks internet, now I have mixed feelings about my hamburger – but maybe, I should have started feeling this a long time ago.
“Donald? Darkwing? Nooooo!”
The best example of the worst things going on with the meat industry would be how Foie Gras is made. If there’s anything out there as tortuous as this to an animal for the purpose of food, I haven’t seen it. If you don’t know what it is, it’s a staple of French cuisine and is essentially duck or goose liver. Tasty, buttery stuff, apparently.
Foie Gras is made by, well, pulling a Hansel and Gretel. You get them caged, just like that old fairy tale, then forcefeed them corn, a process which is called gavage. They’re forced fed to the point of almost bursting. Organs break and rupture and livers become diseased, yet plump and enlarged for the connoisseur to enjoy. Doesn’t sound too tasty too me, but the worst part about it is that it’s completely unnecessary.
Places outside of France have created perfect and yummy Foie Gras without having to resort to traditional methods of torturing and forcefeeding Donald Duck. Of course, the French actually deny that it is workable Foie Gras simply because no animals were hurt in its production. This is probably one of the worst aspects of yummy food – torture is unnecessary to produce that kind of flavor, but hell, someone wants to stick to the good old days where humane treatment was a fevered dream.
There are a number of egregious violations of human treatment, but it is the controversy behind this one that struck me. They’re essentially torturing geese and duck, much in the way that a child would with a rock – except they’re doing it to make money, while the child does it largely based on naivety.
I, personally, would tell the kid off for hurling rocks at the ducks. I probably should tell off people torturing animals, no matter what they think they’re getting out of it.
And ducks aren’t the only victims. Take a look at the video that changed my life:
“But, I can’t stop eating meat!”
There’s probably the biggest mistake here and the source of a lot of confusion. For the most part, many organizations such as PETA aren’t looking to stop the wave of meat consumption entirely – that’s a monumental and let’s face it, impossible task.
Right now, their focus is to reduce and eliminate the animal abuse that occurs before they’re turned into breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Torture, not slaughter, is the real enemy. I’m sure many people will disagree with me because it’s unfair to kill animals for our own needs, but I’m far more upset with the abuse than the death.
There has been some success combating the darker side of the meet industry. As recently as Feb 5, 2009, three people were convicted felony charges for abusing turkeys. This marks a turning point the battle to treat our feathered friends just a little better, as it is the first time in US history that this has ever happened.
The meat, on its own, isn’t evil (in my humble opinion). After all, animals kill and eat each other. There’s just a darker side to that industry that people might not want you to see, an abusive part from people whose parents probably never told them not to kick the dog.
I think one of the best ways to put a stop to this abuse is to stop supporting the animal abusers. I’ve already started buying products from “certified humane” farms. We DO have a choice where we spend our money. I think it only makes sense to give our money to companies that fall in line with our beliefs.
There are a number of petitions out on the internet where you can make your voice heard – I’m going to go take advantage of those petitions. You might want to, too.
