Food For Thought

I read tons of blogs every day. Many of my current favorites I've stumbled across accidentally, such as Mihow.com. I don't know the woman who created it, but she's a fellow cat lover, has an insanely cute baby, and writes really well. I feel like reading her stories for the past six months has enabled me to know her intimately enough that she and I could have coffee and enjoy ourselves. That's more than I can say for most of the strangers I cross paths with every day.

Mihow (AKA Michelle) recently linked to a provoking New York Times article about knowing the animals we eat that I think you should read. Even though I'm a pescetarian with vegan aspirations, I try not to judge anyone else's eating choices. After all, I read dlisted.com almost every day, which is arguably more damaging to my body than rBST. I also have a lot of leather shoes. But I do think that if we were all more actively involved in the process of putting meat on the dinner table or on our bodies, we'd be weighing our ethical decisions more often. Just something to think about.

Comments

[Text Pirate]

Sarah said "...if we were all more actively involved in the process of putting meat on the dinner table or on our bodies, we'd be weighing our ethical decisions more often."

Back when most people were living an agrarian lifestyle the welfare of animals was usually less of a consideration than it is today, so, I'm not sure if that would be the case. But people today are generally more concerned about animal welfare which might make things different.

I think everyone who eats meat should hunt and/or slaughter some of their food at least once. Also, grow some vegetables. Food takes on more meaning when it isn't just another product in a plastic container.

But much of the "organic" hype is just that, hype. So, caveat emptor.

[ChiliMac]

I often wonder how my Pops did it when he was a kid. My Grandparents and their family had a butcher shop and slaughter house. My Pops knew all the animals he ate. Yikes!

[BrionG]

I'd just like to share one of my most vivid dreams:
I'm a American Indian brave, 250-300 years ago, out hunting for my family, steeped in fireside stories of The People, when an - obviously - old, male, deer 'allows me to see it', as wild animals will not, so I've been told; we make eye contact & I thank him for his sacrifice while in one fluid motion I draw an arrow, fit it to my bow & aim it straght toward his heart.
My wife & children will live through this winter.

[M. Edgar]

I take the Buddhist angle of trying to reduce suffering when making food (and clothing) decisions. The Jane Goodall book "Harvest for Hope: A Guide to Mindful Eating" is on topic. The big picture view of conserving resources by eating more efficient meals - i think it uses around 20x more grain to make a beef meal - is worth considering. You don't miss out on variety either - still working through the 20+ vegetarian items at the local Indian joint.

[David]

As a person who raises a small flock of chickens (for the eggs only, I can't "off" my own animals), I'd have to agree with one of the other replies. I think farmers now tend to be far more concerned about their animal's welfare than farmers in the past. But I'm also smart enough to know that most do so because they want the best economic return from their animals (a healthy animal is a productive animal), and not because they truly care about that animal.

At the same time, I do agree that the general American public is woefully ignorant of where their food comes from. I live in a farming community, and even here most non-farmers have little understanding of where that t-bone steak came from.

I'll close with a personal example of that. I don't sell any eggs, I simply use some myself and give the rest to my surrounding neighbors. A few years ago a neighbor called and asked if I had some, and if so, could she please have them. So I ran her over a couple dozen. It just so happened that her then 17 year old niece was also at the house. Keep in mind now that this girl also lives in this same farming community. When I gave my neighbor the eggs, her niece got this horrified look on her face and yelled "You can't eat those! They're from chickens!" She genuinely believed that there was a real physical difference between eggs out of a live chicken and the eggs out of the egg display at the local grocery. And this is in a small town where once you get outside the actual city limits, you can't throw a rock and not hit a farm. I can only imagine the level of ignorance in a major city.

[ej]

I love animals and infact the only time I cried during Cloverfield was seeing the horse wandering around and knowing it was scared and would die.
However, there was a dark part of my childhood when the only way my family got food was when my Dad and I would go hunting. I didn't like killing animals but even if I could go back in time I'd still shoot the deer and track it until it died to help feed my family.