More from Maddy
You know when you leave somewhere, and you think, "Oh, I should have said XYZ!" That's what happened to Maddy. Here are some additional things she meant to say:
Killing animals is not easy. But animal protein is a great source of protein for us (omnivorous mammals with big brains). Not that there aren't a lot of vegetarian options (processed usually, be it soyrizo, canned beans with rice, or tofu (and canned beans are processed, so all processed food is not to be feared)), but there are even more options, and very tasty ones at that, by including animal flesh in our diet. It is not easy, but a farmer who sees to it that their livestock can fully live their lives as they should (grazing grass, pecking at bugs, whatever) is more mentally prepared to slaughter that animal.
The people who work in large industrial processing plants, where thousands of conventionally raised livestock end up, can have serious lapses in ethical behavior. Industrial farming will take you to the dark side. The documented abuse and torture of some of the animals makes it very clear that there are serious problems with our accepted practices of raising and processing animals for food. Like Ghandi said (roughly), "you can judge a society based on how it treats its animals."
By eating animal protein so frequently (read: constantly and thoughtlessly) we are accepting these practices. Do I eat out at restaurants? Yes. Do I know that their steak or chicken or pork has been sourced from a sustainable and organic farm? No. Do I like this hyprocrisy in my life? No. Do I want to be more vigilant about my eating habits? Yes. But this is all a process. You start somewhere, do not discount your small victories, or dwell on your poor decisions. Just keep going. Keep thinking about where the food on your plate came from. How many steps did it take to get there? And all of these decisions will be much more personal once you all graduate and gain employment. Then your money can be used more closely based on your personal values. And I know that organic is more expensive, as I touched on in one or two classes. Grass-fed beef is expensive compared to conventional; hence, I do not eat beef everyday. I do not even eat beef every week. And remember, beef was a cow, a real cow, living and breathing, doing its thing to the best of its ability in its given circumstances. Just as pork was an actual pig somewhere. Remember those baby pigs in the pictures? They are probably dead and long digested since that photo. But it's a cycle, and we're all a part of it. Whether you choose to pay attention to that cycle and how you participate in it is up to you.
So when you say that it isn't easy would you say that workers in a factory have gotten over that fact of what they're doing and just do it over all day long my question would be what if you became too attached to the animal if you were on a farm would that make it harder or would you still have the to build up sort of a shield to it?
ReplyDeleteBefore I address your question, let me add that in the factory setting, workers make ONE cut ALL DAY on the same animal. To contrast, a diverse farmer will see more of the entire process for a variety of animals. The monotony of the factory workers' job is probably the only way they can disconnect from the reality around them. Ok, to more closely answer your question...
DeleteThere is always a shield. If you raised an animal, and see it as a living being, you always will need a defense mechanism when it comes to slaughter. Mine was to get very anatomical and surgical while in the process. It was all about the anatomy of the bird (find the artery, do not hit the windpipe), the quality of tools (a very sharp knife) to allow for a relatively painless slaughter. Death with dignity. They are exiting their life at our hands, so that our customer eats and enjoys that chicken. I never slaughtered a large mammal, but am sure that there is a new level of respect AND shield needed to process a cow or pig or goat. They live longer (aka more time to bond), they have more distinct personalities, they are closer related to us as mammals... But it can be done and has been done for a long time. Say your favorite dairy cow gets sick, and it's unaffordable to buy the medications that might not even work, and the sickness that they have does not affect the health of their meat. In that case, I think it's less respectful to waste the animal's meat. It is always a sacrifice, but for a purpose- nutrition and delicious taste.
How were you able to kill another animal? What were you thinking about or were you not thinking about what you were doing? Did you like woofing? Would you do it again?
ReplyDeleteI am going to answer your questions in reverse order...
DeleteYes, I would WWOOF again. I'm a current member (I have access to the directory of farms that participate) and am looking for local opportunities, but have not contacted any farms yet. I'm not looking to stay on their property, more to volunteer during the day and take some 'groceries' home once a week or something.
I loved WWOOFing, but I think that has a lot to do with thorough searching of all the farms available to WWOOF at and reading the descriptions of their farms. Kinda like online dating, you see one profile and know it would never work or creeps you out, and another is like, "Hey, I want to know more... We should meet in person."
Killing an animal... like I said, not easy. We did not have to participate in the slaughtering of the animals, we chose to. Our (past) vegetarianism was based on the fact that we had never killed an animal, so why were we eating animal protein to much? Did we deserve to? Maybe not. Also, us not taking part in killing those chickens would not have stopped that farm from needing to kill those chickens to take to market to sell for money. In the act, my mind was in chicken-anatomy-mode. We uses a very sharp knife because it will cause less pain. We felt the chickens neck first to identify the artery we need to hit for the most painless and clean death. I hit the windpipe instead of the artery once and it was not easy to watch, and I will spare you a detailed description. So it is a very surgical mindset that got me through the process. I wanted to be efficient to minimize the animal's suffering out of respect of the animal. The first one is difficult, simply because you've never done it and feel very prone to mistakes. After a few, there is a rhythm to it, but attention must always be on the task at hand to give each of the animals their due respect on their way out of life, even as eventual food.
I thought you did great on Monday! I didn't know certain things need a break from what you told us. For instance, I didn't know farmers take vacations', like that's different. Everyone needs a break. Anyways good job!!
ReplyDelete... Actually, it's very DIFFICULT for farmers to take vacations because it is so hard to find people who are qualified and willing to maintain a farm. Those were unusually lucky farmers to take a vacation.
DeleteFeel free to ask more questions! I like talking about this stuff.
ReplyDelete