Comments Regarding ‘Humane’ Meat

October 18, 2008

This is blog filler… sort of…

I left this comment at Feministe in a discussion about Prop 2, slightly edited:

Oprah did a show about Prop 2.
http://www.oprah.com/dated/oprahshow/oprahshow_20081008_animals

She displayed a sow gestation crate (a small, cruel cage for pregnant pigs that is currently the industry standard) and a veal crate (a small cage for baby bulls, who are a product of the dairy industry). Lisa Ling toured some farms - not the most horrific farms because they won’t allow video cameras inside, but even she was dismayed by the “nice” factory farms.

One of the guests was Nicholas Kristof, who recounted:

When it was time to slaughter one of the geese, young Nicholas was given the task of rushing into the barn to grab a goose for the chopping block. “Then I’d be walking out to the door, and out of that panicked flock one goose would emerge and walk toward me absolutely terrified, but sort of protesting in a very ‘goosian’ way. It would be the mate of the one that I was holding,” he says. “And boy, that is a kind of courage—and it sounds funny to say it, but courage and humanity, if you will—that I have just never seen since. That has haunted me ever since.”

The fact is, animal agriculture is about profit. It’s not about human health, it’s not about animal welfare, it’s not about protecting the environment. And so long as regulations on animal agriculture remain as lax as they are today, we’ll continue to have more and more abuse of animals, more outbreaks of bacterial contamination, more diet-related preventable disease, and more pollution. Prop 2 won’t stop all those things, but it’s a beginning.

I’m urging all my friends and family members who live in California to vote YES ON PROP 2. And NO on prop 8. They’re both about basic rights. For animals it’s the basic right to lie down, turn around, and stretch out one’s limbs. For people, it’s the basic right to wed who you love.

I left this comment at Pandagon in a discussion about PETA, veganism, and animal rights. I’ve edited it slightly:

Some omnis think: “These are things that most people who are of the opinion that Everyone Should Be Vegan And Nobody Should Ever Eat Any Animal Products, EVAR usually do not pursue.  Because if you give people butter from happy cows, they won’t be vegan anymore, will they?  And we can’t have that, can we? “

1) No, we oppose ‘happy meat’ (and ‘happy butter’ etc) for animal rights reasons, not to control you. It’s not about you. Get over yourself.

2) Moreover, happy meat is not sustainable. The rapidly growing population simply can’t consume animal products in a sustainable manner, period. As a society, we can choose to go vegan or we can sterilize everyone. I vote vegan.
Details here: http://www.humanemyth.org/faq/1127.htm

3) Lastly, there is NO possible way to absolutely ensure humane slaughter. Some number of sick people will abuse animals. If you care about animals, the only humane choice is to stop eating them.

Posted by Elaine Vigneault | Filed Under Animals, Food, Lifestyle, veganism 

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Comments

2 Responses to “Comments Regarding ‘Humane’ Meat”

  1. Bea Elliott on October 19th, 2008 5:43 am

    I see the conversation is winding up down the predictable road of “what about the insects”… roaches, ants, etc. It always goes this way when too many valid points are made about the billions of sentient beings deliberately raised and slaughered. A dozen clowns will chime in about the pitiful insect - it is the mantra of their desperation to avoid rationality.

  2. kelly g. on October 19th, 2008 8:16 am

    If you live in CA, also vote NO on Prop. 4, which would mandate parental notification for minors seeking abortions. I’m trying my best to get my sister’s butt out to the polls!

    Now to figure out what Props 1, 3, and 5-7 entail ;)

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