NY Times article on animal welfare - Rant
Thought this article might be of interest:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/25/dining/25sanc.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Overall I liked the article, but statements like these really irk me:
“The groups that don’t want us to eat any animals at all are so radical and off-the-wall that we don’t even worry about them,” said Scott Sell, the owner of Quail Ridge Ag and Livestock Services, a Georgia cattle company. “In our industry we are the original animal welfarists. We take care of the animals because they take care of us.”
In my opinion that whole last sentence is FALSE FALSE FALSE. People in the meat industry DO NOT care about the welfare of the animals until and unless it affects their bottom line. I feel that unless you have a farm small enough that you name all the animals and can trace their lineage in your head, true welfare of the animals is not possible. PLUS, animal welfare aside, "they" DO NOT take care of "us." Eating their flesh and products is killing us: diabetes, heart disease, obesity, resistance to antibiotics....not to mention the emotional and psychological toll. And even the author of the article using euphemisms like "processing" in the sentence: "people are willing to pay more for meat from animals that are better cared for and whose origins can be traced from birth through processing" is just perpetuating and reinforcing our culture's huge disconnect!! GRRRRR.
Ok, sorry, end of rant ;D
I know I'm preaching to the choir for the most part, but I couldn't help myself after I read the article. I understand any step forward is a good thing, awareness begets awareness and hopefully the ripples will expand, but it's frustrating sometimes that so many people settle for omnivorous lifestyles and see them as inevitable. :(
Thank you for posting the New York Times article, which I thought was reported and written more objectively and thoroughly than most vegan stories I have read in the major news media.
I was particularly impressed by this part.
"As Farm Sanctuary has grown, so too has its influence. Soon, due in part to the organization’s work, veal calves and pregnant pigs in Arizona won’t be kept in cages so tight they can’t turn around. Eggs from cage-free hens have become so popular that there is a national shortage. A law in Chicago bans the sale of foie gras.
And earlier this month, the New Jersey Supreme Court agreed to hear a case concerning common farming practices that a coalition led by Farm Sanctuary says are inhumane.
All of these developments reflect the maturation and sophistication of Mr. Baur and others in a network of animal activists who have more control over America’s dinner table than ever before. "