This chapter of Foer's book, titled "Hiding/Seeking," had several excerpts from other writers, each telling their story about factory farms. One was a young girl, a kind of vigilante who would go on missions to farms, looking for truth. After years of sending letters of questions to food corporations, this young lady (called "C" for her protection) grew frustrated with the complete lack of reply from companies and took the quest for information about where our food comes from and the treatment of animals into her own hands. C is not a super-human. She is, according to Foer's description, "short and wispy. She wears aviator glasses, flip-flops, and a retainer" (81). C goes into farms at night. C pulls on locked doors, opens the unlocked ones, and confronts what she sees. Which means that C scales fences, wades in shit, and pulls out her knife to euthanize those animals that are too sick, or in too much pain to let live. This is not, and should never be the job of someone like C. Neither does the job belong to the corporations (we've seen and heard the horrors they allow in the dark, locked sheds, filled with sickness and death). No, it's the job of the experts. Let them be confronted with the harsh reality of our food industry. Let them, with their accustomed eyes, declare what is just and unjust for animals. I am not so naive to think that the world will suddenly become vegetarian, that people will care. People like meat, and so they will keep and kill animals. What we should be able to change, however, is how they keep and kill. There must be a better, more humane way to provide people on all budgets with the animal protein they feel they need.
Foer offers us another perspective, that of the last real turkey farmer. This man, Frank Reese, loves his turkeys. Does he still slaughter them? Yes, because he has to make a living, and people want to have turkey meat. Reese breeds natural turkeys, not one is genetically altered for more meat, or immunity to disease etc, otherwise they wouldn't survive on his actually free-range farm, where they go outside and live like real turkeys. He tells the reader, "With the modern industrial turkey it would be a mess. They couldn't survive. My guys could maneuver through a foot of snow without any trouble. And my turkeys all have their toenails; they all have their wings and beaks -- nothing's been cut off. . . Our birds exercise all day. And because their genes haven't been messed with, they have naturally strong immune systems. We never lose birds." (111). This loss of birds Reese refers to is the large-scale deaths of millions of birds each year on factory farms. Birds trampled, diseased, genetically mutilated, incinerated, etc. Industries discovered they could still make a profit on sick and dying animals, and as a result, they no longer care about the general health of flocks. We mess with the health and genetics of animals, eat them, and then become sick ourselves. We've seen a rise in "not only juvenile diabetes, but inflammatory and autoimmune diseases . . . kids are allergic to just about everything, and asthma is out of control" (112). I can't understand why people, not just corporations, but consumers, think this is acceptable. It's a vile corruption of nature, and is having detrimental effects on national health. But that's okay, because now you can have cheap turkey on thanksgiving. Rather than supporting animal rights and going vegetarian this Thanksgiving (Oh! The horror!), rather than supporting ethical farming, this holiday season, you can have a disease-ridden, painfully murdered, animal, nestled in a bed of gravy on your dining room table for pretty cheap. Doesn't that sound delicious?
Heading into the last several lines of this post, I couldn't help but realize the differences and connections that our books have. From the outside, one may think that they have no connection due to the fact that my book is solely on finance in business, and yours (I'm assuming) is entirely on the agricultural side of America. In reality, the agricultural business is one of the leading factors that resulted in the economic crisis. The farmers who grow their produce correctly, often fall into debt due to a lack of income, have to take loans from the bank that sometimes don't get paid back. The companies that don't need loans due to their influx of income as a result of mistreated produce, end up harming the overall well-being of the people. So, that partially explains our economic crisis and our weight problem!
ReplyDeleteA few years ago, I watched the video called "meet your meat." If you haven't seen it, I would definitely recommend it because it focuses on the same problems that you touched on. I must admit, I started eating meat no more than 1 day and a half after watching that video, but it definitely made me think twice about some things. I also really like your example of the farmer who seems to be doing the right thing. But how is the meat industry going to provide for the whole nation if companies are forced to grow meat the more humane way? Have there been any laws passed that restrict the inhumane ways in which meat companies make their produce? I agree with what you said, but just like our economic crisis isn't easy to solve, the quality of our meat industry doesn't seem too different.
In answer to your question about the nation's ability to provide: It's true, meat won't be cheap, and there won't be as much. But in exchange for giving up mass quantities of the disease ridden animals we call food, I believe Americans will gain something, be it health, awareness, or simply satisfaction with their positive changes and a planet sustainable for their children's children.
ReplyDeleteYes, laws are passed, but they do little to no good. The entire industry is corrupt. Politicians are bought and sold by the industry, inspections are announced and problems are ignored. In short, nothing is enforced.
It will be a tough, long road, but I hope things can change for American consumers, regarding both of our issues.