Its happened. I have been waiting, page after page and it has finally arrived. This book, at once fascinating and blood-curdling, has brought me to my breaking point. This is the danger that arises when one reads something that is as gruesome as it is ruthlessly informative. One learns things that one simply wishes to un-learn. The horror builds and builds until finally...
I can tell you the exact page number. The section: "I Do," page 232, less than a third of the way down. The section is about the cattle slaughter process. It is about the "mistakes", the "accidents" that occur on the kill floor of slaughterhouses across the nation. These are pseudonyms for commonplace events, regularities.
The sickest kinds of torture. Unfathomable cruelty. Vivisection. At one point a cow has been killed (a bolt thrust through her skull, between the eyes), and her unborn baby is half born, struggling to free itself...
Yesterday I asked my class why they ate animals. The immediate response was "'cause they taste good!"A little more discussion, and the answers morphed. "Because it's tradition, it's our culture," some said. Others, "because we were made to eat animals, our ancestors did and so should we." Why does my class eat animals? Because they've been taught to. Eating animals is normal, comfortable, enjoyable. Students called to mind family gatherings, times of joy, centered around a lamb on a spit and more. There is no question, food is an integral part of our culture and history. But in this day and age, and with these practices and corruptions of the way our ancestors ate animals, are we kidding ourselves?
Read the passage about that unborn calf again. What feelings do the images of this and past posts give you? Warmth? Peace? Hardly. Clearly there has been a disconnect between eating animals and what it takes to eat animals.
Yesterday I asked my class why they ate animals. I got my answer:
We eat animals because we are ignorant. We eat animals because we forget the reality of our actions. We eat animals because we were taught to eat animals and any alternative is too alien to consider. We eat animals not because we are cruel, but because we are disconnected.
Eating Animals is not a book for the faint of heart. Nor is it a book for those seeking to blindly uphold their carnivorous or omnivorous lifestyles. This is a book for those who wish to learn the truth. It is suitable for anyone who wishes to make educated decisions about what they support with their money and their consumption. It is a book to facilitate re-connection.
The truth is a harsh thing. It is frightening and nauseating. Yet, the responses of my classmates compel me to keep ingesting the truth in Foer's book. This is not my last post on Eating Animals. I will not lose my connection to the reality of what my family, friends, and classmates are supporting.
I was fascinated by the discussion you led in class on this book. The cruelty of the meat industry goes unnoticed by most of our nation. Most of those who have seen some insight into this gruesome industry choose to ignore it. I became an vegetarian three years ago and was even vegan for a year, though now I'm back to just being a vegetarian. My reason for becoming vegetarian and then vegan was because I had heard one too many details about the cruelty against these animals to ever allow myself to put a creature in side my stomach. Unfortunately, I have to admit that although I have risen above the temptation of eating these poor, innocent, defenseless creatures, I have not completely rid myself of animal products. It was your discussion in class and this blog post that makes me realize how wrong and hypocritical that actually is of me. I still have leather shoes and leather purses. The truth is, the only reason I think I still wear these animal products as clothes and accessories is because I have never heard the real details of how these animals are treated and how they are killed. And in all honesty, I don't know if I really want to. The truth forces you to make a choice. I heard the truth about the meat industry and I chose not to support it. If I heard the truth about animal products like leather and feathers in the fashion industry, would I choose not to support it anymore, or would my selfish desires to have nice leather heels and suede purses win me over? Although I don't feel a need to read this book about the cruelty to animals in the food industry because I don't eat meat anyways, your passion about this book has motivated me to search for a book about animal cruelty in fashion and to find the truth there. I'll let you know what I find!!
ReplyDeleteThank you, I really enjoyed leading that discussion, I hope our omnivorous classmates gave it some thought too. I experienced a similar cognitive dissonance while reading the book. I am a vegetarian, yet I am terribly hypocritical. I may not eat meat, I may not use products that were tested on animals, but I wear leather. Sometimes it is as though I've forgotten what leather is made of, what died for my boots or bag. Its disgusting, and yet, because of how little I know of the industry (as you said) I don't change. I adore fashion, and I would love to hear about how I can contribute to a cruelty-free, sustainable industry. Please share! Thanks for commenting!
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