In the New York Times Article, "Calling All Carnivores..." the author poses the question, "Is it ethical to eat meat?" http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/25/magazine/tell-us-why-its-ethical-to-eat-meat-a-contest.html
This blog post could end up being a 20 page paper if I let it get out of hand... So I will try to keep it brief. Ethically... Americans historically have a habit of turning the blind eye to the things that come to us conveniently or comfortably. Therefore, when it comes to eating meat, I have a hard time believing that many of us would continue to do so if we were informed about the inhumane commercialized process of how our meat gets to us. Several docu-movies have been made trying to help shed light on these practices such as "Food, Inc.," "Knife Over Fork," and "Fresh." There are so many disturbing things that happen in this industry I have a hard time finding a place to begin. Basically, when we figured out how to produce corn in the mass amounts for insanely inexpensive monetary costs... The farming industry was changed forever. The "little guys" could no longer compete. Corn was genetically altered to perform functions it was not naturally intended to. For example, cows, naturally are herbivores. They are supposed to live on grass, yet the majority of the cows raised for food purposes are fed a corn mixture (and sometimes ground up dead cows -- Which leads to mad cow disease FYI). Animals are now mass produced in environments so disgusting they become breeding grounds for diseases and farmers are forced to pump them full of antibiotics and growth hormones to speed up the process. When animals are raised in pins so tight they cant turn around, and stand in their own excrement, I would imagine they may need antibiotics. This is not even half of the issues this industry creates.
The problem here is that part of our responsibility as stewards of the earth is to respect the natural design of nature. These factory production farming ways are far from ethical. "Manure lagoons" develop on these farms which contain toxic waste filled with pesticides and hormones being released into our air and run off into our natural water supplies.... Aka now we have a pollution problem.
So... ethically, I do not have a problem with people who eat meat. It is the production process of meat I have a problem with. Also, I think the lack of education is an issue. I have tried to be an advocate for my family and friends to learn about these practices and change their buying/consumption habits. I've suggested watching the docu-movies, but honestly many say "I don't want to know. I like my hamburgers." Truly... If they knew were the meat came from, and the costs, not just the initial cost but the cost behind the production and costs on the environment, they might make different decisions. I have successfully helped my mom become educated about this and she and I consciously choose a meat free diet. I have a friend with multiple ranches who now raises his own cows for their family's meat that they can monitor their diet, but honestly not everyone has that option.
Keep in mind that we do not need meat to achieve a healthy well balanced diet. Protein can be obtained from many other sources such as beans.
As I attempt to do my part to be an ethically responsible citizen... I think there are other people who want to as well, but are scared to open this door as they have become so accustomed to a diet consisting of meat. Consider when planning a dinner, the menu always consists of the main course (beef, chicken, fish, etc) and then the supplemental sides (potatoes, salad, vegetables, etc). Now... I fully believe that if that was reversed, the health care crisis our country is in would change drastically. If you compare countries like China to the US, they do not have the same health problems, (diabetes, obesity, heart problems, cancer). Their diet is considerably different. How can people not make this distinct correlation?
This is the movie Food, Inc. It will change your life. Share it.
No comments:
Post a Comment