Permission to drink a lion
There is something extremely bizarre about drinking a lion. But maybe in this world of post-truth it's a new normal. After all, the cruelty we do to creatures in factory farms comes to us with no conscience, wrapped in plastic and labelled farm fresh. Every time we buy an egg or a steak or chicken breast we conspire in a little lie that it's okay, says Don Pinnock.
©tinna2727 via 123RF
It is much easier to be cruel than one might think. It depends on how we understand it and whether we choose to ignore it. Cruelty has to do with suffering, whether it be emotional or physical. There's no doubt the creatures we farm to eat suffer, but we probably never see battery farm animals so it becomes easy to ignore. In their lifetime, unless they're vegetarian, people in the developed world will eat the meat of around 20,000 entire animals.
Ignoring suffering is avoiding shame. The commercial marketing of animal parts (let's call it by its true name) is to avoid the possibility of feeling shame that may follow seeing how creatures are raised and slaughtered. We feel no regret for the life of a genetically altered broiler chicken, too big-breasted to walk and living on mesh wire in a space as large as an A4 sheet of paper. Anyway, knowing that would spoil the taste...
Read the full story on the Daily Maverick.
Related
FMD control efforts continue in Eastern Cape and KZN 25 Nov 2024 FMD hits 24 ECape farms, quarantine and vaccination underway 22 Jul 2024 Vigilance in containing FMD critical for red meat export growth 10 May 2024 FSA's new livestock safety system to mitigate foot-and-mouth disease risks 14 Mar 2024 TNPA addresses Al Kuwait livestock carrier concerns at Cape Town Port 21 Feb 2024 Diseases on farms in South Africa: Recent outbreaks point to weaknesses in the system 14 Nov 2023
