Let's get deep for a moment.
Out of stardust, life sprang, and our planet developed into dynamic, beautiful, interconnected ecologies. From stardust arose consciousness, emotion, the things that make life precious. That blows my mind, and is the underlying framework for why I love animals so.
I spent last weekend touring some of the farm country of Carolina, meeting the farmers who articulated more like scientists, but most notably, meeting the healthy, lovable animals that I had been eating. I met them face to face, and I wallowed in how cute the pigs were piled together comfortably in the dirt, and I saw beauty in the subtle colorations of turkey feathers, and I melted when I pet the soft coat of the baby goats, and I lingered near the chicken coop to hear the young chicks chirp out their song.
In those warm moments, never before had I been so sure that killing and eating animals was the right, just, and responsible thing to do. Because none of those animals would be there if I didn't.
At one farm, they were barbecuing lamb sausage near the pen where the live sheep were held. The irony was deafening, and even uncomfortable, to look out at the cuddly creatures while enjoying a lamb sausage. A child among us was quite vocal about her discomfort, and a couple in our party chose not to partake in the "World's Best Lamb." Understandably so.
We are not immune to sentiment. Killing is a brutal thing no matter the method. But feelings betray us.
We live on a planet where lifeforms must kill and consume other lifeforms in order to survive. This is the dark, beautiful, universal truth of the world. Whether grains from an unsustainable factory farm or animals from a real farm, we must kill and consume other lifeforms.
On the real farm, those animals were born to be eaten. To not eat them is to abort them, and to eat them is to give them the gift of life. It's a mutually beneficial ecological relationship.
I watched those pigs relish rolling in the dirt. They would stick their snout in the feeder and make that cough-sneeze sound and then waddle to the shade and collapse there. I saw the dogs run playfully through the rows of vegetables, yapping at the other animals. The ducklings circled each other in a dark puddle, keeping their brothers and sisters near. Their mother had black speckles evenly spaced throughout her rich brown feathers. The father wore a white necklace and a turquoise sheen glowed from under his black chest. They were family.
Tragic to think they would have never been born at all.
Lovely sentiments! My only point of contention is that I'd wager the ducks would have been born without human intervention, since they're not on the same level of domestication as pigs and sheep.
ReplyDeleteLiz, you might be thinking they were wild ducks but these guys were captive and intentionally bred, so they too are domesticated. In the wild, the duck population is governed by ecological principles (food supply, predation, etc.) and one can argue that the current wild duck population is already at "balanced" levels from an ecological perspective, correcting of course for civilizational interferences like hunting, pollution, etc. Therefore, the domesticated duck population is artificially inflated to higher levels than the natural ecology would allow. That is, thanks to farming and the fact that we eat them, there are more happy little ducks running around than the alternative (not eating them).
ReplyDeleteCompassion for our intended victims is a noble level of humanitarianism.
ReplyDeleteI love this post. Thanks. I went on a tour of Polyface Farm, Joel Salatin’s farm, in Virginia last year in September, and the first stop the haywagon made was at the pig paddock on a sloping grassy hillside. When I saw those pigs frolicking like puppies – adorable, happy, mischievous, funny – up and down and all around the hillside, I have to admit that a whisper of guilt about eating pork crossed my mind.
ReplyDeleteBut when Joel said, later in the tour,that “the pigs are our co-laborers, co-conspirators in this great land-healing ministry,” I thought – I want to be part of that. So I filled my cooler with bacon (among other things). I’m glad to see this post, because the other viewpoint – the idea of going meat-free to fight global warming – gets widely promoted, while the true healing happens – for us, the animals, the planet –on grass-based farms.
Actually, we live in a universe where beings consume other beings...even spiritually, think communion.
ReplyDelete"killing and eating animals was the right, just, and responsible thing to do. Because none of those animals would be there if I didn't."
ReplyDeleteI never really understood the need for this line of reasoning. The only purpose I see in viewing things this way is for the purpose of moralizing something that would otherwise cause emotional distress if it were not justified in such a way. I suppose it is the only people can settle their conflicting emotions, but is it really necessary?
Whether it is objectively true that eating animals is right/just is another story as rightness/justice are moral, not practical claims like responsibility and duty. I would still continue consuming meat even if it was considered morally wrong/unjust, so long as it was practically beneficial. No need to live in denial of such things :)
*The only purpose I see in viewing things this way is for the purpose of moralizing something that would otherwise cause emotional distress if it were not justified in such a way. I suppose it is the only people can settle their conflicting emotions ..
ReplyDelete.. as it was practically beneficial. No need to live in denial ..*
Because of our conflicting emotions we rather choose to live in denial .. the world we made with this kind of response-unability is the curent state ... the state of our mind.
Sad ..