@Fatcat723 - sad, isn't it? @SAM_in_LA - it must be. i have never been a big fan of livers but have enjoyed it in the past. fortunately, most restaurants don't cook it well either, so it's not difficult for me to give it up. @ElusiveWords - good for you, matt.
Well, there is no shortage of cruelty in the meat production industry. There are other producers of foie gras who take a more humane and less "factory" approach. I'm not a fan of making blanket statements like "eating ___ is cruel". People eating chicken from one of these confined animal feedlots are engaging in cruelty, too. If it is responsibly sourced and I'm cognizant of where it is from, I'm fine eating foie gras.
@christao408 - you're right. most of us have not seen the slaughter houses for cows, pigs, chickens, etc. the idea of 'killing' these animals has been very conveniently tamed by the cleaned-and-properly-packaged pieces of their parts available at the supermarket. when one doesn't see, one doesn't know and thus doesn't feel. i guess it's all the same. when we gorge on fried chicken or baby back ribs or burgers, we don't think about this. then again, how would millions of people know whether or not their meats come from a place where they practice a more humane way of 'killing'? i doubt most of them would.
@rudyhou - The answer to your question - "How would millions of people know..." - is that we need to dismantle the industrial-scale agriculture system we've built up that separates us from the sources of our food. When we buy from more local sources, we're able to know more about the condition of that food.
Perfect example: buying beef in California. Harris Ranch, the largest beef producer in California, operates their confined animal feedlot adjacent to Interstate 5 near Coalinga, CA. When you drive from SF to LA, you can't help but see (and smell!) this massive operation that looks more like a concentration camp than a home for cows.
Compare that with buying your beef from one of the smaller operators in CA such as Brandon Natural Beef, Connoly Ranch, in the Bay Area, or Hearst Ranch in San Simeon. When you drive past these operations, you see cows in pastures eating grass. Just from a superficial first glance you can tell that there's a difference between these two types of operations.
Now, those superficial differences don't tell me necessarily about the slaughter of the animals and how humanely it is done. But it seems likely that the smaller farms where cows live in the pasture wil provide an overall higher quality of life and, following that logic, probably a more humane death, too.
By buying local, I'm able to evaluate my choices because I and all my fellow citizens have the opportunity to see and learn about how the businesses are run. Millions of people won't necessarily go drive by all these farms, but by them being closer by, more people will see them, interact directly with them, and be able to get a sense of what kind of business they operate.
Anyhow, that's my partial answer to the situation.
makes sense. i'm glad to say we get our meats from the local market instead of the supermarket. sure, the chickens are skinnier but at least they were not massively produced/breed.
@CareyGLY - thanks for the reference. it's very educational. though it may not be talking about the food industry here in asia, i'm sure what's happening here is similar. by the way, incase you don't already know, those big companies have some of their products sold at many supermarkets here too. they really are reaching out for a global empire.
Comments (11)
Donald Duck will be very unhappy after watching this!
I have seen such films and wonder why we treat each other the way we do when we don't respect life itself in all its forms.
Its not a sign of being elite to the bourgeois if it isn't cruel & wasteful. Foie gras, veal, diamonds, etc...
I don't think I can handle the video. I don't eat foie gras.
@CurryPuffy - no doubt.
@Fatcat723 - sad, isn't it?
@SAM_in_LA - it must be. i have never been a big fan of livers but have enjoyed it in the past. fortunately, most restaurants don't cook it well either, so it's not difficult for me to give it up.
@ElusiveWords - good for you, matt.
Well, there is no shortage of cruelty in the meat production industry. There are other producers of foie gras who take a more humane and less "factory" approach. I'm not a fan of making blanket statements like "eating ___ is cruel". People eating chicken from one of these confined animal feedlots are engaging in cruelty, too. If it is responsibly sourced and I'm cognizant of where it is from, I'm fine eating foie gras.
@christao408 - you're right. most of us have not seen the slaughter houses for cows, pigs, chickens, etc. the idea of 'killing' these animals has been very conveniently tamed by the cleaned-and-properly-packaged pieces of their parts available at the supermarket. when one doesn't see, one doesn't know and thus doesn't feel. i guess it's all the same. when we gorge on fried chicken or baby back ribs or burgers, we don't think about this. then again, how would millions of people know whether or not their meats come from a place where they practice a more humane way of 'killing'? i doubt most of them would.
@rudyhou - The answer to your question - "How would millions of people know..." - is that we need to dismantle the industrial-scale agriculture system we've built up that separates us from the sources of our food. When we buy from more local sources, we're able to know more about the condition of that food.
Perfect example: buying beef in California. Harris Ranch, the largest beef producer in California, operates their confined animal feedlot adjacent to Interstate 5 near Coalinga, CA. When you drive from SF to LA, you can't help but see (and smell!) this massive operation that looks more like a concentration camp than a home for cows.
Compare that with buying your beef from one of the smaller operators in CA such as Brandon Natural Beef, Connoly Ranch, in the Bay Area, or Hearst Ranch in San Simeon. When you drive past these operations, you see cows in pastures eating grass. Just from a superficial first glance you can tell that there's a difference between these two types of operations.
Now, those superficial differences don't tell me necessarily about the slaughter of the animals and how humanely it is done. But it seems likely that the smaller farms where cows live in the pasture wil provide an overall higher quality of life and, following that logic, probably a more humane death, too.
By buying local, I'm able to evaluate my choices because I and all my fellow citizens have the opportunity to see and learn about how the businesses are run. Millions of people won't necessarily go drive by all these farms, but by them being closer by, more people will see them, interact directly with them, and be able to get a sense of what kind of business they operate.
Anyhow, that's my partial answer to the situation.
makes sense. i'm glad to say we get our meats from the local market instead of the supermarket. sure, the chickens are skinnier but at least they were not massively produced/breed.
Have you seen Food Inc.?
You can watch it here: http://www.megavideo.com/?v=XI7S0PGR
@CareyGLY - thanks for the reference. it's very educational. though it may not be talking about the food industry here in asia, i'm sure what's happening here is similar. by the way, incase you don't already know, those big companies have some of their products sold at many supermarkets here too. they really are reaching out for a global empire.