Stole this from Darrow, who probably won’t even know i’m referencing her in my blog because we’ve only met 1.5 times, but it’s too good to pass up. Those piglets… sheesh. Makes me want to get one (or a leaping goat!) for Inka to play with. We could see whether the pig could be trained to do as many tricks as the dog!
The photos are part of a campaign against laws in several states that would prohibit taking photos or videos of farms. If you don’t know much about agriculture these laws might strike you as odd, but harmless. Due to my recent obsession with our food production system, these laws make my guts churn. We already have no idea what goes on in those dark chicken houses or giant racks of battery cages or livestock processing plants. It’s only thanks to a few stealthy workers or spies that we have an inkling of the awful conditions these poor critters deal with. Here’s an example that will make you sick in an NYT article that talks a bit more about the proposed laws.
Don’t mean to go on a tirade- but it’s a tirade against meat production, not eating meat. Happy animals just taste better, they’re more healthful to eat, and they cause less environmental damage. My friends Alison and Kevin call this kind of meat “Oscar meat”, after pork they bought from a farm that came from an actual pig with a name. I call it “friendly meat”. Though… i will admit that i have never eaten any animal that i’ve raised and named. Tried that with the chickens- the plan when we got chicks was to eat any that turned out to be roosters, since roosters aren’t allowed in the city. But, when we found out Matilda was very likely a rooster, i promptly exited the room and burst into tears. I did not want to eat Matilda, and didn’t want anyone else to eat her either. And i certainly didn’t want Imogene to be eaten when we found out she was a dude too- she was my favorite one! (Sorry, i still remember them as girls.) So, I learned that i could not eat my pet chickens, and they went to a farm in southern Washington to make babies with a nice woman’s flock of hens. And i really miss Imogene. Matilda was a bit scary.
Some people only like to eat meat from animals that they’ve killed themselves. I’ve eaten fish that way, and did eat meat from two goats I saw being killed while i was in Mali. Well, “saw” meaning that i fed the goats carrots for a couple days and protected them from harassing children while they waited in the courtyard for the holiday feast. Then, i hid around the corner while their throats were slit and reemerged to help skin and take them apart. Both were delicious.
Some people like to eat meat, but don’t like to think about the animals it comes from. Melanie said she would dig up an article about that philosophy and send it to me, so more on that later.
In any case, those animals are durn cute, and deserve happy lives before they get et.
Hey Sara!
Wow, congrats on the blog it looks very promising and I think you’ve started off pretty good. I will add this to my favorite blog list.
You’re quite right about happy animals tasting better and being more healthful to eat. My older brothers had a little rabbit farm and though they raised the rabbits for meat they took care of the rabbits like they took care of us. Those rabbits were probably the best tasting meat (white meat too!) that I have ever had.
I miss you, we should catch up sometime..may be I should ring you soon.
Say hello to David for me…glad to see you guys are doing great! Don’t be a stranger…
Hi Onyi,
Thanks for the comment! The only time i’ve had rabbit was when you and i were down in New Orleans for the conference, and we were trying to eat as many weird foods as possible. The alligator was my favorite, although i doubt that’s a sustainable source meat. I’ve heard that rabbits make a great source of meat, especially if you don’t have much land because they require very little space and still breed like… rabbits. Also, i’m going to go ahead and make the blanket statement that non-American-raised folks are waaaay braver than most Americans when it comes to killing animals they eat.
Hope to see you in NY soon!