Coetzee 2

       I have been thinking about this subject quite a bit lately. I can’t seem to escape it. It’s true though—no longer being ignorant about the torture that my chicken strips went through en route to being so delicious makes them not as enjoyable as they once were. My tasty piece of bird probably led a very sad, horrendous life. It probably spent its whole life in some inconceivably small cage: “to him, the world [was] bars.”[1] It most likely was murdered on a conveyor belt o’ death, hanging upside down while gurgling its own blood. Its like a clip form Saw. Eventually, it flew its way onto my plate at Jester City Limits. Don’t get me wrong, I am no Franz Kafka. Meat still tastes good and I am going to continue to eat it. It’s just that now I tend to think about what I consume. Also, I tend to think about why and how we came to become so dominant over our fellow earthlings. So, now I am going to do my best Costello impersonation.

[P1] I STILL EAT FOODS LIKE THESE, BUT I HAVE A HARD TIME NOT THINKING ABOUT WHERE THEY CAME FROM. 

            I, like most of us I’m sure, would love for animals to be able to “lead a utopian life in which everyone is miraculously fed and no one preys on anyone else.”[2] If this were possible, I can’t think of who wouldn’t be in favor of it. However, the truth of the matter is that such a situation is just that—a utopia. It is not realistic, for the mighty dollar, and contemporary society’s mighty appetite, take priority over the care of animals. Such a perfect world could only exist in an “economic vacuum,”[3] which, like all vacuums, doesn’t exist naturally. The meat business makes who knows how much money, and that is what we have to remember about this whole situation—that this is a business. As sad as it is, our main supply of meat no longer comes from small farms owned by a trusted town family. There is simply “no time to respect and honor the all the animals we need to feed ourselves”[4], nor enough land, for the industry to exist this way, and, as the old adage goes, time is money. The companies are going to produce as much meat as they can while doing so in the least expensive way. They don’t want the animals to be treated kindly or killed humanely (if that is possible) because of the cut it would take out of their profits.

 

  [P2]A UTOPIA LIKE THE ONE DESCRIBED ABOVE IS AS LIKELY TO BECOME A REALITY AS ALICE'S WONDERLAND. 

         I believe that another reason that we kill our food the way we do is a result of our beastly roots. We are all animals, and animals kill their prey in the most efficient way possible. A lion does not kill its dinner while considering its feelings, nor does it go about the process making sure that its death is as painless as possible. No—it murders the animal in a way that is the most convenient, quickest, and easiest for itself. Are we any different? We as a species do not possess the speed of the cheetah, the jaws of a hyena, the strength of a tiger, the cunning of a crocodile, nor any other extraordinary physical gift that would allow us to successfully hunt wild animals. We must instead rely on our creativity and ingenuity. It is these attributes that have led to our creation of guns, slaughterhouses, and farms, resulting in our dominance over animals. Our mental capabilities have allowed us to gather our food in the way that is the easiest for us. I am not saying that our greater mental capacity justifies our treatment of animals, but it is simply a way of showing that we are simply utilizing the skills we were born with.

            

[P3] ANIMALS ARE PHYSICALLY ABLE TO HUNT THEIR PREY WITHOUT TOOLS AND WITHOUT GUILT. WE APPARENTLY ARE NOT ABLE TO DO THE SAME.

I don’t know how important the answer to why we treat these animals so badly is. I am not sure if that would change anything. There are over 6 billion people in this world, and the majority of them “like eating meat.”[5] The demand for our increasingly carnivorous appetites is growing, and the only way to meet such expectations is to harvest these animals as if they grew out of the ground: via “factories of death”[6]. “You do not feed four billion people through the efforts of matadors or deer hunters armed with bows and arrows.” It is definitely possible to care deeply about such animals. “If they relate to us as individuals, and we relate to them as individuals, it is possible for us to have a personal relationship.”[7] Yet, it is nearly impossible to do so when they are created by the thousands and slaughtered by the thousands. It would be asking a lot to genuinely care about that many humans, let alone another type of animal with which we can’t communicate.

[P4] IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO GENERATE ENOUGH MEAT FOR 6 BILLION PEOPLE USING THESE PRIMITIVE METHODS. 

            As long as our affinity for meat and our obedience to the dollar persist, animals will continue to be killed in a way that is nothing short of unappetizing.

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[1] Rainer Maria Rilke, “The Panther”, translated by D.C. Barranco, X763H

[2] J.M. Coetzee, Elizabeth Costello, pg. 110

[3] J.M. Coetzee, Elizabeth Costello, pg. 110

[4] J.M. Coetzee, Elizabeth Costello, pg. 97

[5] J.M. Coetzee, Elizabeth Costello, pg. 104

[6] J.M. Coetzee, Elizabeth Costello, pg. 97

[7] Barbara Smuts, “Reflections,” X759

[P1] http://www.jbrestaurants.com/chixnstripsbasket.jpg

[P2]http://www.artgame.com/images3/wonderland.jpg

[P3] http://www.cartoonstock.com/lowres/shr0874l.jpg

[P4] http://www.magherafelt.gov.uk/uploads/23b9fcc6fb4412444aa078a9b1c96d60.jpg

Wow. That was gross.

Ok I’ll admit it. When I first saw what this topic was I honestly thought it wouldn’t affect me in any way. I love meat. Always have. And I didn’t think anything could change my mind. I was definitely one of those “cling to a vague belief that conditions cannot be too bad, or else the government or the animal welfare societies would have done something about it.”[1] However, after reading through Earthlings, as well as watching several clips of it on Youtube.com, I think I may have to reconsider my previous opinions.

            I never thought of killing animals for food as a way of domination or specieism. I always just felt that we aren’t very different from other animals. We kill for our food just as any other carnivore; we just happen to do so in a much more sophisticated (at least I thought) way. We can’t help the fact that we are on top of the food chain. Yet, now I realize that “it is the human earthling (us) who tends to dominate the earth, often times treating other fellow earthlings and living beings as mere objects.”[2] I simply could not believe some of the things I read and saw over the past hour. How did it come to this? The truth of the matter is “change is inevitable. Either we make it ourselves, or we will be forced to make it by Nature itself.”[3] Unfortunately, I am pretty sure our society is at a point of stubbornness.

            There are many reasons that this method of slaughter, however wrong, will continue. For one, when it comes down to it, these processes are efficient. As with nearly every other industry in the world today, the food business is about making money. I don’t think business owners particularly enjoy the fact that they inhumanely kill animals, but they certainly have no problem turning a blind eye if it nets them a greater profit. They will always choose the least expensive way to produce their product, regardless of how that end is reached.

          SADLY, THE DOLLAR IS VALUED MORESO THAN AN ANIMALS COMFORT OR LIFE, AT LEAST BY THOSE WHO CONTROL THEIR FATE.

  Another reason is that consumers flat out “don’t really want to know”.[4] I certainly didn’t. It is too easy, and burgers are too tasty, for most people to concern themselves with how that piece of meat came to be on their plate. There is an overwhelming attitude of “don’t tell me, you’ll spoil my dinner.” [5] We ignore for our own convenience, just as we kill for our own convenience. This is why “the architecture of slaughter is opaque, designed in the interest of denial, to insure that we will not see even if we wanted to look (which we don’t).”[6]

          AND TASTY, APPARENTLY.

  One final encompassing way of thinking that is the cause of such cruelty is that animals are often viewed as objects—things. To so many, they aren’t much different from a rock or any other part of nature. When people think of equality, they tend to think in terms of only our species, rather than us with other “earthlings.” We hunt them, nowadays more for “game” and wall decorations than for actual food. Growing up where I did, hunting was a very popular hobby among my peers, and one that I really despise. I just don’t get how murdering a defenseless animal with a fucking high tech rifle that practically does all the work can amount to any sense of accomplishment, pride, or satisfaction. In all honesty, it is not only inhumane, but the deck is stacked beyond belief as well. While these “hunters” try and defend their idea of fun, “there is no denying it, if hunting is a sport, it is a bloodsport.”[7]

IN MY OPINION, HUNTING ONLY PROVES THAT ONE HAS A LONGING TO FEEL BADASS OR DOMINANT, WHICH DOES NOT JUSTIFY THE DEATH OF AN ANIMAL.

 Also, when you truly look at it, owning a pet is not too far off from owning a slave. Granted the animal is cared for, and not meat to do work, but it is meant to serve a purpose, and not given a choice about whether it wants to fulfill that purpose. They are obtained in to provide one with companionship and entertainment. It’s like buying a friend, or a DVD. Thus, the question must be asked: “Is our keeping companion animals in their best interest, or are we exploiting them.” [8]I believe this stems from our difficulty to empathize with animals, particularly those that we eat. Personally, I can’t read a cow. I don’t know what indications it gives for how it feels, nor do I know what it would be like to walk a day in its hooves. Can you blame our inability for not empathizing with these animals though? Do people even want to? Understanding a creature is very difficult, especially when we can’t really communicate with them. Our world is no Wonderland. Our animals don’t ask us self-discovery questions such as “who are you?”[9], they don’t tell us “dry stories”, they don’t say a word.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmiH27KDpzE&feature=related    

        THIS SCENE FROM NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN PUTS A HUMAN IN THE SHOES OF A COW THAT IS ABOUT TO BE SLAUGHTERED. 

As long as these feelings continue to be that of the majority, these conditions will not change. “These supremacist notions take a long time to erode.”[10] It is a sad truth, but the truth no less. As for me, I am going to go eat a salad now.

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[1] Earthlings, by Shaun Monson, X729

[2] Earthlings, by Shaun Monson, X701

[3] Earthlings, by Shaun Monson, X730

[4] Earthlings, by Shaun Monson, X707

[5] Earthlings, by Shaun Monson, X729

[6] Earthlings, by Shaun Monson, X714

[7] Earthlings, by Shaun Monson, X722

[8] Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll, 48.

[9] Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll, 30.

[10] “When Human Rights Extend to Nonhumans,” by Donald G. Mcneil Jr., X732