Pluvialis has just posted a nothing less than brilliant piece that starts at the Oxford animal labs, roams through various "AR " issue such as the invisibilty of slaughter and the "squeam" factor, and ends with a ringing phone. Her notion of the different spaces that our culture is beginning to make for animals and humans gets to the essence of everything I have been trying to say on the subject for months. Make sure you read the comments too.
Pluvialis needs to do a book of essays.
2 comments:
One problem is that we are separated ever increasingly from the sources of food we eat. When I was child in the 50's, I tagged along with my mother to the butchers,almost on a daily basis. There, recognisable pieces of animal anatomy were hung on racks in the shop, ready for sale, and outside in the yard, the butcher and his assistant were often poleaxing steers!.
( Mis ) Economies of scale even extend to slaughtering now, with animals travelling further and further to distant abbatoirs, with a heavy cost in humane, as well as environmental terms ( not to mention the stress in the meat).
Thank goodness there is a growing demand for locally prduced , "real", quality meat from Farmers markets . A chance for dialogue with the producer about breeds, feeding and hanging times. This contact at least brings the possibility of some reality back to the transaction . Supermarkets with their sanitised "portions of plastic wrapped mush " have a great deal to answer for - We get the food and moral misinformation that goes along with it, every time we support the global supermarket barons!
I agree 100%. Michael Pollan's book is about just that.
Check out Roseann's Three Martini Lunch for more thoughts on this.
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