something to consider... many domestic slaughterhouses, in the process of slaughtering the livestock, will stun the animal so it's unconscious then hang it by it's hind legs and slit its main artery (ie throat), draining the animal of its blood as it dies. stunning the animal before the kill was considered more humane. however, in the Jewish and Muslim custom, it's against religious laws to consume animals that's unconscious prior to the slaughter. so the animal must be conscious at the point of death. which means hanging a live conscious pig upside down, slit its throat, allowing it to die from the bleeding then continue the meat processing. something to consider the next time one buys "kosher meat".
the process of producing animal based food products is not pretty. i remember visiting an egg farm a long time ago and seeing a dark barn filled with thousands of chickens kept in cages suspended at about 5 feet high. the cages were too small for the chickens to do anything else other than eat, sleep, drink, and lay eggs. they couldn't even stand. and there they stay for the rest of their lives. laying eggs. how sad is that.
animals make a lot of sacrifices to make human lives comfortable. many don't think about how that steak lands on your dinner plate and think the source of that raw piece of meat is at the store in the nice little styrofoam trays and plastic saran wrap as if meat grows on trees and no cruelty is involved. ignorance is bliss. it's good that this article is brought to light because animal cruelty does not just happen in other countries, but happens every day en mass in this country.
now i'm not advocating everyone switch to a vegetarian diet. i didn't. but it's good to be aware of your food source and make an effort to support humane efforts to manage animals even if they are led to the slaughter. |