In their eyes there's something lacking, what they need's a damn good whacking

Several weeks ago I received a bulletin on MySpace that infuriated me. It was labeled something to the affect of "on my soapbox...the hard truth" and its basic premise was information to disuade pork consumption.

Fine. Sure. You're a vegetarian. You can't stomach the thought of eating flesh, its for personal health purposes, the US overproduces and overconsumes meat- Yeah. I buy it. Bravo. You're a rational adult with good reasons for your behavior. It even sounds like you may have done some research. You have my seal of approval.

On the other hand, there are those peddling a bunch of unresearched, ignorant, high-and-mighty bullshit and frankly its irritating. Being opinionated is easy. I do it all day every day. Actually taking the time to research and found those opinions is not as easy.

The first thing that really bothered me about this bulletin is that its an article from a website disguised as personal opinion and doesn't seem to have many accounted sources. It throws around statistics and sprinkles in "PETA tv" of extreme cases. Its like reading government propaganda, but poorly outlined.


This is the subhead that made me hit the roof.

"Farming Family Values":
Factory farms are pure hell for pigs and their babies. Mother pigs spend most of their lives in tiny “gestation” crates, which are so small that the animals are unable to turn around or even lie down comfortably. They are repeatedly impregnated until they are slaughtered. Piglets, who are taken away from their distraught mothers after just a few weeks, have their tails chopped off, their teeth are clipped off with pliers, and the males are castrated—all without painkillers. Learn more about cruelty to pigs.

This struck a rather personal note and this is me blowing a gasket. Where the FUCK do you get your information? Have you ever been on a pig farm? Have you ever had shit on your boots? This is me raising my hand. Unfortunalty, there are always people who abuse the system. However, this is not the norm and stop insinuating it is. One husband beats his wife. Does that mean every husband beats his wife? I grew up in the midwest where "Farming Family Values" means taking pride in your animals and quality products. My family has been on the same land for five generations through hard work and ethical practice. Step out of your metro-suburban yuppy-ism and stop wielding terms you do not understand.

While not explicitly stated, I gather the purpose of this article and website is to ultimately stop the slaughter and consumption of livestock. Everybody has goals, but this is impossible. Sorry you starry-eyed optomists.

Why not devote your energy toward something feesible? Why not support organic and family farming? Instead of trying to convince people not to eat meat, redirect your efforts toward encouraging the consumption of free range and hormone free meat.

Do you buy milk at the supermarket? It has chemicals in it, too. So does the cheese, yogurt, eggs, produce...it goes on. Its not just the meat.

Support your local farmers market. Shit. You'd be putting money back into your community instead of feeding a conglomerate AND you would get better quality products.

You want to make a difference? Quit wasting your time AND mine.

***this post was not directed at the individual, but the community at large.