Friends or Food?
Relationships between humans and animals vary between different species. Generally, humans categorize animals into two categories, friend or food. Depending on where one resides, people may have differences of opinion on which animals are considered edible. For example, prior to South Korea hosting the World Cup in 2002, a letter was sent to the South Korean government from multiple players on Britain’s soccer team addressing their condemnation of the country’s farming of cats and dogs for consumption (Norcross, 2004, p. 235). Melanie Joy’s research has begun to explain “Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows…” and classify animals as “edible or inedible” based on our societal norms (as cited in Pederson, 2012, p. 111-112). …show more content…
Forming a disconnect between meat and the animal source is quite easy for the average citizen to accomplish being they are not exposed to the “collateral damage[‘s]”, of the meat industry (Pederson, 2012, p. 111). With many activists opposed to the meat industry, there has been a lot of content published to social media bringing attention to some of the many cruel acts that animals endure every minute, but people deny these injustices and the risks that are associated with the industry because they like the taste of meat. The reality of the meat industry is that these animals are tortured up until the moment they die. Staff in the meat industry suffer most of the collateral damage from the industry in their profession such as work-related illnesses, as well as moral and mental suffering due to the trauma they cause animals’ day in and day out (Porcher, 2011, p. 4). What many people don’t realize is that meat production facilities are optimal environments for pathogens to grow and spread, putting the public at risk of a pandemic. The bird flu (A/H7N7) and swine flu (AH1N1) first victims were the staff of either meat production industry (p. 9). These farmers “well-being [is said to be] a shared state” with their animals, they share their environment, illnesses and suffering (p. 4). Relationships between farmers and their animals can be considered as “juggling with distance” (p. 5). These farmers are expected to “love but not too much” considering they are asked to care for their animals’ well-being, but “cannot show consideration” and are forced to be violent towards the animals (p. 5, p.8). Industrialization has encouraged desensitization to animal cruelty and drives a wedge in the bond between humans and animals (p. 5). If the average citizen had to endure the environment and commit the acts that farmers do just to
Relationships between humans and animals vary between different species. Generally, humans categorize animals into two categories, friend or food. Depending on where one resides, people may have differences of opinion on which animals are considered edible. For example, prior to South Korea hosting the World Cup in 2002, a letter was sent to the South Korean government from multiple players on Britain’s soccer team addressing their condemnation of the country’s farming of cats and dogs for consumption (Norcross, 2004, p. 235). Melanie Joy’s research has begun to explain “Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows…” and classify animals as “edible or inedible” based on our societal norms (as cited in Pederson, 2012, p. 111-112). …show more content…
Forming a disconnect between meat and the animal source is quite easy for the average citizen to accomplish being they are not exposed to the “collateral damage[‘s]”, of the meat industry (Pederson, 2012, p. 111). With many activists opposed to the meat industry, there has been a lot of content published to social media bringing attention to some of the many cruel acts that animals endure every minute, but people deny these injustices and the risks that are associated with the industry because they like the taste of meat. The reality of the meat industry is that these animals are tortured up until the moment they die. Staff in the meat industry suffer most of the collateral damage from the industry in their profession such as work-related illnesses, as well as moral and mental suffering due to the trauma they cause animals’ day in and day out (Porcher, 2011, p. 4). What many people don’t realize is that meat production facilities are optimal environments for pathogens to grow and spread, putting the public at risk of a pandemic. The bird flu (A/H7N7) and swine flu (AH1N1) first victims were the staff of either meat production industry (p. 9). These farmers “well-being [is said to be] a shared state” with their animals, they share their environment, illnesses and suffering (p. 4). Relationships between farmers and their animals can be considered as “juggling with distance” (p. 5). These farmers are expected to “love but not too much” considering they are asked to care for their animals’ well-being, but “cannot show consideration” and are forced to be violent towards the animals (p. 5, p.8). Industrialization has encouraged desensitization to animal cruelty and drives a wedge in the bond between humans and animals (p. 5). If the average citizen had to endure the environment and commit the acts that farmers do just to