Food industry clandestine for very good reason
Re: “Animal abuse continues”, Letters, January 29.
There is one subject upon which we should all agree with Eric Bahrt – the appalling cruelty dished out to our fellow sentient beings.
There is an evil trait in the human psyche that separates humans from almost all other animal species – sadism. Sadism is deriving monetary gain and pleasure from causing or watching pain and suffering.
It is peculiar to the human race. The practices of cock fighting, bear baiting, fox hunting, bull fighting are all clear illustrations of this vice.
Nowhere is it viler than in the food industry. Live turkeys and chickens are thrown into large air conditioning fans for fun, pigs are trapped in cages unable to even stand or move and stacked on trucks like sacks of potatoes. Similarly, calves are confined in crates, their diet causing anaemia so their flesh will be white when sold.
All these defenceless animals are kicked and beaten at will. Meat and dairy are products of the evillest cruelty.
After working for several animal welfare organisations for 10 years, witnessing the practices inflicted on animals from birth to slaughter in the food industry caused stress and physical illness. The production of animal-sourced food is clandestine for that very reason.
All but the totally insensitive would never touch meat or dairy foods with the full knowledge of how they are produced. Most retailers now list vegetable products as ingredients but no details of production appear for animal products. When the practice was tried, labelling meat from calves as baby beef, production collapsed overnight.
JC Wilcox
