03.13.07
Meet Your Meat: The Lives of Animals on Farms
Watch this short documentary “Meet Your Meat,” and learn how animals raised for food are treated on modern-day farms.
“Meet Your Meat” is a collection of undercover investigations detailing the routine procedures found in modern-day farms and slaughterhouses. Most of what you see is legal. Those practices which are illegal (such as slaughtering conscious cows and pigs) are sadly routine because the laws are rarely enforced.
Questions to Consider
• What values do you hold dear? Compassion? Strength? Courage? Peace? Freedom? Justice? Fairness? Love? Integrity? Respect? Are your core values reflected in the way that animals are treated on modern farms? If you followed your values on this issue, what would your conscience have you do?
• The ancient Greek philosopher, Seneca, once said, “All cruelty springs from weakness.” Whose weaknesses are allowing this cruelty towards animals to continue?
• What if your dog or cat were treated in this manner? Like your animal companions, pigs, chickens, cows and fish also have individual personalities, likes and dislikes, and a desire to live free and unmolested. Do we want to support an industry that imprisons, neglects and abuses them like this?
• Moreover, what if you were a cow, pig, chicken, or fish? None of us had any say in who we were born as. What if you had been an animal? How would you want to be treated? Would you want to be confined for your whole life and then slaughtered? From this perspective what would be fair?
• Many people believe that we should never cause animals unnecessary harm. It is clear that animals are harmed in the meat, egg, and dairy industries. It is also clear that millions of people live long, healthy lives on a vegetarian diet. So isn’t eating animals causing them unnecessary harm?
What You’re Missing When You Don’t Eat Meat
People often think of vegetarianism as “giving up” something and “missing” something. Thankfully, with the growth of the vegetarian food products, vegetarians and vegans can still eat all of their old favorites: pizza, lasagna, burgers, “steak” stir fry, fried “chicken” and more. In other words, vegetarians won’t miss taste or hearty eating.
What vegetarians do give up is the violence and suffering caused to animals; the cholesterol, saturated fats, and carcinogenic compounds found in meat; and the environmental destruction and greenhouse gas emissions that cause meat production to be one of the main contributors to global warming (a.k.a. global climatic chaos). These are dirty habits your mother wouldn’t want you participating in anyway. 
A vegetearian diet also shows one’s commitment to peace and freedom for everyone. Famous vegan and peace advocate Mohandas Gandhi said, “Selfless action is a source of strength.” Becoming vegetarian will strengthen your soul, your heart, and your health.
Are you ready to begin making the transition? Here are some strategies to get you started.
This text was written in 2007 by Freeman Wicklund of FreemanWicklund.org, and it may be freely reprinted or distributed in its entirety in any e-zine, e-mail, newsletter or blog as long as this sentence and Web link are included.