They say it's a natural part of life... that it is the cycle we have always gone through... they call it survival of the fittest... something that is normal... but is it? After reading Michael Pollan's book Omnivore's Dilemma, I have learned so many things about the real cycle of life, the evolution society has created and the nature's way... all leading me to a better understanding of how I choose to live my life via food.
I was just a meat eater for a majority of my life, but now I am proud to say that I am a conscientious meat eater, something that I owe to Michael Pollan. I would love to say that I always cared about the animals I was eating, but frankly it was certainly something I did not want to think about, nor dwell upon it. Honestly, it's not very appetizing or gleeful to think about Mary's Little Lamb, Bambi, Chicken Little, or Wilbur while I am taking a bite of an innocent animal. Even writing it in words still makes me view this "normal" process with shame and embarrassment. I found Mr. Pollan's excerpt on the chicken slaughtering both disturbing and revealing. Thinking of their helpless bodies hanging upside down to drain the blood and the machine plucking their precious feathers, made me a little queasy. However, I was relieved that these chickens appeared not know their sad fate and up until that day lived a happy and healthy life.
I still eat meat and I don't think I will ever decline a steak dinner... but I will now be educated enough to know what I am eating. Polyfarms really opened my eyes to the problems and issues we are facing in terms of "grass farming," something I can only imagine is not practiced nearly as much as it should be. I can bear to eat a chicken, cow, or other animals as long as I know where they are coming from and how they lived their life before becoming my meal. This seems like a difficult task, but I will not condone the inhumane treatment of animals for a couple dollars more in my bank account or for my time. I thought it was weird that Joel (the owner of Polyfarms) wouldn't ship a steak and it came off kind of ridiculous, but I understand it now and "when you know better, you do better." It will probably be more time consuming, expensive, and difficult. But, if we do that for quality in clothes, cars, and other ridiculous products that don't benefit our health or the environment, then why can't we do it for the food that goes into our system and will affect the world we live in.
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