| Few people would
themselves keep a hen in a shoebox for her egg-laying
life; but practically everyone will eat smartly
packaged, “farm fresh” eggs from battery
hens.
The
Economist, “What Humans
Owe to Animals,” 8/19/95 |
|
 It
is all very well to say that individuals must wrestle with
their consciences—but only if their consciences are
awake and informed. Industrial society, alas, hides animals’
suffering.
For modern animal agriculture, the less the consumer knows
about what’s happening before the meat hits the plate,
the better.
 If
true, is this an ethical situation? Should we be reluctant
to let people know what really goes on, because we’re
not really proud of it and concerned that it might turn them
to vegetarianism?
Peter Cheeke, PhD, Oregon St.
U. Professor of Animal Agriculture, Contemporary Issues
in Animal Agriculture, 1999 textbook
 There’s
a schizoid quality to our relationship with animals, in which
sentiment and brutality exist side by side.
Half the dogs in America will receive Christmas presents
this year, yet few of us pause to consider the miserable life
of the pig—an animal easily as intelligent as a dog—that
becomes the Christmas ham.
New York Times Magazine
“An Animal’s Place”
by Michael Pollan, 11/10/02
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