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Coming To Terms with Animal Cruelty
by Jason Ketola
January 27, 2006
We can recognize the problems with battery-cage eggs without
compromising any of our other values.
...
In my last column I told a story of how my heart was opened to
volunteer work and activism by a boy named Ed. This week I'll continue
my self-indulgent streak by sharing a story about my feelings toward
animals; and yes, this story will be filled with similarly
self-deprecatory facts. My intent isn't to turn all of my readers into
animal activists but rather to suggest a way we might approach the
issue of cage-free, eggs versus battery-cage eggs.
I didn't always care about animals. In fact, prior to becoming vegan
almost seven years ago, I used to relentlessly make fun of vegetarian
friends. I can't remember anymore whether I was defensive about my own
meat eating (probably), but I certainly couldn't understand the diet.
If you had removed Hot Pockets, breakfast pizzas and chicken tenders
from my diet, you wouldn't have been left with a whole lot, maybe just
Tater Tots and pasta. The vegetarian diet therefore seemed as
unmanageable to me as it seemed unmanly.
...
... Actually, what led me to start caring was a chance encounter with
a rat at math camp.
As part of a summer math and science camp at the University, we were
given a tour of various research labs, and one day we were led through
some of the research facilities in Moos Tower. Demonstrating research
on the freezing of skin cells, a graduate student held before us a
very animated rat that had some kind of metal contraption stretching
the skin on its back. In order for us to inspect the rat, he would
have to sedate it. When he stuck the syringe into the rat's abdomen,
the rat let out the most horrific, piercing scream.
...
Naturally, not all of us will react the same way to this information.
For those who want to eat eggs from chickens living in substantially
better conditions, it's only a minor expense to purchase Certified
Humane cage-free eggs, the standard promoted by the Humane Society of
the United States. Even so, it's not even necessary to eat eggs to be
healthy. If you're like me, reducing your consumption of animal
products may have the benefit of expanding your culinary horizons
beyond Hot Pockets and breakfast pizzas.
We can recognize the problems with battery-cage eggs without
compromising any of our other values. We just have to see the
wretchedness of the enterprise for what it is.
Jason Ketola welcomes comments at jketola@mndaily.com.
full story: http://www.mndaily.com/articles/2006/01/27/66866
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