- Top Features:
- War Room
- Glenn Greenwald
- Broadsheet
- Joan Walsh
- Camille Paglia
- Since You Asked
- Follow Salon:
Read other letters about this article
My father was a farmer and rancher who worked his own place for most of his 78 years, until he was taken from us by a drunk driver. We raised cattle for our own use and for sale. He never mistreated an animal in his life. He loathed veal and thought the concept vile.
We were deeply vested in the concept of life and death on a family farm. It was our livelihood and our food. We handled the slaughtering and meatpacking ourselves; not only coming to grips with what really happens before a sirloin lands on your plate, but taking responsibility for how it gets there. Doing this, we were much closer to the cycle of eat and get eaten than Mr. Singer could ever conceive.
Singer's "boy equals rat" logic is as ludicrous as his nazi/jew, slaughterhouse/animal twaddle. I grew up around cattle, and friends--they ain't us.
My father was a decent, ethical, and honorable man whose ethical stewardship of his herd is unquestioned. Singer is just a fuzzy nutjob who would cheerily let the human race die if it would save a single rat.
By the way, I plan to eat a New York strip the size of a Buick tomorrow, in his honor. With some organic string beans, of course. Cheers.
