Letters to the Editor
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I eat meat
And yet, this feels wrong to me.
The meat I eat is most likely not "free range" -- it's the cheapest meat I can afford on my limited budget. So, I have to assume that I eat animals who suffered before they died.
Still, I could not spend six months with an animal and then kill it. When I know an animal personally, I can't help loving the animal and feeling a connection. I cherish my pets and I get weepy at the thought that one day, they will die of old age. The idea of harming them is unimaginable to me.
I just feel like when you care for an animal, when the animal comes to depend on you for survival, you have an obligation to keep caring for him as a pet, assuming that you're not dying of starvation.
I know that you're right. You are kinder to animals than I am, because you chose to raise your turkey instead of buying one that suffered. I'm the one who is a hypocrite. But I still felt sick when I read this article.
I wouldn't have been brave enough to face the reality of where my food comes from. But if I had tried to raise my own meat, I would never go through with it. I couldn't bring myself to swing the ax.