Monday, January 20, 2014

The Inhumanity of Selective Outrage

I don't mean to sound as if I don't believe the wholesale slaughter of dolphins in Taiji, Japan is anything other than appalling. It's stressful to the dolphins and extremely painful. It is, by any definition of the word, inhumane. I would prefer it not happen, however, I will not participate in the online outrage over the centuries old practice that provides the fisherman of Taiji with their income. You see? I still shop for some of my meats at grocery stores where I know that meat comes from factory farms.

My income doesn't purchase as much as it used to and with Hubby and I needing different types of foods, I can't always afford the higher priced meats at the grass fed farms. I can eat fine on rice, beans or lentils, and other plant based foods, Hubby can't since all that fiber would cause him serious suffering since he has Crohn's Disease. I have to make decisions that I'm not always happy with, and buying some meats I know came from factory farms is one of those. Since I must make that kind of choice, I don't feel I can meddle in the affairs of others who make the choice to participate in such a horrendous event.

What outrage I do have is against the Japanese government since they insulate the other residents of Japan from the truth about the slaughter and the fact that Japan allows dolphin meat to be mislabeled and sold as another type of fish. Dolphins, like Tuna have high mercury content so anyone in Japan trying to limit their consumption of mercury is being conned. I'm assuming things here that may not be truthful since I'm aware of the number of US citizens who willingly participate in the destruction of our own food supplies by purchasing the poultry and meat produced at our ever increasing factory farms. It may be that the Japanese know and don't care anymore than we do.

Which brings me to my objections to the online outrage over this practice. Both Facebook (according to my family members) and Twitter are awash with posts condemning the practice. We, however are not condemning any of this.

Piglet's teeth being clipped off prior to being placed in the cage it will spend the rest of it's life in. They do this so they can't bite into the pig in the next cage. This is done without anything for pain.



Unwanted piglets that are bashed to death by farm employees. 


Laying hens kept in tiered cages. Allowed to urinate and defecate on the caged animals below them. They are cleaned by overhead sprays and if that were all that effective, why is he wearing a hazmat suit?


Chicken with an infected wound that largely went unnoticed due to the housing of up to 14 birds in a cage. The beaks are clipped off so they can't cause damage and the leg spurs are also clipped. The mass of animal pressing against the cage wires can cause wounds which then become infected due to the haphazard disinfecting process. 


These farms produce massive amounts of excrement that pollute our land, water and air. The animals are nothing more than a profit making commodity. They're bred to grow larger than their bone structures can support which leads to a lifetime of pain. They're kept in cages they can't even turn around in. Lying on the bars and wires with such overweight bodies leads to skin breakdowns and very painful sores similar to those suffered by the elderly in hospitals and nursing homes. These sores untreated, lead to septic infections for which antibiotics are regularly given. 

I'll listen to your outrage over what's happening in Taiji, but until you show the same outrage over what's happening at every single factory farm in the United States I'll consider your words the empty whine of the faux poutraged.








11 comments:

  1. Sherry,
    I'm surprised that anyone managed to get photos such as those above into public view. Many places have laws protecting these corporate farms from "intrusive" investigations into their practices. The reasons are obvious. People with any shred of conscience will be outraged and when, not if, enough people become outraged, they start demanding changes. And those changes will have a direct impact on corporate farm bottom lines. Can't have that because, after all, MONEY IS GOD.

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    1. Fear not, our Congessional GOP are trying to pass laws making it illegal to take pictures on farms. I wish sometimes I was a more popular blogger just to get posts like this widely read. However, the inane and boring posts I do will forever label me unworthy. LOL

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  2. Oh god it is all such a f word mess, and I don't think it is going to get any better. I don't eat meat because first of all, it is hard for me to digest and second, because of this sort of stuff. Tofu and beans make me happy and I can also afford them.

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    1. For as much as I can afford I buy direct from farms here. Chicken prices have gone up to 2 times what a whole one will cost me at Aldi's. Some weeks, my budget just won't stretch. I won't eat tofu since soy is the number 2 Monsanto GMO product here and it's something Hubby can't eat due to his Crohns.

      I have a real problem with people who will meddle in the affairs of other countries and ignore the inhumanity in our own. I'm being told the Japan situation is worse, and my mind won't accept that.

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  3. I am 99% vegan, only a rare taste of meat dairy or egg. I live on a plant based diet 1) because it avoids and even cures a lot of what people take medicine for, 2) because with the demise of the small old time farms where there was a relationship of care for animals cruelty is on the rise, 3) the amount of acres, water, and energy it takes to raise meat is several times higher than feeding the same number of people on a plant based diet. Plus, if you eat a broad selection of plants, you do not need vitamins or calcium with one exception, some people will need to take a small amount of B12.

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    1. I honestly don't think my husband would eat much of a plant based diet even if he didn't have Crohns. Only vegetables he can eat are overcooked green beans, carrots, beets, white potatoes without skins and butternut squash. He can have corn flakes or rice krispies as cereals, white bread, white pasta. No nuts of any kind, no peas, lentils or healthy beans. He can eat chicken, turkey, beef, eggs and he's sick to death of chicken. Only dairy he tolerates is 2% milk in limited amounts. Fruits are limited to applesauce, jellied cranberry sauce and cantaloupe. And the rest of whatever his body needs has to come from the Ensure which is expensive.

      His nonexistent income in Jan, Feb, March leaves me with the need to purchase what I can at Aldi's. I can stretch the budget with his canned veggies and the $5 whole chickens enough to buy my brown rice, lentils, and beans from the healthfood store and I can get the cheaper produce from Aldi's for me.

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    2. Maybe this will be informative. My wife has ulcerative colitis, we're in the same neighborhood of problems.
      http://nutritionfacts.org/video/achieving-remission-of-crohns-disease/

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    3. He's in remission and has to stay on the low residue diet to stay there. He keeps cheating and having pain issues. So far no weight loss or diarrhea. Keeping my fingers crossed.

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  4. Long time no see - much water has cruised under the bridge since I last visited this site (Blogger)..... sounds like things are about the same - but - the big mystery seems to be 'Where is Whit?' Do you know?

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    1. I haven't a clue. I know Scratch and Bella are blogging at Blogster I think, but Whit simply disappeared. Sarge is at Tumblr his blog got closed down by Blogger probably because of his nudes. People like to use the '"Flag this blog" feature when you post things they don't think belong. Heaven forbid that they should just not go read it.

      Hope you and Pup are still keeping on and enjoying yourselves.

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    2. Sarge is at msgtron.blog.com and I am at http://yellowfringe.blogspot.com/

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