The last two weeks have been interesting, to say the least. Though difficult to cut meat from my diet, it wasn’t as traumatizing as I anticipated. Aside from some hurdles – people offering me free lamb and filet mignon and tri-tip (so hard to say no!) it was fine and I survived without them. A large part of what kept me motivated to stick to this challenge was my pride and stubbornness, but reading Skinny Bitch also happened to scare the bejesus out of me and made it easier to just say no to eating animals. Have you read this book!? It is heavy.
Without giving much away, because you should check it out yourself, there was one particular chapter that I imagine will haunt me ‘til the grave. In extreme graphic detail, the authors explain the process of how a cow or a chicken or pig is transformed into the slab of meat on your dinner table. Brutal accounts of mistreated animals at slaughterhouses made my eyes want to bleed. Without strict government regulation or oversight of anyone who cares about animal treatment more than increasing profits, abuse is actually quite common.
Here’s some enlightening snippits to make your stomach queasy: factory workers slice off pigs’ noses and let them bleed out, chicken’s beaks are sliced off so they don’t peck each other to death in their jam-packed coops and they’re (sometimes) rendered unconscious for the rest of the slaughter process. Perhaps most disturbing is how animals are treated if the initial means of “stunning” doesn’t work: cows and hogs get metal bolts shot into their skulls to knock them out, but sometimes shooters miss their mark or the bolts are too low to be effective and the animals are awake and aware for the rest of the process. This includes being strung from the ceiling by chains to their legs to have their throats slashed open and trucked along a bleed rail where many bleed to death. But for those who are still alive and squealing, they feel the agony of having their skin sliced from their heads before having their limbs cut off and their bodies dipped in 140 degree scalding hot water to remove hair from their bodies. Gross, huh? Doesn’t exactly make you crave a cheeseburger.
Sorry, I had to scar someone else with this information because it’s too much to bear on my own. While I won’t elaborate here, the book also has some other less-intense and more positive chapters about eating a “natural” diet devoid of meat and the benefits of doing so (think: less sluggish, clear skin, decreased likelihood of obesity and cancer etc). Several people approached me after hearing of my meatless endeavor, saying either they or their friends changed their lives because of this book. So, clearly the women behind Skinny Bitch are onto something. But their suggested lifestyle changes are not easy. It’s hard to accept an ugly truth in something you love, making it much easier to turn a blind eye to this kind of information. And I have never been, nor will I ever be a preacher or someone who pushes my beliefs onto others, but I will always be an informer and will do my best research and make educated decisions in my life.
Yes, I am deeply disturbed by these accounts of animal cruelty and I am terrified of the countless pesticides and toxins these animals are fed and then passed unto us when we eat them. I may not be an Insta-Vegan, but I’ve committed myself to making more thoughtful decisions when buying food and I hope to learn more about ways to live a healthier life so I can someday raise a healthy family and live to be 120 years old. I like to make realistic goals.
Thank you to everyone who passed along advice and references to living vegetarian or vegan lifestyles. And I continue to welcome any others as well!
