With awareness spreading about the horrific treatment of dogs in Asia, from the dog meat trade and the dog slaughter houses to the Yulin Meat Festival, I can’t help but think about how we treat our “meat” animals here in the US.  In the US we see dogs and cats and a handful of other animals as companion animals.  And as you all know, I LOVE companion animals and will continue to fight to help save their lives as well.  But where is our compassion when it comes to cows, pigs, chickens, and turkeys?  Why are we so OK with how they are treated in slaughter houses across our very own country?  I can’t even look when I see a meat truck with pigs on top of each other driving down the highway.  It is sickening and so incredibly sad.  I made eye contact with a pig one time and I swear he knew where he was heading. I’ve heard they are just as smart as dogs.  I cried for hours.

I will admit that I am not a vegan or a vegetarian at the moment but I don’t eat much meat, meaning I could go weeks without it.  And I haven’t eaten beef or pork since taking an animals rights course in college over a decade ago.  The course focused on the ill-treatment of farm animals, mainly cows and pigs, and it was very eye-opening for me.  When I do decide to eat chicken, turkey and/or fish and when considering my families’ meat choices, we absolutely care where it comes from and how the animal lived.  I care if they were raised humanely and slaughtered humanely – with maybe the naïve assumption the latter is possible.  I make sure our eggs are from chickens that get to enjoy a high-quality, cage free life as chickens should.  But there are so many Americans that just look the other way.  I have heard so many times “I just don’t think about it”.  How can anyone be OK with that? I’ve often sat at weddings where everyone is served a chicken breast with their dinner and wondered how many chickens died for that one meal…does anyone else have those thoughts?  Very romantic, I know…   

Further, how has veal not been outlawed in the US by now?  Baby cows are born, strapped to the ground in a dark solitary room or crate, barely fed, and then sent for slaughter.  That is animal cruelty 101 and it needs to stop.  And have you seen the videos of the baby male chicks being thrown into a grinder still alive?  Please, please America stop this cruel behavior! To me these practices are a true sign that money and greed has overruled our ability to show compassion to another living creature and it is so very sad.  What has this world come to?

I wholeheartedly agree that we need to put an end to the dog meat market in Asia and the horrific torture of those sweet souls, but we also need to take a step back and ensure we are doing the same right here at home for our cows, pigs, and other animals we consider “meat”.  Just because they aren’t thought of as companion animals here in the states, doesn’t mean they don’t feel pain or fear just the same as a dog or cat does.  Please think about it.