Last night we used our barbecue pit again to make "pizzas." They were very good. If you need confirmation, ask Julie, she enjoyed it more than anyone else. We also used one of the chickens Caleb and I had previously acquired. I got a lot more close and personal to the death this time, killing the chicken myself. Apparently my knife wasn't sharp enough, but I was happy about that. It seems more humane to me to break something's neck than to slit its throat. I've seen bullfights; I know how quickly an animal dies when the spinal cord is severed. Lacking the proper knife, I wrung the chicken's neck. It is possible, not just a saying. I said the required Muslim sayings, Thank God, God is great. Or something like that; I've forgotten, but I said it right at the time. I was approved by the only Muslim present.
I'm not going to get into the physiological details of the event, but I will say I was very aware of what was involved in eating dinner that night. It was almost a spiritual experience when I ate my piece of barbecue chicken pizza. I had held the animal days before, I had fed it some bread and water when its life was originally spared because a sheep showed up. I rounded it up when its time really was up, and I took its life with my hands.
I'm not yet one hundred percent certain how I feel about it; I've heard people say it's easier to take life the more you do it. I would bet that's true of animals and humans. Certainly, working in an assembly line of killing is a lot more desensitizing than killing one chicken for dinner. And I feel it's a lot healthier for me to know exactly what went into procuring that meal. I'm certainly more aware of what eating meat means now than I was before when it was nothing more than a product on a shelf. It's good to think about these things.
Eating is one of the most important things we do as humans; losing touch with how and what we eat is almost like losing a part of what it means to be a living creature. I'm not saying I feel more human than everyone in America right now. If anything I feel like a took a step closer to understanding what it means to be a part of a food chain.
I have to doubt vegetarianism would be anywhere near as popular or resemble anything like the movement it is in America if our meat lived a happy life like it does here. Imagine PETA trying to run a campaign with posters of happy chickens running around eating grass and grubs; or cows happily grazing in fields of lush green grass. I don't care how little clothing their supermodels would wear, PETA just wouldn't be able to run an effective campaign with pictures of happy animals.
On that note, one of the three vegetarians here (I should also say one of the three now eats and likes fish, too) ate a barbecue chicken pizza. I'm sad I wasn't there to see it, because I've been told she couldn't stop raving about how good it was. She said she was comfortable eating it because it hadn't lived the life of the typical unhappy American chicken. The third vegetarian also confirmed to me later that she would be able to eat meat if she knew the animal had lived a natural life.
P.S. It's also worth noting the meat tastes really good. It's nothing like what you buy in a supermarket in an American grocery store.
2 comments:
Hey Dahveed =p nice videos and all, looks like an awesome experience out there.
so i'm the first person to respond to this blog here... and who else would you expect but a vegetarian herself to have something to say about this one. (yes, i re-adopted the diet after i came back from spain, with much greater conviction than before =)
you say alot of interesting things here. and i am not an angry, preachy vegetarian type at all.. i'm saying these things with the spirit of creating a genuine dialogue about the subject (cause you opened the doors), not to convince anyone of my point.
because people's diets are as sensitive a subject as their views on god... its true.
"It seems more humane to me to break something's neck than to slit its throat."
I can see what youre saying here-- i totally disagree with the kosher method of draining blood out of the jugular--- the animal dies slowly and painfully. however, I would still argue that breaking something's neck is never humane either. maybe if someone is in so much pain and should be put out of their misery... but that is a totally different intention than killing something to eat it. it was not humane to kill the chicken by twisting its neck-- it was, dare i say, selfish. this is not directed at you-- i think in general (and with an arsenal of arguments to back my point) that it is selfish of humans to kill animals for their food in this day and age. i could elaborate on that, but i wouldnt know where to start, or end. (I'm getting into this!) i will say- i doubt you thought much of the chicken's well being when you had the intention to eat it. i think your focus was on your own gratification.
"..I took its life with my hands. I'm not yet one hundred percent certain how I feel about it."
I think it's ok for you to admit that it disturbed you very much and that you'd prefer not to do it again... is that accurate?
"I've heard people say it's easier to take life the more you do it." this type of desensitization can be extremely traumatizing to those who have a semblance of conscience. (when u return to the states, see the documentary "farm sanctuary" (not by PETA!), it explains this concept very well.) we identify with animals on a subtle and emotional level-- the way people identify with their pets. granted, chickens arent quite as endearing, or more accurately, they dont reflect the same level of human-like consciousness that cats or dogs do; thats why people would be appalled if someone suggested they eat their own pet for dinner. But...
"I had held the animal days before, I had fed it some bread and water when its life was originally spared because a sheep/goat showed up. "
I'm sure that in these moments you felt some kind of emotional connection with the chicken, however minimal it may have been. my point here is that its quite undesirable for humans to kill other animals-- those who do either have to out of necessity (rare cases) or have placed a barricade in the space where they connect to the animal in order to think of it as a commodity rather than a living being capable of feeling things that are similar to our human experience.
"I have to doubt vegetarianism would be anywhere near as popular or resemble anything like the movement it is in America if our meat lived a happy life like it does here."
it took me some re-reading to comprehend what you were trying to say here. because for me, i still wouldnt eat the animal if it lived a happy life. i'd want it to keep living its happy life... however, what youre saying definitely does ring true-- there is a certain extremism here in the states with regards to diet. many americans are reacting to the horrors of the meat industry, and may choose not to eat meat for that reason, which is definitely valid-- and i have to agree that there wouldnt be so many vegetarians in the states if it werent for such atrocities. but not all people are vegetarians because of such campaigns-- there do exist more significant and deeper reasons for it, which i doubt PETA touches upon.
"I don't care how little clothing their supermodels would wear, PETA just wouldn't be able to run an effective campaign with pictures of happy animals."
LOL =p i would say that if such happy animals existed here, then PETA would have won their campaigns. They are People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals-- not People to convert everyone into vegetarians.
"On that note, one of the three vegetarians here (I should also say one of the three now eats and likes fish, too) ate a barbecue chicken pizza. I'm sad I wasn't there to see it, because I've been told she couldn't stop raving about how good it was. She said she was comfortable eating it because it hadn't lived the life of the typical unhappy American chicken."
Everyone's diet is subject to experimentation and change. I used to think vegetarians were stupid, actually. We just have to remain open to truth and rationality, but most importantly, to what works for us individually. For that girl, her priority was not to support the cruel meat industry, for which she should be commended. This is probably the most scientifically valid reason for not purchasing in stores-- the livestock sector of agriculture is, according to the UN, among the top 3 worst contributors to all the world's biggest environmental problems. That should be enough reason to go veg... but youre in Africa, so youre spared for now =D
I'm working on a website www.meditationspace.org-- check out the "Yoga and Animal Rights" section, and let me know what you think.
david,
it is so great to hear you say this. eating locally and being more connected with your food from the start is one of the best things you can do for your health, the environment, the community, and your finances (=sustainability!). read some michael pollan some day, maybe i'll send you one of his books. he is all about the food chain and industry and stuff.
in response to margo, i don't believe killing animals for consumption is selfish at all. it brings us back to the way things used to be, and the way things should be - where humans are actually part of the natural food chain that the rest of the world is part of. humans were meant to eat veggies and meat, although today most humans shouldn't eat meat bc like you said the meat industry is one of the most damaging to the environment, and the energy we get out of the meat compared to the energy put into it is so ridiculously small that we just can't afford that anymore... anyway i don't see any reason why humans shouldn't eat what they want if they go about it the right (sustainable) way - no waste, no damage to surroundings, etc.
i think everyone should have the experience of raising/growing their own meal, and preparing the veggies/meat/etc. to eat. it really puts things in perspective. who are we, really, to think we are above the labor of providing ourselves with the food to sustain our own lives? why should we think we are so superior that someone else, someone we don't know at all who is probably far far away, needs to do all the 'dirty work'? and the closer you can get to it - using your hands instead of tools - the better.
i myself can't wait to hunt and kill a meal of my own, and until then, i will stick to veggies - from my garden and local farms.
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