WARNING: If you are sensitive to any description of animal abuse then you might not want to read this post.If you don't know by now, there has been a massive meat recall here in America because of treatment of sick and crippled cows. There was an undercover investigation at a slaughter house including hidden video which showed horrific and inexcusable treatment. I didn't want to post the video here on this blog but if you really want to see this disgusting video then click here. I warn you though that the images are very disturbing and shocking. Don't see watch this video if children are present and can see the screen. It is not fit for children's eyes. It's not even fit for the eyes of adults but those who are perhaps a bit out of touch as to what goes on in slaughterhouses--I suggest you watch it.
In one part a crippled co is picked up by a forklift and dumped later onto the ground from about 4 feet in the air. Other clips from the video show lame, undernourished cattle being poked and prodded with an electric pole. Still another shot shows a worker kicking a crippled cow in the head over and over. In addition it shows a cow lying on the ground being pulled across the ground by it's leg which has been tied to a chain in an awkward and clearly painful manner. Then there is footage of cows being blasted in the eyes and noses with high power water hoses which keeps them from being able to breath properly and ends up drowning some.
Not only are these animals being treated with the most cruel intentions possible but their meat is possibly very dangerous as their sick and cripple bodies lie in their own fecal matter which can contaminate the meat with salmonella, mad cow disease and e-coli just to name a few.
The news agencies are reporting that these animals aren't being slaughtered in a humane way which begs the question, "How is there a humane way to slaughter an animal?" In my opinion there is no humane way to kill animals because it is murder in my eyes. Would we consider killing and eating the flesh or another human being humane and justified? Absolutely not and so if you believe in interconnection then we are in fact not only killing animals when we eat meat but also killing apart of ourselves in the process--not the least of which being our compassion and love for all beings.
The company has a contract with the government to ship the meat to schools for children's lunches as well as used to feed the needy and elderly. It is shameful that American tax payer dollars have been paying this company as the business has been abusing these animals and as if this incident wasn't bad enough, this kind of practice occurs in many slaughter houses across the country.
When will we stop abusing and torturing our animal friends who have at one time been our brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers and children if you believe in rebirth and inter-being. I am not here to condemn those who are meat eaters but let me just say this one thing, think about that meat which you are eating and sincerely ask yourself, "Could I kill the animal who's flesh and muscle I am eating?" If the answer is no then you might want to make a change in your eating habits. I know I'm being a bit in your face meat eaters with this post but I needed to speak up on the animal abuse that goes on every minute of every day.
Avoiding eating meat is in keeping with Right Livelihood because if everyone stopped eating meat then no one would have to work in the business of killing animals. Buddha didn't mandate that Buddhist be vegetarians but it is strongly recommended to avoid adding to the suffering of all sentient beings. In specific, the Mahayana branch of Buddhism urges those wishing to follow the Bodhisattva path to avoid eating meat to build more compassion in one's heart.
In this day and age there are plenty of eating options that still give you plenty of protein without having to eat meat. If you want to know of some of those ideas then email me and I will give you some suggestions.
~Peace to all beings~
