I am not deep into The Bond but already I am at dilemma city. Talking about slaughterhouses. And egg farms and turkey farms and pig farms. It's not like I don't know these horror houses exist, I have read enough articles and seen enough exposes on TV to be aware of the cruelty humans are capable of in the name of profit. But having a book in my hands is more intimate; I can re-read passages and really absorb the nastiness of it.
I toy with the idea of moderating my diet from time to time. I don't think I could go completely veg, and this says a lot about my commitment. But even if I ate less meat it would be helpful to the poor, suffering animals. Who knows, I'll see how it all plays out by the time I get to the end of the book.
What infuriates me is the focus of these large corporations, although it doesn't surprise me. They find ways to puff up these animals as quickly as possible to get more meat with complete disregard to the animals' health. They cramp them into tiny spaces where they cannot move or even lie down so the corporation can maximize their space usage and their profits. They torture them on the way to slaughtering them. Turkeys are the most striking example I can cite without getting gross. They have discovered ways to increase the size of the turkey breasts to the point where the birds can barely walk; they sustain all types of injuries because their bodies are so grossly exaggerated. I hate myself for saying this but I LOVE turkey on Thanksgiving. Should I?
The food is sometimes tainted because of the horrible conditions these greedy corporations impose. Filth, squalor, a horrible environment that these animals are forced to live in for their entire existence.
The corporations lie about their abuses until they are prosecuted, then they pay fines and keep on torturing. The USDA is in their pocket. Many high ranking officials in the USDA were once corporate executives in the beef industry. Tells you all you need to know about our corrupt system.
It's a perfect example of how corporations act. They take a natural thing like farming and pervert and distort it to suck every last dollar of profit out of the process with complete disregard to nature, the environment or the living creatures they are slaughtering or altering to feed us. And they destroy the careers of real farmers and take their families down with them.
Which brings me to the republicans. Not a big leap if you give it some thought. By the way I refuse to capitalize the R because republicans are small people.
I have been relatively quiet since President Barack Obama was elected but I have been slowly building up an intense anger which will soon be vented for all to enjoy. This is a dry run.
republicans right now are systematically attacking the middle class, the elderly,the poor, and anyone who takes an intelligent approach rather than a mindlessly religious one. They say they are doing this to save the economy. The irony is they are in the hip pocket of major corporations, the very people who have all the capital and all the resources to save this economy. Except they would rather hide their money in foreign countries to avoid paying US taxes, and exploit their employees by reducing their wages, cutting their benefits and laying them off. The philosophy is fueled by two things - greed and the commitment to defeat President Barack Obama. Not to save this country or to do politically what is best for this country.
The connection to food industry abuses is this. Middle and lower class Americans are helpless right now. republicans (corporations) are systematically stripping us of our rights and our very ability to survive. They will abuse and insult us, cause us to suffer, take away all the things we have fought for over the last 50 years, and they will feel no remorse because their wallets will be bulging. They will cause poverty and suffering, they will make it impossible for sick people to get well, they will cause some people to die. All in the name of profit and all hiding behind a very thin mask of supposed patriotism.
I am talking about a mindset here. Our lives are dominated by corporations who care nothing about us. And they are in control. They control politics, they control all sources of power. republicans want corporations to become government. This is a horrifying concept and one that has a real chance of becoming our reality. I despise it and any thinking American should too.
Vote to re-elect President Barack Obama. And eat some goddamn broccoli.
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