I thought about that a lot when I read this article Conspiracies Don't Kill Birds. People, However, Do. The author laments the 5,000 blackbirds that died a mysterious death. There is despair over habitat loss, pesticides, the hunting done by feral cats, death by vehicles, window glass, power lines, pollution, poisons, etc. "That means that on average, 13.7 million birds die in this country every day."
But sadly lacking in this figure are the 9 to 10 billion birds callously classified as "poultry." And by naming these birds as such they disappear from our sphere of consideration. When people eat "breasts", or "legs" or "wings", the living being is forgotten as is the en mass brutalization of them. More than 250 of them every second!
Each valued their lives. All wanted to live. None of these deaths are in any way "necessary" to human survival. No thoughtful person would say they only ate "a little" cardinal, or sparrow, or robin... So I suggest a close examination as to why they think it's okay to eat only "a little chicken." I did. And I believe I am a more consistent and kind person for it...
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| The Choice is in Your Hands |
9 comments:
"Each valued their lives." And the arrogance of our species decided that such valuing was worthy of no consideration...this is beyond sorrowful.
Your point is as valuable as those precious birds who are safe in those tender open hands (photo above). May more of us open our hearts, rethink our harmful ways, and move toward 100% harmlessness in our every thought and deed.
Thanks for this post. I wonder what the average human sees when they look at the pictures of those babies.... I love birds and the more aware I've become the more obvious it is that they suffer so much in this world. Here in the city, humans are paid BY the city to go out and shoot them - mostly pigeons. There doesn't seem to be a real reason. They throw around the "they spread disease" lie, but in a city where humans are often seen urinating and sometimes defecating on the street, where dog poop is not even required to be picked up, that excuse does not hold water. In the countryside they are hated because they are 'stealing' crops or food from gardens (ha!). In the suburbs they get it for droppings on cars or lawns. Some are living the life of a horror in a cage as 'pets' and the worst are the ones being farmed. Birds, who are so beautiful and sweet natured and sing pretty songs or make funny calls (by funny I mean they make one smile), who live full and comlex lives that they value and appreciate are treated so badly everywhere. It's just too sad. For my own part, I haven't eaten flesh in more years than I can count, but a year ago I was eating "free range" eggs. :( That makes me sadder than I can say now. Well, never again. ... I feed the sparrows who live around our apartment every day and I go to the river and feed whoever shows up every day. Lately it is a lot of seagulls and blackbirds. They start circling when they see me coming and I am NOT imagining that. I noticed that a few weeks ago. Every time I hear gunshots (which at least is rarely) it breaks my heart because I know it's a bird. There is not gun violence against humans in Berlin. ... Thanks for speaking up for the birds.
Oddly I too, have separated out birds for slaughter vs birds in the wild.
In my conversations with others who express there love for birds, I failed to verbalize this obvious disconnect.
I will do so, from now on.
I know veganelder... beyond sorrowful. No pity at all for such (worthless) little lives - that mean the world to them! So sad.
I agree Anonymous - There ARE many more of us that are courageous enough to re-think what is the truth! The chances of many more seeing it, gets better every time we challenge them to open their eyes, minds... And hearts.
Krissa your dedicated routine of feeding the birds warms my soul! I'm reminded of this song in Mary Poppins: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHrRxQVUFN4&feature=related
I sing it to you Krissa... for your love of the pigeons, doves, gulls, blackbirds and all the winged animal angels. Bless you for your kindness to them.
I think Richard that all of us goes through countless incidents of re-discovery... It's a very complicated thing this issue of animal use that is engrained in us from day one. I admire you for making efforts to unlayer inconsistencies and get to the root of it all. That's a champion in my book! :)
Funny, I get the same comment from my omni friends ALL THE TIME: "I really don't eat that much meat - only a little chicken." Ugh. Their references are usually to justify their diet to me (or to themselves).
Hi Angie... Depending on how sensitive your omni friends are... You could just repeat exactly what they say "a little chicken". Maybe hearing it in it's true meaning might do some good? Other than that - I have little advice talking to omni "friends." I have much better success with strangers... Seems like the absence of complicated personal relations lets an objective and informative conversation happen (sometimes!). Thing is, let's not ever be silenced... Friend or foe. ;)
Language is such an important tool. There's power in words, and when we disguise living beings with ambiguous words like "meat" or dilute violent acts by calling it "harvest", it just renders who we kill more invisible. Let's all be more precise when naming beings and actions!
SITOGV - I couldn't agree with you more! It's so odd that we live in such a technologically advanced and precise world when it comes to wanting to name stars light years away... Or identifying sub-atom particles. YET - Having accuracy in what words mean in relation to living beings (and their rights) --- We go off in fairy-tale-language La-La Land! I'm all for calling a thing what it is... 100%! :)
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