I'm probably going to give the Oprah "Vegan Challenge" show more space, energy and time than it deserves... But I've had a nagging issue ever since I saw Lisa Ling's slaughterhouse footage. Or actually the sad lacking of the essential scenes.
What I'm referring to is the blatant and obvious omission of the actual "act". You know,
the use of the bolt gun. The actual process of the intentional spoiling, snuffing, slaying, extinguishment, destruction, cancellation, assassination, termination and vetoing of an Other's sacred Life. That all important second when there is a breathing, healthy, autonomous, sentient, innocent "
somebody" having their beingness erased from existence. You see, everything after this climactic event doesn't make much of a difference - We're only talking about matter. Not
what matter. Or better still, "
who" matters.
Albeit the blood letting, evisceration, head dropping and hide pulling may be "unsettling", gross or even disgusting... But they are trivial next to the complex judgments, emotional sensitivities, fully informed,
owned acknowledgment of
Life taking. The unjust murders are left invisible, sanitized and absent from consciousness. The viewers were given an easy get out of jail pass away from this most critical and vile moment of the whole "meat" process. I believe it was very cowardly to shield those responsible from witnessing the details of their chosen diets.
I'm glad to see I was not alone in my disappointment that the calculated and deliberate deaths of these animals were glossed over:
Powered by Produce said: The tour inside the Cargill slaughterhouse kind-of drove me nuts! First of all, they were not allowed to show the actual killing of the cow on camera (the bolt gun to the head and the slitting of the throat while dangling by one leg), which I think is important for people to see so that they realize that a living being was killed for their dinner. And, obviously, Cargill was going to be on their “best behavior” while the Oprah cameras were in there! People need to see the HIDDEN camera footage – that’s what’s real! They didn’t mention the living conditions of the animals pre-slaughter and they, of course, didn’t mention the animals who make it down to the skinner still alive and have their hide ripped from their bodies while fully conscious.
Vive le Vegan said: Yes, show the killing, that's what we need to do to eat animals - kill them. Don't sanitize it for public viewing. That's what we already do to meat - sanitize it, make it look pristine and unlike any part of the animal.
So I'm Thinking Of Going Vegan said: ...but they still would not allow the actual killing to be filmed. The general manager (sorry, forgot her name) paid lip service to the idea that animals should be treated with dignity and respect and reiterated a number of times how the company and employees had a lot of respect for the former living creatures. Right. I also heard her use the phrase "harvested (gotta love that euphemism) carefully" and that killing animals was somehow part of the "natural order of things." And did you know that the stun bolt gun doesn't hurt, but renders animals completely unconscious so that they don't feel any pain when the bolt is driven into their brain?
Vegan Machine said: ...they left out the part that people like to pretend doesn't happen... the death of the animal. They briefly described the death of the animal as being "knocked." This means they put a 4" bolt through their brain to render them lifeless. They said that at Cargill the "knocker" stands behind the animal so they do not see them, they are not stressed by them being there and it is unexpected for them. I think that is great, that would lower their stress significantly in my opinion. The part that they quickly went over was when the cows get "stuck." That is all they said about it. The truth is, being "stuck" means the animals' throat is cut while being chained up by a leg or two that cannot comfortably support the animals' body weight so they can bleed out. I think it is an extremely important part to leave out. I was really surprised though that they said they could not show the animals being killed but they could show the animals' blood draining, being skinned, legs being cut off and then entirely butchered. It was pretty brutal. But the most important part is that the animal is killed so that people can eat them, and the Oprah show neglected to show that... .
Suite 101 said: From the description of the kill, I would think we were talking about two different events. I am curious why we are not allowed to view this glorious death. This clearly could be a deciding factor in someone’s decision to abstain from eating meat.
Our Hen House said: Cargill put out the balloons and ribbons...
Culture Mob said: Now I don’t want to cast aspersions on this particular facility. For all I know, every day there really is a song even when Lisa Ling and her cameras are not around. However, I would just like to point out that if you know that the queen of daytime television is going to be stopping by for a visit, you’re probably not going to trot out the crazy dude with the nose-piercing and the “I Heart Murder” tattoo on his left bicep. But, I dunno. Maybe that’s just me.
*Grist said: Oprah discovers slaughterhouses are more sanitary when sanitized: -- to the conscientious Cargill employees interviewed during the segment, it's clear that this is a highly orchestrated visit with a Cargill-friendly moral.
*The Miami Herald said: While Ling's footage didn't show cows being killed, it did contain graphic footage of carcasses being hoisted up and skinned. Viewers apparently aren't ready for the full story...".
*Ari Solomon on Huffington Post said: In truth, the place did look clean and orderly, as I'm sure any would when you know you have Opie coming for a look-see.
But what about every other day of the year? And what about the 20 other slaughter facilities that Oprah said turned her down? What happens in these places when no one is looking?
And here's some random comments on assorted blogs and news posts:
This program was a complete joke! Of course they wouldn’t show the “BOLT”, she said it doesn’t hurt them, they don’t feel it, sometimes it take 12 hits before the monsters that hit them with the bolt finally brings them to the ground, because many of us have seen this horror. And they wouldn’t show any of that. All those people there wanted to do was to sell their books. I feel so sick. Sorry for the rant. Make no mistake, these animals all suffer….Thanks folks for throwing the animals under the bus….
And they actually did visit a slaughterhouse with a guide ? Nice PR for CARGILL indeed.
Oprah should have shown undercover videos and REAL images of the slaugherhouses, and have Farm Sancuary as guests.
The show was a love fest to the meat industry. Hey, that steak on your plate came from a nice, happy, fat cow, that was knocked unconscious by a blow to the head and did not feel a thing after that happened!
Clean, anesthetized TV for all to enjoy and nobody to get the shock of their lives. After all, who wants to see one cow after another getting stunned with a four inch bolt?
This show was like inviting rapists to tell their side! I can name at least 2 dozen other well respected authorities on veganism that would have made this a show a serious discussion about the real issues.
At least Lisa Ling has a new found “conscience” about where her steak comes from. “I mean, seriously?”
It was a great PR campaign for Cargill. Cargill ethical, what a joke.
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| See No Evil Painting by Morwenna Morrison |
I'd say these were all very astute conclusions.
In fact, a Herzog and McGee 1983
International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems Psychological Aspects of Slaughter reports that: College students who first visited a slaughter plant, found that the killing of the animals bothered them more than gutting the carcass.
And I would agree that it's not the gore... It's the violations to Life that bothers us!
But then again, even Ms. Temple Grandin the
queen diva of all things
blessed in the business of animal slaughter business has the need to
dis-associate herself from the actual "act" itself:
"Although Grandin describes the cows' journey through her slaughterhouse system in detail, she fails to describe the end of the process when the cows are shot. Her emphasis is on the aspects of the design which keep cattle calm before their slaughter, for example the curved single-file routes and high solid walls (so cows "can only see their buddy in front of them"). Morris, at the request of Grandin, did not film any deaths. "As Temple tells her story, she takes the animal all the way up to the point of the bolt gun but not through the bolt gun and after that. It was that part of the story, her story, that I wanted to tell". We are left with the impression that Grandin in her own mind does not consider this aspect of slaughter. She does not have a picture of it".
Note
in this video (part 3) of Errol Morris's television presentation: Inside the Mind of a Killer - Grandin cannot even say the word "kill". She like most others who consume the butchered remains of sentient beings always like to say that everything "dies." We humans of course are so nice and respectable about making "things" "die."
Clearly no one wants to say what it is... Nor they want to see what it is. And here is the grand finale of this already too long post. Want to know what the
animal industry gave as an excuse for not showing the "offensive" footage?
"Cameras were allowed in every stage of the process, except where the cattle were stunned in the “knock box” due to safety and animal welfare concerns".
Yeah... The welfare and safety of the animals --- S-u-r-e.
Please, investigate
the truth for yourself... None of this carefully staged taking of life was necessary. None of it was right. Don't settle for placebos. It's not fair to you... It's not fair to the animals.
*Edited Feb 2, Feb 10
Take a look at the logo for National Dairy Producers Organization. 
