April 03, 2007
Talk about false consciousness -- some people really think they are better human beings because of how their meat is killed.
Burger King, of all places, has taken the biggest initiative to pull savagery off the menu. After several years of consulting animal welfare groups, the chain last month announced significant changes in the way it buys meat.Starting now, 2 percent of Burger King's eggs will come from cage-free birds; that proportion will rise to 5 percent by the end of this year. The chain also will buy 10 percent of its pork from suppliers who refuse to keep their animals in crates; that percentage will rise to 20 by 2008.
Burger King also has told suppliers it will prioritize buying chickens that have been killed humanely, with a "controlled atmosphere" technique that is already in use in Europe.
The effect of these measures together, animal welfare groups say, is enormous. First, Burger King's actions will increase awareness about the way meat is routinely produced. If more Americans knew about these methods, the factory farms that sell more than 95 percent of U.S. meat surely would be pressured into changing.
* * * Most promising of all, Burger King has announced it will continue its ongoing discussions with animal welfare experts. The Humane Society and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals both worked closely with the chain to develop the policy changes.
In keeping that conversation going, Burger King shows that ethics can coincide with good business. Few consumers, after all, need or want animals tortured in the service of lunch.
I'm sorry, but if your conscience is that prickly concerning your food, how can you justify eating meat? After all, it is still being killed. And if you are still willing to kill to obtain your food, is it really cruelty free? Either become a vegetarian or quit your bitchin' about it.
Personally, I want my meal to have been water-boarded, dressed in women's underwear and terrorized by dogs before it is dispatched with a single bullet to the back of the head. I'll take two Abu Ghraib burgers to go, please.
Posted by: Greg at
10:27 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 369 words, total size 2 kb.
19 queries taking 0.0106 seconds, 28 records returned.
Powered by Minx 1.1.6c-pink.