How many times a week do you run through the Mcdonalds or Wendy's drive through to grab a quick hamburger on your way to work or school?
The average American eats three hamburgers and three-four orders of fries each week (Schlosser). Roughly $10-15 a week turns into $120-150 dollars a year. Times that average by 30 years and it comes out to about $4,500. Times is by 50 years and it's $7,500.
What could you do with $4,500? Take a family trip to Hawaii maybe? What about $7,500? Maybe purchasing a car, well probably a used on, but a car nonetheless.
What exactly are we paying for? Not just a slice of beef between two buns.
One hamburger isn't just one cow, it's Betsy and her entire family tree.
In slaughter houses 22 million animals are slaughtered daily (Goldstein 46) to fuel the traditional American diet of which are given growth hormones and contaminated feed; Remains of horses, pigs and poultry (Schlosser).
You try telling Bobby the chicken he played with earlier is the same one Betsy just ate, who will later end up on his plate. That'll keep him smiling.
American Beef Associations constantly reassure it's buyers hormone injection is safe and it won't end up in our food. Well if that's the case, why have other countries banned to use of hormone growth injections? What's not being told?
A trip to the doctor leaves you with direction to eat more fruits and vegetables. And no, the strip of lettuce on your cheeseburger does not count. The doctor informs you of your high cholesterol and increased blood pressure. Eating a bowl of Cheerios's won't do the job.
Vegetarians are statistically proven to have lower cholesterol and blood pressure and far less likely to be obese (Goldstein 46). Not only health benefits, but vegetarians live about seven years longer than meat eaters and vegans live about 15 years longer.
No, not only you hamburgers, hot dogs, and chicken contain animal products. Jell-o's, some yogurts and ice creams contain gelatin; The hides and bones from pigs and cows (Goldstein 90). Even your french fries are cooked in "animals products" for flavoring. McDonalds used to fry their fries in beef tallow, giving them "more saturated fat per ounce than its burgers" (Schlosser).
In Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation he discovers some secrets in fast food. Wendy's grilled chicken sandwich actually contains beef extract and the Burger King broiler chicken breast patty that claims to have a 'natural smokey flavor' isn't what it seems:
"Red Arrow Products Company manufactures natural smoke flavor by charring sawdust and capturing the aroma chemicals released into the air. Then the firm turns this smoke into liquid with a solvent" (Schlosser: 128)
So when they say smokey, they mean it!
Bill Haw, CEO of one of the largest cattle feedlot operations in the country explain that a slaughterhouse is
"..not now, nor never will be, a very pretty thing. Animals come there to die, to be eviscerated, to be decapitated, to be de-hided -- and all of those are violent, bloody and difficult things to watch. So your first and foremost impression of at least the initial stages of the packing house are a very violent, very dehumanizing sort of thing"
One word particularly sticks out in that paragraph; Dehumanizing.
Websters Dictionary defines dehumanizing as: to deprive of human qualities, personality, or spirit .
Slaughter house animals are packed fiercely into the building where they can in-fact hear, smell and see the slaughtering of other animals. Apart from these are typically the young calves and veals that are dragged there because of weakness, for the animals are unfed for a minimum of 24 hours prior to slaughter who show up foaming at the mouth(Schlosser).
Reflecting on some the greatly looked up to men and women of history, not all of them were meat consumers. To those who look down upon and criticize meatless eaters, what would you say to these people?
Albert Einstein - Vegetarian, Scientist
Aristotle - Vegetarian, Greek Philosopher
Ed Templeton - Vegan, Professional Skateboarder
Ghandi - Vegetarian, Hindi spiritual leader
George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney - Vegetarians, Singer/Songwriters of The Beatles
Jason Mraz - Vegan, Musician/Singer
Jean-Jacques Rousseau - Vegetarian, Philosopher
Leonardo da Vinci - Vegetarian, Painter/Inventor
Luke Cummo - Vegan, UFC Fighter
Michael Franti - Vegan, Singer of Spearhead
Mr. Rogers - Vegetarian, TV entertainer
Plato - Vegetarian, Greek Philosopher
Plutarch - Vegetarian, Greek Philosopher
Ralph Waldo Emerson - Vegetarian, Writer & Poet
Rosa Parks - Vegetarian, Civil Rights Activist
Sir Isaac Newton - Vegetarian, Physicist
Socrates - Vegetarian, Greek Philosopher
Tom Delonge - Vegetarian, band member of Blink-182
Weird Al Yankovic - Vegan, Comedian & musician
I am no preacher, nor an activist. I simply challenge you to consider, what are you eating? Or rather, who?
When you pull up to the drive through, what corporation are you fueling by handing over your credit card or ten dollar bill?
Do you believe in the pursuit of life in every one of God's creations or the superiority of one, unnecessarily killing off the rest?
Sources
Happy Cow Compassionate Eating Guide.
Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Complany, 2001.
Goldstein, Mark A.. Controversies in Food and Nutrition. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc., 2002.
