ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, November 27, 1996 TAG: 9611270011
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: VICKI DUNAWAY
KAREN DAVIS' Nov. 21 commentary, ``Turkeys suffer mistreatment from birth to death,'' graphically described how turkeys (as well as other poultry) are raised on factory farms. Unpleasant as her descriptions were, it's good that she has made some people more aware of the situation as we sit down at the Thanksgiving table. Many animals that become our meat never see the light of day and grow up in filthy conditions. And we are beginning to pay the consequences for this in the form of food-borne gastrointestinal diseases and other illnesses.
However, I would depart from agreement when Davis implies that vegetarianism is the only alternative to these barbaric practices. Certainly becoming a vegetarian for humane reasons is a noble goal, and the beliefs and practices of vegetarians deserve respect. Still, there are others who see human beings as part of the same food chain in which cats eat mice, moles eat worms, big fish eat smaller fish, etc.
Some go so far as to say that all matter is made of the same basic stuff on an atomic level, and that it's arbitrary to say that a beef animal is somehow ``better'' than a head of lettuce. Most Americans who think nothing of chowing down on a T-bone steak cringe at the common Far Eastern practice of eating cats and dogs. Who is right? I have my own beliefs, but I can't say that I know the absolute truth.
It seems to me that the main problem with eating meat is that we no longer have to take responsibility for it. Buying a piece of meat is as easy as purchasing a box of crackers. We do not have to personally take the animal's life. Meat comes in a nice package from who-knows-where, and bears no resemblance to the animal it came from.
In the days when families raised meat for themselves and people in their communities, the animals generally received much better treatment during their lifetimes, and slaughter was done with reverence and respect for the animal. Now that meat production has been turned over to businesspeople who often never see the animals at all, the animals are just so much raw material, and we are just so many consumers with so much money. We have been trained to get the most quantity for the least money, and so we encourage those who cut corners to give us that big value. We eat too much because our food is cheap and doesn't satisfy. Then we spend what we have ``saved'' on diet pills, workout machines, medicines, surgery and health clubs.
Davis is correct in inferring that the best way to stop factory farming is to stop sending money to those who carry it out. But she may not be aware that there are many farmers who are raising meat animals on well-managed, lush green pasture that keeps improving from the fertilization the animals return to the fields (instead of into the water supply). These animals are raised without the stress of crowding and confinement, without routine antibiotics and hormones to keep them from dying outright, and they aren't bred to the point of disability. Many more farmers would be willing to raise animals in such a humane manner if people would only buy them, and if the farmers could make a decent living. The power of the pocketbook determines how our food is produced.
A little-known directory is published by the Virginia Association for Biological Farming, in conjunction with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and others, called ``Smart Foods for a Sound Planet.'' It contains listings of farmers who direct market many types of food, including meats. A local listing for the New River Valley/Roanoke region is also available. Local extension agents may be able to refer interested folks to farmers who direct market their meat and produce.
Increased regulation on food products has served mostly to drive small-scale farmers out of business and concentrate the food industry into a few hands. Despite strict regulations, food-borne illnesses and epidemics have become commonplace and more difficult to trace.
Ultimately, the best way to change the way things are done in agriculture is to find people who farm the way we want them to farm, and then vote with every food dollar we spend.
Vicki Dunaway of Willis is editor of a newsletter called Food Alternatives with Relationship Marketing.
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