I live around a lot of farms. Last year I was taking Aiyana to a local produce farm for their hayride. I decided to take a detour and travel down one of the country roads that I haven not frequented in a long time. During the trip from our house to the farm, we passed by a farm that raised cows. These weren’t factory farmed animals, but they still had their ears tagged with a number.
I slowed down as I passed by, and I felt sad Aiyana wanted to know why the cows had earrings and I told her that these animals were going to eventually be someone’s meal. She was fairly upset.
In her mind animals, despite what species they are, serve their purpose on earth and we don’t really have the right to abuse, kill, or eat them. Yes, indirectly she has learned a lot from her mommy. I don’t talk about Veganism too her a lot at this age but she sees how I treat all animals.
I was raised around farm animals, and I remember the chickens seemed to know when my parents were coming out to kill one of them. They would be off, and it was hard for my parents to catch them. We had free range chickens. I cannot blame the chickens. I would have been running also.
Gary of Animal Writings said…
People are conditioned to think of pigs and chickens (and cows and so forth) as “food animals.” Eating meat seems as natural as breathing to most people. And humans are frighteningly good at compartmentalizing, for example pushing thoughts about the suffering and killing of farmed animals out of their minds.
I often think back to that day and the black spotted cow that was looking at me and part of me cannot help think that it *knew* what was going to happen to her.
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