547:
The quiche we eat, a biscuit with coffee, and many thousands
of brand-named items are taken for granted. They all seem quite benign. But
each one connects back to animal abuse. The connection between that eggy-quiche
and the creature who laid the egg isn’t that unobvious. It’s simple enough for
a three year old to comprehend, and for them to connect up and declare the food
‘wrong’, because of the way the hen is treated ... and then to understand why
vegans are vegans.
Comprehending
the connection isn’t the problem, it’s the habit of ignoring it that’s
problematic. It’s not hard to grasp what the principle is, it’s just too hard to
apply it to daily life. And let us never forget that if we can manage to forget
it we can then continue on, eating our delicious quiche. We are used to eating
delicious things (and quiche is delicious). Refusing to eat quiche means
self-denial. And for the sake of what? A chicken? A creature whose body we eat
anyway, on a regular basis?
To think it
through, from egg to quiche, from imprisoned animal to dinning table, is a
process any child could understand IF they were told. Most kids would have
nightmares at the very thought of entombing hens in wire cages, so that we
humans could have eggs to eat. They might object strongly, if it were explained
to them … but whoa, that would mean one huge hassle for parents, who are making
the kids’ breakfasts. If children got wind of it and refused to eat eggs, it
could be the thin end of the wedge. It might lead to refusing other sorts of
meals. So, parents use ‘a small deception’. They withhold information. This is
one farmyard story they don’t tell.
“Please
understand, it’s not lying, it’s just omitting certain crucial facts, and
thereby moulding the way we want our kids to think”.
Children
are virtually powerless when it comes to food. They can’t ask a simple question
and expect a truthful answer, when it comes to asking where their food comes
from. Keeping kids in the dark, over
this matter anyway, is convenient for parents and teachers. When children start
to become ethical about food, life gets complicated - “They’d drive you nuts if
they started refusing certain foods”.
Parents
fill their fridges with handy, ready-to-go foods which work well with kids.
Eggs are used as ingredients for many items of foods. The egg works wonders, as
do most meat and milk products. The foods made with animal products are especially
popular with kids.
Okay, well
you see where I’m going. This isn’t a tirade about cruelty and cages and
thoughtless parents, but just a common enough reaction, if children are going
to be properly informed. Most kids have a very natural sense of right and
wrong, and they would also understand the animal advocate being angry when
other adults take no notice of the harm being done to animals. So, we come back
to our own fuming and spluttering anger. We fume because it’s still legal to
buy eggs AND to conceal certain facts from children!!
No comments:
Post a Comment