1108:
Edited by
CJ Tointon
[This is a copy of a letter that Doris
Hardman sent to Transnational Processors. It was addressed to the Chairman, Mr.
Allheart]
As
the managing director of Transnational Processors, Mr. Allheart, you have
always observed the highest standards of animal processing. We have a lot to be
grateful to you for.
Some of the most beautiful foods and
fabrics come from your abattoirs and I know that plant workers don’t always
have an easy job - or a clean one. But
you’ve always held that hygiene is paramount.
You bring grubby-looking animals in at one end and turn out quality ‘food’
at the other. Now that’s what I call
provisioning!
Mr. Allheart, I think you deserve an
award! You manage the production end so
well and produce many wonderful goods which suit my lifestyle perfectly.
My life would be empty without
you. For a start, it would be empty to
the tune of one dog! My dog. He doesn’t like vegetables, but he loves your
minced lamb. He won’t eat anything
else. And Puss is crazy for your fish.
They’re spoilt, the pair of them, but we love them and try to give them the
very best.
I heard the other day that you might
have to close-down because of the trouble terrorists and animal activists are
causing. We shall miss you. The thought
occurred to me that my life without you would be unimaginable! There’d be no decent shoes to wear, no
Christmas turkey and only ice cream made from beans! There’d be no ham for sandwiches, no eggs for
breakfast and no beluga for my daughter’s wedding next week!
Speaking of weddings, I’m stocked up.
The fridge is bursting. We’re preparing The Trough, so to speak.
If it wasn’t for you, Mr. Allheart,
we’d miss out on a lot of the good things of life, things which make life worth
living. For a start, without you there’d
be no Dairy. Those delicious,
milky-rich, yummy things; all-tempting but not costing the Earth. You are one
heck of a producer! Just having so much
milk on hand makes a lot of difference.
It can be put into almost anything and it’s available everywhere. I must say I’m glad you’re not wasting it by
giving it to the calves. There, I’ve
said it!! The dear calves. Admittedly, they’ve played their part and I’m
pleased about that. So, thank you for
all the milk. I love milk, Mr. Allheart.
If we are all grateful to you,
then the animals probably are too.
They’re grateful to us all.
Grateful and proud to be a part of our lives.
On some level, I’m sure the animals
realise that they give themselves completely to us for our use. I'm sure they’re glad to. One can imagine the calf accepting its love
for us as stoically ‘seeing-it-through’ - through to term - and jigging up
Mum's milk supply (lactation-wise) in the process. Even these little calves are willing to give
up their Mother’s milk so we can use it. That is their service to us and
if good milk is the result, it can’t be
all bad, can it? Because there must
always be plenty of milk available, for all sorts of reasons, but especially
for my ice cream. I love ice cream, I
mean, real ice cream!
It’s because you run such an efficient
breeding scheme that we have so many animals to choose from. It’s always a wonder to me that there is such
diversity in what you make from raw materials - transmute is the word I think -
all turned into such useful items and enjoyable elements of excellent
nutrition! Whether it’s sweet or
savoury, so much of our food is produced by you, for us all to enjoy. Apart from those steaks of delicious
mammalian muscle tissue, there’s an ocean of seafoods, and what do you always
say? - “There’s plenty of fish in the sea”.
For the wedding, I’m doing paella, one
of my favourite seafood savouries. And
for appetizers, I’m hoping for Plenty Beluga!!
You know, I have a little theory of my
own here, that the animals want to feel part of our celebrations. I think they enjoy saying “Yes” to the idea of serving us and being part
of our lifestyle - and our meals. It’s
all about them coming closer to us.
We honour them/ they honour us.
Using their bits and pieces (like secretions, skins, hair) is all grist
to the mill for them. If we can use
them, then we should. They’re proud to be useful and I’m sure, in their generosity,
they’d never begrudge us our shoes and blankets. They’d want to see us well shod and warmly
rugged up.
Yes - We have a lot to be grateful
for. Most particularly your leadership,
Mr. Allheart. It does you credit that
you don’t push yourself forward.
I would say this to you: Don’t skulk on
the outskirts of our towns as if you’ve got something to hide. Come amongst us. Bring your ‘temples’ and ‘altars’ closer
in. You have nothing to be ashamed of
after all. You only do what we
bid you provide for us. Imagine how
hungry the world would be if we didn’t have someone like you, turning chickens,
cows, pigs, lambs and fish into food?
Perhaps in a perfect world they’d
be allowed a sort of Union of their own for complaints, if they had any. They’d probably have a little moan about it
all being a bit one-sided, being of more benefit to humans than animals - but
that’s it! So with nothing much to
whinge about, I guarantee those cows grazing in the paddock down the road are
quite happy. More particularly, they’re
proud to be there, here with us, bred and reared with a sense of
purpose and destiny. AND I might add (on
behalf of the Downtrodden-Man-on-the-Land) it’s always been on the house,
free board and lodging - for life. All at the farmer’s expense!
I know animals, and I know they always
want to give back. It’s in their giving
nature. They want to give in the only way they can. They give their lives! They know their lives are not wasted, and I
can almost hear young and old saying, “Thank you Mr. Allheart” and “Thank you to everyone who cared for us
when we were with you”. From the same
generous nature they’ll add, “Thank you
for making the best use of ALL of us”.
The animals, by following your example
Mr. Allheart, in turn love us. We
sense they care for us in their own way providing means whereby we, their
humans, need never go hungry or cold.
I’m encouraging my children to write to
you to say how much they appreciate what you do for us. I’m speaking on behalf
of others when I say how much we all appreciate the wonderful things you give
us and, in a funny sort of way, you have become my church! One day I hope all the church-doors of your
bio-secure operations will be open for all to see and via the videocam make it
all visible. Imagine: streaming live pictures of dear animals frolicking
and playing in the farmyards throughout this country! And these happy scenes, viewed by all, will
prove wrong all those jabbering Animal People going on about cruelty on
farms. All charges scotched! You can imagine, Mr. Allheart, what a kick in
the teeth this would be for the ‘farm-terrorists’. Hopefully they’ll get long prison stretches
and have to find somewhere else to spit their poison.
Just think - Any time, Any day, Anywhere
- Streaming Live - Worldwide accountability for you. The in-house pictures will
prove there’s nothing to get upset about.
I can imagine Open Days on the farms with everyone dressed in their
bio-secure disposables, walking amongst the animals. By being one-on-one with them we show
faith with the farmer. On those same
farms there will be rooms set-aside for reflection, for giving thanks to the
Transnational Processing staff for their work and their loyalty to you, Mr.
Allheart. In my own contemplations, I
imagine myself whispering to you, “Thank You Mr. Allheart” for what is nothing
short of a miracle, a transubstantiative turning of raw materials into the
glory of kitchen cuisine. This is your
gift to us, it’s your Art, Mr. Allheart.
As a Memorial to you, my future hope is
that my daughter and her husband raise young ones to attend your apprenticeship
programmes in Animal Processing. It’s a
solid job for them and they’d be doing something important for their country,
like joining the army or the priesthood.
As committed workers in the Industry, they would also be our ears and
eyes and a voice for the future.
Where there were once meat-works and
slaughterhouses, there could be Temples in praise of Your service to us.
For my grandchildren to have the
opportunity to be in your service is the noblest vocation I think they could
aspire to. If, as we hear, you are about
to be closed-down, you must know my dream.
That in time, Your ranks will swell again. Your day will come again and
love of You will return with the respect and trust You deserve.
Know this from me, Mr. Allheart - We ’d
be nowhere without You!
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