As I study and analyze industrialization in Life Doesn't Have to be Meaningless class I keep on reconsidering my habitual diet. What I have been consuming all my life in order to "survive" has contributed to the destruction of this planet. I have run projects before to help the environment thinking that I was different than most people by doing so. By contributing to make this place a better place, I was also contributing to the animal abuse in American industries. The irony of this has enforced my ideal that there is no person in this world that is entirely nice, caring, or right. And working towards achieving something like this is futile. I might be causing harm to something else as I live my life and I haven't even noticed. I haven't wanted to notice. Indeed it is more comfortable ignoring reality but at this point I cannot bring myself to do that. After this unit I have come to focus more on the angle of the abuse and damage we humans are causing to ourselves and other species.
Responding to the song "cows with guns"
I found the song and the video funny mainly because it is not real. Sadly cows cannot fight to survive like those in the song. I do think animals live afraid after experiencing pain. However, their fear is not enough to make a change. It is in hands of the people who run the industries to stop the animal abuse. And it is also in our hands to stop purchasing the meat that is coming from these animals to make a change. This video reflected the human behavior during a revolution. It was clear when Che Guevara was mentioned in the song. Human beings have the ability to revolt against an oppressive power, and because of it, the opportunity to fight for their own rights. Cows do not have that opportunity, and not because they indeed cannot grab guns and revolt but because we who have the ability of saving them we are not providing them that opportunity. This song to me is a creative introduction to the reality of industries in America. But it could be also a lesson to the public that is it sill not aware of this reality. I think that the people who created this song still appreciate the animals and seek to give them the respect they deserve. By not giving them respect we continue on developing a huge mistake that began many years ago.
As Jared said in The worst mistake in the history of the human race we do not appreciate agriculture. Destroying barns and replacing these with mass industries we have lost our ability of working for our food and respecting the domesticated animals raised in barns. I personally think that the abuse in industries is due to the lack of the same abuse on the abuser himself. Because he has not experienced what the animals have gone through, he does not consider their pain. I find it the most unjust and disgusting thing to do, take advantage of the weak because it cannot communicate its rights as living organism. However, this leads to a major argument. The fact that industries are providing the public tons of meat to satisfy their needs is not wrong to thousands of people. As soon as there is meat it does not matter how or where it came from. That is one of the greatest comforts as human beings. We do not have to concern ourselves as soon as everything is going according to what it is expected. Our society lives in the ideal of we as kings of this kingdom, planet earth, have the "right" to consume any living organism other than other human beings. After all, the world was made for us.
If the world was truly made for all human kind, then there would not be starvation in other countries. There would also not be limited food due to expensive prices. The world was not made for us equally it was made for those who came and were put in power. Not everyone lives equally and therefore not everyone has the same opportunities. I think it is in our nature not to be equal to others. It has been attempted in many ways, such as communism, and it is not enough for most people. We have the need of having more and more, because we refuse to feel satisfied. Therefore, we take advantage of the world that was not made for us, and we kill it. We dominate other species, and we dominate the terrain by building it according to our own comfort. Out of all the animals in the world, the human being is the cruelest one.
I partly agree with what Jared suggested in that article. Developed countries have lost any type of appreciation and respect to other species. These are only seen as a profit. I think that the biggest mistake human kind has ever done is a different one, without this one none of this would have ever happened.
Furthermore to how we feel about the processed meat from industries, we have grown so selfish that thinking about our own well and satisfaction is a priority. If we feel like eating meat then we can easily acquire it from a super market. Companies have conveniently set prices that would make the people buy their merchandise. As the article of Industrial food isn't cheap suggests, not even the wealthiest people could afford the real price of industrial food in the market. This is because of all the money that is invested into building industries and machinery that would keep on "producing" the meat. Without mentioning, the energy cost of these machines that reduce the amount of time to collect all the goods by harassing the animals, is far too expensive. Paying this much money, abusing and killing animals, increasing the number of overweight population in America, consuming large amounts of energy, Providing possible infected food to the public, contaminating the environment, etc, are some of the consequences that come along with industrialization. And still these are not enough to make Companies reconsider "renovating" a barn. It all comes down to the production of money. The reason of why animals and the environment is suffering is mainly because of a profit. Thinking it in this way the reason of industrialization and these consequences do not nearly balance out. How much greed must you have to ignore all these facts in order to become wealthier than your neighbor?
As guilty is the one who produces as the one who buys from him. Yes companies keep on running their industries to become wealthier, but we are helping them the most. These companies would be nothing without us, the purchasers. We all are contributing to the destruction of this planet in some way. There is no such thing as the innocent one at this point. Because of our development and ambition to improve there is not stop to these industries. I find it nearly;y impossible to make companies and purchasers reconsider their actions. Yes, many people can change after becoming aware of the cruel reality in this process, but I do not think it is enough to cause a major impact that would save the little life that is left. Are we truly that blind that we cannot see our own self destruction or are we simply masochists?
To understand more our current choices and actions regarding self destruction, we have discussed human nature in Life Doesn't Have to be Meaningless class. I think It is our nature to kill. As a quote from the movie Natural Born Killers stated: "It’s just murder. All God’s creatures do it. You look in the forest and you see species killing other species, our species killing all species–including the forests. And we just call it industry, not murder" If it is indeed our nature to kill then our actions are pure. But at what point is it not pure any longer?
Killing other animals and plants to survive is in our nature. What is it that makes it so terribly impure? Another quote from the movie suggested a possible answer to this question. "You’ll never understand, Wayne. You and me, we’re not even the same species. I used to be you, then I evolved. From where you’re standing, you’re a man. From where I’m standing, you’re an ape. You’re not even an ape. You’re a media person. Media’s like weather, only it’s man-made. Murder? It’s pure. You’re the one made it impure. You’re buying and selling fear. You say “why?” I say “why bother?” Even if media is the one who communicated this right or wrong ideas to us, I still think there is no reason to murder such high number of living things. I think killing life might be pure, but over killing it is outrageous.
As a conclusion to this unit, I have stopped eating meat. I changed my usual milk to organic milk. I have came up with projects to make a possible change. And still, food to me is a burden. Meat or vegetables I cannot enjoy it. Thinking of the way it came from and who it came from makes me sick. The food I am eating is not food that was "shared" with me so that I could survive, but it is food that brings money to someone else. Someone I might never meet is providing me all this food at the supermarket not because of kindness, but because of greed. And I am helping that person become wealthier and wealthier, and therefore destroy the world I live in by ripping it apart. I am just part of the process of industrialization. The never ending chain of the modern life continues and continues, and only because I bought something from the supermarket at a good price.
I wonder how would I feel if I were to collect my own food from nature itself. I think it would be delightful.
If you cannot be saints of knowledge, then, I pray you, be at least its warriors. - Nietzsche
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