Seeing as how I asked all of you firsties to tell me your New Year's resolutions, it's only fair that I tell you mine. As I indicated on some of your papers, mine is food oriented. I've always kind of known that the way animals in food the human food chain are treated is not exactly humane, but after reading some books--The Ominvore's Dilemma, Fast Food Nation, Chew on This, In Defense of Food--and watching the movie Food, Inc., I really just can't close my eyes and dip into that ever so delectable of foods, orange chicken, with the same elan. Seeing those conveyer belts with baby chicks, the routine deprivation of light and space for these animals, the inappropriate food provided them, the way they have to basically live in their feces--all of this has made me reevaluate my relationship with the food I consume. And it's not just the way the animals who are slaughtered for food are treated, but the ones who produce other products I so dearly love--eggs, dairy, ICE CREAM... I want these animals who produce the milk in my coffee to graze on grass instead of the corn and other feed that they are not naturally meant to consume. I want them to experience fresh air and the ability to turn around without becoming stuck in poop.
And so, my immediate resolution is to forgo all meat and poultry from here on out, and all my dairy must be cruelty free, which means the cows producing my milk and sour cream and cheese must be pasture-raised, and I have an ice cream maker so that I can make my own tasty frozen treats from cows that enjoyed space and air and fresh greens.
Hopefully the resolution will stick!
