Ironic Indignation

Back in my meat eating days I would listen in horror as news reporters gleefully told me about outbreaks of Mad Cow Disease and meat processing plants contaminated with deadly e-coli.  The thought that my meat could actually kill me was enough to keep me from eating any for up to 30 or even 40 minutes in some cases.

As a vegan, these horror stories about diseased meat and bacteria laden dairy don’t effect me the same way anymore.  Now they fill me with a different sense of dread since I’ve learned how the meat and dairy industries cull the effected and surrounding herds when disease is found.  “Cull” is a very polite way of saying that they carry out an animal massacre of epic proportions.

Luckily, the most recent meat related news flash was not a story of disease and culling.  Instead, it seemed more like the old Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup commercials.  Now the lucky hamburger lovers in the UK are facing the same kind of exciting sense of edible discovery as the actors in the old commercials who accidentally discovered the great taste combination of chocolate and peanut butter.  However, the dialogue from the commercials would be a little different for today’s version of discovery.

“You got your horse meat in my ground beef!”

“Well, you got your ground beef in my horse meat!!”

Both actors take a bite and roll their eyes.

In unison: “Hey, these are two great tastes that taste great together!!

I’m sorry.  I know that is a gross and horrible thing to joke about but British omnivores have been unknowingly wolfing down horse meat <here is the article> and nobody knows for how long.  One distributor was clocked at more than 25% horse meat in their ground beef.

The thought of killing cows to make food has become foreign to me.  The thought of killing horses for food has always been foreign to me.  I can understand the outrage felt by the British omnivores who have been unknowingly eating horse- but that doesn’t mean that it the whole situation isn’t wrought with irony.

The hamburger lovers are making a raucous public outcry because the dead and ground up animal they thought they were eating was actually a combination of two dead and ground up animals.  Eating horse seems to be an abomination while eating cow seems to be a natural and normal practice for humans.  Does this strike anyone as a little hypocritical?

I’m not suggesting that people embrace the horse as a meat animal for people instead of just for dog food companies in Mexico.  Instead I am wondering if perhaps the disgust people feel about eating a horse could be broadened to include other species.  If horse meat is vile then maybe cows and pigs are too.  If bald eagles and vultures are off the menu, maybe turkey and chicken should be too.

In any case, it is nice to know that I’ve removed myself from the meat and animal product system.  When unscrupulous meat processing plants spread disease or extra animal species I don’t need to worry about being one of their victims.  They are dirty and evil industries and it is a huge relief to have washed my hands of them.