Let's all buy a piggy!

My walk to North Campus was interrupted by an older, shy woman who was standing in front of the yellow building of Southwick. She forced a small paper into my hands as if I were walking in the middle of Boston. As I continued walking to class, I decided I'd do the woman a favor and actually read the pamphlet without trashing it.

Just by looking at the photos of caged pigs and chickens on the front page, I knew what kind of pamphlet this was. "Just another PETA thing" I thought. As I studied the cover more closely, I read something that PETA would NEVER say. "If everyone just cut their meat consumption in half, billions of animals would be spared from suffering." This organization "Oppose Cruelty" doesn't tell people to completely stop eating meat, but to simply "eat less". This is a different approach than what I'm used to. I've done a large amount of research on PETA and animal abuse, and this organization's information agrees with what I already know.

Here are some points that people should learn:

1.Animals aren't really on farms anymore. They're in factories, crammed into small spaces. (So small, that the animals oftentimes can't even turn around!) They live in their own waste, and suffer greatly.
2. Chickens have their beaks cut off so they don't peck other chickens. Male chicks are either gassed or ground up alive as opposed to the female chicks, who are raised for eggs.
3. Slaughter houses, by law, are supposed to stun animals before slaughter. That being said, animals are oftentimes conscious by mistake when they are painfully killed. For example, birds are given electrical shocks to render them unconscious. it is unknown whether the birds ACTUALLY are unconscious. If they aren't, they will still feel a tremendous amount of pain.

"Hogs, unlike cattle, are dunked in tanks of hot water after they are stunned to soften the hides for skinning. As a result, a botched slaughter condemns some hogs to being scaled and drowned. Secret videotape from an Iowa pork plant shows hogs squealing and kicking as they are being lowered into the water."

4. There are many alternatives for food. For example,Tofurky is a brand that sells "turkey deli slices". They taste and look like turkey, but really aren't!


One final point I'd like to make is that pigs, more than most animals being slaughtered, have a similar intelligence to dogs. Pigs would make GREAT pets for those who have enough room. They can love, cuddle , and even learn a few tricks. Pigs are even friendlier than some types of dogs!