Since I was 11, I have entertained the idea of becoming a vegetarian. My refusal to do so back then was a failure not of resolve, but of gastronomical courage: I hated eggs, didn’t like the look of beans, and had no idea what to do with tofu or any inclination to figure it out. Hell, I never even saw tofu or hummus until I got to college, where I met vegetarians galore but still couldn’t bring myself to give up meat. (My favorite hangover cure is a bloody mary with a side of bacon.)
But right now, today, at this very moment, I’m closer than I’ve ever been. And it’s not because of Deborah Madison, Jonathan Safran Foer, or my health. It’s not because mass-produced meat is driving us to hell in a Hummer – apparently soy has its ecological downsides, too.
It’s because of this:
“Pigs in blankets” used to mean cocktail wieners in crescent rolls. NOW IT MEANS SWEET BABY CREATURES IN PAJAMAS. How the hell can I bring myself to sponsor the murder and dismemberment of something that not only smiles, but sleeps in a bunk bed? The subway ads are even worse. I cannot eat the little pink piggy with the rose in his mouth and the guileless grin. I can’t. And yet, I did. Yesterday, in fact. For breakfast. But I didn’t want to. It made me feel bad. And bacon isn’t about feeling bad. It’s about salty, greasy joy. When the joy goes, what’s left?
A dead pig, some tiny, empty pajamas, and a bunch of thorns. That’s what.
As this blogger (er … compassionate cupcakes?) points out, there’s something unfair about equating piggies and chickies with kittens and chihuahuas. Or is there? Do people more secure in their carnivorousness feel this way, or can they smile at the piggy and eat the porky with nary a second thought? I feel guilty enough buying a lottery ticket; do I really need to add murder to what before now was just a crime against logic?
Needless to say, this isn’t a done deal. The thought of never again roasting a chicken with lemon and thyme brings tears to my meat-eating eyes. But if those lottery folks come up with an ad that shows a baby cow in a Snuggie, my burger days may be over.
Oliver Miller says:
I reassert my original stance that the cuteness discrepancy between piglets and actual pigs is... astonishing. It's like if you were born Angelina Jolie and then turned into [insert ugly celeb reference that I can't think of].
Cows, though. We probably shouldn't eat cows.
Beth Boyle Machlan says:
Yes, but the piglet deserves to live the life promised it by that commercial! How can I continue to eat pork, knowing that, someday, I might eat THOSE VERY SAME PIGS? With toast and homefries? (I mean, yeah, any piglet can get an acting gig. Pig gigs? Harder to come by.)
AnotherStrayCat says:
Don't worry, they'll be growing meat in labs soon, like plants. Yummy, yummy meat plants.
CA says:
"Pigs snuggle close to one another and prefer to sleep nose to nose. They dream, much as humans do. In their natural surroundings, pigs spend hours playing, sunbathing, and exploring. People who run animal sanctuaries for farmed animals often report that pigs, like humans, enjoy listening to music, playing with soccer balls, and getting massages...."
It's so ironic that you kill the pig to eat it's carcass at breakfast, and it in turn kills you (it sure doesn't promote living). Your 5 minutes of pleasure means a lifetime of suffering for that pig crammed into a cage in a factory farm, but this seems justified 'because it tastes sooooo good.'
(when I say 'you', I'm not referring to you individually, but to the collective of animal eaters)
I wish more people would make less decisions based solely on their taste buds and their own self want. It would solve a lot of problems.
Anika_Vegan says:
You no choice pigs are made to become our food. We can not make them our pets forever if there are some hungry mouths out there.
I don't eat others bodies says:
An excellent book to read "Eating Animals" by Jonathan Safran Foer.
I don't eat others bodies says:
Add to above......I saw him on Ellen. I hate that they have to smack that sign into them though. It even scares them!! But the commercials are beautiful before they do that.