A recent article published by “Modern Farmer” tells the story of Bob Comis, who raises pigs for meat in upstate New York. It describes the ethical dilemmas faced by Comis, which he recently laid bare in a blog post entitled “It Might be Wrong to Eat Meat.”
As someone who had pursued a doctorate in political philosophy, Comis states: “One morning, I woke up absolutely certain that killing animals to eat their meat was wrong.”
“It’s not the sight of blood that troubles me,” Comis adds, “but the violence of the death throes.” Comis challenges the claim of livestock science that these convulsions are a sign of unconsciousness, asserting that “as a witness, it is almost impossible to believe that the pigs are not thrashing around because they are in pain.”
Although Comis is a small-scale farmer by today’s standards, the pigs he raises are still separated from their families as animals on factory farms are, and their deaths are always the same: mercilessly brutal and completely unnecessary.
Luckily, those who enjoy the taste of meat don’t have to give up flavor in order to show compassion for animals. See our “Switch & Ditch” page for delicious meat-free meal ideas sure to please even the most die-hard carnivore.
