Food Forethought

Think of me tonite..
For that I give my life.
Was it for the good of all,
or was it just a waste to be carved by the butcher's knife ?

Think of me tonite..
For that which you savor.
Did it give you something real,
or could you taste the pain of my death in it's flavor ?

Think of me tonite..
For the time I was here.
Did you know how short it was,
or that the days were filled with torture, anguish, and fear ?

Think of me tonite..
For that which has been said.
Was your dinner worth it's price,
or was your craving to have meat really worth me dead ?

Wayne K. Tolson

Our relationship with animals is cold and inhumane. We buy packaged, bloodless meat; the butcher stays behind closed doors; the factory farm is closed to visitors; the slaughterhouse has no windows. We know that the killing machine is constantly cranking, but we've lost the stomach to look at the blood in the gears.

So, let's bring the bite of reality back into our lives. Let's place photographs on packets of pork in the supermarket. Let's swing open the slaughterhouse doors. On CBS, NBC, CNN and ABC, let's run 30-second PSA's that show it like it is: chickens in their cages, cattle fattened on corn and antibiotics and then shot in the head. What are we afraid of? Let's move ever closer to the killing that's being done in our name, and finally, something surprising may happen: we may start feeling just a little more humane; a little closer to the sacred cycle of life and death.

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