so i see it fitting to write something related to pigs.
see, i came across two books back in the philippines both introduced by a friend, alan. hey alan!
1.) the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy (misnomerly called a "trilogy" with 5 books) - douglas adams
2.) the pig that wants to be eaten: 100 experiments for the armchair philosopher - julian baggini
i finished the first (series of) book(s) and it gave me a nice laugh. and a good brain beating as well. the second one, is waaaay too cool but sadly i can't afford a 600-peso item from powerbooks back then so i have to borrow it from the above mentioned friend. this book is filled with thought experiments, discussing "what ifs" in our minds not to mention lots of questions throwing back more questions instead of answers. (sick!)
try this one thought experiment from that book. (which by the way is indirectly related to the first one as it is the source)
the pig that wants to be eaten
after forty years of vegetarianism, max berger was about to sit down to a feast of pork sausages, crispy bacon and pan-fried chicken breast. max had always missed the taste of meat, but his principles were stronger than his culinary cravings. but now he was able to eat meat with a clear conscience.
the sausages and bacon had come from a pig called priscilla he had met the week before. the pig had been genetically engineered to be able to speak and, more importantly, to want to be eaten. ending up on a human's table was priscilla's lifetime ambition and she woke up on the day of her slaughter with a keen sense of anticipation. she had told all this to max just before rushing off to the comfortable and humane slaughterhouse. having heard her story, max thought it would be disrespectful not to eat her.
the chicken had come from a genetically modified bird which had been 'decerebrated: In other words, it lived the life of a vegetable, with no awareness of self, environment, pain or pleasure. killing it was therefore no more barbarous than uprooting a carrot.
yet as the plate was placed before him, max felt a twinge of nausea. was this just a reflex reaction, caused by a lifetime of vegetarianism? or was it the physical sign of a justifiable psychic distress? collecting himself, he picked up his knife and fork...
to make things short, a pig was genetically-modified to beg to be eaten. para bang yun na ang sukdulan ng tagumpay nya.. ang katayin at maihain sa hapag-kainan.
there are reasons as to why raising (and eventually killing) animals for food is considered wrong, one would be its conditions while it is being raised. pinahihirapan ba sya, nasa mabaho, masikip, at mainit na lugar ba yung hayop na pinag-uusapan? the issue is, is it in misery while being kept in captivity? yung isa naman, is the act of killing the animal (which could, as a potential, have a decent future ahead like being a nobel-laureate-for-physics-type of future) so ayun nga, madaling lunasan yung unang isyu just make sure the animals are well-cared for (take for instance the tasty wagyu beef from japan that are not allowed to graze around or move for it to have tender, tasty, and healthy meat). now how do we address the second and ultimate rationale for vegetarianism? that is objection to the act of killing for food? now that's a tough one. pero madali lang yan with the advancement of technology. imagine, what if we could create animals that are virtually un-interested with their own survival, with a conscious consitution similar to that of a stalk of pechay. is it considered wrong to deny them the existence they don't even care to think of? or oddly enough, what if sila na mismo ang magmakaawang kainin mo sila? in an "utang-na-loob" way of begging.
look here, people may talk about being humane and mindful of animal dignity or respect to natural order of things pero wala ba tayong masasagasaang animal dignity kung gagawa tayo ng "mindless, brainless, decebrated" versions ng mga hayop na pwede nating kainin? hindi ka ba makukunsensya kung ganon ang sitwasyon? just asking.
anyways, who wants to be a vegetarian when you can always be humanitarian? three cheers for doctor hannibal lecter! :)
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