Michael Vick and cruelty to animals

The owner of Slates Restaurant is to be commended for his principled stance in joining a national movement of withdrawing support for Michael Vick because of Vick’s record of cruelty to dogs. Mahatma Gandhi wisely said that “the greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated”. Michael Vick’s cruelty to dogs is, unfortunately, only the tip of a very, very large iceberg. The cruelty perpetrated on the animals we call “food” is staggering in scale.

These days nearly all of the meat and other animal products in this country come from huge factory farms where the animals are treated cruelly, suffer unimaginably and die unspeakable deaths. Sadly, this sea of suffering — 10 billion animals in the U.S. each year — does not need to happen. It occurs because of the pleasure people derive from consuming flesh at nearly every meal. What’s the difference between sitting around a dog pit watching dogs fight and standing around a barbecue grilling the tortured bodies of animals we call food? As singer K.D. Lang asks, “We all love animals, so why do we call some of them pets and some of them dinner?” In other countries dogs, cats and horses — the animals that we love and treat as treasured members of our families — are treated with equal or greater cruelty before being eaten as food. With even one day of meatless meals a week you can begin to withdraw your support for animal cruelty and enhance the greatness of this nation.

STEPHEN AUGUSTINE

Sandpoint