Writing Through Tears in my Eyes

I usually reserve this blog for things light and cheerful, but today I have to write from the heart. And this morning my heart is so very heavy. I was up early and did some work around the house. At 7 Am I decided to eat a little breakfast and watch Good Morning America. The lead story was about a huge beef recall that has been issued. Finally, and none too soon, the Humane Society has film footage of incredibly cruel and torturous treatment of cattle that are being raised to supply hamburg to schools and such. This particular California slaughterhouse has been slaughtering beef cattle that are too sick to even stand on their own feet and shipping the beef to the rest of the country. Now it goes without saying that it is unconscionable to be supplying humans with meat from sick animals. But even worse than that in my eyes is the horrendously cruel treatment that these poor innocent animals have had to endure. One segment of the film footage was a man driving a tractor and pushing sick cows with the bucket because they were unable to walk on their own. These cows were awake, aware and being shoved across the ground like they were piles of manure. I can only imagine the terror that they endured in their final hours....no to mention the suffering that was their lives up to that point.

How is it possible that any human can look into the eyes of an innocent animal and treat it with anything less than kindness and compassion. How is it possible that some humans have become such monsters. Is it the result of capitalistic greed? I need to know how this happens. It seems that if we cannot figure out how man can become this way, then we will never know how to stop it. I am so very tired of feeling helpless in the face of all these amazingly awful acts of inhumanity that we see every day in our news. Personally, I have vowed to never eat another piece of beef that comes from these stockyards, CAFO's and slaughterhouses. I will pay more for meat from locally grazed, humanely treated cattle. I have decided to eat beef and pork only on occasion and never again in a restaurant.

And don't for a moment think that this is a solitary occurrence. This is commonplace. This is the Hell that we have created known as the beef industry. This happens every single day.

How is it that mankind has taken this entire beautiful world and systematically unleashed his cruelty and violent rage on each and every type of living creature....ravaging both flora and fauna for his own greedy gain? Where is mankind's soul? Where is its heart?

Please, please, please help me stop this insanity.