Sarah Palin the Turkey Murderer?
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Let me just open by saying I'm not defending Sarah Palin here. Really, if you ignore the background scenery in her "scandalous" turkey slaughtering interview (video embedded below the jump), it's entirely clear that the woman couldn't reason her way out of a paper bag. But fucking christ people, I've had it up to here (imagine me holding my hands six feet above my head, were it possible) with the hubub about her being interviewed in front of a holiday turkey butchering session.
The only people on the face of this earth who have ANY GODDAMN RIGHT to be shocked and offended by the background scenery of that fucking interview are devoted vegetarians who shudder in revulsion when they accidentally walk past the meat counter at the local grocery store. Bonus points to those folks who've ever picketed a KFC. The rest of you? Shut the fuck up. Tell me you've never eaten a turkey sandwich. Tell me there wasn't a fucking turkey on your table at Thanksgiving (for the Americans, obviously).
You know what I saw there? A far-too-rare opportunity for squeamish pussy-ass fucking Americans to catch a glimpse of where their precious, plastic-wrapped holiday "feasts" come from. Guess what folks? Your holiday turkeys aren't inanimate objects that were grown on trees or manufactured in a space-age poultry assembly plant. This isn't Restaurant at the End of The Universe, with genetically engineered livestock that comes to your table and recommends the best cuts off its own ass for your dinner.
Do some fucking research on how industrial poultry processing plants do things. Read about overworked employees swinging birds around by their heads so fucking hard they pull their spines out … and then laughing. Read about turkeys being kicked in the guts so hard their internal organs rupture.
Look up the AOL video promoting processing equipment that allows a plant to process 6500 birds per hour (bph). Do the math as to how fast those poor fucking things are being hustled to their death. Hell, just think about the implications of the phrase "poultry processing plant."
Consider that a lot of poultry is raised in cages so overcrowded, they'll fucking kill each other if their beaks and claws aren't cut off. Consider that a gross majority of commercially raised poultry never sees the light of day in their short, pathetic lives.
And if you don't have the time or interest to bother with Google, just watch the nice video of a Butterball processing plant, posted below… and go into your local store tomorrow, look at the freezers full of Butterballs, and realize that's what you're fucking looking at.
THEN, go back and watch the "horrifying" Palin interview again. That was a spectacularly humane, peaceful turkey slaughter. That was one guy, butchering turkeys at a downright leisurely pace, who was kind enough to hang the turkeys upside down for a minute* before loading them into the throat-cutting machine. If you couldn't fucking handle THAT, you need to become a vegetarian immediately. Seriously.
*You know what happens when you hang poultry upside-down? No, you probably don't. Their little brains can't handle it, so they get a bit hypnotized. They calm down, and just hang there, rather than kicking up a panicked tantrum.
On the one hand, we have the shocking Palin interview:
Keith, I still love ya baby. But I hope you're a vegetarian.
On the other hand, we have a Butterball processing plant:
Yes, it's a PETA video. Yes, I think PETA are dipshits. But credit where it's due:
They're some of the only fuckers out there who give enough of a fuck
about slaughterhouse cruelty to bother videotaping this shit.
You really expect people do admit they're just indignant that their thanksgiving dinner hit them in the face with an "I used to be alive and feathered" reminder?
Animals shouldn't be so damned tasty. If they weren't, I'd so not eat them. Cos yeah, battery farms and slaughterfactories etc are sick, which is why I prefer game when I can get it. Venison is good, can't go past some Bambi. Also, Kangaroo. Mmmmm, national emblem.
29th November 2008 at 7:37 am | permalink |I agree. I don't see the big deal.
I definitely still do like keith, though, but he does have a habit of going a tad overboard. (then again I suppose it's not so weird that the few actual common sense people in the media over there tend to go a bit extreme in their reactions when you notice just how skewed the entire political spectrum of the rest of the reporters are)
I'm not a vegetarian, and honestly I'm not so sure that I'd find it offensive (other than palin talking) if I were - either.
It looks more humane than the chair, to put it that way.
29th November 2008 at 7:56 am | permalink |Apropo the chair, and our other means of execution, you ever wonder why on earth we don't focus on the most painless and -stable- ways to kill others when it comes to them? It's like we WANT to hurt.
2 points for the Douglas Adams reference!
29th November 2008 at 10:28 am | permalink |Thanks for this post. I too can't stand they hypocrisy going on here.
I am a vegetarian. I became one for two reasons:
1) Health - I'm not here to discuss this and I'm not going to argue this point with anyone here, because if you disagree you're obviously blind. The average human vegetarian is much healthier than the average human omnivore. Accept it and move on.
2) Corporate livestock "farming" - I have no issue with killing animals to eat them - humanely - which is what the video shows. But when demand reaches so high that we treat creatures the way we do, something is wrong. And it's no surprise it's the American mentality of more == better.
Try this. Make a fist. That is how much meat the human body is designed to digest in 1 week. It's also roughly the amount of meat the average American is eating in one day. The situation is ridiculous.
The only answer to meeting the demands of this overconsumption is corporate "farming" which creates the horrible conditions for animals you described above: Force feeding livestock unnatural feed (usually corn - which is another whole rant), crammed cages, never seeing daylight, cutting off various appendages (causing the animals horrible pain) to make sure they don't "damage" each other, little to no government regulation, not allowing the animals to fully die before they're thrown into processing machines where their flesh is slowly ripped off while they're still alive.
It also produces very low quality (and sometimes dangerous - healthwise) meat. Most omnivores just can't tell what they're eating is trash because they've become so used to it and addicted to the chemicals that come along with it.
Meat should not be as inexpensive as it is. The animals should be raised well, treated well (as they are on most small farms), and killed and processed humanely. For those willing to pay the slight added cost for that. Please enjoy your meat.
If Americans cut back their intake of meat to the amount we're designed to have. Not only would heart disease stop being our number 1 killer, but we'll have taken the biggest step possible to combat global warming we can make. Additionally the meat we do eat would be of much higher quality (ie -taste much better).
People need to get a clue about what a humane kill looks like vs what's happening to most of the animals they're eating day to day. This place we've come to is disgusting.
29th November 2008 at 10:39 am | permalink |It's not just americans, though. It's like this in norway too. Personally I have a tendency to completely forget to eat most meat - most of the time. I'll maybe eat meat once or twice a week - however that's not the norm, whatsoever.
In norway we have a very large "pork" culture, as in, everyone eats pork - all the time. It's common and normal to eat tons of meat (more meat than say bread), everyday.
Even so… and this is the annoying part about food production today - even if all of the people all over the west were to stop eating as much of something specific, as they currently were - it'd take probably years before it was actually being produced in the same amount it was.
It's one of the reasons the whole "everyone take one day of not eating this and that" has absolutely no effect… we already leave storagehouses full of food to rot.
The machinery takes ages to actually 'catch up', it's in essence really it which controls us. (much like how the stockmarket prices on oil reflect what we logically think it should)
29th November 2008 at 11:00 am | permalink |"in the same amount it was"+required,
"much like how the stockmarket prices on oil"+do not+"reflect",
sheez.
Wtb drunken posting filter. :z
29th November 2008 at 11:02 am | permalink |"You know what happens when you hang poultry upside-down? No, you probably don't. Their little brains can't handle it, so they get a bit hypnotized. They calm down, and just hang there, rather than kicking up a panicked tantrum."
Now I know half the bbattle!
29th November 2008 at 12:54 pm | permalink |"The average human vegetarian is much healthier than the average human omnivore"
While that is almost certainly an accurate statement, is a logical fallacy to assume that proves that vegetarianism is healthier than omnivorism. The main reason I have no trouble believing the statement is that most vegetarians are so because they are conscious of their food consumption, while most omnivores are so becuase that's 'just how things are', and are thus less likely to be conscious of their food intake.
I'm an omnivore. I eat maybe 3-4 serves of meat a week. My sister's partner is vegetarian. He's as unhealthy as hell. Approaching morbidly obese. I'm 5'11, 160lb and fit as hell. Obviously this is just two people, but the point I'm making is that it's how much food that's far more important than what kind. In fact, most dietary studies that I've read/read of suggest that balanced low-meat diets (ie, what you're actually supposed to eat, not what most people eat) are just as healthy as balanced vegetarian diets.
I don't have an issue with people who want to be vegetarian. Good for you. Like I have no issue with people being Christian/Muslim/FSM. But the moment anyone starts being condescending and holier-than-thou, especially without any kind of evidence beyond 'I said so' along the lines of "if you disagree you're obviously blind," you stop being a person doing their own thing and become a dick.
Vegangelicals are just as bad as evangelicals.
29th November 2008 at 6:16 pm | permalink |I am vegetarian. I NEVER tell other people what they should eat or how they should eat. I do not understand what problem people have with this video. If you make a video of Palin and there is someone picking apples in the background, that is ok. So why not turkey?
30th November 2008 at 1:47 am | permalink |I know some of the uproar has been about the actual turkeys getting killed, however I think the issue is why a she would choose to do the interview with that as the backdrop. It just seemed like an odd thing to do after the ceremonial pardoning of the lucky turkey. I am so used to seeing politicians controlling every aspect of their image on TV, that it was weird to see her make this choice. What it showed is really just a slice of everyday life and this is how we get our food.
30th November 2008 at 10:49 am | permalink |I think some people are just squeemish about it and need something to be morally outraged about. But it's interesting in a political science type way, as an example of just how poor Palin's media savvy is.
30th November 2008 at 11:15 pm | permalink |@grimbles: "You really expect people do admit they're just indignant that their thanksgiving dinner hit them in the face with an "I used to be alive and feathered" reminder?"
Not really … for the most part, I don't expect people to admit anything that would require them to wake up, take a realistic look at the world around them, and then turn around and look in the mirror. ;-)
Kangaroo, eh? Never had it … but moose and caribou? OMG … *droooool*
@Zef: "I'm not a vegetarian, and honestly I'm not so sure that I'd find it offensive (other than palin talking) if I were - either."
At least a vegetarian has the right, if their vegetarianism has anything to do with compassion for animals. My mom, for instance, quit eating meat at age 12 when she found out they were eating, iirc, the family lamb. She can go ahead and be outraged. ;-)
"Apropo the chair, and our other means of execution…"
Oh, that is sooo another post. hehe
@Sam: "2 points for the Douglas Adams reference!"
lol … thanks. It seemed apropos.:-)
@Brandon: "Make a fist. That is how much meat the human body is designed to digest in 1 week."
That depends largely on what ethnic group a given person is from. More northerly people evolved to eat a much larger percentage of meat than people who evolved in regions where plant matter was available all year 'round. Native Alaskans, for example, lived on a predominantly animal based diet for the majority of the year traditionally. Realistically, unless someone is living a subsistence lifestyle, in the region where the majority of their ancestors lived, nobody is eating a 'natural' diet anymore.
All that said, yes, the vast majority of Western people are eating far, far more meat than they were intended to eat.
"People need to get a clue about what a humane kill looks like vs what's happening to most of the animals they're eating day to day."
Agreed. :-)
@Zef: "The machinery takes ages to actually 'catch up', it's in essence really it which controls us."
Yep. It's easy, when you're thinking of changing your personal habits for the better, to instead say, "Well, if I didn't eat/buy/use it, someone else would," and just revert to your established habits.
@Bob: hehe … learn something new every day, no? ;-)
@E: "If you make a video of Palin and there is someone picking apples in the background, that is ok. So why not turkey?"
Well yes, quite. But apples don't bleed, I suppose?
@DaveKan: "I am so used to seeing politicians controlling every aspect of their image on TV, that it was weird to see her make this choice."
1st December 2008 at 1:05 am | permalink |Well, total lack of realization as to what people in the "oustide world" actually think is one of Palin's hallmarks. On the one hand, it's kind of indearingly naive. But more to the point, it shows a fucking terrifying lack of awareness about the world at large.
I also had emu once. Also nice, but harder to get, though given the size of the Emu farming industry in the 'states, you guys, stupidly, might have an easier time getting it than we do lol
Its freaky but, Big Bird isn't white-meat like a giant chicken, oh no. Big Bird is reeeeeeed meat.
1st December 2008 at 5:26 am | permalink |I think Keith was on target with his criticism of this woman. What I got out of it was that it really didn't matter what was going on in the background it was that Sarah is all about Sarah and she is clueless about what is going on around her, no matter what it is. I chuckle when I hear these bible beating morons taling about how she is the future of the Republican Party. I think they are right. The Republican party is all about "me,me,me,me"; Sarah is all about "me,me,me,me" so they fit together. My wish is that the remnants of the GOP slowly circle the drain and disappear from sight like a bunch of soap bubbles.
1st December 2008 at 6:01 am | permalink |http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMyNk8J1c8g
1st December 2008 at 9:50 am | permalink |For me, the shock was not the way the turkeys were slaughtered. The shock was how oblivious Palin was. Your points about people learning where there food comes from and the need to reform animal rights legislation are well taken, but Palin's general obliviousness is still shocking. By comparison, I'm well aware the people in Africa and Asia regularly starving to death, but I wouldn't choose a backdrop of starving people for an upbeat holiday message.
IMHO, if politicians paid more attention to what's going on around them, we might not have such a screwed up society.
1st December 2008 at 2:57 pm | permalink |Congratulations, again U.S! Hillary Clinton as “Head of state”!
1st December 2008 at 6:39 pm | permalink |Obama is a fucking genius…
@grimbles
Interesting post about the vegetarian diet - I was vegetarian for about four years and ended up putting on so much weight it was going to cause more health problems than eating meat.
My reason for going vegetarian was that I found looking at meat unpleasant and handling and cooking it a problem. I still do, but I know now that it is much more difficult for me to have a healthy diet without meat than with.
@E
Well said - the back drop could have been people picking apples, a car factory, a small town store or anything else.
The reality is that turkey butchering is part of everyday life and for some is the way they make a living - why should their way of making a living be any more/less relevant a backdrop for a political speech than anyone elses.
1st December 2008 at 6:44 pm | permalink |@Ian: I did the vego-diet for about a year. I didn't feel any healthier, and it was much harder to keep dietary intake of various nutrients up. Vegetarian food can be damn nice, but honestly, it's easier to cook steak than make a lentil burger.
Plus, I like cooking, and there's just so many flavours you miss out on without meat.
@brandon: another thing i forgot to mention is that - aside from the fact that the human body isn't *designed* - how the body is 'designed' to work doesn't necessarily indicate what's healthier. The human body wasn't 'designed' to work with modern medicine, but modern medicine has done a lot for quality of life and longevity.
1st December 2008 at 7:44 pm | permalink |"Secretary of State"
2nd December 2008 at 7:15 am | permalink |I can see i've been drunk again *sigh*
I loves me some turkey, but I do find the whole "turkey getting slaughtered" to be a perfect metaphor for palin and her political career.
12th December 2008 at 7:40 pm | permalink |Hey, turkeys aren't "poor things", they are food. They are stupid enough to drown in the rain. When your ancestors spend millions of years evolving to the top of the food chain, you can choose what to eat. Vegetarian? Fine! Ominvore? Fine! But to point fingers at someone, even Sarah Palin (shudder), is flat hypocritical. Sure, I would have loved to see her shoved down the chute too, but we've already seen how she runs around with head cut off - so there'd be nothing new to see. As far as humane treatment of critters we eat, well the jury is plainly out on that one until we find that the critters have feelings. Could we be more civil about it? Sure. But they gonna die anyway.
14th December 2008 at 7:30 am | permalink |Animals feel pain, get sad, etc, etc. Anyone who owns/works with dogs knows that.
The problem with PETA (other than the fact that they're psychotic) is that they want to abolish ALL meat eating, which isn't going to happen. It's the same as making drugs illegal (we see how that's worked out) it's unrealistic. It's an un-winnable war.
What they SHOULD be doing is focusing 100% of their resources on more HUMANE ways of housing and killing animals for meat. And probably less throwing blood on people too.. that would help.
14th December 2008 at 11:39 am | permalink |I hadn't heard the thing about turkeys drowning in rain. But, odds are, its because humans fucked them up through selective inbreeding.
14th December 2008 at 5:58 pm | permalink |Grimbles, it is true and obviously applicable to "domesticated" turkeys only. Otherwise there'd be no wild turkeys. And yes, man has probably bred their brains out of 'em. When it rains, these "birds" look up and keep their heads raised. The rain gets injested through their nose and mouth and the suckers die of drowining. It is really wierd to see.
15th December 2008 at 9:09 am | permalink |