As I began to describe one of my companion chickens, Doris, to the barista last night, I could see the smirk of incredulity creep into his face as he looked down and grinned in an embarrassing way, as if trying to hide his reaction from me for fear of offending me. Its not even that I was describing anything terribly outlandish other than that she seeks out my attention all the time and cries out to me when she wants me to come out of the house or wants to come in. There is a cultural filter that kicks in as soon as we hear something that does not fit our worldview about animals traditionally raised for food. Some call it cognitive dissonance. It blocks otherwise reasonable, caring and intelligent people from understanding the truth about these animals in favor of perpetuating the myth that they are mindless beings who were just put here for us to eat. I know I may have reacted the same way at an earlier time in my life when I was less aware of this issue. It just makes me incredibly sad to think about what an angel a bird like Doris is and how most people will never have a chance to see that.
Posted on: Wed, 23 Apr 2014 17:00:54 +0000
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