The truth is ugly

Like dogs? Imagine cutting a dog’s tail off without anesthetic. What if there was a sick puppy? Imagine “taking care” of it by slamming its head into the ground repeatedly. Unless you’re a sociopath, that violence is probably appalling. But those inhumane actions are standard practices in animal agriculture, and hidden-camera footage of it being done to cows and pigs—animals with similar intelligence and charisma as canines—was presented Monday to a packed theater at the Artisan Building by Melanie Joy, author of Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows. The Harvard graduate deftly explained carnism, “the invisible belief system that makes eating animals possible in the first place.” The truth is ugly, but she argues awareness is the solution to “free choice.” See what she means at www.carnism.com.