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For the Animals
Horses can be ridden, they are harnessed, raced and
driven
And dogs are our friends, or so we say.
But gentle cows and sheep
are only good for meat
And chickens kept alive for eggs they lay.
Cats in our collection give solace and affection,
Their social
graces mystify and charm.
On the farm you will find creatures of a
different kind,
Their living deaths endured in darkened barn.
If
piglets had their druthers they would not leave their mothers,
Nor goats
forsake their kids and walk away.
Ostriches and emus would rather not be on
the menu
And buffalo would roam the plains today.
It is rather a
conundrum why these facts are seen as humdrum
While animals are raised in
pain and fear.
They're not recognized as pets so we'll have no regrets
As they forfeit precious lives that none revere.
Cows may be
labeled cattle as though they're goods and chattel
And hogs are really
piggies in disguise.
Change their names, forget their faces, wipe away the
traces
But remember the betrayal in their eyes.
Ann Wilson, Ontario,
Canada |
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We
read a story about how Linda McCartney became a vegetarian many years ago. She
was eating a lunch of lamb when she noticed some lambs frolicking outside. She
started to think about what she was eating. The story made us think, too, and
we gradually changed our diet to a vegetarian one.
Many reasonable people may think that
the animals they eat have good lives and are killed humanely. In fact, most of
the flesh that is eaten is from animals raised on factory farms, where they are
treated like commodities. For the grisly details see the web site:
www.factoryfarming.com
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