Connecting More Dots

I never thought that buying a $.99 McChicken Sandwich at McDonald's contributes to the destruction of the Amazon rainforest. I was watching a nature show on PBS and a portion of its program was devoted to the deforestation of the Amazon caused by farming of soya, which mostly ends up as chicken feed. After doing some quick research on the Internet, I found out that with respect to McDonald's, that was the case, but there are still other companies, particularily Cargill and KFC according to Greenpeace, which contribute to its deforestation.

I've been considering, not really seriously in retrospect, about going vegeterian this year since I found out about terrible animal cruelty in the business from an acquaintance and people who were handing out leaflets about the issue here in downtown Seattle. After reading some of the information, I think you will quickly realize that the majority of the meat industry is a dirty business. Another contributing factor to me considering going vegeterian was a CBS 60 Minutes interview with John Mackey, the CEO of Whole Foods (see mp3/podcast or video). He talked about how the company has set high standards for its meat products. Dan Rather asked him why does it matter if a chicken or a lobster lives a better life. Mackey said that our lives are all about the quality of life, and that they should have a good life too. He also said he found their group behavior interesting.

So when you eat at KFC, or probably even a chicken you bought at a grocery store, you are indirectly responsible for animal cruelty and deforestation of a forest that has the most species on Earth and is also the primary producer of oxygen on the planet. This statement is 100% true. Now here's the good (?) news if you don't want to be vegeterian: you can buy meat products, a-la the Whole Foods initiative, that are certified to be humane raised and handled. I don't think I want to be vegetarian right now because a) I believe that Homo sapiens' physiology is made to be omnivorous, and b) I like to exercise and I need the protein to function well physically and mentally (these are essentially the same statemens: Homo sapiens function best on an omnivorous diet, I believe). Having said/written that, when I do buy meat in the future, I will look for that certification.