An article in an agribusiness journal from earlier this year reads: "Sanderson Farms' poultry processing plant in Moultrie, Ga. was temporarily locked down on Wednesday when an employee reported a colleague was armed. Turns out the ‘gun’ was actually a novelty cigarette lighter shaped like a pistol, according to police called to the scene."
There are few workplaces where the presence of a novelty cigarette lighter would result in a lockdown like this. But slaughterhouses are violent, fear ridden environments for farm animals, and also for human beings. And, killing is in the air. Can you imagine doing a job that involves cutting animals’ throats eight hours a day? Such bloody work has a negative effect on us, and I wish nobody had to do it.
The article also noted that despite concerns that somebody had a weapon in the slaughterhouse, the killing continued. It stated, "…while the guards did lock the gates, as per company policy, the production lines never stopped."
Speaking of killing chickens, I am sickened with the trend of killing your own back yard birds. I live rurally, and many people learn to kill the chickens (and even have young children help!) These same local folks call the slaughter "harvesting" the chicken. The fact that they use a euphemism proves they have some level of awareness, but they still continue.
Posted by: Sidra E | 09/24/2009 at 04:09 PM