One turkey saved…

As I’ve gotten a little older and, arguably, more mature, I wonder how we decide which animals are OK to eat, which are OK to keep as pets and other just shoot for fun.  (No, PETA wasn’t the sponsor of the day 🙂 )

I remember this thought crossing my head first time when I was at an acquaintance of mine house and we were having dinner with them and two other families.  This guy, who was a financial adviser (he made that known more than a few times), was sharing his another pet rescue story and how precious that doggie is, while chewing on his second or third greasy rib.  He continued with his contemptuous disgust with “… those people in koreas or whatever who eat these poor animals …”, with the meat sticking out of his front teeth…  Yes, I kinda disliked the guy anyway, but still, I had this objective thought: “who the f made you the decider which of the God’s creatures goes on your grill and which plays with your kids?”

This shirt is available for sale in the animal hospital where we take Kobe for years – awesome place right off Nesbitt Ferry.  So, if the greatness can be measured by the treatment of animals, why is it only relevant to dogs and cats (and like)?  What about 45 million turkeys tomorrow?  These are USDA official 2008 stats:

Cattle: 35,507,500
Pigs: 116,558,900
Chickens: 9,075,261,000
Layer hens: 69,683,000
Broiler chickens: 9,005,578,000
Turkeys: 271,245,000

If I add a line: Dogs: 10,540, the local police, FBI and CIA will “transform” Ellard and our house, that will make 1993 Waco, TX look like gay-pride parade in Manhattan.

I’m not advocating to eat or not to eat or change traditions or anything.  I’m asking myself: “who makes us the decider which creature are OK to be food, which are blasphemous to think about having on our table?”

PS  On an unrelated note: I like following whole bunch of sites.  News, blogs, forums, videos, photos, etc.  From time to time I find some coolest photos on The Impossible Cool.