Slaughterhouse video creates another vegetarian
February 29th, 2008 by admin
It’s been one month since the Humane Society of the United States exposed the widespread abuse of injured and sick dairy cows at a California slaughterhouse, and the story is still in the news (this week the USDA tried to defend itself in testimony before Congress). Video footage from the HSUS investigation has caused many people to take a serious look at vegetarianism.
For Chary Southmayd, editor of the Bellair Bee, a weekly newspaper serving the Tampa - St. Pete area, the video “finally did it for me.” In this week’s paper, Chary writes about the moral dilemma she has struggled with for years, “Personally, it’s a struggle between what I inherently know is the cruel practice of taking animals to slaughter, and the love of a juicy Porterhouse steak, or liver and onions. For all of my life, thus far, the steak and the liver have won.”
When she lived in Louisville, Kentucky, Chary used to drive past a slaughterhouse, “Seeing cows on the trucks headed to the meat-packing plant always bothered me. It’s one of those things you try to put out of your mind, but it’s always there.” The video from California has become impossible for her to put out of mind. She writes, “the next time I am craving a steak or baby back ribs, I will visualize what had to happen to get that meat to market.”
We couldn’t agree more with Chary’s conclusion, “there is no time like the present to try and do what’s right.” Congratulations on your vegetarianism! You can send notes of support to Chary at: csouthmayd@tbnweekly.com.