Make No Bones About It We're Vegan


Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Cowschwitz

I dig road trips. Larry and I blast the tunes, sing and laugh a lot and eat good food. For our six hour mecca I packed a couple roasted eggplant, sun dried tomato and hummus wraps for Larry and a salad with roasted eggplant and a touch of sesame oil and sea salt for me. We are great traveling buddies.
And then we hit interstate 5, near Coalinga.That ripe tangy stench  of death permeates the car. We try air conditioning, closing the vents, holding our noses blasting more tunes. I close my eyes and pray. We are just outside the Harris Ranch feedlot. With a 100,000 cattle it is the largest ranch on the west coast. Hundreds of cattle are harvested each day. If I open my eyes I can see cows scrunched together lined up as in boxcars awaiting there fate.They will be "In and Out" burgers soon! It's hard for me to grasp that concept and I cry as I always do. I've heard that this place of misery has been nicknamed "Cowschwitz". I wonder like I always do how anyone can eat meat at Harris Ranch or anywhere for that matter after experiencing this. We drive out of the offending area. Larry pats my knee and I am grateful for my husband and the compassionate life we've built together.

3 comments:

  1. It won't mean much but I will not eat any meat tomorrow in deference to your sadness. Have a better day.

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  2. That is so sweet. Thank you, Mark. I just read this. I just posted on your blog. So sorry for your loss too.

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  3. I think it is completely disrespectful to human life to call a slaughter house cowschwitz. although what is happening at harris ranch is an atrocity is is incomparable to the massacre of millions of human beings in concentration camps. i am very offended by this term and hope that you will reconsider when using it in the future. thanks.

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