If you’re wondering what this question has to do with NCPR or the Adirondack North Country, it’s simply this: much of our coverage area is agricultural, and the vast majority of local farms produce milk. I’m an almost-vegan, almost-vegetarian. What does this mean? I haven’t eaten red meat or chicken in 40 years, and I rarely eat fish or seafood. I don’t drink milk or use butter but do have yogurt or a piece of cheese occasionally. I stopped eating meat decades ago because I didn’t like it and because I believed that if I wanted to eat something I should know how it was raised and, given the opportunity, be able to harvest–or kill–it myself.<\/p>\n
In recent years, my husband and I raise sheep and turkeys and laying hens. In light of our super-humane treatment of these creatures, whether being raised for food or wool, Thanksgiving table or just eggs, I have felt okay about having a farm.<\/p>\n
But I question this all the time–is it a rationalization? I think about the oft-made comparison between the way we treated human chattel\u00a0 prior to the Civil War and how we now treat animals. John Brown deemed a fanatic back then, PETA deemed a fanatic organization now. So, Brown’s tactics may have been extreme but I have never met anyone who thought he was wrong about the need to abolish slavery. Can the same be said of PETA’s goals, in spite of tactics? Are we just late in coming to a full understanding of the “humanity”–if you will–of animals? Or at least their right to be free of human intervention in their lives?<\/p>\n