The Omnivore's Dilemma, Ch. 12 + 13

Reading these two chapters were a bit difficult for me to do because I'm not really a big meat eater, mainly due to the fact that in order to eat the meat you have to actually slaughter animals, which is precisely what this chapter is titled and about. There's really no humane way to say it, or make it any better. In chapter 12 Pollan has to overcome the act of killing a chicken -- better yet, 300. Reading this however did make me feel very uncomfortable and almost sick what with Pollan outright describing the machinery used to kill the chickens and killing the chickens in general. The details provided were enough to show how violent and rough the act of killing is, even when it's just a chicken.

However, reading these chapters also gave me more respect for the small-town farmers out there who do things like slaughtering chickens everyday of their lives. They have to almost numb themselves to the fact that they're taking life for the benefit of humans to have a better tasting meal. While being on the Salatins' farm Pollan has to numb himself too to the inhumane treatment of the animals. Although the purpose in raising these chickens was to eventually kill them and send them off to the masses, it's still a concept that you have to move past and get over before you can actually accomplish it.

Another part of these chapters that threw me a little bit were the rules and regulations that the USDA sets for small-town farmers along with big industries. Is it really necessary for the USDA inspector to have his own bathroom? What kind of rule is that? Pollan quotes Salatin when he says that the rules are "one-size-fits-all" basically for the industries, not taking into account the individual farmers. Finally, the references to religion at the end of chapter 13 completely lost me when it came to relating them to food.