A Farewell

As I sit here on a winter afternoon at the end of 2017, I think back to a warm summer day when I pulled up behind a poultry transport truck at a red light.  These trucks are a common site here in Fayetteville Arkansas.  We are a stone’s throw from Tyson Headquarters just north of us in Springdale.  

The industry’s presence in the northwest corner of our state is pervasive.  I’ve met line workers employed at slaughter houses (oh, pardon me - processing plants), known industry administration people - even the curator of Mrs. Tyson's art collection.

Tyson Foods, Inc.  How we laud the titans of industry.  Can I argue with $40 billion in revenues annually?

Yes, I can argue against such staggering wealth when it is built on the pain and suffering of millions of animals.

Let’s see a few more statistics I picked up on Wikipedia regarding the Tyson empire: Every week, its 54 chicken plants, 13 beef plants, and six pork plants slaughter and package 170,938 cattle,  347,891 pigs and 42.5 million chickens.

Wow.  That’s a lot of death.  Are you OK with that?  If you are, you’re at the wrong blog site.

Turkey Run
Mission and Crossover, Fayetteville AR
July 2017

During the year that I put out this blog, I endeavored to be patient and polite regarding my motives for promoting vegan dining.  Indeed, this approach is incorporated in my mission statement.  But as I conclude this effort, I cannot walk away from this project without saying a few words regarding the sheer hypocrisy of our society.

The truck I sat behind was packed with wilted, battered turkeys heading to their execution.  All around me people could see perfectly well who (not what) was on board.  But we all hurried on with our lives once the light turned green.

For Christians, this is a season of “Peace on Earth”.  But we can never approach true peace until we see the truth about agribusiness.  How can we preach  harmony and mutual resepct when we ignore, institutionalize and even applaud the excruciating suffering which is behind each serving on our plate?

Here’s a New Year’s resolution which will have lasting impact:  Cut back on or even drop entirely meat and dairy from your diet.  This blog and countless other websites, books, organizations and support groups show it’s possible, it’s healthy, and it’s the future.

PEACE