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Signs of the Times
A few months ago, the blogosphere was all over the ethical eating blog Suicide Food. Many came to laugh at the site’s deconstruction of food mascots that seem to be begging to be eaten. Few stayed to analyze the impetus behind the site.
But Seattle’s alternative weekly, the Stranger, wanted to go deeper. It sent writer Lindy West on a ride-along with Suicide Food creator (and noted vegan) Ben Grossblatt to tour the best of Seattle’s meat ’n’ mascot spots.
As they move from Ezell’s Fried Chicken (logo: a chicken running at breakneck speed toward his ultimate reward) to Willy’s BBQ (logo: a pig sitting at a table, knife and fork in hand, ready to dine on his own ribs), Grossblatt and West discuss the ethics of meat-eating:
The point of suicide food, in Grossblatt’s mind, is to distance carnivorous diners from the cruelty and death that seasons their dinners. ‘Even though nobody takes these images literally, the suggestion is that eating meat is okay. This kind of imagery is one thing that keeps people from questioning their habits. It’s everywhere. It’s like the Muzak of the meat-eating world.’
At every restaurant, West takes the opportunity to purchase some takeout, but out of deference to Grossblatt she doesn’t want to eat it in front of him. At the end of the day, she’s left with a feast of barbecue and fried chicken. But strangely, with “a long day of careful ethical examination congealing in my throat,” she finds the meat kind of sticks in her craw.
Posted by | Friday, November 2, 2007 at 1:04pm | 3 comments
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Wow, Ben Grossblatt has a lot of free time.
look, at least these place acknowledge that meat comes from living animals. I once had a student who seriously didn't know that the hamburger and chicken in the market came from a cow and chicken. He had no clue tha ham and pork were from the same animal, and that that creature was a pig. Believe it or not, there are many people out there so used to the prepared wrapped meat, they forget the animal that gave life for them to eat it.
I like meat. I can't eat red meat, due to what it does to me stomach wise, but I eat chicken, fish, shellfish and whatnot. I eat meat in moderation, and I know that something had to die for me to be able to eat it. I also know that in eating broccoli, a broccoli plant had to die. that the lettuce I ate for lunch today in my salad was once alive and growing. the apple I had was the apple tree's attempt to reproduce (it's fetus, as it were). In oder to get nutrition, we have to kill living things, plant or animal.
Is Mr. Grossblatt as offended at vegetable distributors that use pictures of sexy carrots, or happy green beans? Does he cry out for Sprout or the Green Giant? Is Mr Peanut in need of a representative? Do the Veggietales gang get his sympathy? Do these pages get his dander up?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Peanut
http://www.taquitos.net/snacks.php?pa...
hey what about Candy and cookie mascots?
Is the Twinkie Guy in danger? Help him, Ben!
You won't find mascots at the 233rd St. Meat Market, on White Plains Rd. in the Bronx. This quartet seems to be sitting in judgment on the customers:
http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?...
One "judge" may perhaps be indifferent, but the second and third seem disapproving, and the fourth has his blood up.
I'm reading these looks into their faces, of course. I'll also note, however, that you can find naturalistic depictions like these at many other markets that cater to recent immigrants, especially where the butcher's craft is on view for the customer.
Yeah, I was a vegetarian for years. I'm older and wiser now. You're right Diana. Life involves a lot of death. It's the never ending circle of life. What are the cows and chickens and pigs supposed to do? Run wild? Be kept as pets? Get jobs? Grow up Ben.