Why, if meat is so harmful, the government does not take any measures to protect people? This is a good question, but not so easy to answer.
First, politicians are just as mere mortals as we are. In this way, The first law of politics is do not upset people who have money and influence and who can take power from you. The second law is don’t tell people about things they don’t want to know.even if they need this knowledge. If you do the opposite, they’ll just vote for someone else.
The meat industry is big and powerful and most people don’t want to know the truth about meat eating. For these two reasons, the government says nothing. This is business. Meat products are the biggest and most profitable side of farming and a powerful industry. The value of livestock in the UK alone is around £20bn, and before the 1996 bovine encephalitis scandal, beef exports were £3bn every year. Add to this the production of chicken, pork and turkey and all the companies that produce meat products such as: burgers, meat pies, sausages and so on. We are talking about huge amounts of money.
Any government that tries to convince people not to eat meat will jeopardize the profits of the meat corporations, who in turn will use their power against the government. Also, this kind of advice will be very unpopular with the population, just think how many people you know who do not eat meat. It’s just a statement of fact.
The meat industry also spends huge sums of money advertising its products, saying from TV screens and billboards that, supposedly, it is natural and necessary for a person to eat meat. The Meat and Livestock Commission paid £42 million from its annual sales and advertising budget to a British television company for commercials titled “Meat for Living” and “Meat is the Language of Love”. Television shows commercials promoting the consumption of chicken, duck and turkey. There are also hundreds of private companies that profit from meat products: Sun Valley and Birds Eye Chicken, McDonald’s and Burger King Burgers, Bernard Matthews and Matson’s frozen meat, Danish Bacon, and so on, the list is endless.
Huge sums of money are spent on advertising. I’ll give you one example – McDonald’s. Each year, McDonald’s sells $18000 million worth of hamburgers to XNUMX restaurants around the world. And the idea is this: Meat is good. Have you ever heard the story of Pinocchio? About a wooden doll that comes to life and begins to deceive everyone, every time he tells a lie, his nose gets a little longer, at the end his nose reaches an impressive size. This story teaches kids that lying is bad. It would be nice if some adults who sell meat would also read this story.
Meat producers will tell you that their pigs love living inside warm barns where there is plenty of food and no need to worry about rain or cold. But anyone who has read about animal welfare will know that this is a blatant lie. Farm pigs live in constant stress and even often go crazy from such a life.
In my supermarket, the egg section has a thatched roof with toy chickens on it. When the child pulls the string, a recording of a chicken cluck is played. The egg trays are labeled “freshly from the farm” or “fresh eggs” and have a picture of chickens in a meadow. This is the lie you believe. Without saying a word, the producers make you believe that chickens can roam as freely as wild birds.
“Meat for living,” says the commercial. This is what I call a half lie. Of course, you can live and eat meat as part of your diet, but how much meat will manufacturers sell if they tell the whole truth: “40% of meat eaters are at risk of cancer” or “50% of meat eaters are more likely to have heart disease.” Such facts are not advertised. But why would anyone need to come up with such advertising slogans? My dear vegetarian friend, or future vegetarian, the answer to this question is very simple – money!
Is it because of the billions of pounds the government receives in taxes?! So you see, when money is involved, the truth can be hidden. The truth is also power because the more you know, the harder it is to deceive you.
«The greatness of a nation and its moral development can be judged on the basis of how people treat animals… The only way to live is to let live.”
Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) Indian peace activist.