Culture

The picture attached to this post was an item on the menu at a restaurant I ate at yesterday. Ironically, we had just talked in class about how advertising makes fun of animal that are made to be eaten. They show commercials such as Foster Farms Chicken and California Cows that glorify the life of a factory farmed animal. They portray these animals as stupid, happy, and eager to be eaten. If I was an animal, even with limited brain power, I don't think I would be the least bit eager to be eaten.

On a different note, the location of the restaurant provides more insight into why this pig was placed on the menu. Rarely would you be able to go into a restaurant and find menus with pictures of animals to illustrate what you will eat. This specific restaurant is a bar and grill in a rural city on the outskirts of the Seattle suburbs. Other pictures on the menu included a shadow of a buck's head with antlers taking up the entire background of both pages, and a cartoon bull jumping around.

When looked at in relation to its location, this menu's illustrations make sense. It is in a town full of farmers, many of whom have probably grown up raising their own livestock their entire lives. They may be comfortable recognizing that they are eating a pig as they look at the menu. Even though they are in close proximity, their culture is different than that of a young urban couple living in downtown Seattle that may have never even seen a cow in real life.

Culture within a city can vary. More obviously, culture across state borders and international borders vary quite a lot. Cultures' conceptions of food can be drastically different. For example, here in the United States, we do not eat cats...I adore my cat...but historically in some Asian countries, cats are used in some dishes. Many restaurants in the southern United States may not have a lot to offer when it comes to vegetarian selections, whereas in India, vegetarianism is an important aspect of some religious sects.

Everyone comes from a different place. Everyone has different childhoods, different experiences, different values, different cultural customs, and different beliefs. Cultures have disagreements with other cultures for these reasons - usually relating to religion, human rights, and land - which often result in wars and other catastrophes, still happening today.

Cultures have fatal disagreements all the time, without the treatment of animals involved. With all sorts of other issues in the way, will the treatment of animals ever be a global priority? Will there ever be a day when the whole world can see eye to eye on animal rights and/or welfare?