Jade Robbins

Humanities Section 1
The Cold Cut Truth

The scent of formaldehyde and death wafted towards me, almost punching me in
the stomach as soon as I walked into the cold concrete building. I shivered, and I didn’t
know if it was from the chill in the air, or the fear bouncing off of every part of my body. I
chose to see this, because I chose not to eat meat for the past three years, and I
wanted to solidify my reasoning. The floors were wet, and as close to sanitary as a
slaughterhouse can be. I turned a corner, searching for the bathroom and caught a
glimpse of the humongous carcass being sawed in half through a small glass window at
the end of the hall. I pulled out my phone without even thinking about it, and try to snap
a picture of the horrific thing I could not look away from. I heard footsteps quicken near
me and a women hastily told me cellphones are not permitted on this floor. I put my
phone away without a picture, disappointed. I had the urge to be something like a
journalist, spreading this image as quickly as I could.
Soon after, we were directed to the stable that this majestic cow was being held
in. He seemed peaceful. I could see his breathe in the cold, his life energy cradling him
in his last minutes. My gaze was ripped away from this almost beautiful scene, and
directed towards a metal door. A man seemingly apologetically opened it to reveal a
couple corpses. The images are flashing, horrific, hot and cutting. I don’t remember
much about the room except the giant cow on the floor spilling its guts on the steril
ground, reaching in my soul and twisting something calcified inside me. I backed up,
and ran out out of there. I muttered something like, “I’ll be over there.” I stumbled
towards rusted tractors and a wooden wall, and collapsed into it. I focused on watching
my own breath, like the cow, circling me, cradling me- and tears started caressing my
cheek, whispering that it was ok I couldn’t handle the scene. I found myself wondering
how it was possible for each of us to have such a different reaction to death. For me,
that room was like being confronted with mortality, and each of our own parts in taking
what is not ours. I could not fathom being a part of this. I shivered and found myself
back inside, and while everything from here is blurry, I remember hearing the captive
bolt pistol fire, I remember feeling the emptiness of the act, and I remember wondering
how someone could think so little of this.
This was a very humane, safe, and clean organization. The animal was calmed
before being sedated, and was killed without pain or fear. Sunnyside Farms kills around
nine animals a day, with the most careful and skilled measures, and still it was too much
for me. My mind travels to the other 95% of where we as a society get our meat from.
The industrial rasing, killing, and sanitisation of livestock. With most slaughterhouses
killing thousands of animals a day, much error occurs, including incredibly inhumane
deaths. I cannot in good conscience support this.
Moving forward, there are a couple things I would like to urge you to take part in.
I believe it is a personal choice to eat meat, but it should not be a personal choice to be
uneducated about where you get your food. Consuming without thought fuels the fire of
mass production and horrible treatment of animals, and we as consumers have the
power to change the way the world works. To all my fellow meat eaters, please consider
the power you have, and how simple it is to look for better labels when purchasing your
dinner. I believe that easy quick options, although perfect for the quick American
lifestyle, are not going to benefit your health, or the health of our planet in any way. I am
 Jade Robbins
Humanities Section 1
by no means saying to stop doing what makes you feel good, but I am saying to
educate yourself and really think about what makes you feel good. What goes into our
bodies is one of the only things we have control over, and to understand where your
food comes from is a basic right we all deserve. Look into your local farms and markets.
Incorporate thought into your meals. If we choose to be empathetic with our planet and
the creatures inhabiting it, I think that we will move forward much more carefully with our
system.