Document Type
Process Analysis Essay
Publication Date
1993
Excerpt
Ever since I can remember, I have loved animals. I used to run home crying when the neighborhood boys would smash lightning bugs on the sidewalk to see the fluorescent green streaks they would leave. Every night before bed, I had to make sure all of my stuffed animals were "comfortable" in their beds, and that each was fully covered up with his or her blanket. Since my dad is allergic to all animals, I was only allowed to have two gerbils and a fish tank. I was always finding stray animals in the neighborhood and taking them home, trying to make my parents feel sorry for them and see how cute they were so that I could keep them. My mom's side of the family owned and lived on a farm, and whenever we would go and visit her parents, I always begged to go to the farm which was located in a nearby town. On the farm there were only cows, since it was a dairy farm. I asked my great-grandpa why they didn't have any other animals besides cows, because on a farm there was supposed to be cows and pigs and chickens and horses. He laughed, and said, "Well, we usta' have chickens, but we ate 'em all!" Well, I didn't think this was funny at all. I ran and told my mom when we got back from the farm what her grandfather had said, and asked her if she knew what they had done with all their chickens. She explained to me that meat comes from animals, so when we say we are having chicken for dinner, we are really eating chickens. I was horrified, and said I was never going to eat meat again. My mom told me that in our society it was socially acceptable to eat animals, but in some countries like India cows were considered sacred and therefore were not eaten. But in other countries, even dogs and cats were eaten. This horrified me even more.
Recommended Citation
Danek, Heather, "What's for Dinner, Not Who! (1993)" (1993). The Valpo Core Reader. 318.
http://scholar.valpo.edu/core_reader/318