An abstract modern world
I remember watching one of Jamie Oliver’s food shows (The naked chef) - a visibly disturbed Jamie is about to slit the throat of a lamb but hesitates. Not until the butcher himself takes Jamie’s hand and pushes the knife into the lambs neck, the task is completed. Jamie is close to tears. And as I sit there, in my comfortable couch, I think to myself: “This is sick.”
Our modern world enables us to distance ourselves from and protect ourselves from disturbing things. We buy pre-packaged meat and don’t have to worry about killing the animal, we live in gated communities so that we don’t have to deal with criminals and poverty, we buy products that have been produced by young children because they are cheaper, we fight wars 1000’s of miles away from our own territory, but we are totally ignorant of the costs and consequences of our comfortable and safe lives. What if people had to kill the animal themselves in order to be allowed to eat the meat? And what would happen if we would go back to having pitched battles in which our leaders actually lead and fight the war?
