Letter writer: Killing animals doesn’t ‘honor’ them

Graphic by Lori Deaton

I was struck by the oddity of the ideas expressed by Josephine Bloomfield, a butchery apprentice featured in your story, “Sacred Sacrifice: An Upcoming Butchering Workshop Focuses on Using and Honoring All Parts of the Animal” [Oct. 7, Xpress].

She said, “If I’m going to eat this animal, it means [it] has to sacrifice its life for me.”

Picking at random an Internet dictionary, I find “sacrifice’ as a transitive verb defined [as] “to surrender or give up, or permit injury or disadvantage to, for the sake of something else.” Unless Ms. Bloomfield is somehow obtaining informed consent from these animals, it seems inapt to attribute to them any sense of voluntariness about what is happening. The animal is not “surrendering” or “giving up” anything, nor is it “permitting” itself to be killed; rather, its life is being taken by violent force against its will.

Continuing, Ms. Bloomfield says that she can “honor” the animal by “using every part of her.” I find this bizarre. If Ms. Bloomfield were to kill me, I don’t see that I would be “honored” by her consuming my flesh as opposed to leaving me to rot, using me as a crash-test dummy or scattering my ashes. Dead is dead. Perhaps the killer feels more honorable making specific choices about what happens to a carcass, but I think it delusional to believe that any such decision brings “honor” to the being that has been killed, which cannot possibly care.

Finally, Ms. Bloomfield says that honoring the animal means “respecting every part of” it. I cannot fathom how she has elevated respecting the parts of an animal’s carcass above respecting its very life.

I do not intend to condemn all eating of meat. I do, however, intend to condemn some of the vapid, self-serving and frankly dishonest things we say to comfort and distract us from the ugly essence of what meat-eating requires: attacking, slaughtering and consuming a defenseless animal that is given no choice in the matter.

— Robert J. Woolley
Asheville

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

About Letters
We want to hear from you! Send your letters and commentary to letters@mountainx.com

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

One thought on “Letter writer: Killing animals doesn’t ‘honor’ them

  1. Lulz

    LOL, but state sanctioned and paid for abortion is OK lulz. In the USA, we lament the slaughtering of poor defenseless animals but not the same of human beings who’s only crime was to be conceived by a woman who is free to be reckless and backed up by the institutions of government in doing so.

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.