Pig Farmer Agrees, ‘No Such Thing as Humane Meat’
“About a month ago,” writes pasture-based pig farmer Bob Comis, “I had my final crisis of conscience, in a decade of more or less intense crises of conscience. Having abandoned the last vestige of what seemed to be at the time legitimate justification, happiness and a quick, painless death, I became a vegetarian. I am now in the beginning stages of the complicated process of ending my life as a pig farmer.”
Comis agrees with PETA that there is simply no such thing as humane meat. Although buying meat from small farmers who don’t confine pigs to filthy factory farms is kinder than buying meat from farmers who cram pregnant pigs into tiny gestation crates, it’s not a truly viable—or humane—solution. So-called “humane farms” are not monitored, standards aren’t enforced, and the farms don’t have to comply with any outside authority.
Even pigs who are allowed to nestle in straw—which is rare even on “free-range” farms—are still sent on a frightening journey to a terrifying experience at the slaughterhouse, where they’re hung upside down, scalded, and bled to death, often while they’re still conscious.
We welcome Comis to the cause. And we thank him for having the ethical backbone to abandon his role in cruelty and for letting others know that pigs are smart, social animals who feel pain and joy just as we do. Please do your part to help people understand that pigs have interests and feelings that should be protected, because if we all speak up honestly, we’ll be one step closer to realizing that there’s no good reason to eat them at all. Eating mock meats and other vegan foods is the only truly humane option.
