I went to the Hollywood Farmer’s Market this weekend (as I pretty much do every Sunday) to load up on all my organic fruits and veggies for the week. While we were entering, I noticed this sign:
So basically there are no dogs allowed inside the farmer’s market.
What upsets me about this is how many DEAD animals ARE allowed inside the farmer’s market. Check these pics out:
I know some would say that I should be supporting the idea that if people are going to eat meat, that they eat it from smaller farms where animals are treated better. But when I see these booths set up at the farmer’s market selling body parts, it just rankles me.
I’m assuming that companion animals are not allowed inside the farmer’s market because of cross-contamination disease fears. But pathogens such as salmonella, E. coli and Campylobacter from animal flesh consumption, sicken and sometimes kill thousands of people every year. Additionally, heart disease, diabetes and stroke (our nation’s top killers) are all linked to animal-based foods.
Now, I realize that this is a free country (though I’m sure the dead animals being sold at these markets might disagree) and that this semi-rant probably won’t change much. After all, people want to be able to eat their meat, dairy, and eggs and feel good about it. And I’m sure that getting your locavore on and buying that shit from a stand on Sunday morning emblazoned with the words “Grass Fed” or “Humanely Raised” really tickles these people in all the right places. But before you sink your teeth into that cow, take a bite out of these two facts:
1. Food transportation only accounts for roughly 9% of all the pollution and greenhouse gas emissions that are produced from animal foods. The rest of the 91% comes from shit, piss, and all that methane emitted.
2. Almost all farm animals, no matter how they’re raised, are sent to the same slaughterhouses. So, chances are, your pampered bison ended up with the same miserable death as any other animal raised on a factory farm. Go ahead and ask your local flesh dealer the next time you’re at the farmer’s market.
Before I close, I’d just like to add that LIVE animals actually can be found inside the farmer’s market, just as long as they’re on sale. Take, for example, the farmers selling lobsters and crabs. These animals are brought to the farmer’s market fully conscious in water-filled igloo coolers — very upsetting. Check out the seafood booths the next time you’re there. Also, I took this picture of a farmer who sells goat cheese and brings baby calves with him every week to woo customers:
I asked him what happens to the goats once they’re spent. He assured me that none of his goats are sent to slaughter and that male goats born on his farm (goats have to be pregnant in order to produce milk, just like cows) are either adopted out or used for weed/brush control programs. Even so, I couldn’t help but wonder how scared this baby must’ve been, surrounded by thousands of people, and being gawked at. Whose interest was it serving to have her there? And what right is it of ours to impregnate her, and take her milk for our profit and palet?
I’ll continue my weekly jaunts to the farmer’s market on Sundays, but I truly hope that as people start to become more aware, scenes like this become less prevalent.
