Lately, I (Leslie) have been learning a few things about animals that we eat. I thought I would share them with you. My first question was, "How smart are the animals that we consume?"

I started with the very slanted PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) website, and followed their references to what I considered good evidence. This usually meant results from published scientific experiments, but I also included a bit of corroborated anecdotal evidence.

Here are soe animal traits I came up with. If it is uninteresting to you, scroll down to hear what might be shocking information about how your chicken dinner is raised.

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Chickens
Object permanence
Complex social order and can recognize each other by face
24 distinct cries, including whether a predator comes by land or sea
Jesus mentioned parallel of him to hens gathering chicks under her wings
Crafty – can repeatedly sneak up and scare animals for fun

Turkeys
Enjoy having feathers stroked
Enjoy music and will sing along quite loudly

Fish
Have similar nervous system to birds and mammals; will produce neurotransmitters like endorphins to relieve suffering just like we do
Will avoid situations that produce pain, and not just as a reflex response. They remember and learn from past experiences and will change response to circumstances.
When subjected to stress, they may engage in a “rocking motion” similar to stressed mammals
Some fish use sounds in anticipation of pain, such as a net dipped in tank or an electric shock
Can use tools
Have impressive long-term memories, matching or exceeding non-human primates. At least 3 months time span.
Can tell what time of day it is, and can be trained to press a lever for food at those times.
Can learn escape techniques by watching other fish in their group
Can recognize fellow fish

Pigs
Smarter than dogs:
· they dream
· recognize their names and respond when called at 2 – 3 weeks of age
· play video games more effectively than some primates
· Capable of abstract representations
· Able to hold an icon in the mind and remember it at a later date
· Use clever ploys to outsmart each other
· Learn to modify their behavior to avoid being tricked
· Can signal their competitive strength and use this information to minimize overt aggression during social rank disputes
· Communicate constantly with each other and have over 20 identified vocalizations, from wooing mates to saying “I’m hungry.”
· Can remember events three years ago
· Have temperature preferences and can learn how to regulate heat in a barn by turning thermostat on or off
· Good sense of direction – can find their way home over long distances
· Unlike dogs, horses, or humans, pigs will not dangerously overeat

Just as friendly, loyal and affectionate as dogs
Many instances of pigs rescuing humans
Piglets run to their mother’s voices
Mother pigs sing to nursing young
Very clean – will not excrete near where sleep or eat

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Isn't it amazing how smart animals can be? Especially PIGS!

I also learned that animals are often not treated very well. There are some laws to ensure a bit of humanity to livestock, but in my opinion not enough. For example, meat is considered pure even if the animals are so top-heavy with growth-hormone-induced meat that they can't even support themselves on their four legs. And birds, such as turkeys and chickens, are not covered by the livestock laws. They are often the worst treated, in my opinion.

From what I know so far, cattle are transferred to a feedlot for the last portion of their lives to fatten up for our steaks. They are kept in unnaturally close quarters and stuffed with as much grain as they can handle. Because grass is their natural diet, the corn that they eat makes them sick. For that and for the fact that they are living in close quarters, they are given antibiotics in their food to prevent the spread of disease. Doesn't sound like a good end of life to me.

When you read this next bit about pigs, think about your dog. Pigs, after all, are generally smarter and would make very good pets too, if they weren't so big. (Think pot-bellied pig.)

For a pig destined for slaughter, its life usually begins with a series of mutilations. Its teeth are blunted, its ears are cut down, its tail is chopped off, and it is castrated - all without any painkillers. Its life is spent within the confines of bars that don't enable it to turn around. They can hardly stand under their drug-induced weight, and they don't see the sun until they are packed extremely tightly in a truck bound for the slaugherhouse. According to the industry, 400,000 pigs were unable to walk themselves off the trucks last year. But they still have good meat, so there is no incentive to change the system. I can't imagine my old dog, Penny, living a life like that.

I will comment on one more animal - chickens. They are perhaps treated the worst. They, too, are castrated, and also have their beaks chopped down. Without painkillers. The beak-chopping is because conditions are so bad that they will peck others to death if the beaks were at full-length. They are kept in tight cages all their lives without the ability to even spread their wings. They never get to move around or see the sun either. They are tremendously fattened with hormones and antibiotics too.

What is so sad to me is that these animals cannot engage in their natural behavior. Chickens cannot brood over any eggs or gather together any chicks. Like pigs raised for slaughter, they cannot roam around a yard and feel the sun on their backs.

Because of all this I have been learning, we have decided we cannot support these industries with our money. Because we love meat and we know that we are all destined to die anyway, we are going to keep eating it. We are just going to buy meat and eggs as humanely-raised as possible. We are blessed to have several farms near us that support this method of raising food, and we have visited one so far. Shannon and Christopher were tickled to see some turkeys, geese, and sheep running around. The turkeys, especially, were absolutely beautiful. Very unlike the turkeys in the mainstream industry. They all looked happy and had plenty of room.

Yes, it is more expensive. We can eat vegetarian some of the time too. As it says in the Bible,

in Proverbs 12:10, "A righteous man cares for the needs of his animal, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel." God cares when animals are treated well.

I am going to keep learning about this some just to make sure we are basing our decisions on the truth of the situations. For example, I suspect that many of the dairy cows around here are happy. If it seems that this is true after I do some research, we will keep drinking regular milk.

For now, we will stick to pastured pork, grass-fed beef, and pastured or free-range chickens.