Our Innate Kindness
By Ari Solomon
By Ari Solomon
When Alicia asked me to blog for The Kind Life, I was thrilled because there's been something I've been meaning to explore for some time now, and I think this is just the place. It goes something like this:
Are human beings innately kind? Is kindness our default, or, if we don't consciously practice kindness (as we would any other skill) do we revert back to being some sort of monstrous Conan the Barbarian?
I realize that to fully investigate a question like this, it would probably take a dissertation versus a blog, but there's a specific, common human response that gives us strong clues.
A few weeks ago, I was watching a talk show that shed light on how animal-based foods are produced. But, before footage from inside the slaughterhouse was shown, the host of the show warned the audience that the images were going to be graphic and upsetting. In fact, she cautioned that if viewers had children present, it might be best to escort them out of the room. Of course, such warnings are not unique to this talk show; you always hear them before footage like this is aired.
But this got me thinking. If we're supposed to be eating things like meat, dairy, and eggs, why do we find slaughterhouse footage so disturbing? Certainly no one would ask us to emotionally prepare ourselves before showing a video of people harvesting broccoli, or picking apples. If eating animals and their "by-products" is so natural, what's with our revulsion to blood and gore?
Here's something else to ponder: About a year ago, during a routine trip to the vet's office, I was sitting in the waiting room while Animal Planet played on the TV. It was one of the shows documenting big cats in Africa. When a lion hunted and brought down a gazelle, I noticed the faces of the other people in the room around me. People were groaning and averting their eyes. One woman actually spoke out loud, "Ugh, isn't it awful?"
Now, I'm not an anthropologist, but I'd venture to say that these instinctual responses tell us all we need to know about how we should treat animals, and consequently, what we should be eating. If we can't bear to watch animals being slaughtered or hunted, and if we have to lie to our children about where our food comes from, perhaps we should meditate on that, instead of doing what most people do: numb themselves to the truth.
Sure, a butcher might tell you that he/she has no problem slicing and dicing animals, and a hunter may wax poetic about the thrill of killing. But, I'm pretty certain this is what comes only after some process of desensitization takes place. When you ask kids what they want to do when they grow up, very few respond, "Kill animals."
Harvey Diamond famously said, "You put a baby in a crib with an apple and a rabbit. If it eats the rabbit and plays with the apple, I'll buy you a new car." Indeed, I think that when it comes to animals, kindness is undeniably our default.
Are human beings innately kind? Is kindness our default, or, if we don't consciously practice kindness (as we would any other skill) do we revert back to being some sort of monstrous Conan the Barbarian?
I realize that to fully investigate a question like this, it would probably take a dissertation versus a blog, but there's a specific, common human response that gives us strong clues.
A few weeks ago, I was watching a talk show that shed light on how animal-based foods are produced. But, before footage from inside the slaughterhouse was shown, the host of the show warned the audience that the images were going to be graphic and upsetting. In fact, she cautioned that if viewers had children present, it might be best to escort them out of the room. Of course, such warnings are not unique to this talk show; you always hear them before footage like this is aired.
But this got me thinking. If we're supposed to be eating things like meat, dairy, and eggs, why do we find slaughterhouse footage so disturbing? Certainly no one would ask us to emotionally prepare ourselves before showing a video of people harvesting broccoli, or picking apples. If eating animals and their "by-products" is so natural, what's with our revulsion to blood and gore?
Here's something else to ponder: About a year ago, during a routine trip to the vet's office, I was sitting in the waiting room while Animal Planet played on the TV. It was one of the shows documenting big cats in Africa. When a lion hunted and brought down a gazelle, I noticed the faces of the other people in the room around me. People were groaning and averting their eyes. One woman actually spoke out loud, "Ugh, isn't it awful?"
Now, I'm not an anthropologist, but I'd venture to say that these instinctual responses tell us all we need to know about how we should treat animals, and consequently, what we should be eating. If we can't bear to watch animals being slaughtered or hunted, and if we have to lie to our children about where our food comes from, perhaps we should meditate on that, instead of doing what most people do: numb themselves to the truth.
Sure, a butcher might tell you that he/she has no problem slicing and dicing animals, and a hunter may wax poetic about the thrill of killing. But, I'm pretty certain this is what comes only after some process of desensitization takes place. When you ask kids what they want to do when they grow up, very few respond, "Kill animals."
Harvey Diamond famously said, "You put a baby in a crib with an apple and a rabbit. If it eats the rabbit and plays with the apple, I'll buy you a new car." Indeed, I think that when it comes to animals, kindness is undeniably our default.
i love this post, because i get a lot of gruff about my diet. but if i were to point out to my niece that she was eating the flesh of a dead cow, or pig intestines, or chicken innards i would be in trouble. but that's actually what she's eating! and it's not just children; if i mention it to most people, they 'd generally be offended. what if they watched a cow's throat being slit, then watched the bloody body get hacked up, put through a grinder, and someone handed it to them to be made into patties and BBQ'd on the grill? i don't believe most people would even want to touch it. yet, when it's coming out of your freezer in your home and you don't have to see the cow or the nasty bloody mess, it just becomes food. i did that for years - the pretending not to know or understand. but now i know and i definitely understand. people make fun of me for saying that if meat touched my food, it would be as gross to me as if poop touched theirs. in all honestly i find it even more disgusting.
on a happier note, i'm looking forward to choosing this week's new recipe...i love so many of the ones we already make, i can't wait to try something new!!
