Vegan Victuals: The Blog |

Force Fed

I’ve seen this set of graphs all over the internet (i.e. numerous times in the What’s Hot section of my Google reader). And I am happy about this. It makes me feel more normal. Not that “normal” is an aspiration of mine or anything. But feeling normal is a different story.

The good people at PCRM put the graphs together in response to the 2008 Farm Bill (or what should be called the “Factory Farm Bill”) that got a nod from President Obama recently. So what’s the problem? Besides the fact that Mr. O pledged to cut funding to these monstrously powerful agri-powers-that-be (meat and dairy) and balked under pressure, one cannot help but see a huge disconnect here. With 73.8% of federal subsidies going to the meat and dairy industries, how can fruits, vegetables and grains make their way into more Americans’ homes and our schools, cheaply? With the meat and dairy industries running the show, how can we Americans afford to eat more healthfully, following the  guidelines set by the federal government?! So meat and dairy stay cheap, despite their huge price tag (environmentally, health-wise, ethically, etc.) and vegetarian food stays expensive. And vegetarian food stays weird in the eyes of most Americans. The meat and dairy industries continue to profit. The ass-backward Western medicine industry continues to profit. Pharmaceutical companies. Fast food. Plastic surgery. Carbon footprints. Greenwashing. GMOs. The never-ending short cuts perpetuate. Our asses expand, the Earth turns to shit, billions of sentient beings are mass-produced to die and millions of other animals say, “You’re vegan? What do you eat?!”   Certainly not what I’m being fed, thank you very much.