Interesting, interesting. But I wonder what it all means.
My observation, shakily based on a memory of a tv documentary, was intended
to reflect on the chimpanzee's clear prior possession of a concept of death
which suggests to me (neither philosopher nor neuroscientist etc) a
considerable level of abstraction
L
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mark Weiss" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: 18 January 2001 00:22
Subject: Re: unfashionable thought
Chimpanzees may be incapable of compassion for what they consider food. Our
relationship to what we eat is more complex: chimps and humans share a
taste for monkey flesh, but humans also keep monkeys as pets.
A seven-year-old once showed me the family rabbits, which were his
responsibility. He cradled a hefty example in his arms and told me: "This
is Flopsy. We're not going to eat Flopsy," petting her as he spoke. He put
Flopsy back in her cage and replaced her with an identical rabbit. "This is
Mopsy. We're going to eat Mopsy." Identical posture and affect. And so
through the rest of the bunnies.
The boy's father later told me about a sheep they'd raised for the kitchen
the year before. A mean-tempered beast, he said, and when they'd butchered
her they discovered they had no taste for her flesh. So they sold the meat.
They only enjoyed eating animals for which they felt affection. Not my
interpretation, his expressed sentiments. Reminded me of the honorific
cannibalism practiced by some peoples.
Last year on the last day of the local county fair I was in the sheep
building. The prizes had been awarded. The yearlings wore various painted
marks on their fleece. I asked one of the children, there as through the
whole fair, night nd day, with her lamb, as were all the other children who
exhibited, what the marks meant. She told me the marks indicated which
slaughter house had bought the sheep--made the sorting at day's end easier.
She was hugging her sheep with familiar affection, and only a trace of
sorrow, as she spoke. The blue ribbons for the most part shared the fate of
the common herd. Nice to use that phrase when it's not a cliché.
I knew a guy who raised a calf for meat each year. A common practice in
rural areas. The calf had the run of the large enclosed yard and was penned
at night in the garage. Somewhere early in the year he kept it this guy
discovered that the calf's instinctual behavior created an interesting
sexual possibility. Also, I'm told, a common occurence in rural areas. It
nonetheless wound up in the freezer. Hope we don't lose list members over
this.
A few American Indian tribes used to thank the spirit of the dead animal
before cutting it up for meat. The others didn't. But it was only the
larger animals that got thanked. Nobody thought to thank the bunnies and
rodents, even less the grasshoppers. Some of us thank the Lamb of God
before we tuck into a chop. And we call our children kids.
Maybe if chimps had as complex a language as humans they would be as odd.
I'm not a vegetarian, by the way. I've learned to live with ambivalence.
Carlos as a child made an interesting distinction. He had no trouble with
steaks chops or drumsticks. But shrimp was off the menu: the idea of eating
a whole animal at a single bite was simply too disgusting.
Bon appétit.
Mark
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