Its not really what it seems...

 

 So I have always loved food and indulging in them no matter the cost. And like many others I began to struggle with my love of food as I grew older. Outside pressures from friends and peers had altered my view of myself. Along with television and magazines helped reinforce and piece together this “ideal” perfect body. It’s what I thought I had to be to be accepted, loved, and admired even. When I entered high school I could see this urge to be this way not only intensify in myself but in others around me as well. Therefore I was convinced this was normal and the feeling of want would subside and it would become so routine to the point that I would never being satisfied with what I had. I knew friends and friends of friends who then would experiment with odd diets such as; fasting, liquid diet, all meat diet, no meat diet, no carb diet, low calorie diet, slim fast, laxatives, all sugar diet and silly things like that. All of them were temporary fixes to slim down or shed a pound or two but none of them stuck. In fact the weight would come back with a fierce vengeance almost and you would be worse off than you started.

I learned things are not always as they seem from a glance. For example billboards and al the models on television were airbrushed and altered. Food in commercials didn’t look as good when you actually ordered it, and probably were not as wholesome as you thought. But it didn’t really matter to me as long as I knew the truth so I could make a decision based upon my own standards; like what to put on or into my body.I could watch how chicken nuggets are made and I have been told I will never want to eat another one again… but they are wrong. Okay, yes they threw the entire chicken in there, but in other countries people utilize every part of an animal and its okay to eat. I just think a lot of Americans are too sheltered and go into shock seeing the truth about how their food is made. But I had never been a picky eater growing up and I still am not. Never was I really worried about where my food came from or what was in it, I mean unless it could affect my health. I guess that would sound a little selfish to those who are against farm animal cruelty. But majority of people are the same way weather they are conscious about it or not… and would be hypocrites to deny it. I mean when someone goes out to eat, no matter how many animal abuse commercials or shows you have seen about how the animals were treated before they died, you don’t think about that ordering your food. And if you do it isn’t for long because food is food and meant to be eaten. It’s natural for us to farm these animals like crops because it’s what we live off of. We harvest them to our needs andlikes and when in demand they don’t live for long anyway.  When people order food they will think about the calories or how much fat is in it. They don’t look for “organic” labels for the love of the animals; they look for it because they think it’s more natural and better for their body’s benefit. We don’t want harmful chemicals or diseased food to go into our bodies so it’s understandable to be concerned in that aspect.  I believe strongly in this obviously and I don’t think I am sounding inhumane either because it’s natural for humans’ to kill animals and to eat meat. We need it to survive and no matter how they were treated or raised before they died people are still going to eat them. I don’t think if the animal was happy they would make my steak taste any better. And don’t get me wrong I just like any person can watch a documentary such as food inc. and say “awe that’s awful”, but honestly you’re just glad it’s not you. And about a minute later after feeling a little sad at what you had just witnessed you are going to eat a nice juicy burger from a cow like the one you just saw who couldn’t walk.

If you think about it the real people who are really cruel and inhumane are those who raise farm animal, grow attached to them and then kill them like its nothing to eat!  That is way more messed up if you think about it. Why would you grow to love something like a pet and then kill it? And I really thought about this after watching an episode of ’Wife Swap’  and two women switched families for two weeks, one was from a urban area and swapped with a woman from a very rural remote farm area. And the family in the rural area raised livestock and grew their own crop and that’s how they lived and survived, using their own animals for food. But what struck the urban house wife the most and I was the little boy, who had no friends at school, had grown attached to a goat on the farm, named it and called it his only friend. Later on when she asked him about the goat he told her that his goat would have to die soon because his mom and dad were going to kill him a cook him for a meal. This would be like telling your kid to accept that one day soon their pet dog will be on their dinner plate. It’s just wrong to have grown an attachment to an animal and then use them for food Instead of harvesting some animals like chickens to be bred solely for eating which is practically faster and more efficient.

My grandmother had also gone through a similar experience with animals when she was a little girl. Her family lived on a small farm area and they had just gooten a goose and her parents let them think it was a pet, so they named it and played with it and treated like it was part of the family. It may sound odd because it isnt a typical pet,but when you are a child you dont really know the difference. Well christmas rolled around and they looked out the window to see their mother strangling the goose, so they ran ouside screaming and crying. what they did not know was the goose was brought there to be fattened up so they could eventually eat it. and finally when it was cooked and put on the table, noone would eat or touch it because they wouldnt stop crying; so my grandmas step-dady ended up throwing it away because he felt guilty as well.

 

But overall society seems to have the last say in what is socially acceptable and construed as normal, in both food standards and beauty standards.Majority of the images we are shown in advertisements are photo shopped and majority of the population is unaware of this; Primarily young adults and children.The same goes for the Majority of food;which is not manufactured as wholesome and as healthy as majority of the population thinks either. By creating this false image and using it as the standard goal it makes it unrealistic and just about impossible to reach our goals without causing harm to ourselves.