As if Rudolph’s red nose weren’t trouble enough, his red-meat DNA is now being farmed out for Christmas gourmands. Edible.com (“Edible” being a highly subjective term) is advertising their Reindeer Pate as a “farm raised relative of Ruldolph” that is not only an “arctic delicacy,” but also “an indulgent winter treat.” Although there is already cognac within the pate, the advertisement suggests that a glass of brandy be set alongside the gamey mix.
If some Santa-loving neuron deep within your brain is wincing as you read this, edible.com has already anticipated that. In the “Ethics” section of its
website, edible.com proclaims the following: We do not believe there is a difference in eating a farm raised insect as opposed to a farm raised prawn or chicken. Indeed, our sourced raw ingredients do not suffer the same stresses or mistreatment in the same way commercially farmed species often do. What this seems to be saying is that because these “raw ingredients” (i.e. sentient beings) do not suffer in exactly the same way that they might elsewhere, it’s therefore okay for them to suffer in this manner.
Vegetarians International Voice for Animals (VIVA) reports that “in Nordic countries, reindeer are often
herded with snowmobiles, motorcycles and even helicopters,” which causes so much stress that “their muscles can literally waste away.” VIVA also states that “Siberian reindeer may be being killed in a way that could be illegal in the UK, by having their spinal column severed with a sharp instrument.” VIVA adds: More than 70 per cent of all reindeer slaughtered for meat are calves that have grazed during the summer, which means they never even get to see snow.
So much for Rudolph going (way) down in history… These red-nosed descendants only get to ride with
Santa if they’re trapped within his belly…
Resources
http://www.edible.com/shop/carnivore/reindeer%20pate/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reindeer
http://www.viva.org.uk/mediareleases/display.php?articlepid=232
http://www.viva.org.uk/campaigns/exoticmeat/reindeer.htm
Copyright December 20, 2011 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved
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