Apparently swine flu cannot be contracted by eating pork - so all you people out there stuffing your faces with pork chops and bacon can continue to do so. In moderation, of course. While your grease-covered slices of bacon (a.k.a. swine fat) may not be infected with a serious influenza virus, it could quite possibly clog a few of your good arteries. And unfortunately clogged arteries won't earn you 15 minutes of fame like swine flu will. Just throwing that out there.
I have to say, I love pigs.
Once upon a time, during the summer after I graduated from high school, I worked on a farm. Well - it was more of a petting zoo, really. I scooped horse manure, fed little calves milk from bottles (just like real babies!), got bitten by a feisty little Newfoundland pony named Rudy, almost got rammed by a billy goat, fed Mary's little lamb, watched hens lay eggs, tried to make jewelry out of hay when business was slow.... and befriended the pigs.
I'm not sure if many people are aware of this or not, but pigs are actually a lot like dogs. I can see them becoming domesticated. While working on the farm I discovered and fell in love with their playful, upbeat nature and decided that they would make fantastic house pets.
Nutritionally, I'm an omnivore leaning herbivore. Not that I think it's wrong to eat meat - I do it nearly everyday. It's just that as an animal lover being an omnivore is a tricky thing. I cannot bring myself to think that the food I eat was once frolicking around gleefully and enjoying life as a living, breathing, thinking organism. So when I do eat meat I push those thoughts out of my mind and instead force myself to think about the importance of protein and the natural order of life. Either that or I just try to think about something completely unrelated to food altogether. Being near the top of the food chain is not always as wonderful as it may seem. Though, I bet the lions amongst us would beg to differ.
I feel sad for the swine in this whole situation. Obviously I feel sorry for the people who have been inflicted with this new strain of influenza, too. But- I'm aware of the mass slaughterings that are taking place (in Egypt, for example) and it kind of makes me sad that things have to go down this way. It's not the pigs' fault and now there is such a stigma attached to their "race." If you listen closely you can almost hear the collective message of swine all around the world rising up through the air. They are saying: "We never meant for this to happen! Please forgive us. We are good creatures, we would never intentionally hurt you!"
Okay, so I'm making light of a serious situation. Yet there are elements of truth in what I say. Not too many people are thinking about the pigs right now, which I suppose makes sense on many levels. It is more disconcerting to think of all the people who have become sick as a result of swine flu than to think of the swine who are suffering as a result of all this.
There are cases, though, where I do worry more about animals than I do humans. Rightly or wrongly, I have always been the kind of girl who feels more concerned for the horses that the men ride in war movies than the men themselves. I think it's because the horses are helpless and didn't get to choose if they wanted to become embroiled in conflict or not. And the men in most of these movies are mostly just bottles of testosterone driven by an innate desire to kill on their quest for superiority.
I write this on behalf of the swine of the world. Just in case any of you have been hating on our little piggy friends. I also write this in case any of you have begun to reread "Animal Farm" and are convinced that the swine are up to their usual conspiring ways. I know some of you have been thinking: "Oh those darn swine, they're really crossing the line." Please keep in mind that they did not choose this outcome for themselves. In a time when it is easy to look down on our curly-tailed friends, please remember the Babes and Wilburs of the world.
Stay safe!
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