Eating Animals

For something that is so essential to human life and that we should have such a big say in, very little is known about the American food system to most citizens. Most people can't tell you anything about where their food came from or how it was produced. It seems that in some cases measures are taken to deceive or numb the consumer's conscience. In "Eating Animals" by Jonathan Safran Foer, the author words this excellently when he says "Language is never fully trustworthy, but when it comes to eating animals, words are as often used to misdirect and camouflage as they are to communicate" (Foer, 45). A perfect example of this that Foer refers to himself in the text is the word "veal". Veal is a term that is used when referring to the meat of a calf. Veal calves are tied to a post for the entirety of their life to keep their muscles tender and are slaughtered while they are still very young. While people who eat veal may already know this, it is much easier to avoid guilt if one says "veal" instead of "dead baby cow". In fact, I remember an episode of the TV show South Park where the main characters managed to get the name of  veal changed in their town to "dead baby cow" and people began refusing to eat it.