I sometimes wrestle with the notion of eating meat in my head. On one hand, eating meat is as natural for me as using the bathroom or getting up in the morning, it's something I've always done and enjoyed. Never have I gone more than a couple days without eating meat, despite trying in vain to instill a "meatless week." On the other hand, seeing chickens in their live habitat and actually moving around and having a sense of purpose and living and breathing like humans do makes me wonder if we're entitled to just deprive them of their life for one good meal we have. It's like when I kill a fruit fly that's invaded our apartment: sure a bug is gross and a menace, but does it deserve to die and have I gained the right to kill it to advance my own enjoyment? One of the universe's minor questions, but I know how I'd feel if I were the chicken: Our species is already trying to feed you guys protein with all the eggs we poop out for you (by all accounts healthier than chicken meat) yet you greedy people want us to die too?"
I certainly felt this way today in the Arts District of Downtown LA, an underrated lively area of downtown L.A. near Little Tokyo with galleries and breweries and some nice residential communities forming. There were about 10 chickens being raised in the back of a restaurant/ beer garden area with the chickens having their own coop to sleep in and a backyard area to walk around. The owners even gave names to some of the chickens based on the color of their feathers like Henrietta (a great universal name for chickens) and Else, etc. The chickens were (M.J. has gotten me used to this adjective) peaceful, just living their lives and being in each others' company. Yet as a society we slaughter these animals in mass numbers, and by some accounts in inhumane, uncomfortable conditions, feeding them genetically enhanced foods.
On the other side of the coin, this past week I won a contest from the new Chick Fil A restaurant that opened in downtown L.A. to get 52 free chicken sandwich meals within one calendar year (basically one a week). Chick Fil A is a pretty successful chain whose entire business model revolves around selling chicken meat, and to promote its new stores they do an event each time they open a new store allowing for people to get free giveaways, and I participated and won! It was actually a pretty fun event, involving going to various areas around the city as part of a "Scavenger Hunt" wearing Chick Fil A t-shirts (basically as a walking advertisement for Chick Fil A). With all the new restaurant chains opening up in downtown LA like Jimmy John's, Shake Shack, etc., I'm not so sure it's the best business decision, but they certainly were busy on the first 2 days of business. Anyway, the Chick Fil A Scavenger Hunt was a pretty fun event and a break in the monotony of everyday life for me, something I really needed, and probably the closest thing to being on the Amazing Race I'll ever get. (Chick Fil A Amazing Race Downtown LA edition!)
Anyway, now I have to eat more chicken! Just when I've been reminded of chickens' value as living creatures! It really is a shame that they're so delicious, and they're an essential staple in the human diet: really no other food compares to the instant protein and calorie intake and just the feeling of having meat that tofu and other veggie substitutes can try to replace but just can't quite do so. It's something I'll have to do more research on and examine within myself for the rest of my life!
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
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