Recently I began reading The Pig Who Sang to the Moon: The Emotional World of Farm Animals, by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, and so far it is rocking my emotional world. I am crying for all the pigs who are suffering so much…
Masson tells the story of a nine-month-old pig named Floyd who was transferred from one sanctuary to another, requiring him to leave all his siblings behind. After reading this story, I cried, and I prayed for humans to stop eating pork chops, bacon and ham….
“She (Kim Sturla of Animal Place) knew right away that she had a sensitive soul on her hands. Floyd went straight into the barn and would not emerge. He would not eat, though Sturla gave him the choicest grapes, which she hand-fed him, one grape at a time. Sturla introduced him to Penelope, a young, sweet, and submissive pig. He would not play. He just whined, as if weeping from sorrow. He went into what looked like a deep depression. It seemed this pig would not survive; he was giving up. Sturla could not figure it out. Finally, Diane Miller, who had been Floyd’s caregiver while he was at (Northern California) Farm Sanctuary, came up to see what the problem was. The moment he saw her, his whole demeanor changed. He smelled her with what looked like relief in his face, suddenly alive with emotion, and squealed with delight. This same pig who would hardly move at all, raced to the Econoline van and jumped into the back, ready to head for home. That was all he wanted: to go home to the pigs he knew and loved. As soon as he was back at Farm Sanctuary, not a trace of his depression remained. His heart was sick away from his own home. Sturla could not have been more loving toward him, but Floyd just missed his family. Surely we can recognize the similarity to sensitive humans and sympathize with his equally sensitive pig.”
My heart is breaking for the millions of pigs who are slaughtered for food each year, after enduring horrendous living conditions. The piglets are removed from their mothers after only about three weeks of nursing, whereas in nature they would nurse for about three months or longer. After that heartbreaking separation, they are fattened and killed, while their grieving mothers are forcibly impregnated again and again. This should not be happening!
You can witness the anguish felt by a pig farmer in this 2-minute trailer: The Last Pig.
And, you can watch the 52-minute documentary about the making of the book I’m reading here: The Emotional World of Farm Animals.
If you are not yet vegan, please meditate on the harm caused by eating non-vegan foods…. And then, please go vegan!
🐖❤️🐖❤️🐖❤️🐖❤️🐖❤️
Pig: Lauren McConachie on Unsplash.
