Lambs

There are around 20 million breeding sheep in the UK and a further 20 million lambs under a year old. Nearly all of the sheep meat that is consumed is lamb which is both succulent and tasty and has been prized for generations. This is information from the UK Agriculture site. Yet look at the little thing. You have all seen lambs bouncing around a field, full of life. Do you really need to eat him or could you try eating a delicious vegetarian pasta dish tonight?

Lamb video

And a word about Gordon Ramsay..

I did not see Gordon Ramsay’s episode of The F Word where he assisted in the killing of a lamb but I have seen the reviews and read the varying reports of the show. So it seems Ramsay has got what he wished for: sensationalism. This was bound to gain more publicity for the chef and cause a huge debate. I am glad that some people have turned vegetarian after seeing the show but did it need the death of a baby animal in such circumstances to cause such a reaction? Everybody knows that the animals they eat have been killed. Everybody (maybe bar children and other exceptions) knows that lambs are infant sheep, born from a mother and at one point a  living, breathing being. Does it need Ramsay to hold the lambs liver (or whichever organ it was) and come out with a phrase such as - it’s still warm, hard to believe it was alive a few minute ago, later followed up by the invitation to watch the chef cook shepards pie with the animal the following week?

There is no kind way to kill an animal because YOU ARE KILLING IT. Whether it is Ramsay, a mass meat production factory, your local butcher or you - you are responsible for taking its life. Is this a good thing to do with your conscious life or is there another way, a way that takes the violence out of your daily experience.