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Hunter* is a pretty average kid. He plays high-school football, he plays in a summer soccer league, has a part-time job on a farm across from his house, and enjoys working on his truck. He is extremely involved in the local 4-H club, even more specifically the swine project where he shows pigs every year at the county fair. Some might even say he is a killer.
The “some” being referred to would be the “haters” that commented on the Eatocracy blog by CNN. Eatocracy is set up by CNN to talk about food, drink and everything related. It usually talks about gift ideas, cool happenings in the food market and ways to buy and eat local, but one day last June it turned into a place of controversy and arguments.
The original blog post was supposed to be a 5@5 feature article with chef Kelly Liken on the topic of reasons to buy from your local 4-H. This simple feature turned into a hell-raising debate about whether 4-H is a good organization or not.
4-H, an acronym for head, hands, heart and health, is the nation’s largest youth development organization, according to their website. They have more than six million youth from urban and suburban neighborhoods and rural farming communities involved with the program. Their philosophy, “learn by doing” has proven rewarding for the organization. A study done by the Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development at Tufts University, showed the youth in the 4-H organization were nearly two times more likely to get better grades and plan to go to college. The study also showed that 41% were less likely to engage in risky behavior, and 25% were more likely to contribute positively to the community and their families.
If this is all true, then why are people calling the organization a desensitizer to killing?
The way the 4-H program works is by having different areas to be involved in. These involved science, citizenship and healthy living. Members have the choice of being involved in different projects and getting help from volunteers along the way. One of the parts of the organization to get involved in is the showing and raising of animals, one option is the market animal project. These members have the chance to be a part of the birth of the animal all the way to the death, and the butchering of the animal. That is where the name-calling comes in.
After the blog post was released in an effort to spot-light the cool things involved with supporting this organization and buying your meat from these kids who have worked hard to raise it, and eating something raised locally, comments flared about the entire butchering process. Comments were posted saying things such as, “I don't and would never support the 4-H. This group helps desensitize youngsters into having no emotional attachment to animals raised for food,” and “you are teaching them that relationships are disposable, that animals are disposable. This is not a good lesson, and these poor animals raised as pets are off to the slaughterhouse where they will be tortured before they die.”
Photo from Bing Images
The controversy of the debate sparked thousands of hits. So who is right and who is wrong? The most this article can do is spotlight the debate and let you decide for yourself. Is a child who learns the ins and outs of caring for an animal all the way to slaughter considered to be immune to killing and the emotions dealing with it?
No research has proven true for either side of the case. Until that time you will have to make that decision for yourself. Good luck. I have been through the 4-H program and I still cry and get sad when people and animals die. So it didn't desensitize me...
*Name has been changed
