www.ambiente.us MARCH | MARZO 2010
Temple Grandin | Helping the animals we can't save
By Ingrid E. Newkirk
HBO recently premiered an original biopic starring Claire Danes about an extraordinary
person, Dr. Temple Grandin. As a young woman, Grandin struggled with the isolating
challenges of autism at a time when this disorder was almost a total mystery. Today
she is one of the best known advocates for autism education.
But I applaud Dr. Grandin for another reason, one that has angered some people who
work in animal protection: I admire her work in the field of humane animal slaughter.
PETA would prefer, of course, that no animals be killed for food, but we won't ignore the
horrors of factory farms and slaughterhouses just because we wish that they didn't
exist.
Throughout her career as an animal-science professor at Colorado State University
and a consultant to the American Meat Institute, Grandin has worked to improve animal-
handling systems at slaughterhouses—markedly decreasing, although never able to
stop completely, the amount of fear and pain that animals experience.
In 2006, she described to National Public Radio
(NPR) her experience watching cattle get
vaccinated at feedlots during the 1970s. Some
of the animals would just walk into the holding
chutes, she said, while others refused. So
Temple Grandin | Helping the animals we can't save
By Ingrid E. Newkirk
HBO recently premiered an original biopic starring Claire Danes about an extraordinary
person, Dr. Temple Grandin. As a young woman, Grandin struggled with the isolating
challenges of autism at a time when this disorder was almost a total mystery. Today
she is one of the best known advocates for autism education.
But I applaud Dr. Grandin for another reason, one that has angered some people who
work in animal protection: I admire her work in the field of humane animal slaughter.
PETA would prefer, of course, that no animals be killed for food, but we won't ignore the
horrors of factory farms and slaughterhouses just because we wish that they didn't
exist.
Throughout her career as an animal-science professor at Colorado State University
and a consultant to the American Meat Institute, Grandin has worked to improve animal-
handling systems at slaughterhouses—markedly decreasing, although never able to
stop completely, the amount of fear and pain that animals experience.
In 2006, she described to National Public Radio
(NPR) her experience watching cattle get
vaccinated at feedlots during the 1970s. Some
of the animals would just walk into the holding
chutes, she said, while others refused. So
| . |
| . |
| . |
Grandin did what no one else had bothered to do before: She went into the
chutes herself. As she wrote in an essay for my book One Can Make a Difference,
"[I]t seemed obvious to me to get down into the chute and see what the cattle
were seeing." She realized that visual details such as shadows, a reflection off a
truck's bumper or people standing up ahead were causing the animals to be
fearful.
These insights led her to design cattle-restraining systems that are now used by
half the meat plants in North America. "[P]eople just wanted to get out there and
yell and scream and push and shove," Grandin told NPR, rather than "remove the
things that the cattle were afraid of."
This may seem like a small victory—the cows are still going to be killed after all—
but until the day that we get animals off the dinner plate altogether, is it too much
to ask that we do everything we can to reduce the fear and suffering that they
experience in the slaughterhouse?
PETA's campaigns against the cruel practices of fast-food chains and against the
use of intensive confinement systems that do not even allow animals enough
room to stand up, turn around or extend their limbs have improved the living and
dying conditions for millions of animals. As the industries change and evolve,
these improvements will apply to billions of animals every year.
The vast majority of people, if they care about animals—and consumer surveys
show that they do—support such incremental changes, even if the increments
are far from wholly satisfactory to the animals who would rather
chutes herself. As she wrote in an essay for my book One Can Make a Difference,
"[I]t seemed obvious to me to get down into the chute and see what the cattle
were seeing." She realized that visual details such as shadows, a reflection off a
truck's bumper or people standing up ahead were causing the animals to be
fearful.
These insights led her to design cattle-restraining systems that are now used by
half the meat plants in North America. "[P]eople just wanted to get out there and
yell and scream and push and shove," Grandin told NPR, rather than "remove the
things that the cattle were afraid of."
This may seem like a small victory—the cows are still going to be killed after all—
but until the day that we get animals off the dinner plate altogether, is it too much
to ask that we do everything we can to reduce the fear and suffering that they
experience in the slaughterhouse?
PETA's campaigns against the cruel practices of fast-food chains and against the
use of intensive confinement systems that do not even allow animals enough
room to stand up, turn around or extend their limbs have improved the living and
dying conditions for millions of animals. As the industries change and evolve,
these improvements will apply to billions of animals every year.
The vast majority of people, if they care about animals—and consumer surveys
show that they do—support such incremental changes, even if the increments
are far from wholly satisfactory to the animals who would rather
| . |
| . AMBIENTE ONLINE STORE |
LGBT/Latino/Hispanic Civil Rights unitycoalition.org |
CLICK to Shop |
Miami Beach GAY PRIDE April 17, 2010 |
FLOWERS|ART ESSENTIALS flowerbardesign.com |
1-800-GAY-TRAVEL |
not be caged at all or hung upside down and killed. In November 2008, for
example, California voters made history by approving a ballot measure to ban the
use of veal crates, gestation crates and battery cages on factory farms. Last year,
Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed a landmark bill that will phase out these
same cruel devices in her state as well.
I completely understand the appeal of battle cries such as "Not bigger cages—
empty cages!" and I encourage every kind soul who shares this sentiment to
make a difference by going vegan. But, as Dr. Grandin has shown us, giving a
little comfort and relief to animals who will be in those cages their whole lives is
worth fighting for, even as some of us are demanding that those cages be
emptied.
Ingrid E. Newkirk is the author of One Can Make a Difference and the president
and founder of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, 501 Front St., Norfolk,
VA 23510; www.PETA.org. Her latest book is The PETA Practical Guide to Animal
Rights.
Copyright © PETA & AMBIENTE MAGAZINE. Do not reproduce without citing these sources.
example, California voters made history by approving a ballot measure to ban the
use of veal crates, gestation crates and battery cages on factory farms. Last year,
Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed a landmark bill that will phase out these
same cruel devices in her state as well.
I completely understand the appeal of battle cries such as "Not bigger cages—
empty cages!" and I encourage every kind soul who shares this sentiment to
make a difference by going vegan. But, as Dr. Grandin has shown us, giving a
little comfort and relief to animals who will be in those cages their whole lives is
worth fighting for, even as some of us are demanding that those cages be
emptied.
Ingrid E. Newkirk is the author of One Can Make a Difference and the president
and founder of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, 501 Front St., Norfolk,
VA 23510; www.PETA.org. Her latest book is The PETA Practical Guide to Animal
Rights.
Copyright © PETA & AMBIENTE MAGAZINE. Do not reproduce without citing these sources.
