Communist
9th February 2010, 03:59
Temple Grandin Film Glosses Over a Destructive Industry
William Crain*
On February 4, HBO premiered its film, "Temple
Grandin," about the widely admired autistic woman who
has designed more humane slaughterhouses for cattle.
The film is well-acted and movingly portrays Grandin's
struggles to develop her personal potential. The film
has received highly favorable reviews, including praise
from food production scientists. But its triumphant
ending is misleading. The film gives the impression
that Grandin has solved the problems of the cattle
industry, when, in fact, she has barely scratched the
surface.
Los Angeles Times television critic Mary McNamara
illustrates the film's feel-good effect. "I don't know
what PETA will have to say," McNamara writes, "but I
wanted to stand up and cheer." I don't know what PETA
will say, either, but the cattle industry continues to
inflict so much misery on animals and so much damage to
the environment that any celebration is quite
premature.
The film shows how Grandin has capitalized on her
picture-like thinking, which she believes in central to
autism, to understand how cattle perceive the
world---especially what frightens them. Applying her
insights, she has persuaded much the of cattle industry
to install methods to eliminate the panic that cattle
would otherwise feel as they walk down the chute to the
kill floor. Near the end of the film Claire Danes, who
plays Grandin, says the animals should receive this
"comfort" because they "deserve our respect." I agree
that a comfortable death is preferable to a
terror-ridden one. But does this treatment of animals
in their final moments reflect true respect? If, after
making an individual's life wretched, we then make his
or her death comfortable, have we thereby demonstrated
our respect for that individual?
The lives of cattle are indeed filled with misery.
They endure painful castration, branding, and
dehorning. They spend their last months in feedlots,
often after a long and truck ride in which are crammed
so tightly together they can barely breathe. The
feedlots are typically filthy and overcrowded, without
protection from the scorching sun or the freezing
winter. To fatten cattle, the industry feeds them an
unnatural corn diet which causes stomach difficulties.
Environmentally, the cattle industry is a disaster.
The huge quantities of manure contributes
significantly to greenhouse gasses and pollutes streams
and rivers. The creation of cattle pastures is a major
cause of deforestation. The animals also are given
growth-hormones and antibiotics that create health
problems for humans.
Grandin has made steps in the direction of more humane
treatment for animals. But let's hold off on the
celebration. There's much more work to be done.
William Crain is professor of psychology at The City
College of New York. He also is the co-founder of the
Safe Haven Farm Sanctuary in Poughquag, New York, which
gives a home to farm animals who have escaped
slaughterhouses and abusive conditions.
===
William Crain*
On February 4, HBO premiered its film, "Temple
Grandin," about the widely admired autistic woman who
has designed more humane slaughterhouses for cattle.
The film is well-acted and movingly portrays Grandin's
struggles to develop her personal potential. The film
has received highly favorable reviews, including praise
from food production scientists. But its triumphant
ending is misleading. The film gives the impression
that Grandin has solved the problems of the cattle
industry, when, in fact, she has barely scratched the
surface.
Los Angeles Times television critic Mary McNamara
illustrates the film's feel-good effect. "I don't know
what PETA will have to say," McNamara writes, "but I
wanted to stand up and cheer." I don't know what PETA
will say, either, but the cattle industry continues to
inflict so much misery on animals and so much damage to
the environment that any celebration is quite
premature.
The film shows how Grandin has capitalized on her
picture-like thinking, which she believes in central to
autism, to understand how cattle perceive the
world---especially what frightens them. Applying her
insights, she has persuaded much the of cattle industry
to install methods to eliminate the panic that cattle
would otherwise feel as they walk down the chute to the
kill floor. Near the end of the film Claire Danes, who
plays Grandin, says the animals should receive this
"comfort" because they "deserve our respect." I agree
that a comfortable death is preferable to a
terror-ridden one. But does this treatment of animals
in their final moments reflect true respect? If, after
making an individual's life wretched, we then make his
or her death comfortable, have we thereby demonstrated
our respect for that individual?
The lives of cattle are indeed filled with misery.
They endure painful castration, branding, and
dehorning. They spend their last months in feedlots,
often after a long and truck ride in which are crammed
so tightly together they can barely breathe. The
feedlots are typically filthy and overcrowded, without
protection from the scorching sun or the freezing
winter. To fatten cattle, the industry feeds them an
unnatural corn diet which causes stomach difficulties.
Environmentally, the cattle industry is a disaster.
The huge quantities of manure contributes
significantly to greenhouse gasses and pollutes streams
and rivers. The creation of cattle pastures is a major
cause of deforestation. The animals also are given
growth-hormones and antibiotics that create health
problems for humans.
Grandin has made steps in the direction of more humane
treatment for animals. But let's hold off on the
celebration. There's much more work to be done.
William Crain is professor of psychology at The City
College of New York. He also is the co-founder of the
Safe Haven Farm Sanctuary in Poughquag, New York, which
gives a home to farm animals who have escaped
slaughterhouses and abusive conditions.
===