Animal To Edible PDF Download

'Ye shall not eat of any thing that dieth of itself.' We remain faithful to this interdict of Deuteronomy and kill the animals we consume. We do not permit just any manner of slaughter, yet it is necessary to spill blood in order to transform a body into something edible, into meat we are prepared to buy from the butcher. Nevertheless, we do not want to witness this slaughter. We no longer tolerate sacrifices, public butchering during festivals, butchers operating openly in the middle of our cities. Today, animals are killed in invisible abattoirs, set a good distance from our normal activities. This recent separation between the slaughterhouse and the butcher's establishment is somehow essential to the modern meat diet. Why do we find it necessary to slaughter living animals in order to enjoy their flesh? And why does this act offend our sensibilities, without necessarily making us into vegetarians? In her study of abattoirs in south-west France, Noëlie Vialles brings to light a complex system of avoidances. Her analysis reveals that beyond the specific denial of the work of the abattoirs lies a whole system of symbolic representations of blood, human beings and animals, a symbolic code that determines the way in which we prepare domestic animals for the table. --