I am a big believer that people need to decide what is right for them. Right? If you push people into doing something that they are naturally not inclined to do, they will not stay with it. It’s like the infamous New Year’s resolutions that have been trashed by the end of January. So in all of my animal protection and advocacy work, I never ever push people to be vegetarians or vegans, or make people feel bad about eating meat. But, I do think people need to know where their food comes from so that they can make an informed decision.

Today, I want to share a new research study that just came out of Central Queensland University called “A Different Cut? Comparing Attitudes toward Animals and Propensity for Aggression within Two Primary Industry Cohorts—Farmers and meatworkers.” It is a fascinating study that looks at whether food production farmers or slaughterhouse workers are more inclined towards aggressive behaviors. It looks at their attitudes towards animals because of the work they do.

In short, the study found that “when slaughterhouse workers and farmers were examined separately, those employed in a meat processing plant showed a significantly higher predisposition for aggression, most notably in the areas of physical aggression and hostility. These findings speak to existing concerns about the effects this brutal industry has on humans, other animals, and the communities it calls home.”

There have been other studies that have measured whether slaughter facility communities have higher rates of violence (they do). For many of us it seems common sense that when someone spends their days chopping up dead animals for human consumption that they become desensitized to living beings.

So I am pondering out loud …. for those people who eat meat and are providing a demand for the supply of meat, are they co-conspirators in the abuse that has been documented in farm animals, in the desensitization that is occurring to the slaughter workers, and to the harm that those workers may subsequently cause to animal or human? It may be a stretch, but I pose the question simply to have us think about it.

What do you think?