Animus Pharm.

Author notes

An experiment conveying snatches of thought overheard by a subconscious eavesdropper using as its theme issues related to abuses of an animal, vegetable, mineral nature within the agricultural industry.
In my bunsen-burner brain it seems to work but...
I bet Victor Von Frankenstein said the same.

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• 
  celestialpie
  March 8
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  The fragments most certainly do constitute a whole, and now, Simon, while I am not usually disturbed at the way our brains and spirits seem to tread the same halls of the Akasha, I am now starting to get spooked. I just finished a book called, "Fast Food Nation" about this very subject-- the appalling machine of the US meat packing industry, one that I was aware of, (as you probably saw in my Minotaur poem), from my father working in slaughterhouses. I also just saw the fantastic film, "Killer of Sheep," a 70's art house flick that I highly recommend.
  
  You pulled no punches in the depiction of the whole revolting cycle, weaving it in sickly circular spiral from first line to last-- the flourishing bacteria, the conveyor belts, the bolts, bovine dreams of green pastures that must exist however residually in the Spiritus Moo-ndi. My husband was also a vegetarian, so I have heard, time and again, the vile practices involved, perverting both man and beast to feed the demand for meat and more meat.
  
  I love every nauseating yet exhilarating line of this. It is not only a whole, it is one of the most flawless pieces of writing I have ever seen. The structure is executed in perfect tandem.
  
  As usual, I am warmed and illuminated by your bunsen-burner brain. You are a depraved angGel. And I do not scare easily, but you scare me.
  
  Lauren

  
• • 
    gnosisonG
    March 10
    Edit | Reply

    MOOving Comment!

    Bet you saw that one coming, Lauren.
    Ahh, and cheers so much for your heartwarming comments concerning my mental/spiritual state - yeah you know what makes me tick, Celestial!
    Spiritus Moondi indeed! Cheeky Pie!
    Maybe we should send this and your excellent Minotaur´s Daughter to a magazine supporting animal rights?
    Thanx for the recommendation. I´ve read excerpts of Fastfood Nation, but I just get too angry/riled/worked up if I read a lot of this stuff. I have to be a bit careful - I´ve been arrested and was dragged (though I was innocent of the charges) into a big case in Bergen involving acts of "animal rights terrorism". The cop fuckwad who led the investigation threatened to take away my kid - he´d better not meet me in a dark alley!
    I´ve committed plenty of acts of vandalism against sick shops selling fur, occasionally even when sober...
    But as one ages and gets into the family responsiblity thing one realizes the need for impulse-control and personal distancing from a life of "crime" - though we both know who the real criminals without doubt, are.
    If you ever have LOTS of time on your hands, Lauren, you might find entertaining the discourse betwixt Al and I, in the form of Oink 1,2 and 3, below.
    Only thing with Animus Pharm is the order in which the snippets occur.
    I´ve been considering placing snippet 9 before 7 and 10 after 6. It might improve the dramaturgy. What do you think?
    
    Cheers a million Celestial.
    
    gGRRRRRR
    
  • • 
      celestialpie
      March 10
      
      Edit | Reply
      I printed it out and re-arranged the snippets, and yes, I think I do like that better-- moo-ving from pharmocologists to HIV cocktails and preservatives, and then sad bovine dirges to the bull seems to be a more natural flow. The build-up to the end seems, indeed, to be more dramatic this way too.
      
      BTW, the "herbicidal maniacs" bit reminded me-- have you heard about what's happening with bees? The farming community is in an uproar because bees, necessary for pollination, are dying off en masse, and no one knows why. The prime suspect is pesticides affecting their nervous system. If the trend continues, it could cause a real problem with the food supply-- in the US at least, I don't know if it affects other countries or not since so many countries have wisely banned most pesticides.
      
      I did read your discourse with the illustrious Al, and I have witnessed such many times. I am ashamed to admit that I am a meat-eater-- I lack all discipline to give it up. I offer no excuses. I know that it is healthier to be a vegetarian-- I actually enjoy cooking vegetarian dishes immensely (they're so easy and colorful!)-- but my choice is fully selfish and aesthetic. I like meat. I hate soy and tofu. That's the long and short of it. When I make meatless dishes, I use beans or nuts for protein. I do not eat vast quantities of meat as most of my countrymen do (when I worked as a waitress many moons ago, there was a man who came in every week and would eat three country-fried steads in a row! Every time! Shudder.) I try to assuage my guilt by buying organic, free-range meat, which is very expensive (the other reason I don't eat it as much). Ditto on milk and eggs. Cheese options, alas, are absolutely prohibitively expensive.
      
      I admire you for having the strength of your convictions, and sorry to hear that you've had run-ins with the law. It's a terrible pity that activists are so often labeled "eco-terrorists" while exploiting bastards sit back and make massive amounts of money off brutality and suffering-- and not just the animals. The workers in the meat industry are treated abominably as well, and subjected to the vilest conditions imaginable, frequently resulting in injury, mutilation, and death.
      
      Perhaps in my next life, I will be more spiritually evolved and will have the willpower to turn down tasty critter dishes. (Being Mexican also makes me an inordinate enjoyer of pork.) The best I can do in this life is to find a happy medium, and not be a hypocrit about it-- I wear leather shoes, I don't condemn hunters (not those who eat their kill, anyway), I take drugs that have surely been tested on animals. Mea maxima culpa.
      
      On the other hand-- colon cancer and heart disease are among the top five leading causes of death in America. Obesity and diabetes have reached pandemic proportions. Mad cow disease and avian flu have cost the meat industries millions in lost revenue. According to Fast Food Nation, E. coli and other such pretty parameciums that weren't even a consideration 150 years ago are a source of constant concern.
      
      Eating bad meat has consequences. Gluttony has its consequences. If that's not karma, I don't know what is.
      
      Viva Las Veggies,
      Mince-Meat Pie
      
    • • 
        gnosisonG
        March 14
        Edit | Reply

        Thanx Celestial!

        For rearranging the snippets. Yepp I ll get round to an edit of this.
        I can readily appreciate the challenges of reducing delights to the palate, especially if one comes from a background and has a sustaining interest for culinary bounty, Lauren, but by providing alternatives to meat and by choosing to eat less meat, one certainly ameliorates the effect of suffering. Tis a good thing.
        The bad conscience thing doesn t change people for the long term (look at catholics in general, heheh), it s better to feel good about what positive choices on does make than all the crap (speaking for myself!) one usually lets slide.
        
        Concerning bees Pie, in an edition of Nexus magazine (I thoroughly recommend) they discussed the distinct possibility (according the latest research)that the microwaves overly abundant from cell-phone transmitters and the like are screwing with bees´ sense of direction, enabling them to find the way back to their particular hive.
        This would of course destroy their hive cohesion and the gathering of nectar.
        Bees are disappearing in parts of Europe also.
        Scary but true! Suffice to say it could be a number of things or a combination thereof.
        
        Veggie fare is still way overpriced in Norway - they´re about 20 years behind the UK - we don´t even get veggie cheese here except maybe in a few speciality shops so we are not vegan.
        Oh well. Rome wasn´t built in a day (though come to think of it, it WAS burnt down in one).
        
        Cheers CP
        
        gG
        
        
• 
  ladydwarf
  February 18
  
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  oooooh! kinda puts me off animal protein for a bit.lol! great social comment kinda of big words in a somewhat long piece but careful reading justifies the work..."...chewing steroid cud moody bulls cast baleful
  obsidian occulae upon the spinning scythes of
  leering cattle mutilators, edging inexorably ever
  closer along The Conveyer Belt To Hell.." I can just see that, too! I was raised in Idaho around farm animals....used to wonder what was on their minds....now i know!.
  
  
  

  . Rewarded 8
• • 
    gnosisonG
    February 20
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    Thanx Ladydwarf.

    I appreciate your careful reading, and yes it is a bit long. But nowhere near as long as the ripple-effect of discourse spewed out by Plumeister and myself!
    Regards
    
    gG
• 
  Windhover
  February 17
  
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  Brilliantly depressing

  Nice to see your vitriolic talents directed against a foe other than yourself here gG. This is not a pretty picture but it is artfully and poignantly drawn. As always, too much detail and quality to point it all out. If I had to pick just one it would be
  
  ...exfoliating pharm-ecologists trample sage and wisewort,
  splinter sacred groves erasing glades of sweet forget-me-
  knots to ejaculate rapeseed deep between the stretched
  spread of Mother Nature´s legs...
  
  so ripe with double entendre and brutal cutting edge.
  The size, range and tone of the poem leave this reader, like most, I would imagine, feeling rather overwhelmed by the subject, which was perhaps your intention, perhaps not. Which is to say it comes across as more of a lament than a call to arms.
  Quality stuff as always. >W<
• • 
    gnosisonG
    February 19
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    Cheers Mr W!

    I showed your review title to my brother and he laughed and challenged me to write and post something purely upbeat devoid of cynical sarcasm advocating happiness in all its frivolous gaiety - joy whoopdedoo! Just to shock my worthy peers here. But..
    We know that´s not gonna happen don´t we.
    I cannot say its really ever my premeditated intention to overwhelm with my scribble but that going with the flow of a piece can often result in this I do acknowledge.
    Thanx again Windhover.
    
    Pharmer gGiles
• 
  CinfullyDelicious
  February 16
  
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  How interesting gG
  Never read something where within the words I truly learnt so much, realized things I had forgotten from high school( we had an agriculture farm etc )
  
  This wa such an interesting thing to put into a poem and I really enjoyed reading it
  
  I feel like it maybe doesnt need the dits at the starts and ends.
  
  Thanks for sharing something different
  
  
  Cindy

  . Rewarded 8
• • 
    gnosisonG
    February 16
    Edit | Reply

    Cheers CinDi

    Yeah the dits may appear a mite dotty but they emphasise a pause recital-wise and if I make them long enough they might incite a punter to think between the lines.
    Howd Valentines go? I whored off some poetry shite but didn t feel it lead me nearer Nearvahna.
    Eating animals is a disgusting thing (unless they´re human according to Malthusian principles).
    Cheers
    gG
• 
  riveralex
  February 16
  
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  A smorgasbord, surely...

  I don't know anyone who swims in the language with quite the uninhibited pleasure that you do... the pieces always makes sense if one sticks with them yet each is also such a rich stew, where does one start? I tend to come back a couple times, nibbling bits here and there before settling in to read more thoughtfully...
  
  I take this as a romp & rant in support of better lives for the "dumb" beasts and birds and about the pharma they (and we) so unthinkingly consume and as such it surely hangs together, it's very dense of course but that is your style and my pleasure. Surely it would be a great thing if we all thought about the true cost of our various consumptions and I will be delighted to follow all who encourage this but i don't think I'll hold my breath while we wait for the the public at large or the supermarkets who are GREAT villains to recognise the real cost in pollution, pain and pence of the food we eat so cheaply.
  
  Modern factory livestock farming is indeed a Frankensteinian or Doomsday invention - and your juxtaposition of the beasts' dreams with their terrible deaths illustrates this tragedy very poignantly. I also like the way you knit your own disgust and sense memories into the fabric of the piece, without which it might seem a colder exercise. A pneumatic hammer of a piece - very much worth the reading. Best RA
  

  . Rewarded 8
• • 
    gnosisonG
    February 16
    Edit | Reply

    Cheers riveralex!

    I´ve had your message in a bottle poem swimming in the back of my noggin after I read it. Though spent from explicating on prolific Plumeister´s scribe-provoking comments I´m going to imbibe another glass of vino and comment on it! Or I won´t sleep. Agree with you concerning the responsibility of stupormarkets, RA, cheaper prices maximise wealthy shareholder profits whilst truncating funds available to farmers inclined to the well-being of livestock. A vicious cycle where the lowest rung suffers most.
    Mucho regards
    
    Mr PigGy
• 
  Ludmila607
  February 16
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  Wow!

  And WoW!

  
• • 
    gnosisonG
    February 16
    Edit | Reply

    Ludmila

    Oink to you too! Thanx
    gG
• 
  Plumeister
  February 16
  Edit | Reply

  Okay, gG...

  I was wont to review this as I am a "man has dominion over the animals" kind of guy and most decidedly NOT a vegetarian, but I will anyway because I think you're such a nifty poet and guy.
  
  So...my steak doesn't taste quite as juicy and the turkey's a little dry. You did your job. I do agree with humane treatment of all living things but have often found quite the hypocrisy amongst even animal lovers.
  
  "Ewwwwww!!!! A rat!!! Kill it, KILL it, KILL IT!!!!!!"
  
  I'm going rabbit hunting. "No, honey, please don't. They're so cute."
  
  They're both rodents.
  
  We preserve what serves us, whether it be for the aesthete or utilitarian. Domestic animals were bred from wild stock for the express purpose of serving man and propagating OUR survival. The only reason we have over four hundred breeds of dog is because of mans' canine breeding efforts. All species of dog have the wolf as a common ancestor. Dogs were created for us, by us. They only exist because we made them. So to for the domesticated cow, pig and so forth. Granted, we are all one great whole of the brotherhood of living things and as such we must be considerate of suffering. Your concern there is duly noted.
  
  What I like most about this, however, is that there is imbued in this work a profound sense of stewardship. Man has and is a poor steward of the earth. Cattle ranching is destroying the earth and yes I understand the geographical math of what acreage it takes to produce one pound of animal protein versus one pound of vegetable protein. But, had the Israelites wandering in the desert been vegetarians they'd a been outta luck when they happened upon the quail. Animals fill a need and we consume that need. There is a great need for better stewardship, and you cover that well in this poem.
  
  I liked all the imagery, especially good was the slaughterhouse scene with the cow shitting himself. Makes it real. But the cow has no idea what's happening, and well...I like wearing leather shoes. It fills a need, we created the animals to fill that need. We give them a place to stay and food to eat and they return the favor, albeit perhaps unwillingy. Sorry, gG, I don't share your vegetarian view but you are a brilliant poet and I do enjoy consuming your meaty verse, even if it does cause me to wish for a bolt gun to the brain as I strain to the cerebral convolutions necessary to apprehend and comprehend it all. But this, this was very straightforward, one of your most and I enjoyed it for that reason, even if I didn't side with 100% of your view.
  
  I'm a militant meat-eater and here's a little side note for you...animals may be classed as herbivores(plant-eaters), carnivores(meat-eaters) and omnivores(both plant and meat-eaters). All have adapted to extract all necessary nutrients from their evolved diets as classed. A cow may derive all nutrition from grasses and grain. We, even as omnivores, haven't this option as we lack the many different stomach chambers necessary to digest cellulose and extract the needed nutrients. A lion may derive all nutrition from animal flesh. We however as omnivores are required to supplement with vegetables and fruit, etc. to obtain other necessary nutrients not found in meat. We are evolved to eat meat. Why do I say this? Herbivores have evolved eyes mounted on the sides of their head to maximize their field of view in order to spot approaching predators(carnivores, omnivores) and flee. Carnivores and omnivores have evolved forward-facing eyes to spot prey, focus on it and zoom in for the kill. Which is what we do. We spot what will fill our needs with our forward facing eyes and we do as any good omnivore would do...we go and get our dinner. Hey...it's what we're made to do. Why question nature and what eons has perfected. It's just not natural. But that's just how I feel, and you don't have to agree with it. I think you're great just the same. I can forgive your vegetarianism if you can forgive my forward eye-facing carnivorous omnivorism. Whaddaya say?
  
  al

  . Rewarded 8
• • 
    gnosisonG
    February 16
    Edit | Reply

    OINK! Chapter three.

    Hi Al. Received your comment on Darwinism et al (hey that was an unintentional pun!) and I´ll get to it in a sec.
    "But the cow has no idea what's happening..."
    Recent studies have shown that even fish respond acutely to their surroundings and experience emotional stress when under duress. They take many, many minutes to suffocate when hauled up from water. Very rarely are they fortunate enough to be bashed on the head to cease their suffering.
    But at least (apart from salmon farms) they have led a life of freedom before being caught. Compare this to the way more "advanced" creatures are fostered in captivity. Swine who have never known anything but concrete pens eating each others tails because of cramped conditions, crushing their young thru lack of space to lie down. NEVER being able to utilise their inate abilities of foraging, utilise their incredibly sensitive noses to smell anything except sweat of fear, trauma, death and shit. I´ve talked to pig farmers (sadly my brother-in-law is one!) who admit that these intelligent porcines are acutely aware of what is happening prior to slaughter. I mean, bloody hell, they smell it, they hear it, they FEEL it. Their often long trip to the slaughter-house in sweltering trucks, packed like sardines, no food or water (why waste it when they re gonna die anyway), sustaining severe injuries exacerbated by jolting rides unharnassed in unyielding containers PRESAGES their unworthy deaths. And at the end of it all...
    death is the kindest thing we do to them (if they are lucky enough to die immediately - which isn´t halal). All the myriad reports of cases of ghastly sickening mistreatment is merely the minutest tip of a vast titanic iceberg of needless suffering by an industry that squanders so much of its resources that any effectivity study would deem utterly redundant.
    If a cow is hoisted from a ship to a dock by a crane lifting it by its broken leg, pulled free of a pile of decaying corpses (I´ve seen a clip) then whether it is aware of the details of its agony is simply immaterial - it doesn´t matter - torture is torture and there is NO good reason for it no matter what the reason may be.
    Fewer and fewer percentage of animals that end up on our dinner plate lead ethically acceptable existences prior to their demise. A simple fact. The growth of free-range/ecological farms is vastly outweighed by the volume of consummer demand for cheap meat.
    Now I bet you wish you had a bolt-gun to blow out my babbling brain with Al. Heheh and I don´t blame you, mate. What a preachy git you´re probably thinking (and I´d be loathe to disagree) but if you are still with me then heres the final point which I´ll try and keep brief.
    The side note.
    We don´t need meat.
    It is a fallacious myth that we do.
    I haven´t eaten meat in 14 years. I´m active in martial arts and competed in the Norwegian Championships in Sanshou as an over the hill 41 year old. Both my kids, my boy of 12 and my girl of 6 are overly endowed with an abundance of energy and physical prowess far exceeding my spindly youth. They´ve never eaten meat or fish putting to shame dire warnings of pathetically unknowledgable physicians. A large portion of the planet´s population is vegetarian (think southern India f.ex) out of conviction not poverty. In the West studies have shown that vegetarians live longer and are generally healthier than comparable meat-eaters.
    Forward-facing eyes must not blind us to the inner sight/insight provided by our souls. We are blessed with choice. Choice.
    And to do as we choose. Whether to participate in and sponsor an industry that eons from now will be viewed in hindsight as morally perverse and a reprehensible stain upon the conduct and deportment of our species. Darwinism is about evolution but not in my opinion solely about mere physical development. As poets we are intimately engaged in cerebral and more importantly spiritual evolution - yeah the search for gnosis; awareness and empathy concerning unacceptable cruelty perpetrated on other creatures is a part of this journey I believe.
    There are economical, ethical, ecological and health reasons to avoid consumption of products incurred by the Meat Trade.
    Avoiding meat is a salve for the bastard sins pervading my ever-guilty conscience, Al. We are made to evolve and improve upon the base metal that constitutes us. We might never become gold. But a worthy goal unattained is still "a bootifull thang".
    I can forgive the fact that you eat meat, mate, most friends of mine do.
    But being a veggie?
    Fuck, seriously,there ain´t nothing to forgive - all my other screw-ups more than make up for this one unadulterated positive thing.
    Cheers Al.
    Rearguards as always
    
    thislittlepigGywenttomarket
    
    
    
    
    
  • • 
      Plumeister
      February 16
      Edit | Reply

      Hey, WTF?

      Three chapters of laden with literary vegan verisimilitudes!!!! Do you take me for a masochist or do you feel strongly about vegeterianism???
      
      You're a committed man, gG. Sometimes I wonder in more ways than one , but that's what I dig about you. I can't be the only crazy(like an unskinned fox) bastard around here. What can I say? Nice..............
      
      So...you deem to overcome by sheer volume? Well I shall endeavor to cut to the quick with my point of view, well...because I'm alot lazier than you.
      
      Here goes:
      
      Stewardship is not mutually exclusive by virtue of the participating parties. The fact of the matter is that we can demand change by boycotting those farmers that engage in inhumane practices. Maybe to push a "cruelty free" sticker and get everyone on board so that the offenders will be present not only in the media but at the market, where the deciding market factors occur. Hey gG, I doubt that the lioness is concerned for the suffering of the wildebeast when she drags it down for a meal. She just wants to feed her children. In this Darwinist messpot of life we all compete for a meal and demand is what fuels the market. We kill to feed. In a perfect society there would be no consumption by virtue of destruction and all would imbibe pure light energy from the sun via photosynthesis. But that's not gonna happen, is it? The truth of the matter is that the plant gives way for the survival of the herbivore, and the herbivore gives way for the survival of the carnivore, and both the plant and herbivore and carnivore give way for the survival of the omnivore. Then...we shit it all back out to the earth and the least of all these is the winner...the plant. Plants will be consuming our bodies when they decay into the earth and I'll have no angst for supplying their needs. It's all part of the circle of life. Yes...it would be great if chlorophyll flowed through our veins and nothing ever died, but all die and everything lives to die for some purpose or another. We'll be feeding the plants one day, why should the animals shirk their duty in feeding us? It's just plain unpatriotic to the whole cycle of life thing. I'm a meat-eater, bro...and one day the plants will eat me, and the herbivore will eat those plants, and the carnivore will eat that herbivore and then my children will repeat the whole process. While I find inhumane treatment of animals repugnant, I find their contribution to the circle of life exemplary. I absolutely love animals, gG. They're tasty.
      
      Now, if you couldn't tell, I'm pulling your vegan leg a little here and seeing if I can get yet another rise outta you. If you still have anything left after that literary smorgasbord of vegan reasoning I submit and proclaim you victor. But I'm still gonna have a steak...
      Cheers, gG.
      
      Respectfully, your pal
      
      al
    • • 
        gnosisonG
        February 16
        Edit | Reply

        Heheh!

        Sheeeit! Ah is just mightily chuffed that youse read thru mah sheeeit Massa P!
        My vegan leg is already dangling from dislocated hip mate, so no worries there.
        You ever see see that film about the sentient carnivore plants: Day of the Triffids? OK Imagine if those devils of shrubbery held us in cages where we ate our own feces for entertainment.
        Sure The Cycle of Life, Disney´s Lion King blabla. BUT the meatpacking Industry has nothing to do with nature. Its an aberration, an abomination if you will. Of course the Lioness is hungrier than any conscience we might anthropomize her with while she drags a wilderbeest of to devour. It is in her nature - nature is brutal yadayada. But it is OUR nature to question the consequences of our actions a step beyond carnal relativism. Chlorophyll pursued with a drop of chlorophilosophy! We are ourselves MORE than meat and chemicals Al. Think a bit more and maybe that steak will suddenly feel like a stake thru your heart...
        
        always your pal you entertaining mofuckr you
        
        Squeal-like-a-pigG-boy-gonna-squeal-like-a-pigG
      • • 
          Plumeister
          February 17
          
          Edit | Reply

          Soooooouieeeeeeeeeee!!!!!, Soooooouieeeeeeeeeee!!!!!

          How's that work for ya?
          
          I submit, gG. Mofo I am and pleased to be so(it's a pastime I rather enjoy).
          
          I'm gonna go have pork chop just for you...
          
          You are a committed man and I admire that, Simon. It is to be enthroned and emulated. The committed thing, I mean. And well, even the morality of not eating your fellow mammals. But I'm a weak man, and I find that meat strengthens my constitution and makes me mighty(tongue-in-cheek, no need to attack the morality of that supposedly mistaken assumption).
          
          I don't like beans, nor do I like tofu. Both wreak havoc on my digestive system and the sweet air in my home. Hence, am I to obtain a complete protein(which is necessary to sustain a healthy life)I am morally doomed to the domestic use of my furry friends to sustain life. Also, I am one of those terrible outdoorsy hunter-type fellows. I revel in my hunter-gatherer roots and thrill to the challenge of harvesting my own meal from the wild. I'm a very bad man and I don't intend to repent any time soon. I see myself(and maybe arrogantly so) as a predator and it is my right by might to get me a meal by the force of my will. And I do just that.
          
          I know you, Simon, and I think you know me. I'll not beat this dead horse any longer, but it really should be put to use(the dead horse, that is). Don't you agree? What do you think about the eating of only old and wizened animals that have lived a happy and carefree life and died of old age? Is that acceptable? Or is that mammalian cannibalism?
          
          Your point as to chloriphic philosophizing is duly noted, but...the wild is a brutal place because there is no understanding of compassion. It is a language that we have created by virtue of our own learned morality. To address compassion to an animal is like speaking Russian to me(I have no concept of that language). The animal would kill you in a heartbeat to survive. It doesn't speak the language and never will. You speak of a kinship with your animal brothers. These same animals that you would return to the wild(take a horse for example) don't in the slightest adhere to your philosophy. When a wild horse is born and doesn't walk soon enough, the stallion kills it. Period. Chimpanzees, our closest animal counterparts behind orangutans, hunt and eat monkeys. The Circle of Life is not Lion King bullshit, it's reality. We're animals, albeit highly socially evolved animals, but that doesn't change the fact that we're all part of the same system and that system works by purpose. The plant exists to be eaten by the herbivore, the herbivore exists to be eaten by the carnivore, and the plant and herbivore and carnivore exist to be eaten by the omnivore. And then the plant eats them all.
          
          We all have evolved to occupy a space in the world by virtue of the need we fill. Were the wolf to adopt your philosophy of non-violence the deer would over-populate causing the vegetation to be stripped bare causing the deer to die of starvation and the wolf to be fucked when he finally realized the folly in his vegetarianism and decided to return to basics. Then, the coyote and fox devoid of competition for range in foraging for rabbits and other various rodents would over-populate, kill off their prey and die of starvation. And so on, and so on.
          
          Lion-King happy horse-shit or not, we are all a part of the circle of life. The fact that our "warm fuzzies" don't jive with the brutality inherent in these revolutions doesn't change the fact that they are a necessary part of life. Life is about filling a need and we all make a trade in one way or another. And can you really demonize the wolf for doing what comes naturally? Because...if he didn't...nothing would be natural, but would be dead.
          
          We all live to die in one way or another. Who the hell are the animals to shirk their duty in this wonderful portrait of symbiotic existence? I mean, really now?....
          
          
          Cheers, Simon.
          
          Would that I remain your friend even if a meat-eating bastard.
          
          al
          
          
          
        • • 
            gnosisonG
            February 20
            Edit | Reply

            In Oink We Trust

            Howdy Al. I appreciate the intestinal umbrage tofu and soya wreaks on your digestive system, mate.
            There are always sustainable alternatives if one looks hard enough though. Otherwise in reply to everything else you mentioned in your last comment, I believe I´ve already answered reasonably adequately so I don´t think I´ll be participating in "The Circle of Argument". I have hardly refuted a Lionesses inherent nature or nature´s brutality - it´s an incorrect prejudice to portray people who criticise the utter inhumanity of the Meat-Industry as naive scatter-brained, "seals are soooo cute" (even if they are), dilletantes of rational debate. So, ONE last time: the meat-industry has NOTHING to do with the natural world of hunters, predators and prey, it is extremely wasteful, unhealthy and cruel. I think we can to a certain extent agree on this fact.
            Cheers Al
            
            gG
          • • 
              Plumeister
              February 20
              Edit | Reply

              Hey gG,

              We see eye to eye on this. I just saw a blurb on the news last night shot at a slaughterhouse where a cow is being rammed around by a forklift. It was a apparent that there was very little concern for the cows suffering, well...because she was about to be slaughtered. I don't agree with that mentality, gG. I believe in the humane treatment of all living things. However, once they're dead I'm not at all opposed to eating them. I don't think that makes me a bad person.
              
              I feel that I am participating in the cycle of life just the same as the wolf who downs and consumes a deer. I just see it as part of life. As a hunter I have always waited for a clean shot and if it didn't present itself, I wouldn't take it. On my last outing I let a few fly on the run and the result was suffering, for the which I felt badly. And then your poem was an even greater reminder as to my inconsideration. So...back to clean shots only.(please no contest on the concept of clean shot, I know that truly there is no suffering-free kill) But I'm still going hunting.
              
              I don't mean to contend, gG, but I don't like being vilified for participating in the eons long tradition of predator/prey. I feel it's part of who we are as evolved predators and omnivores and see absolutely nothing wrong with it. So I jump in the mix when I feel tables of stone being hurled down the vegan mountain in my general direction. I realize that your beef(pun intended) is with the meat-packing industry's mistreatment of animals and I feel you there. But I can honestly say I feel not a tad of remorse for engaging in my instincts as predator, nor in consuming the fruits of my labors. So please forgive me if you must, but I feel there is nothing to forgive except perhaps the offending of you as a friend, and I would never wish to do that without principle.
              
              Thanks for keeping it real, Simon. I have always enjoyed our exchanges and surely you know that I cannot be offended so long as I know I'm speaking with a friend.
              
              Cheers, Simon.
              
              al
            • • 
                gnosisonG
                February 22
                Edit | Reply

                No Problem Al

                An eskimo hunting for seals. Someone hunting for food (though simply killing for enjoyment is depraved), kalahari-bushmen spearing antelope etc... Now I don´t have a big problem with this. Personally I think its unneccesary but... It cannot be compared to the meat-trade. OF COURSE NOT. I doubt if you hunt for all the meat you eat, Al. So then that whole area of argumentation is rather irrellevant for this discussion. Its not my intention to villify meat-chompers, mate, though I can see where one might feel that, since there IS a certain amount of complicity by eating what could be termed as victims of cruelty and torture. If the fruits of your labours are animals swiftly, humanely dispatched through your skills as a hunter - fine, consume away. It is as you say Al, my "beef" (nice one!) is with the bastards perpetuating the meat, fur and laboratry-animal-testing industries of stupendous suffering. There is nothing offensive in our friendly exchange of views, Al. I respect you and your opinions without reserve. Keeping it real (and avoiding schmalzy-overnice-vomit-inducing glad-handing showered with hordes of rosey smiley-emoticon fuckers!) is what we do here at critical poetry. (I just read a great comment of yours, Al, concerning these issues.)
                
                Cheers mate
                
                Simon
  • 
    gnosisonG
    February 16
    Edit | Reply

    OINK! Chapter Two...

    Ah. That´s better. Showed that punching bag! made of err.. leather. Well at least it isn t stuffed with baby hamsters (too soft). Right to continue:
    "We preserve what serves us," sounds a lot like all too typical human arrogance/chauvenism basing a creature´s worth solely on how it garners us. Incredibly self-centred.
    "Domestic animals were bred from wild stock for the express purpose of serving man and propagating OUR survival." Sure to a certain extent - mink, arctic foxes within fur-procuring atrocities are wild, so are many species of goat, zebu are deemed "wild" cattle. So there are certainly exceptions but my point here is that if returned to the wild, though many would die, depending on acclimatisation, food sources and natural predators etc, I have little doubt that after a few generations such animals would again develop the hardiness neccesary to survive and continue their evolutionary destiny so rudely interrupted or coopted by humankind. Pigs, for example survive in "the wild" if lucky enough to escape. Hormone-pumped bovines such as Belgian Blue are an evolutionary travesty of course and would soon die out.
    Despite all this however, domestication and the reasons for it cannot possibly excuse the inconceivable suffering that has in our day become part and parcel of the meat-industrial complex. I truly wish my concern for that suffering which you duly noted, was mirrored by folks who do choose to eat meat.
    "..a profound sense of stewardship. Man has and is a poor steward of the earth." - Thanks for the compliment here Al, and I´m relieved and pleased to be able to say we are in perfect accord about humankind´s dismal stewardship (bequeathed not by some imaginary divinity in an old book rewritten countless times but by simply our might-makes-right hubris). By rights Al if a cogent deity exerted a cognitive influence on the running of this planet humans would be fired and custodianship handed over to gorrillas, whales or (Earth´s most paramount species!)bacteria or an alien race specifically genetically engineered for the job!
    "one pound of animal protein versus one pound of vegetable protein" a good reason for anyone even remotely ecologically minded to become a veggie right? Glad you mentioned it though Al.
    As for Israelites in the desert.. Well aborigines survive in desert areas I suppose but us folks less than at one with nature, sure, I agree mate. To survive I´d eat you (your bulky frame would keep me alive for ages I´m certain!) and I wouldn´t hold it against you if you ate me to live (after I´d expired from natural causes of course). Same thing goes for our ancestors forced into meat-heavy diet of cloven-hooved prey and cannibalism by the rigours of the ice-age in North America, northern Asia, Europe etc.
    BUT! Today we have a choice. Either to indulge in meat and propogate an obscene industry or...
    Or not.
    An obscene industry which transports under deplorable conditions more than ONE BILLION animals EACH WEEK throughout the world where upwards of 40% perish enroute. These animals could be despatched and frozen at their points of origin but for commercial reasons ("real Italian horsemeat" actually from Spain but half-dead equine survivors are slaughtered in Italy f.ex.) and disgusting Halal traditions/religious bullshit, are not. There is a vast ammount of info available on the monstrous conditions of Industrial Meat Inc, especially online. One link is independent.co.uk/handlewithcare which I haven´t seen though read a recent article about. But I´m taking another break, Al, a punching bag is braying my name... Back in a bit.
    gG
    
    
    
    "
    
  • 
    gnosisonG
    February 16
    Edit | Reply

    OINK! Chapter One.

    Howdy Al. First, thank you for the gracious compliments and the clear, generally thoughtful opinions you express in your comment. As will come as no shock to you I must however voice unequivocal disagreement with many of your assertions. Without meaning to sound arrogant, I´ve heard all these arguments before, Al, from apologists for the abbatoir and have become somewhat weary of refuting them. I know I´m not going to be able to influence your eating habits and you do me a great honour by saying your steak tastes less juicy and your turkey a little dry after reading my shit. Cheers for that mate!
    And such is my incandescent fury when dwelling on this topic that I might seem a tad strident when explicating in depth upon the subject. But I KNOW your hide is more than tough enough if I come across as a bit rude and that it won´t affect our mutual friendship or respect. And besides I owe you in spades the cordiality of a proper reply.
    For clarity´s sake I will present my contra-views following the chronology of your own frank, honest comment.
    
    "man has dominion over the animals" - Biblical claptrap can never hold up in a rational argument no matter which particular deiform either parties may be beholden to. Faith cannot equal fact.
    
    "the hypocrisy amongst even animal lovers." etc.
    We are all hypocrites to a certain degree the same way a meat-eater can profess to love animals, walk the dog everyday and never dream of eating his/her pets yet greedily devours a pig - more intelligent and closer to humans than any pooch (indeed Papua New Guinean cannibal tribesmen referred to other humans as "long pig"). For my own part I do own non-leather boots/shoes/belts/jacket (which are difficult to find in Norway!) but I also have animal product footwear and the same goes for my family. I am sadly not a vegan - I still consume dairy products if no other alternative is available. So to a certain degree sure, we´re all hypocrites one way or another. We find it sad that kids are starving yet throw away enough food to save a hundred famine victims every week. We are all to a point inconsistent.
    And yet the horrific treatment and the unfathomable cruelty perpetrated by the meat industry became for me such a huge glaring inconsistency between what I ate and what I knew, striking at the very core of my moral being that it turned this previous lover of meat into the veggie scribbler before you. I might add that it took me three years to completely cut out meat but the idea of supporting the barbaric meat trade became less and less feasible and as you are no doubt aware I´m NO fucking saint! Heheh. Please excuse me a sec while I mistreat my punching bag. Ah´ll be bahck!
    
  • • 
      Plumeister
      February 16
      Edit | Reply

      I could never find you rude.

      And I agree whole-heartedly with one exception: "Man has dominion over the animals because he's the biggest and baddest predator on the planet. Faith's got nothin' to do with it. We're predators and animals are our prey. Personally, I think we need to be conscious of suffering and minimize it in all living things. It's a good thing to be empathically respectful of life. One can be predator and humane all in one. We can be wild dogs and eat things alive or we can end life humanely and then begin our feast. It's simply Darwinism at work, no faith needed or implied in the process. It comes off as brutal, but so too is a starving predator. The question is: who survives? It's a race for resources and while we may think we're winning, your work here is an important reminder that sometimes to win is to lose if you don't play the game right.
      
      Give that bag a punch or two for me two while you're at it...
      
      Cheers, gG. I agree to disagree and that's alright with me. Don't don those animal freedom fatigues just yet. I salute you, animal rights rebel. Your concerns are duly noted and I have begun to think as to the morality of supporting those growers who engage in inhumane practices with regard to the animals they raise.
      
      al
• 
  marcusmoore
  February 15
  
  Edit | Reply
  Nice original way to put things, I thought the "snatches" of thought being overheard was a good idea. It's a very ugly and sad process just so people can have their meat! This is definately the craziest life I've ever known. lol I enjoyed the poem alot, Turns out your not as crazy as you thought, or maybe we're the crazies for agreeing with ya?
  
  TTYL
  MM

  . Rewarded 6
• • 
    gnosisonG
    February 16
    Edit | Reply

    Perhaps So!

    Cheers Marcus. If madness is a state of mind then insanity is a point of reference.
    Warmest regards
    gG
• 
  Gagiikwe
  February 15
  
  Edit | Reply

  Arresting format/significant issues

  I enjoyed the raw brutality [double entendre intended] of this poem. The very awkwardness of the form draws attention to the issues addressed so bluntly. A good deal of dry wit also. Some excellent word-plays, and casutic imagery.
  I think there is always a place for disjounted, stream of (un)consciousness poetry to convey the depth of feeling about significant things.
  The opening line is a lovely introduction into reality
  Anything else I could say, Lad has already addressed in his thorough manner.

  . Rewarded 8
• • 
    gnosisonG
    February 16
    Edit | Reply

    Cheers Gagiikwe

    Disjointed it certainly is. As I mentioned to Lad it was a mite challenging retaining focus. For a regular format Animus would attempt to cover too much ground and wind up meandering off the beaten cul-de-sac. I am still uncertain about the order of the snippets.
    Anyway thanx again for your generous comment Mr G.
    
    Rated P.gG.
• 
  Lad
  February 15
  
  Edit | Reply
  Delightful and prophetically dire romp through the throes of our modern meat- and circus-drugged "affluent" Western society, gG, with a sharp stab at its death-dealing not only to innocent animals, but to the ThirdWorld as well.
  
  'List' poems usually don't work for me, especially when the 'list' goes on and on, but in your bright hands, my friend, the whole concatenation (a con cat speaks to nations!) of pharmaceutical murders and drug-feeding for profit works all your fragments into a whole - something like I might hear old Isaiah screaming about to his dumbed audience. Nice work.
  
  Sometimes the hyperverbalizations might be a bit too cleverly artificed for my taste (stanza 4 for example), but, hey, that's my taste only - de gustibus non est disputandum - while it fits your fine personalized style to the max. So, I admire your dictioned skill as always, Simon, because it adds up, again as always, to a real poem: a massively probing, emotionally and physically layered attack on The Universal Pharmacy Corporation and all its dirty deeds. And, by the way, I love the juicy sexiness of stanza 6 - you slavering wolf, you!
  
  Cheers for another winner. Now, where in hell did I put my pork chops and Percodan??
  
  Ciao...
  
  Lad

  . Rewarded 8
• • 
    gnosisonG
    February 15
    Edit | Reply

    Meat and Circus

    Good one Lad!
    I´ve written scathing diatribes on animal mistreatment and industrial brutalisation previously but they always seemed too ranting and raving or too politically correct or too obvious - it was difficult to find a balance. Hopefully because of (for me) the original format that cropped up when scribbling the first draft this doesn´t come across as preachy.
    There are parts here that certainly are OTT (over the top) and looking over it stanza 4 is closest to going off on a tangent. It was probably the closest I came to diverging and ending up writing a totally different poem!
    Now let me see if I can keep you distracted whilst my A.L.F. compatriots liberate your pork chops, Lad. Heheh
    Cheers and thanx mate.
    Warmest regards
    
    "gGonna squeal like a pig, boy, squeal like a piiig"
• dave ochs
  February 15
  
  Edit | Reply

  you betcha

  hey gG-the frags in this grenade of a poem reformated to produce this explosive indictment of the animal-minereal-idustrial complex, that would make Col. Sanders and other hordes of carnivores blush with shame. What an awful price to pay for a steak and were not talking dollars here.
  dave

  . Rewarded 6
• • 
    gnosisonG
    February 15
    Edit | Reply

    Right on Dave!

    Being a violently militant vegetarian (ahem)I must concur with your finely voiced comment Mr Ochs concerning Col. Sanders and his ilk. Glad you think this works mate!
    Cheers
    
    gG