Live meat exports have been a hot topic for the last couple of weeks. When you are confronted with the horrible, barbaric treatment of animals, the immediate response is to call for an end to the trade.
Other voices
But in the loud, widespread calls for the ceasing of live animal trade there have been other voices calling for its continuation: the voices of the farmers, the voices of the stockmen, the voices of the meat salesmen in Indonesia, the voices of all those who financially benefit from these exports.
There are other voices too that never get heard in Australia. They are the voices of the poor in Indonesia.
There are a number of reasons given for the live trade of animals. One is that Muslims may ensure the slaughter is done according to religious ritual. Another very significant reason is that refrigeration is not universal in Indonesia and slaughtered meat does not last if it is not refrigerated. If there is to be no live meat sales then many people will not be able to have meat on their menus.
But there is another reason too. An end to live meat sales causes a re-organisation of the food hierarchy, with the greatest effect being on the poor. If a family is unable to obtain beef then they turn to chicken to provide their protein. The price of chicken then increases and whose who once ate chicken can no longer afford to do so, so they begin to consume more vegetables. This pushes the price of vegetables up so that the people who could once only afford vegetables are left to eat….
I am not advocating one way or another for whether we should re-commence life animal trade with Indonesia but I do want to point out that what originally seems like an obvious thing to do – the termination of live animal exports is too simplistic and does not take into account other factors.
Lessons for us
There are some things to learn from this incident:
1. we need to be circumspect and thoughtful in our reactions. Rather than just examining one aspect, we must think about who else and how others may be involved in the matter
2. we should then look at the whole system that is affected by an action, and not just the parts that are closest to us or get the loudest publicity. We acted because we were confronted with the animal cruelty, but did not think much beyond that. If we listened to any dissenting voices it was those affected in our own country, not the voices of those affected in another country.
3. We should therefore seek to gather information about situations not just from mainstream sources. I find non aligned, internet news is helpful in giving another’s perspective on things, or even the BBC world service often gives an alternative viewpoint. I also find it helpful to discuss the issue with someone who has direct involvement in the situation. (It was an Indonesian friend who alerted me to this problem.)
God has given his people the privilege of a renewed mind and it is our responsibility to think through the situations that confront us; not just on this, but on any issue.
