Per Kathryn Asher - This. This is the talk. Since I heard TJ Tumasse speak I’ve been rolling his words around in my head, thinking about why they are some of the most meaningful I’ve heard. I think much of their significance lies in the pow...erful topic, the storytelling, the firsthand account, the juxtaposition of companion and farmed animals, and TJ’s humble delivery. The talk is a description of TJ’s time as an undercover investigator at chicken, cow, pig, and turkey factory farms and slaughterhouses throughout the US, as well as companion animal shelters. He chose this way of giving back, he says, because he was physically, mentally, and emotionally strong enough to hack it. It’s clear though that these experiences have taken their toll, not only physically—cuts, burns, dislocations, and broken bones—but emotionally as well. Though he remains composed, the raw emotion is palpable. His recounting of the violent functioning of animal agriculture is alarming. He talks about how seeing live hanging for the first time took his breath away, the wretched job of working as a “back-up killer” wielding a dull knife along the throats of those who missed the killing blade, watching his fellow workers simulate raping birds, seeing mother pigs gripped by insanity, and what happens when animals realize they are about to die. Importantly, he asks that we not let the footage that he and others sacrifice so much for to be used to blame single workers or companies, but rather to educate consumers about their complicity. TJ ends by reciting The Mower by Philip Larkin, with the beautiful closing line: “we should be careful, of each other, we should be kind, while there is still time.” For more information please visit ARConference.org, Peta.org and MercyForAnimals.org Produced by Jeff Fleiss, Founder of AnimalNews.info and Doggy TV.
Posted on: Tue, 16 Sep 2014 23:30:05 +0000
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