Animal Farmers’ Hardness of Heart
In order to raise animals for food, or slaughter them, and/or eat their flesh and by-products, we have to harden our hearts to the point that we no longer have empathy for the feelings of the animals or are indifferent to the animals’ pain and suffering.
This was recently brought to our attention in an email we received from Karolin:
Good morning Frank and Mary,
We all know how calloused the dairy industry is but most farmers at least pretend to like their animals.
Yesterday I worked with a patient who was crying all day about how much pain he is in. Later on when he was awake we chatted a bit and he told me that he is a dairy farmer with about 500 cows. He told me all about his business and how he is getting modern milking machines installed. He said he gets about 200 babies each year and that the females become milk cows as well. We know what happens to the boys.
Although I listened and pretended I was interested in our conversation, I told him that I do not drink milk.
He then asked “well what do you drink then”?
I said “non-dairy such as soy or almond milk.”
He laughed and said “my wife tried that and she still looks the same.”
I replied “I don’t do it for looks.”
He asked “why do you do it then?”
I said “for the animals.”
He replied “what animals?”
“Well, the cows and their babies,” I said
He grinned and said “but they are not animals.”
I asked “what are they then?”
He answered “they are just things…especially those that don’t produce well.”
~ Karolin
This is the hardness of heart that continues to keep this world corrupted and full of violence.
It is also very interesting that he was crying out about his own pain, but had absolutely no feelings for the pain and suffering he was causing to his animals.
Jesus commanded us to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect (Matthew 5:48), and where there is no mourning, or pain, or death (Revelation 21:4).
We are not to contribute to the corruption and suffering of this world.
We are to be the peacemaking children of God, who free creation from its present corruption.
Since 
Harsh! I’ll never forget my godly evangelical grandmother, the one who stood up for me to my alcoholic mother, laughing as she recounted about how the pigs on her farm ran around screaming after their throats had been slit. To farmers pigs, cows and chickens are not animals but commodites, products or end products. There is a huge disconnect between the beloved family lab who happily runs up to you and the animals in the barn. My uncle told me not to make friends with the pigs in the barn. Guess what I did? I wonder if my friendship with ‘Blackie’ the pig had anything to do with who I am now. 🙂
Thank you for sharing your personal experiences with us. The hardness of heart in the world tries to prevent us from being loving and caring companions of animals, as God created them to be. Your going against that trend definitely helped define who you are today.
Hi Frank and Mary
The above post was a bit offensive.
The problem sometimes is that to many people around my smal town it appears that the young people (our children) in their care are not much more than things either. If they start to speak at them rather than to them and call them nicknames and use very loud intonation and prosody at them and talk in the third person instead of second it is wrong. Also neglecting them and making their own spaces unattractvely minimalistic an allowing them to have few personal possessions is depersonalising an dehumanising. We must be good stewards of all people and creatures of God.
Hi Emma:
We’re not sure which post you are referring to, our’s or the other comment?
We also agree that when people’s hearts are hardened, their lack of empathy can easily extend to all other humans and animals.