Soumatou
Why Do Birds Fly?
- Apr 28, 2026
- 13
Came across this passage from the book "The Pig That Wants to Be Eaten 100 Experiments for the Armchair Philosopher" by gyannidhi
( pdf of the book )
Personally, the fact the pig could talk toes the psychological line of cannibalism and things in nature that want to be eaten are almost always parasitic. I would probably still eat it but under psychic distress like Max. Without the prior knowledge I would have eaten the pig anyway without without knowing its intentions or desires.
"After forty years of vegetarianism, Max
Berger was about to sit down to a feast of
pork sausages, crispy bacon and pan-fried
chicken breast. Max had always missed the
taste of meat, but his principles were
stronger than his culinary cravings. But now
he was able to eat meat with a clear
conscience.
The sausages and bacon had come from a
pig called Priscilla he had met the week
before. The pig had been genetically
engineered to be able to speak and, more
importantly, to want to be eaten. Ending up
on a human's table was Priscilla's lifetime
ambition and she woke up on the day of her
slaughter with a keen sense of anticipation.
She had told all this to Max just before
rushing off to the comfortable and humane
slaughterhouse. Having heard her story,
Max thought it would be disrespectful not to
eat her.
The chicken had come from a genetically
modified bird which had been
'decerebrated'. In other words, it lived the
life of a vegetable, with no awareness of
self, environment, pain or pleasure. Killing it
was therefore no more barbarous than
uprooting a carrot.
Yet as the plate was placed before him,
Max felt a twinge of nausea. Was this just a
reflex reaction, caused by a lifetime of
vegetarianism? Or was it the physical sign of
a justifiable psychic distress? Collecting
himself, he picked up his knife and fork …"
Berger was about to sit down to a feast of
pork sausages, crispy bacon and pan-fried
chicken breast. Max had always missed the
taste of meat, but his principles were
stronger than his culinary cravings. But now
he was able to eat meat with a clear
conscience.
The sausages and bacon had come from a
pig called Priscilla he had met the week
before. The pig had been genetically
engineered to be able to speak and, more
importantly, to want to be eaten. Ending up
on a human's table was Priscilla's lifetime
ambition and she woke up on the day of her
slaughter with a keen sense of anticipation.
She had told all this to Max just before
rushing off to the comfortable and humane
slaughterhouse. Having heard her story,
Max thought it would be disrespectful not to
eat her.
The chicken had come from a genetically
modified bird which had been
'decerebrated'. In other words, it lived the
life of a vegetable, with no awareness of
self, environment, pain or pleasure. Killing it
was therefore no more barbarous than
uprooting a carrot.
Yet as the plate was placed before him,
Max felt a twinge of nausea. Was this just a
reflex reaction, caused by a lifetime of
vegetarianism? Or was it the physical sign of
a justifiable psychic distress? Collecting
himself, he picked up his knife and fork …"
( pdf of the book )
Personally, the fact the pig could talk toes the psychological line of cannibalism and things in nature that want to be eaten are almost always parasitic. I would probably still eat it but under psychic distress like Max. Without the prior knowledge I would have eaten the pig anyway without without knowing its intentions or desires.
