“Forgive Them Father for They Know Not What They Do”

The Passion of the Pig and Why Jesus Would Object

By Tracey Laszloffy, Best Friends Network Volunteer

As Christ hung from the cross in unbearable agony, he asked the Lord to forgive his persecutors because they did not understand the cruelty and perversion they were perpetrating. Tragically, human ignorance of the cruelty we inflict is as rampant today as it was in the days of Christ. For instance, this Easter Sunday, after spending the morning in Church, countless Christians will gather together around the holiday table where most will join in eating the traditional Easter ham. Ironically, most will “know not what they do,” meaning, they will have a limited awareness of and concern about the ways that the holiday ham involved the pain and suffering of vast numbers of innocent pigs.

Blindness to the Plight of Pigs

Most people have negative views of pigs which foster a lack of concern for their well-being. They are unfairly portrayed in degraded and villainous ways, so much so that it is considered an insult to call someone a pig. The term connotes that one is either physically dirty or morally repugnant. In reality, pigs prefer to live in clean areas and are highly intelligent, clever, and sensitive beings, yet the vast majority of pigs on earth are treated in ways that utterly disregard their innate capacities, interests and inclinations. Most pigs are subjected to lives of hardship and horror, and their deaths, like those of Jesus, are steeped in agony. It is hard to imagine that the followers of Christ would knowingly contribute to the suffering of others. It seems more likely to assume, as Christ himself did, that most people simply do not know what they do and for this reason, it is essential to shed light upon the truth about pigs.

Shedding Light on Unknowing

When only a month old piglets have their teeth ripped out, their ears and tails clipped, and males are castrated, all without anesthesia. Tragically pigs spend their entire lives in intense confinement in tiny, dirty concrete stalls deprived of access to the outdoors, the opportunity to form normal social relations, and the freedom to explore and roam. Female pigs are forcibly impregnated over and over spending their lives in tiny metal crates that render them immobile. Illness and injuries are all too common but whatever their impairment or immobility all eventually are forced onto tightly packed trucks to be transported to slaughterhouses. Even for healthy pigs the transport process is highly stressful and dangerous. During the blazing heat of summer and the freezing cold of winter death from exposure to the elements is common, as are injuries.

When they arrive at the slaughterhouse pigs are met by workers who often beat them with sticks and electrocute them with prods to move them as quickly as possible from the trucks to the killing line. The combination of their exhaustion, hunger, and stress from being transported, the aggression of the workers, and the smell of blood and death in the air create a frenzy of panic and terror. It is a grueling scene that culminates in hanging pigs from their hind quarters to propel them down an assembly line to their deaths.

Because over a 1,000 pigs are killed every hour, many are still conscious when they are dropped into scalding hot water tubs intended to soften their skin and remove hair. And just like the Roman soldiers who were oblivious to Christ’s suffering, so also are the slaughterhouse workers. But the cruelty that is inflicted on the pigs does not reside solely with the workers who raise and slaughter them. Each person who eats pig flesh contributes to the demand that ensures the perpetuation of this malevolence. Indeed, the sin of the pigs’ suffering sits squarely on the dinner tables of all who will partake in the consumption of an Easter Sunday ham.

While Christ forgave those who harmed him, it was his desire for humankind to follow his example of mercy and compassion toward all life. There can be little doubt he does not want to see any of God’s creatures tortured.

What Each of Us Can Do

This Easter Sunday Christians have an opportunity to do as Jesus would do by sacrificing tradition in favor of compassion. If you had planned to eat ham or the flesh of any once living being this holiday, try one of the many delicious alternatives that are available. And if you plan to dine with others who will feast on flesh, use this holiday to educate others about the suffering of pigs and how they can do as Jesus would have done by extending compassion to all of God’s creatures.

Try this and other Easy Elegant Easter Dinners -- that are humane for all