No doubt you will have seen this in the news lately, as it has caused quite a stir in UK media. A couple in Wales have been granted permission by their local council to breed guinea pigs for food on their off-grid family farm. The most recent update I have seen states that this decision is currently being challenged, as the decision has caused a huge stir in the UK and no doubt had emotions very high as a result. But it does raise an interesting question about why this topic in particular is so upsetting for people.
The cognitive dissonance is not lost on me: Has permission been granted for the couple to farm pigs, then I doubt anyone would have so much as raised an eyebrow, yet becuase it is guinea pigs people are now outraged. Because guinea pigs are veyr much a ‘pet’ in the UK – they are cute and cuddly and you get them for your kids as an easy starter pet that isn’t a cat or a dog (an issue that would require a whole separate blog post to fully get into!), and so they are very clearly NOT food. These animals have been well and truly placed into the ‘not to be eatten’ category in most people’s minds, therefore this sort of news causes quite the stir.
The couple who applied for the licence to breed them argued that breeding guinea pigs was more environmentally efficient, as guine pigs do not take up a lot of space, breed very quickly, and also produce very little waste. This means that the impact a ‘farm’ would have on the surrounding area would be very miniscule and therefore there was no environmental impact that needs to be considered when it comes to farming them. Which I suppose is very true. However I think we all know that this is a very minor issue and it is not the reason why people are so offended by such a decision being made.
What I have found most interesting is that the submitted plans to the council to be approved also included producing honey and walnuts, as well as raising a pair of breeding rabbits to produce meat for the household, along with a flock of 20 pigeons for eggs and meat. The guinea pigs themslves would be 3 breeding pairs to be used to produce meat for the household, and all of this was to produce a self-sufficient homestead for the couple and their family to live in. Any one else spot the interesting part of all this?
Rabbits are an odd animal that most consider to be a pet like a guinea pig, and yet society also accepts that in very elite circles, rabbit can be a luxury meat dish that people will spend stupid amounts of money on. Therefore very few people seem to care that rabbits will also be bred for meat, when rabbits are also considered to be a cute and cuddly pet in the same way a guinea pig is. But don’t get me started on the hatred that society seems to have for pigeons (again, a topic for a whole other blog post!) because again, pigeons are largely seen as ‘vermin’ in the UK, so any act that lessens their numbers is normally celebrated by the general public and in mainstream media. But weirdly I do not see anyone raising these as issues, with the entire focus being on the guinea pigs and the farming of these animals in particular. Isn’t it interesting how no one seems to have mentioned the rabbits or the pigeons?
As stated at the beginning, I understand that the decision is currently being challenged, and there is a petition currently set up to ban guinea pig meat in Wales. My personal thought is always why farm meat when you could also farm vegetables? If the goal is sustainability, then vegetable farming is far more sustainable for the environment, and it also provides far more nutrients than meat will. I also am not a supported of any animal ever being farmed, so naturally this is something I oppose.
Taylor Talks Vegan 