Читать книгу Germany's Freefall - Hermann Dr. Rochholz - Страница 14

Large parts of the European population are uncompromisingly against nuclear power, against black coal, against brown coal, against carbon dioxide, against glyphosate, against killing animals, against pesticides anyway and, of course, they are against wind power plants because these shred bats, insects and birds, against new high voltage power lines, against plastic waste, against diesel fuel, and you eat a vegan diet. Of course, you do sports and prefer “healthy” food. Anyone who deviates from this “forced optimization” is verbally abused and insulted. These kinds of threats are often made in social media. For someone who feels morally superior, this somehow doesn’t seem to be a problem at all.

The press spurs on veganism by portraying the appalling conditions that animals are partially being kept under. Some animals have been truly maltreated in the past. People were fewer at the time, and the animals were fewer. Many things used to be normal. Most things became better – some, unfortunately, worse. Probably many older stables are still being operated under the “grandfather clause”. The conditions under which cattle are living in the stables built according to the latest EU standards are not being portrayed. This kind of thing doesn’t generate ratings or attract readers. It’s certainly very important to address any deficits, but the world doesn’t consist of deficits alone. This is where “selective perception” kicks in (see chapter Selective Perception). The fact that animals don’t fare well when it comes to factory farming prompts you to conclude that factory farming is fundamentally bad.

The press reports about castrations without anesthesia. The marginal notes tell us, however, that the EU was not ready for a regulation here. One would have been forced to administer medication first. This, however, contradicts other regulations concerning the pesticides or drugs permitted on the market.

Let’s take a brief look at those “good old days”. Everything was much better back then, wasn’t it?