FoodNet

A practical cook and text book for general use

1896

Page 16

Presented as published in 1896. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
oping substitutes for every portion of the animal, used for the commercial benefit of man. The capture of ani- mals teaches injustice ; enslaving them inculcates disre- gard of inherent rights, and the feeding and caring for them, the giving and receiving the natural affection developed by this care-taking association, but emphasizes the duplicity of their later betrayal into the hands of the slayer and can mean nothing less than moral deteriora- tion, spiritual obtuseness and an unconscious growing into habits of deception and unfaith. From the smallest insect to the most gigantic beast, from the tiniest bird to the noble eagle, each and all of these so-called lower organizations are endowed with what we are pleased to term instinct as something below our reason. That it often surpasses the intelligence of man, none who have observed the habits of this lower world will deny. < To quote again from Sir Edwin Arnold in a recent article in the Youth^s Companion^ on the morality of animals, he writes : " That the possession of gifts so clearly akin to human feelings, duties and virtues ought to render animals dearer and more sacred to us all than they are. I doubt whether we have the right, knowing all we know, to mur- der by wholesale the stately elephants of Africa, killing for billiard-balls and paper-knives what heaven designed to to be the carrier-beast of the dark Continent : to extirpate from another cpntinent the noble American bison ; to slaughter tame pheasants for sport ; to inflict upon oxen the ghastly tortures of the Atlantic passage ; and generally to treat these living, sentient things as if they were auto- matic property, without rights or relationship to ourselves." Words from such a source are entitled to a respectful hearing, earnest consideration, and wide discussion. To quote again from the same author : THE FAT OF THE LAND. 45 " All Christian peoples stand for the most part, a sadly long way behind those of the East in their conduct to animals. Good Buddhists never intentionally take away life at all. The modern Hindus of any good cast, bor- rowing from Buddah, his noble regard for the right of everything to live, never touch meat as food, seldom even fish. The Mohammedans, on the other hand, are great flesh-eaters although they will not touch pork : yet by a single decree of their prophet the whole of Islam acts a thousand times more nobly and solemnly to animals than Christendom. * * * For my part I believe the time is come when the legislatures of civilized nations should take new note of the animal world. We ought not to be contented with the efforts of private societies to do them justice and to protect them. We ought not to regard them simply from the point of view of our own convenience, luxury or amusement. The mystery of their existence is profound and solemn ; th^ long silence of their patience may cover solemn and terrible accusations, which they will some day make against us, before the Judgment Seat of Universal Life." These are some of the arguments from the lower side, while those adduced for physical welfare and spiritual growth would seem to represent the higher side. That one or other of these may influence the public is the desire of vegetarians. 46 THE FAT OF THE LAND. CHAPTER IV. COOKING UTENSILS. All cooking utensils should be kept perfectly clean, and in closed cupboards or drawers, instead of under the sink, or hanging in the kitchen exposed to dust and steam. Porcelain lined, granitized, German and steel enamel ware have nearly supplanted the heavy iron pots and kettles of our ancestors, and also the tin ware of the present day.