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I have always loved animals, sometimes more so than people honestly. If you compare the behavior of some individuals to that of your pet, you can't help but feel that animals can be much kinder than some humans.

I know I'm not the only person who feels this way; bearing that in mind, it seemed very strange to me that given the circumstances, some animal-lovers, while very kind to animals, looked at them in two completely different ways. The first: kind, cute, harmless ANIMALS. The second: delicious, juicy, medium-rare DISH OF THE DAY. Basically, they have the ability to transform according to their surroundings, in this case, a Restaurant or a Petting Zoo.

Why do some people who adore animals, feel completely fine with eating them?

1. Disassociation

A new investigation into animal cruelty has recently been conducted on Chinese fur farms exposing new information and spawning some extremely disturbing videos. In response, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has published a related video, narrated by actress Olivia Munn (link at bottom). Until a few days ago, I had been unfamiliar with this issue, until I saw the previously mentioned video. I had heard that the fur "industry" was being attacked constantly by animal rights activists but that was the extent of my knowledge on the topic.

The Video In Question

If you haven't watched the video yet or do not wish to view it at all, you should at least know its contents even if only through words.

Here is the scene:

The video starts by showing Raccoon dogs being slammed on the floor, beaten by steel rods, breaking their necks and heads all while very much alive. Some are tied and hanged on hooks then sliced through by knives, still alive and screaming. Afterwards, their skin is peeled off much like one would tear open a bag of crisps or peel off a tomato skin (if you don't believe me, watch the video). The soundtrack throughout the video of course is the terrified squeals and screams of both, the animals being skinned as well as those watching and waiting their turn.

The horsemeat scandal has been making the headlines for some time now and has been on everyone's mind. At first glance, I couldn't fully grasp the extent of the problem; I thought it was being blown way out of proportion. I'm an (on/off) vegetarian so to me personally, eating horsemeat is no different than eating beef, same principal really.

Accordingly, my focus was on the manipulative intent behind the whole issue rather than the product "ingredients". As I read more on the issue, I started to understand the different aspects related to this whole situation. Obviously there is an overall negative reaction to this issue; however it is fueled by different motivations and concerns.

As I see it:

- Main Parties involved: - Consumer
                                             - Businesses
                                             - Food Standards Agency (FSA)

Amr K. Moufid is an Egyptian student currently studying music in London. Here he looks at the main differences he has noticed between Britain and Egypt:

When I first came to England, it seemed to me that the only thing it had in common with my home country, Egypt, was that they both start with the letter "E". Let me put it this way, moving from Egypt to England might probably be the best way to explain and demonstrate the meaning of ‘culture shock'.

How so? This is what I mean:

Rules & Organization

To start with, Egypt is not big on rules and organization. For example, we don't do traffic lights in Egypt; we keep that to a minimum! Anyone who has ever been to Cairo will tell you that it's an adventure just driving through the streets, never mind trying to cross the street on foot! By the way, we also drive on the opposite side of the road and we have a little thing called lane separators in two way streets.