I ‘Met my Meat’, and it wasn’t pretty

That BLT is not so appealing now


You might have seen people outside the Billy B standing around with virtual reality headsets on their heads. 

The headsets, aptly named ‘iANIMAL’, take you through a 360 view of a slaughterhouse, and it was not pretty. At moments you’re placed beside the pigs in cages, and at others you’re observing them from afar.

There was no sunlight in the building. The animals clearly didn’t have fresh air. I wouldn’t want to be in that position, but the headset takes you there.

It wasn’t something I really wanted to try, mainly because I didn’t want to realise the reality of slaughterhouses, but I’m glad I did.

It was disturbing, and I understand that people wouldn’t want to expose themselves to seeing it. Sadly, it is the harsh reality of much of the meat industry, and it’s something we should probably think about.

Coco Collard, an English Lit fresher at Grey, and an organiser of the week’s events, told The Tab:

“I had never seen anything like it before. This is all about making people aware of the reality of how products are made, and this is very actively hidden from us a lot of the time.”

I’m not vegan, and I don’t know if this will make me become one, but it made me really uncomfortable to see an animal being treated this way.

If you’ve ever wondered if the phrase ‘if slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be a vegetarian’ is true, this is your chance to find out.

The week is not just about animal welfare, the organisers are tackling environmental issues. Tim Ridgway, who organised Wednesday’s event about the environment and food sustainability, told The Tab:

“Even if you’re not bothered about animal welfare, this is something everyone should be concerned with. Our relationship with animal products is affecting people around the world.

“I had no idea that animal products affected our environment before researching it properly.”

Animal agriculture causes 18 percent of greenhouse gases – more than the combined exhaust from all forms of transportation.

Vegetarianism and veganism are worth talking about, even if it makes us uncomfortable.

If Beyoncé can manage world-domination on a vegan diet so can you.