07/03/06 whose calling the kettle black?

Much ado has been made recently about the humane treatment of lobsters and ducks and chickens and so on and so on. When Whole Foods the nationally esteemed sustainable food markets recently announced they would no longer sell live lobsters they basically set new ethical limits of dining. Books like the Omnivore's Dilemma have also heightened awareness of the plight of farm animals, and in some instances affected change in commercial agriculture, most recently by bills to ban foie gras. Where do we draw the line? Muscles, oysters or eggs? And who is calling the kettle black? Isn't it as cruel a fate to keep a bird Dog or Border collie locked in a Manhattan Apartment as a chicken in a tiny cage? What about the declawed cat that is never allowed outdoors or a worse, the Thoroughbred show horse boarded in a dark box stall. Many of the privileged folks pointing fingers at farmers would do well to evaluate the environment their own animals inhabit.