By Michele Payn
Is it safe to cook in a Crock-Pot? Is your house equipped with fire ladders? Have you replaced the smoke alarm battery? Props to This Is Us for bringing fire safety to the forefront in their Super Bowl special, but it’s a fictional TV show. And while it’s incredibly well-written, This Is Us occurred 20 years ago.
Are animals safe on farms? Is it O.K. to eat meat or consume milk after seeing horrific movies about how farmers treat cattle? Have you considered your food ethics? Just as This Is Us has created hysteria around slow cookers, “documentaries” have created hysteria around meat and milk. Written and staged by animal rights activists, the documentaries have great emotional appeal to those who haven’t set foot on a farm or ranch.
It’s a lot more sexy to show the terror of fire or abuse than it is the every day, mundane activities. A slow cooker is a rather boring, yet a basic kitchen tool. Caring for animals at 6 a.m. is a non-event to the 98.5% of the population who has never had hay chaff stuck in their hair, yet a basic tenet of animal care. Similar to focusing on the horrific aftermath of the fire instead of considering the faulty switch that would logically put the slow cooker in the trash, perceived abuse on farms gets the attention.
Yes, it is still safe to cook in a slow cooker, but InstaPots are perceived to be much cooler. Meat and milk are still essential cornerstones fueling your family (not to mention tasty), but making Meatless Mondays a social claim is perceived to be more hip.
Read more of Payn's post on her Cause Matters site.