'Food Diary' responds to netizen reactions

Article: 'Food Diary' Hwang Kyo Ik, "The reaction of the netizens is coming from a place of inexperience with the butchering of farm animals"

Source: Newsen via Nate

In response to the netizen reactions of the show, food columnist Hwang Kyo Ik had to say, "The notion of eating animals makes people uncomfortable. That's why we make others do it. Even in religions, people in the highest positions don't actually slaughter the animals.. We come up with all sorts of ways to make ourselves feel better. In our current industry, we have confined slaughtering into one area. We've made it so that it's removed from our lifestyle. I believe that netizens are reacting in such a way because they're used to eating animals but have never slaughtered one. I think that's why shows like this are meaningful. I once had my grandmother slaughter a chicken and place it in my arms. I felt its life leave its body with my own entire body. That experience helped me tremendously, and I now eat everything when I eat chicken, with no scraps left behind. We are eating by stealing another life."

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1. [+611, -10] "We are eating by stealing another life" Isn't that true...? So many people have no idea how these animals are raised and how they die for us to consume. In their heads, meat = meat. They don't realize that meat = another life that was living and breathing.

2. [+456, -17] I'll eat everything without waste too ㅠㅠ the preciousness of food... I'm grateful and sorry to all the food that I consume..

3. [+449, -10] I know this is a show that people either love or hate but I do think it succeeded in getting people to think about the correlation between life and their food.

4. [+43, -7] His words are very convincing. I, too, wondered why such a show was necessary but his words make me reconsider my stance.

5. [+35, -0] Last week's episode showed how our chickens are manufactured in factories to keep up with the cheap supply and demand of poultry in our country. We really need to feel grateful for all the meat that we eat. Free-range is the way to go. I think the people who are demanding that the show treat these animals without compassion or affection are just complying with the factory-like coldness of the industry.

6. [+27, -1] I honestly think this show is about animal welfare. It's asking that when we eat meat, we at least make sure that it was allowed to live a life as an animal before it was slaughtered.

7. [+26, -4] So can we please cut back on meat consumption... stop with the "meat this, meat that" fuss. Stop being greedy. It's all at the expense of another life.

8. [+24, -0] When I was younger and lived in the countryside, the idea of an animal being eaten wasn't so foreign. A rabbit that I fed grass would be boiling in a pot later that afternoon... and all the pigs and chickens we raised were slaughtered for food... But nowadays, the entire middle process has been removed so we find shows like this so far-removed from our reality. I know this whole topic makes people feel uncomfortable but it's worth thinking about at least once.

9. [+23, -1] Honestly, it's gotten so comfortable for people to cook up already processed and butchered meats... but I still get squirmish whenever I have to clean live seafoods  and go "urghhh" ㅠㅠㅠ We should all be aware of the fact that we are slaughtering live beings and feel grateful for what we eat. We should also be making sure that the animals we eat aren't being slaughtered in inhumane ways.

10. [+16, -1] I don't think twice when I cook meat that's already been cut up but.. whenever I see whole roasted animals or fish, like samgyetang... I feel so uncomfortable when I have to wash it myself underwater ㅎㅎ

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