abattoir [ab-uh-twahr]

I once decided that though I possess no evidence or testimony which is guaranteed to be truthful - or at least genuinely representative of the norm, it is fairly evident that cows, pigs, fowl, and likely other creatures, are being subjected to unnecessary degrees of suffering in the pursuit to sate the appetite of humans. I decided that it is not useful to me; not wise or responsible or in accordance with poetic principles, to forgive my own carnivorous habit without gaining first-hand experience with the matter. In other words, if I must kill by proxy, let me know the nature of this blood on my hands.

I decided I needed to find my way, somehow, into a meat-packing plant and upon witnessing the phenomenon of life becoming meat, decide what habit I should or could embrace thereafter. I decided this some years ago and still have done nothing to act on it.