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Gavan P.L. Watson

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Would shutting Riverdale farm be a good thing?

July 17, 2011 by Gavan 3 Comments

Riverdale.
Creative Commons License photo credit: vasta

So there is talk in shutting down Riverdale Farm in Toronto as a cost-savings measure (insert reference to gravy here). 2500 of the concerned have taken to Facebook to “Save the Riverdale Farm“. I’m feeling a bit ambivalent about this. On one hand, we have less and less contact with the animals that are responsible for the flesh we eat and modified sweat we consume. So if urbanites can see those animals and make the connection between the disembodied grocery store and a living, breathing organism, that’s a good thing. Is it a better world, however, if these animals weren’t kept at all?

“But,” I hear, “they’re domesticated animals.” How does that change the argument, though?

Posted in: Animals Tagged: domestic animals, ethics, farm, Toronto

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Gavan Watson headshot Work life? Director, Centre for Innovation in Teaching and Learning & Associate Vice President, Teaching and Learning at Memorial University with a Ph.D. in environmental education. Home life? Father, naturalist, photographer, husband, philosopher, & member of a hybrid human-dog pack.

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