A tension has always existed between the capitalist imperative to maximize efficiency at any cost and the moral imperatives of culture, which historically have served as a counterweight to the moral blindness of the market. This is another example of the cultural contradictions of capitalism - the tendency over time for the economic impulse to erode the moral underpinnings of society. Mercy toward the animals in our care is one such casualty.

The Omnivore's Dilemma: The Search for a Perfect Meal in a Fast-Food World (ed. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2009) - ISBN: 9781408807255