--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What about animals slaughtered for our…" description: "\"“What about animals slaughtered for our consumption? who among us would be able to continue eating pork chops after visiting a factory farm in which pi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40e/slavoj-i-ek-1738_around-the-world_what-about-animals-slaughtered-for-our-c_2993419.png" --- # What about animals slaughtered for our consumption? who… ![“What about animals slaughtered for our consumption? who among us would be able to continue eating pork chops after visiting a factory farm in which pigs are half-blind and cannot even properly walk, but are just fattened to be killed? And what about, say, torture and suffering of millions we know…” quote by Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40e/slavoj-i-ek-1738_around-the-world_what-about-animals-slaughtered-for-our-c_2993419.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40e/slavoj-i-ek-1738_around-the-world_what-about-animals-slaughtered-for-our-c_2993419.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40e/slavoj-i-ek-1738_around-the-world_what-about-animals-slaughtered-for-our-c_2993419.png) > ““What about animals slaughtered for our consumption? who among us would be able to continue eating pork chops after visiting a factory farm in which pigs are half-blind and cannot even properly walk, but are just fattened to be killed? And what about, say, torture and suffering of millions we know about, but choose to ignore? Imagine the effect of having to watch a snuff movie portraying what goes on thousands of times a day around the world: brutal acts of torture, the picking out of eyes, the crushing of testicles -the list cannot bear recounting. Would the watcher be able to continue going on as usual? Yes, but only if he or she were able somehow to forget -in an act which suspended symbolic efficiency -what had been witnessed. This forgetting entails a gesture of what is called fetishist disavowal: "I know it, but I don't want to know that I know, so I don't know." I know it, but I refuse to fully assume the consequences of this knowledge, so that I can continue acting as if I don't know it.”” [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote argues that people avoid confronting brutal realities by willfully forgetting or disavowing them, allowing them to continue harmful practices without moral discomfort. **In simple terms:** People ignore cruelty by pretending not to see it. Key Takeaway Recognize and confront uncomfortable truths. Themes ethics psychology politics consumerism cognitive dissonance Mood disturbed reflective critical Type philosophical political ethical When to use this quote - dietary choices - animal rights activism - media consumption - political advocacy - education programs Key Concepts fetishist disavowal symbolic efficiency moral blindness Questions to Reflect On - How do you rationalize everyday actions that cause harm? - Can societal change occur without confronting uncomfortable truths? A Different Perspective The argument may oversimplify complex social and economic factors that limit individual agency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Around the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/around-the-world/) [Eating Pork](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eating-pork-4716235/) [Sands of time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sands-of-time/) [Say Torture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/say-torture-2490380/) [Slaughtered Consumption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slaughtered-consumption-4716234/) [Torture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/torture/) [Torture Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/torture-suffering-4083318/) ## Related quotes > [“I promise myself then, in that moment, that I will hold him forever, just like this, until all the pain and torture and suffering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahereh-mafi/i-promise-myself-then-in-that-moment-that-i-will-hold-him-forever/) [Tahereh Mafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahereh-mafi/) > [“Then she leaned slightly into him and said gently, “I don’t think you should be left be. I think you’re dealing with something heavy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-ashley/then-she-leaned-slightly-into-him-and-said-gently-i-don-t-think-you/) [Kristen Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-ashley/) > [Anyone will say anything under torture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-galloway/anyone-will-say-anything-under-torture/) [George Galloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-galloway/) > [I told the people before they tortured me, please, don't torture me. I didn't do anything. They say, we have to torture you very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohamedou-ould-slahi/i-told-the-people-before-they-tortured-me-please-don-t-torture-me-i/) [Mohamedou Ould Slahi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohamedou-ould-slahi/) > [I think when you have lawyers arguing over whether you can keep a detainee at 46 degrees... for two hours, that's not torture. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-berenson/i-think-when-you-have-lawyers-arguing-over-whether-you-can-keep-a/) [Alex Berenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-berenson/) > [“A brick could be used as a sex toy. Well, I say sex toy, but the politician strapped to the bed would probably say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/a-brick-could-be-used-as-a-sex-toy-well-i-say-sex-toy-but-the/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“Said the lion to the lioness - "when you are amber dust - No more a raging fire like the heat of the sun…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-sitwell/said-the-lion-to-the-lioness-when-you-are-amber-dust-no-more-a-raging/) [Edith Sitwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-sitwell/) > [The purpose of propaganda is not to provide interesting distraction for blasé young gentlemen, but to convince... the masses. But the masses are slow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/the-purpose-of-propaganda-is-not-to-provide-interesting-distraction/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [“I'd breathe for her. I'd see for her, hear for her, and feel for her. I'd even die for her. Thousands of times. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiana-dalichov/i-d-breathe-for-her-i-d-see-for-her-hear-for-her-and-feel-for-her-i-d/) [Tiana Dalichov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiana-dalichov/) > [There is a change in the view about how condominiums are designed. People used to make prototype apartments and reproduce these boxes hundreds and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santiago-calatrava/there-is-a-change-in-the-view-about-how-condominiums-are-designed/) [Santiago Calatrava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santiago-calatrava/) > [“The path was a familiar one. Over the years she’d resided in Spindle Cove, Susanna must have walked it thousands of times. She knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tessa-dare/the-path-was-a-familiar-one-over-the-years-she-d-resided-in-spindle/) [Tessa Dare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tessa-dare/) > [“The Sun contains about a thousand times more mass than Jupiter. If it were cold, gravity would squeeze it a million times denser than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/the-sun-contains-about-a-thousand-times-more-mass-than-jupiter-if-it/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [All truly wise thoughts have been thought already thousands of times; but to make them truly ours, we must think them over again honestly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-truly-wise-thoughts-have-been-thought-already-thousands-of-times/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If experiments are performed thousands of times at all seasons and in every place without once producing the effects mentioned by your philosophers, poets,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/if-experiments-are-performed-thousands-of-times-at-all-seasons-and-in/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [We're fortunate enough to live on a planet that's bathed in thousands of times more energy than we use and that's stocked with thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramez-naam/we-re-fortunate-enough-to-live-on-a-planet-that-s-bathed-in-thousands/) [Ramez Naam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramez-naam/) ## More by Slavoj Žižek > [The ultimate goal of radical politics is gradually to displace the limit of social exclusions, empowering the excluded agents (sexual and ethnic minorities) by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/the-ultimate-goal-of-radical-politics-is-gradually-to-displace-the/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [“In Kant’s description, ethical duty functions like a foreign traumatic intruder that from the outside disturbs the subject’s homeostatic balance, its unbearable pressure forcing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/in-kant-s-description-ethical-duty-functions-like-a-foreign-traumatic/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [I think Kafka was right when he said that for a modern, secular, nonreligious man, state bureaucracy is the only remaining contact with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/i-think-kafka-was-right-when-he-said-that-for-a-modern-secular/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [“The cliche about prison life is that I am actually integrated into it, ruined by it, when my accommodation to it is so overwhelming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/the-cliche-about-prison-life-is-that-i-am-actually-integrated-into-it/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [“In our quest for entertainment and instant gratification, we have become detached from the real world and its problems, contributing to the erosion of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/in-our-quest-for-entertainment-and-instant-gratification-we-have/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [The problem for us is not are our desires satisfied or not. The problem is how do we know what we desire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/the-problem-for-us-is-not-are-our-desires-satisfied-or-not-the/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [“Ultimately,we hear things because we cannot see everything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/ultimately-we-hear-things-because-we-cannot-see-everything/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [“In contrast to the situation in 1945, the world does not need the US; it is the US that needs the rest of the world”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/in-contrast-to-the-situation-in-1945-the-world-does-not-need-the-us/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [Humanity is OK, but 99% of people are boring idiots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/humanity-is-ok-but-99-of-people-are-boring-idiots/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [We need useless theory more than ever today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/we-need-useless-theory-more-than-ever-today/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [Those who were still able to write beautiful melodies were kitsch composers like Tchaikovsky. Tchaikovsky approaches true art not in his numerous beautiful melodies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/those-who-were-still-able-to-write-beautiful-melodies-were-kitsch/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [“as in Heinrich Heine’s (a contemporary of Kierkegaard’s) well-known saying that one should value above everything else ‘freedom, equality and crab soup’. ‘Crab soup’…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/as-in-heinrich-heine-s-a-contemporary-of-kierkegaard-s-well-known/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [“The “pursuit of happiness” is such a key element of the “American (ideological) dream” that one tends to forget the contingent origin of this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/the-pursuit-of-happiness-is-such-a-key-element-of-the-american/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [A spectre is haunting Western academia (...), the spectre of the Cartesian subject.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/a-spectre-is-haunting-western-academia-the-spectre-of-the-cartesian/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [“...A friend has to be outside my reach, beyond my grasp. And there can be no friendship with someone whom I am not ready…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/a-friend-has-to-be-outside-my-reach-beyond-my-grasp-and-there-can-be/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) [Explore all 206 Slavoj Žižek quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) ## More Around the world quotes > [Public infrastructure around the world is facing unprecedented stress, with hurricanes, cyclones, floods and forest fires all increasing in frequency and intensity. It's easy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/public-infrastructure-around-the-world-is-facing-unprecedented-stress/) [Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/) > [I guess, it's a father's dream for his daughter to be known around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-soberano/i-guess-it-s-a-father-s-dream-for-his-daughter-to-be-known-around-the/) [Liza Soberano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liza-soberano/) > [Look at music for what it's worth around the world and not just America. In other countries, people are still buying CDs and going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/snoop-dogg/look-at-music-for-what-it-s-worth-around-the-world-and-not-just/) [Snoop Dogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/snoop-dogg/) > [Throughout our history, the words of the Declaration have inspired immigrants from around the world to set sail to our shores. These immigrants have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/throughout-our-history-the-words-of-the-declaration-have-inspired/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [It's difficult to believe in yourself because the idea of self is an artificial construction. You are, in fact, part of the glorious oneness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-brand/it-s-difficult-to-believe-in-yourself-because-the-idea-of-self-is-an/) [Russell Brand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-brand/) > [We know the candidate Barack Obama, what he was like - the anti-war government nig... America was a source for division around the world,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/we-know-the-candidate-barack-obama-what-he-was-like-the-anti-war/) [Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/) > [Since 'coming out,' I've marched in gay pride parades all around the world, I've filled my home full of rainbow tat and I've become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-carr/since-coming-out-i-ve-marched-in-gay-pride-parades-all-around-the/) [Liz Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-carr/) > [Once, as an experiment, I travelled around the world with a single suit. Before I left, I went to a tailor in Savile Row…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-hamilton/once-as-an-experiment-i-travelled-around-the-world-with-a-single-suit/) [George Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-hamilton/) > [Thanks to all members of the military around the world for giving me the ultimate motivation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalya-neidhart/thanks-to-all-members-of-the-military-around-the-world-for-giving-me/) [Natalya Neidhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalya-neidhart/) > [I look at what's happening around the world and I see Iran four years closer to a bomb. I see the Middle East with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/i-look-at-what-s-happening-around-the-world-and-i-see-iran-four-years/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) > [“The low point occurred in July, during Romney’s junior week abroad, in which the press became increasingly frustrated over Romney’s refusal to talk to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-leibovich/the-low-point-occurred-in-july-during-romney-s-junior-week-abroad-in/) [Mark Leibovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-leibovich/) > [I believe there definitely are good things about social networking. It's a way for people to connect all around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lizzie-velasquez/i-believe-there-definitely-are-good-things-about-social-networking-it/) [Lizzie Velasquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lizzie-velasquez/) > [“Isn’t everyone on the planet or at least everyone on the planet called me stuck between the two impulses of wanting to walk away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/isn-t-everyone-on-the-planet-or-at-least-everyone-on-the-planet/) [Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/) > [You always can improve and I think that's the beauty of international cricket, particularly test cricket, is playing all around the world against different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kane-williamson/you-always-can-improve-and-i-think-that-s-the-beauty-of-international/) [Kane Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kane-williamson/) > [Trump is reviled around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-reid/trump-is-reviled-around-the-world/) [Joy Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-reid/) [Browse all 3,349 Around the world quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/around-the-world/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“What about animals slaughtered for our consumption? who among us would be able to continue eating pork chops after visiting a factory farm in which pigs are half-blind and cannot even properly walk, but are just fattened to be killed? And what about, say, torture and suffering of millions we know about, but choose to ignore? Imagine the effect of having to watch a snuff movie portraying what goes on thousands of times a day around the world: brutal acts of torture, the picking out of eyes, the crushing of testicles -the list cannot bear recounting. Would the watcher be able to continue going on as usual? Yes, but only if he or she were able somehow to forget -in an act which suspended symbolic efficiency -what had been witnessed. This forgetting entails a gesture of what is called fetishist disavowal: \"I know it, but I don't want to know that I know, so I don't know.\" I know it, but I refuse to fully assume the consequences of this knowledge, so that I can continue acting as if I don't know it.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Slavoj Žižek" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/what-about-animals-slaughtered-for-our-consumption-who-among-us-would/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Around the world" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/what-about-animals-slaughtered-for-our-consumption-who-among-us-would/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40e/slavoj-i-ek-1738_around-the-world_what-about-animals-slaughtered-for-our-c_2993419.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40e/slavoj-i-ek-1738_around-the-world_what-about-animals-slaughtered-for-our-c_2993419.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40e/slavoj-i-ek-1738_around-the-world_what-about-animals-slaughtered-for-our-c_2993419.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What about animals slaughtered for our consumption? who among us would be able to continue eating pork chops…” — Slavoj Žižek", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Slavoj Žižek", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“What about animals slaughtered for our...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/what-about-animals-slaughtered-for-our-consumption-who-among-us-would/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/what-about-animals-slaughtered-for-our-consumption-who-among-us-would/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```