Animal rights groups oppose 'farm-and-cook' TV show

By Park Sae-jin Posted : June 14, 2018, 11:08 Updated : June 14, 2018, 11:08

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SEOUL -- With the summit between U.S. and North Korean leaders drawing global attention, a social debate erupted this week in South Korea over a cable TV program titled "Food Diary" showing celebrities who farm their livestock like chicken to eat them.

Animal rights activists demanded an immediate end to the show, citing its cruel intention of farming chicken just to cook them. 

"People feel uncomfortable because they never had a chance to butcher them," Hwang Gyo-ik, a popular food columnist, said during his appearance in the show on Wednesday, recalling his childhood memory of butchering a chicken with his grandmother.

Hwang said the memory made him realize how precious each food ingredients are. "We should let no food go to waste. Eating is a process of taking away the lives of others."

Some South Koreans said the show awakened the importance of life. "Before the show, a chicken was something wrapped in a plastic bag which you buy from a market," Ahn Miro, a 35-year-old housewife, told Aju News. "But now I came to actually realize that they were once alive and precious. I will teach my children to cherish food ingredients and teach how they came on to our table."

Jung Goo-jeong, a 35-year-businesswoman, shared a similar thought. "I thought the show was cruel," she said. "However, regardless of how the show makes people uncomfortable, I think it's necessary. I think's it's important to make people realize what they are eating."
 
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