On the hunt for a juicy steak!

Why I couldn't buy a beast for love or money - especially money

I was in Tsholotsho, in rural Matabeleland, at the weekend, with four friends and a pocketfull of money. We were there to buy a beast - a goat, an ox, anything on four legs with a pulse, probably. We intended to slaughter it, skin it, divide it up, and take the meat back to our families, to give them their first decent meal for weeks. And we failed.

The trip was a total disappointment. But it was our only choice. You can't buy meat in Harare's shops any more, not since President Mugabe, Minister Obert Mpofu and the thugs from the army and navy got together to impose price controls across the nation. We thought, if we offer a fair price to the Tsholotsho farmers, out there in cattle country, we would be able to buy a decent meal or two "on the hoof". No joy.

What went wrong? Well, it was the same thing that is causing so much else to go wrong in this poor country of ours today.

Our money was no use. "What will I do with that pile of useless paper?" one old man shouted at me. "I want South African Rand or Botswana Pula, not that rubbish!" And he waved his axe at me angrily.

Bongani Dlomo, a villager in Lupane, explained a little more politely: "If I sell you a beast today for Zimbabwean dollars  I will have to go to town and spend it immediately, at least within a couple of days, before it loses its value."

He said a goat would cost me 200 rand or 160 pula, and an ox around 800 rand or 700 pula. He didn't want to know about the Zim dollar.

The villagers then told me their system. When they sold something for rands or pulas, they put the cash in a metal box, and buried it in places only the family knew about. There it stayed, gradually increasing in value, until they went shopping. Then they took it to town, changed it at the current rate, and bought what they needed.

The system worked so well, the farmers are now refusing to sell any cattle to the governmen-run Cold Storage Company.

I'm home again now, a sadder, a wiser, and a hungrier man. But I'm not beaten. I and my friends are busying buying up rands and pulas as fast as we can. Next week we will be back in Tsholotsho.

I can tast that steak already.

Comments

[Bebbelke]

You went hungry because you couldn't find a beast, 'something' with a face and a pulsing heart (just like you) to murder and devore? Sorry for asking,(never been in your country, not knowing much about it except that the situation is not brilliant), but don't you have vegetables, cereals, plants, fruits? Are you living in a desert? I'm happy to tell you I didn't eat animals for 47 years now, and I never go hungry because I'm a vegetarian. Why do you need helpless screams, blood and killings to feel satisfied? Millions of people all over the world live on a vegetarian diet and are in good health.

[Zizi]

Can't say I'm at all impressed by such cries of hunger. There are millions of children going to bed with aching bellies, all around the world, because we still waste so much of our precious resources (land, water, fuel, grain) feeding and killing cows, goats, sheep, chickens instead of putting all those resources toward feeding people. The animal industry contributes more to land degradation, pollution and to global climate change than any other single source on this planet. When will the ignorant, the uncaring, the unaware open their eyes??? Disaster is already here and you are still looking for a poor beast to devour!!! The likes of you and your kind will bury us all!

[StatGuy]

In Zimbabwe, vegetarians are going hungry along with everyone else, except Mugabe and his cronies. So much for "good health".

[Vasu Murti]

In his 1975 book, Animal Liberation, Australian philosopher Peter Singer writes:

"Killing an animal is in itself a troubling act. It has been said that if we had to kill our own meat we would all be vegetarians. There may be exceptions to that general rule, but it is true that most people prefer not to inquire into the killing of the animals they eat.

"Very few people ever visit a slaughterhouse; and films of slaughterhouse operations are rarely shown on television...Yet those who, by their purchases, require animals to be killed have no right to be shielded from this or any other aspect of the production of the meat they buy.

"If it is distasteful for humans to think about, what can it be like for the animals to experience it?"

Peter Singer concludes in Animal Liberation that "by ceasing to rear and kill animals for food, we can make extra food available for humans that, properly distributed, it would eliminate starvation and malnutrition from this planet. Animal Liberation is Human Liberation, too."

The number of animals killed for food in the United States is 70 times larger than the number of animals killed in laboratories, 30 times larger than the number of animals killed by hunters and trappers, and 500 times larger than the number of animals killed in animal pounds.

"If anyone wants to save the planet," says Paul McCartney in a PETA interview, "all they have to do is just stop eating meat. That's the single most important thing you could do. It's staggering when you think about it. Vegetarianism takes care of so many things in one shot: ecology, famine, cruelty. Let's do it! Linda was right. Going veggie is the single best idea for the new century."

[Tumelo]

Although I sympathise with the comments of the vegetarians, I think they have completely missed the point of the story which is that the Zimbabwean economy has completely collapsed. And as statguy said, even the vegetarians will be affected. People are suffering. Clearly all those who have chosen to elevate the discussion to a debate on vegetarianism from their cosy armchairs and bowls of carrot soup have not had the courtesy of visiting the Zimbabweans to see what life on the ground means for them.

[Uncle B]

Come on vegeterians and animal rights activists! This story is not necessarily about meat and vegetables alone. Its all about the collapsed Zim eceonomy where even the most unsophisticated village person does not want to trade in the fragile Zim dollar. Its all about the severe shortage of everything that is basic to the people's da to ady needs.

[bebbelke]

We didn't miss the point, friend TUMELO. Although the Western media don't report much about Zimbabwe: I know, I am aware that your country is in a rotten situation thanks to Mugabe - and I feel sorry about it :(
But we feel that Moses Moyo illustrated the situation by a very bad and disgusting example, and it is a fact that lots of people measure their degree of poverty/misery/happiness by the amount of meat they can get to eat. The comments of 'zizi' are very up to the point, because the appetite of the human carnivores is another and universal aspect of the destruction of our Earth. Besides, fighting for democracy in your country shouldn’t stop you from reflecting on other, ethical issues : taking the lives of innocent, defenceless creatures.

[ExAfrica]

For goodness sake - give the man a steak!

Good luck this weekend, my friend, I'll be cheering from the sidelines.

[charlie]

With few exceptions, every African nation is suffering from brutality, starvation, HIV,AIDS, and diseases that would disappear if only potable water were available.

This man's story is not about MEAT! It is about the desperate conditions he and his family endure in Zimbabwe. Multiply his story by hundreds of millions and it is a shameful catastrophe that the western nations do nothing about!

Charlie
Staten Island, New York

[Keya]

This is clearly not a meat eater vs vegetarian issue, but as a vegetarian I must say that I had not issues with finding food during my 5 week stay this year in Zim. The main reason that I didn't going hungry was due to my access to USD. I will let the cat out of the hat and admit that Zimbabwe has food. They have land for days and an abundance of good land to grow food. The primary issue is that the cost of food has risen so high that only us Americans can afford it. During my stay, July-August, a trip to the local market for us would usually total up to about $1million Zim Dollars and our market trips were usually 2-3 times per week. The average salary for a teacher in Zimbabwe is about $2.5 Million per month. You do the math and remember that people must also pay rent.

[Keya]

This is clearly not a meat eater vs vegetarian issue, but as a vegetarian I must say that I had not issues with finding food during my 5 week stay this year in Zim. The main reason that I didn't going hungry was due to my access to USD. I will let the cat out of the hat and admit that Zimbabwe has food. They have land for days and an abundance of good land to grow food. The primary issue is that the cost of food has risen so high that only us Americans can afford it. During my stay, July-August, a trip to the local market for us would usually total up to about $1million Zim Dollars and our market trips were usually 2-3 times per week. The average salary for a teacher in Zimbabwe is about $2.5 Million per month. You do the math and remember that people must also pay rent.

[KEITH STEPHENS]

23-11-07
I am not a vegetarian but I have not quarrel with those who are. One of our children is so.
Australia is a prosperous country so a choice one way or the other is no difficult.I can understand a number of other countries where it is different.
keithstephens15@hotmail.com
http://www.keithhstephens.freecyberzone.com
http://www.smalltowndynamics.freecyberzone.com

[Kent33Mabel]

This is understandable that cash can make us disembarrass. But how to act when someone has no money? The one way only is to receive the mortgage loans and collateral loan.