Indian Emu Life

Aw, just look at this little guy.

His eyes wide with innocence. His frank, good-natured face. His smile so ripe with gratitude.

It has to do with knowing that the world he has been born into—the world of Indian Emu Life Pvt. Ltd.—has been engineered expressly for the efficient exploitation of all his constituent parts. His thigh meat, yes, naturally, but it goes further than that. IEL has so much more to take from him: his feathers ("largely used for making pads, dusters, masks, and car cleaning brushes"), his "body leather," his "nails," and an oil derived from his fat, which can "protect the hair and scalp from dandruff."

This is why the emu chick, in his dawning moments of sentience, bubbles with pleasure. It's all for him! The compound surrounded by chain-link fencing, the iron or cement poles. (?) Everything has been made with him—or, more properly, the extraction of his bodily components—in mind. It gives him a feeling of safety and security. Peace, even.

And so, happy and humbled, he kicks off his eggshell and strides into life!







Addendum: We assigned the ostrich label to this one. Close enough.