Temple Grandin

Temple Grandin is one of the most interesting people walking the planet today. She is a scientist who has made understanding the way animals experience the world her focus. Considerable focus it is, too, when you consider that she is autistic. In fact, she believes strongly that her autism has given her unusual insight into the psychology of animals. But whereas many who care about animals and about how they are treated have an adversarial relationship with the livestock industry, she has worked with them to reform their methods of handling animals to be more humane. Perhaps most famously, she consulted with McDonalds to change the way their supplier's slaughter houses are designed. As a result, nearly half the cattle slaughtered in the U.S. and Canada are done so according to the stress-reducing protocols she has established.

She has a new book out called Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals in which she draws on her own work as well as that by neurobiologists to explore the emotions of animals. Having pets, I know that she is absolutely right to consider our obligation to provide the happiest, most playful life we can to our creatures.

The most interesting thing, though, about Temple Grandin is how comes at things from a totally different way of understanding the world. Because of her autism, her style of thinking is peculiar and yet arrives at stunning insights. By all means, check her out!

-t