FACTORY FARMING: The Cruelty Aspect
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The picturesque 1950’s farm scene is the classic image of American bliss. To the sad realization of many most farms are not like that today and haven’t been that way for decades. This is because today’s farms are utterly misconstrued by consumers. The current farm scene has been industrialized and is that of a manufacturing plant. The proper name of this farming style is factory farming, where the animals are the factory’s products.
With the development of factory farms, the industry has evoked the mindset of traditional factories into these farms; the goal being to manufacture the maximum product with the lowest cost. Mixing this mentality with live “products” initiates cruel behavior. Thus, factory farms have plants for many animal species implementing cruelty through mutilations, terrible living conditions and discrimination on size and gender, leading to beatings, death, and inhumane slaughters.
Various species consider factory farms home. The most common animals consumed in this lifestyle are standard farm animals. Cows, pigs, chickens, turkeys, and even fish are of the factory farmed “products”. These animals are selected because they can be manipulated to create the highest yield for their purpose. This is one of the many ways mutilations occur on these farms.
By
maximizing the yield these animals can produce, the animals are mutilated genetically.
Today’s cattle have been genetically altered based on their purpose for meat or
milk. Beef cattle have been specifically modified to acclaim nicely marbled
tissue, whereas dairy cattle have been adjusted to produce two and a half times
the volume than that of the 1950’s cow. This provides an extremely heavy,
uncomfortable, and unnatural utter for dairy cattle.
The present day chickens
have been adapted to grow rapidly with abnormally large breasts. This
alteration was done to offer more desired meat proportions per bird. The effect
of this wreaks havoc on them. The birds grow too large at such a rapid rate
that they are unable to support their body weight and they evolve heart
conditions, in turn killing a fairly large percentage of them. This also occurs
in fish. (Factory-Farming.Com. SBI. 30 May 2014. http://www.factoryfarming.com/factory_farming.html.)
Mutilations
are also done to an animal’s physical appearance. This happens to create
“safety” for the animals based on their tightly packed quarters. In addition,
mutilations are done to keep the animals cleaner, easier to handle and spot as
well. Such mutilations are branding,
taking the tails off of cattle, castration, dehorning, forced molting, toe
chopping of turkeys and de-beaking of poultry. Most of these sound like
traditional farming methods, but taking into account the extensively large
populations factory farms hold, speed is everything. Meaning, care and medication
do not normally go with these treatments, concluding in terror and torture for
the animals.
Cruelty is also present on factory farms through living arrangements. Animals are crammed into every corner of the factory. Beef cattle live in filthy, toxic feed lots with thousands of other cows. Here they are feed unnatural and unhealthy foods, supplements and hormones to support abnormal growth. Dairy cattle are forced to live in single stalls, where they constantly stand on concrete floors and can barely move around. They too are fed a diet of hormones and supplements to keep their milk production high. Another way of keeping the milk production high is keeping the cows in constant impregnation. Pigs are also subjected to similar conditions of dairy cattle. They live in confined concrete crates where they cannot turn around, and also consume a food source of hormones and supplements. Both pigs and dairy cattle are rarely, if ever exposed to the outdoors and sunlight.
Cruelty is also present on factory farms through living arrangements. Animals are crammed into every corner of the factory. Beef cattle live in filthy, toxic feed lots with thousands of other cows. Here they are feed unnatural and unhealthy foods, supplements and hormones to support abnormal growth. Dairy cattle are forced to live in single stalls, where they constantly stand on concrete floors and can barely move around. They too are fed a diet of hormones and supplements to keep their milk production high. Another way of keeping the milk production high is keeping the cows in constant impregnation. Pigs are also subjected to similar conditions of dairy cattle. They live in confined concrete crates where they cannot turn around, and also consume a food source of hormones and supplements. Both pigs and dairy cattle are rarely, if ever exposed to the outdoors and sunlight.
The poultry
industry, specifically chickens and turkeys, live crammed into wire cages.
These cages are stacked on top of one another,
reaching the ceiling of the
plant. The wire causes the birds’ feet to become mangled and their feathers to
fall out from continuous rubbing against the wire. Because of these living conditions most of the
factory farmed birds have never and will never be able to fully extend their
wings or experience the outdoors and sunshine. Again, these animals are given a
large dosage of supplements and hormones as well. Fish live in extremely crowded tanks in
contaminated water from their own feces. As well as the other factory farmed
species, fish too are subjected to feeding habits including hormones and
unnatural supplements. ("What Came Before: Steve-O Tells The Truth
About Factory Farming." YouTube. YouTube, 22 Apr. 2013. Web. 6 Apr.
2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9cbkwV_S9o.)
With the
overcrowded and confined space of a factory farm stress, disease, and bacteria
levels are excessive. Most animals undergo psychological problems based on a
lack of physical and brain stimulation. On occasion the animal can be driven
mad to the point of self-harm. Tightly packed animals, living in their own
waste is the root of disease. When one animal gets sick the entire plant is
susceptible. Another effect of too many animals and cause of disease is the
unavoidable amounts of bacteria. Disease, e-coli and other well-known
bacteria’s run ramped through these factories that dominate the U.S’s food
supply. (Factory-Farming.Com. SBI. 30 May 2014. http://www.factoryfarming.com/factory_farming.html.)
Another
form of animal cruelty in factory farms is the discrimination methods. This
leads to beatings and death. At hatching factories in the egg portion of
chicken farms, male chicks are disposed of the day they hatch. This is done
because male chickens cannot lay eggs; therefore the factory has no use for
them. So they are disposed of by being thrown into a machine that grinds them
up alive. Animals born small or as runts, like piglets, are generally killed as
well. On occasion they are slammed against the floor or wall to kill them. Another
form of discrimination cruelty is through quality or age. This occurs when an
animal can no longer produce the outrageous amount of product they were
designed to do, or if they become too “old”. When in actuality the quality and
age of an animal is irrelevant because their bodies become exhausted and
worn-out to the point that their usage is no longer valuable at a young age. At
this point in a factory farmed animal’s life they are headed for slaughter. ("What
Came Before: Steve-O Tells The Truth About Factory Farming." YouTube.
YouTube, 22 Apr. 2013. Web. 6 Apr. 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9cbkwV_S9o.)
Slaughter
is the final aspect of animal cruelty at factory farms. Generally, they are
done very inhumanly at such industries. Most cattle factories start the slaughter
process by electrically stunning the animals. This all too often leaves the
animals regaining consciousness while being chained upside down by their legs
for the “bleed out” process. This is where the animals have their throats and
major arteries slit. Then the animals move into an assembly line of skinning, and
de-limbing. This is a similar process for pigs as well. Chickens and turkeys
are forced upside down into chutes with their heads hanging out. This accesses
a clear cut to their necks. Sometimes workers hold the birds by their neck
where the animals are then flung around until their neck breaks. Fish endure
lots of pain in their slaughter. They are brought up from the tanks with such
force that their swim bladders erupt and their eyes pop out of their sockets.
Next, the fish are brutally cut into pieces and dismembered while still alive. Slaughter
is not an easy or nice task but factory farms have turned this necessity into a
torturous massacre. (Factory-Farming.Com. SBI. 30 May 2014. http://www.factoryfarming.com/factory_farming.html.)
With
factory farms at the top of the United States food supplier, animal cruelty is
ultimately controlling our eating habits. Every time you sit down to eat expect
the animal product you are consuming to have gone through a tragic, horrendous
life. This may seem extreme but the fact is that the industrialization of
factory farms have almost completely erased the small farmer with their motto
“get big or get out”, concluding in an all American farming style through
disgusting factories. ("Factory Farm Map." Factory Farm Map.
N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. http://www.factoryfarmmap.org/#animal:all;location:US;year:2007.) ("FarmAid." Factory
Farms - Farm Aid. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2014 http://www.farmaid.org/site/c.qlI5IhNVJsE/b.2723715/k.852A/Factory_Farms.htm?msource=adwords&gclid=CIaup7mK_70CFY0-MgodCTsABQ.)
Noting the high percentage of factory farmed animals and the lives they live does not imply everyone needs to become a vegetarian to help support these animals. If willing, there are a number of alternatives one can take to discourage this practice. These include custom slaughter, supporting locally and humanely raised animals by bypassing factory farmed products, and spreading awareness.
Noting the high percentage of factory farmed animals and the lives they live does not imply everyone needs to become a vegetarian to help support these animals. If willing, there are a number of alternatives one can take to discourage this practice. These include custom slaughter, supporting locally and humanely raised animals by bypassing factory farmed products, and spreading awareness.
Custom
slaughter is a way of pleasantly and respectfully slaughtering. It is typically
an independently owned business where the owner takes pride in their work,
inferring the work is done accurately, properly, and thoroughly. In the
practice of Larry Althiser’s slaughter business “Larry’s Custom Meats” as seen
in the web video “The Good Slaughter: A Proud Meat Owner Shares His Story”,
proudly presents his profession. This video shows his way of slaughtering,
which is done by individually bringing each animal into stall in a room
completely bare room, besides the tools for the butchering process, with only a
couple other people present. It is a very calm and sterile environment. The
animal is then quickly brought down by stunning them in the back of the neck,
immediately putting them unconscious. Then the animal is hung upside down to be
bled out with in fifteen seconds. This is for all animals with a slight
alteration for cattle, they are brought down immediately by a .22. The process
is very quick and calm, the animal doesn’t even have time to think about where
they are at. In the same room as slaughter the animal is butchered. When the
animal is skinned, gutted and ready to be hanged, the carcass is moved to the
freezer. Then the room is cleaned and ready for the next animal. Generally five
animals are done per hour. This is a slower alternative practice to factory
farming but considering the conditions it is the moral way to slaughter. ("The Good Slaughter: A Proud Meat
Cutter Shares His Story | Food.curated. | Reserve Channel." YouTube.
YouTube, 16 July 2012. Web. 14 May 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pq5MWLZyII)
The
other options include saying no to factory farmed products. Checking packaging,
and asking supermarkets, restaurants, and other businesses are a great way to
find out where their meat came from. By
rejecting this type of animal product an easy substitute is looking into local
farm goods as a replacer. Not only does it benefit the factory farmed animals
but it also supports your local economy.
The final alternative in supporting the factory farmed animals is simply spreading awareness. This is probably the most important option of all. Realizing most people do not know of this farming style and would most likely not support it, the awareness level needs to increase. In familiarizing this topic, we could evolve the current factory farms into a more animal friendly farming style.
Works Cited
"FarmAid." Factory Farms - Farm Aid. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2014. http://www.farmaid.org/site/c.qlI5IhNVJsE/b.2723715/k.852A/Factory_Farms.htm?msource=adwords&gclid=CIaup7mK_70CFY0-MgodCTsABQ
Factory-Farming.Com. SBI. 30 May 2014. http://www.factoryfarming.com/factory_farming.html.
"Factory Farm Map." Factory Farm Map. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. http://www.factoryfarmmap.org/#animal:all;location:US;year:2007
"The Good Slaughter: A Proud Meat Cutter Shares His Story | Food.curated. | Reserve Channel." YouTube. YouTube, 16 July 2012. Web. 14 May 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pq5MWLZyII
The final alternative in supporting the factory farmed animals is simply spreading awareness. This is probably the most important option of all. Realizing most people do not know of this farming style and would most likely not support it, the awareness level needs to increase. In familiarizing this topic, we could evolve the current factory farms into a more animal friendly farming style.
Works Cited
"FarmAid." Factory Farms - Farm Aid. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2014. http://www.farmaid.org/site/c.qlI5IhNVJsE/b.2723715/k.852A/Factory_Farms.htm?msource=adwords&gclid=CIaup7mK_70CFY0-MgodCTsABQ
Factory-Farming.Com. SBI. 30 May 2014. http://www.factoryfarming.com/factory_farming.html.
"Factory Farm Map." Factory Farm Map. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. http://www.factoryfarmmap.org/#animal:all;location:US;year:2007
"The Good Slaughter: A Proud Meat Cutter Shares His Story | Food.curated. | Reserve Channel." YouTube. YouTube, 16 July 2012. Web. 14 May 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pq5MWLZyII