Analysis Of An Animal's Place By Michael Pollan

No one will disagree that livestock industry in America has its flaws in the processes in which we treat animals before they are slaughtered. The industry is littered with inhumane practices still being used on livestock. The overcrowding of cattle and trimming the beaks off of chickens to prevent them from harming each other are common practice in the factory based livestock farming. I’m not here to argue that these practices are morally correct, only that they are a necessary evil. I’m arguing that converting all of the livestock industry in the United States from factory meat farming to free range farming techniques would have a significant negative impact on the United States economy as well as the wellbeing of the American citizen.

Throughout Michael Pollan essay “An Animal’s Place” he argues against for the slaughtering of animals for food, but against the way they are treated with in factory farms.

He describes the factories as “places where the subtleties of moral philosophy and animal cognition mean less than nothing”(405). His arguments about the morals of the ways we should treat animals, provokes the feelings of guilt and empathy for the reader, which makes his essay a strong argumentative piece of literature. Pollan makes strong points, backed of with evidence, regarding the minds of animals and their ability to feel pain and suffering on not only a physical level, but on an emotional level. The major weakness of his argument is that it mainly deals with the moral dilemma of mistreatment of animals with in factory slaughterhouse and for the most part ignores the economic consequences of free range livestock. Big company slaughterhouses don’t just immorally treat animals for the fun of it but rather as a way to meet the high level demand of the American people while keep prices low enough for them to

afford.
Banning factory livestock techniques and replacing them with free range livestock would greatly increase the price of meat in the United States. Currently the price for factory raised beef is 4.59 per pound while a grass fed pasture grazed cow will cost about 6.50 per pound. Chicken bought from the local grocery store that was raised in a factory will cost you about 1.50 per pound while a chicken bout from the local farmers market will cost you about $5.00 per pound. This should be obvious considering that the small farmers can’t produce the output that large factories can and don’t utilize the less moralistic techniques that factories employ to reduce costs.
For the well off middle class American this may not be the end of the world.

The middle class individual will be to change his habits to adapt to the changing environment due to his flexible income. But what happens to the lower class or even the individuals who fall below the poverty line. They can no longer afford the high prices of meat that are accompanied with the change in the way animals are treated. I know what your thinking, why don’t they just buy more vegetables and fruits instead of meat? Well if we apply the supply and demand theory to the impact of this moralistic change the answer will be evident. Let's say the prices of meat rises and people decided to switch their dietary habits and buy more fruits and vegetables. As the demand for fruits and vegetables increases the the supply will begin to decrease as more people purchase them. In response to the supply decrease business will be forced to increase the prices to ensure they stay profitable. So now the lower class Americans are no longer able to afford food like they used to and are now forced to go hungry or make sacrifices in other areas of their lives. So the real moralistic question is, whose life is more important the chicken who lives for a few months and is slaughtered or the impoverished child whose parents can no longer can afford to feed

him?
Not only will this change to the current factory livestock industry affect the individuals, but it will also affect the entire United States economy . The united States spends approximately $1,145 billion dollars a year on welfare spending. If the lower class is no longer able to afford food anymore, the government will be force to take action and increase welfare spending, to avoid having families starve on the streets. This action will add millions of dollars onto our national debt putting the country at a even greater deficit then before the livestock industry change. Not only will if affect welfare spending but it will also force the United States to import more livestock meat from other countries, taking profits away the United States and shipping overseas. Again adding billions of dollars to the national debt which is currently exceeding 20 trillion dollars.
Although the livestock industry may be riddled with practices that many would find immoral, these practices are not without reason. The conversion of a mainly factory livestock industry into a completely free range style of raising livestock, would be greatly damaging to both the individual and the United States economy. From a economic point of view, the mistreatment of animals is nothing more than a necessary evil that must be completed for the greater good.