Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Animal cruelty in the us food industry
The treatment of animals ON FARMS
The treatment of animals ON FARMS
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Animal cruelty in the us food industry
In America, we fail to realize the common fallacies that occur around us; one being about that Burger King Whopper you may have eaten for lunch. Do you ever wonder how that Whopper came to be? Where it came from? Or even if that Whopper is really a cow? But that is another story. For now, we are going to pinpoint on the basics of ‘Animal Cruelty on Mass Production Farms.’ Mass production farms are masses of farms held established by small town- farmers in which well-known name brands or fast food restaurants own the farm and the farmer. Now, the vast majority of individuals think of farms as pastures, open fields, grass lands, and just freedom and roaming of all varieties of animals. Mass productions farms, well, are polar opposites; for instance, …show more content…
So that means throughout the entire machinery there are bits and pieces of fecal matter from the cows’ hooves which were left behind; in result each cow attains more and more fecal matter on their body, as they swivel through each stage. Veering from cow neglect, we move on to cow cruelty. The farmers have some type of anger or impatience with these animals and for some apparent reason they seem to feel as if they can take their anger out on these innocent animals and literal hit and punch them on the head, legs, every part of the cow you can think of, they abuse it. These cows do not know what is going on, why they are confined and mistreated; and since the farmers fill them with steroids, like the chickens they also become too weak to hold their body weight. Therefore, the cows’ legs bend over and they walk on their ‘knees’ which is difficult especially with the excessive weight; in result the cows cannot always walk or stand when the farmers need to; so that is when the farmers feel the need to beat them to almost death. The cruelty and neglect is unacceptable and …show more content…
coli and salmonella, along with other severe illnesses. Since the farmers have absolutely no say as to what should be a better alternative, they are forced to fill these animals with numerous chemicals that puts the consumer at many health hazards. For instance, Kevin Kowalcyk, a two year old boy who died from a foodborne illness in 2001; Kevin was on vacation at the lake with his family, at the end of their trip, they all decided to grab a quick and convenient burger from a local fast food chain. Kevin seemed fine, then the stages of his death occurred; his mother found blood in the stool, failing kidneys, sunken in eyes and physical appearance of malnourishment; Kevin was put on dialysis treatments for 8 days, but never returned home. Along with Kevin are 3,000 Americans who die every year from foodborne pathogens, and the numbers are increasing.; yet even with activists who stand up for food- safety bills, these food productions fail to realize the point, the food is not safe, although it is cheap and economical it is not beneficial to any factor. If companies would use the obvious alternative; open, nature filled farms or pastures, not only would the animals benefit from being in a natural, safe, and healthy environment but the customer as well.
American society has grown so accustomed to receiving their food right away and in large quantities. Only in the past few decades has factory farming come into existence that has made consuming food a non guilt-free action. What originally was a hamburger with slaughtered cow meat is now slaughtered cow meat that’s filled with harmful chemicals. Not only that, the corn that that cow was fed with is also filled with chemicals to make them grow at a faster rate to get that hamburger on a dinner plate as quickly as possible. Bryan Walsh, a staff writer for Time Magazine specializing in environmental issues discusses in his article “America’s Food Crisis” how our food is not only bad for us but dangerous as well. The word dangerous could apply to many different things though. Our food is dangerous to the consumer, the workers and farmers, the animals and the environment. Walsh gives examples of each of these in his article that leads back to the main point of how dangerous the food we are consuming every day really is. He goes into detail on each of them but focuses his information on the consumer.
In the book Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer, the author talks about, not only vegetarianism, but reveals to us what actually occurs in the factory farming system. The issue circulating in this book is whether to eat meat or not to eat meat. Foer, however, never tries to convert his reader to become vegetarians but rather to inform them with information so they can respond with better judgment. Eating meat has been a thing that majority of us engage in without question. Which is why among other reasons Foer feels compelled to share his findings about where our meat come from. Throughout the book, he gives vivid accounts of the dreadful conditions factory farmed animals endure on a daily basis. For this reason Foer urges us to take a stand against factory farming, and if we must eat meat then we must adapt humane agricultural methods for meat production.
Logical fallacies are found in everyone’s day to day life. We see them in advertisements, books, television commercials and even throughout conversations with others. In the novel, Animal Farm, by George Orwell, logical fallacies are used as a further insight into the story. Through the duration of the story, we see one of the main characters, Napoleon, obtain power and trust from most of the animals on the farm. Towards the end of the novel, his power and pride corrupt his reputation and relationships with those around him. The moral of the story is that an abundance of power can lead to selfish decision making and leave one with an unsatisfying feeling of hubris. The logical fallacies found in the novel help to expose the moral of the story.
Breeding sows are confined in gestation stalls, pigs have their tails cut off without anesthesia, calves are tethered by their necks in veal crates, and egg-laying hens are debeaked and kept in cages too small to spread their wings in; in a factory farm, animals are treated as commodities. This vivid imagery depicts the facts pertaining to animals. The search for solutions has focused on two paths; one reforming the system and instituting more humane standards, and the second promoting veganism so that fewer animals are bred, nurtured, and slaughtered. While few animal activists disagree with promoting veganism, some believe that campaigning for reforms, and humane labeling is counter-productive. Humane standards can either be required by law, or instituted voluntarily by farmers. Farmers who voluntarily agree to higher humane standards are either opposed to factory farming, or are trying to appeal to consumers who prefer meat from humanely raised and slaughtered animals. There is no single definition of “humane meat,” and many animal activists would say that the term is an oxymoron. Different meat producers and organizations have their own humane standards by which they abide. Humane standards might include larger cages, no cages, natural feed, less painful methods of slaughter, or prohibition of practices such as tail docking or debeaking. In some cases, campaigns target retailers or restaurants instead of the actual producers, and pressure the companies to purchase animal products only from producers who raise the animals according to certain voluntary standards. Societies individuality is split by advocates and opponents; is there a fine line between truth and falsehood, or is animal slaughter for diet always inhumane?
Most of us do not think twice about the foods we pick up from the supermarket. Many Americans have a preconceived belief that the food being sold to us is safe, and withholds the highest standard of quality. Certainly, compared to many places in the world, this is true. But is the United States sincerely trying to carry out these standards, or have we begun to see a reverse in the health and safety of our food- and more explicitly in our meat? Jonathan Foer, author of “Eating Animals” argues for reform within the food industry- not only for the humane treatment of animals but moreover for our own health. Although Foer exposes the ills within the food industries in order to persuade readers to change their diets for the better, his “vegetarianism or die” assessment may be too extreme for most Americans. The true ills do not start with the meat, but with industrialized production of it through methods practiced by factory farming.
As the world’s population continues to grow exponentially, the area of arable farmland shrinks. As a result, new techniques in agriculture have been developed in order to produce more food using less land. Many of these techniques are considered innovative but come at the cost of the environment or human morality. One example, the large-scale use of antibiotics in livestock feeding, has become a staple of the American agriculture industry. Of all the agricultural advancements the industry has made since the days of the horse and plow, none has been as threatening to human health as the use of sub therapeutic levels of antibiotics (Schneider). Antibiotics are useful for sick animals, just as they are useful for sick humans. In the livestock industry, their indiscriminate use on healthy animals, while cost effective for the meat industry, results in the breeding of dangerous antibiotic bacteria called “superbugs” which have the potential to devastate consumers’ health. "We talk about a pre-antibiotic era and an antibiotic era,” CDC’s director, Dr. Thomas Frieden said in his publication of “Antibiotic Resistance Threats”. "If we're not careful, we'll be in a post-antibiotic era. For some patients and some microbes, we're already there” (Kerestes, 2010). This scenario is just one of the many situations where short-term corporate profit is pitted against the environment, and in turn, consumers’ safety.
Animals were once raised in a more humane and sanitary manner, but in the modern age of factory farming, animal cruelty has become common with large farm complexes. In reality these animals are housed in conditions worse than sweat shops. Under these conditions the animals are more prone to contracting illnesses due to the high amounts of bacterial growth. Furthermore, animals are fed sub-standardized feed such as genetically modified corn, which is low in nutrition, and does not contain the animal’s natural and essential dietary needs.
The abuse of livestock is a widespread problem that affects everyone who buys and consumes meat products. Most people are not even aware of how slaughter-destined animals are treated while alive, what chemicals are forced into their bodies, what they are forced to eat, and how they are slaughtered. Fortunately, an increasing number of slaughter plants and small farms have been conforming to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Humane Methods of Slaughter Act (HMSA), after it was passed in 1958, and amended to be fully enforced in 2002, but there are still slaughter plants that abuse, neglect, and provide poor conditions for livestock (“Humane” Animal). When looking at the realities of mass producing meat and animal products, two serious problems arise: the quality of life for the animals, and the possible negative health effects for the people who consume these products.
Like many other industries, the farming industry has evolved into big business, “Animals on factory farms are regarded as commodities to be exploited for profit.” In each industry from clothing to instruments, the bosses want to make a profit. The more they can supply with the least amount of waste, the more profit they make. The same goes for factory farming. However instead of humans being the ones directly affected by big bosses, the animals are. They don’t have a voice, and can’t stand up for what is right or wrong. These animals are manipulated in every way to make a better profit. Factory farms mass produce animals for ...
Poultry is by far the number one meat consumed in America; it is versatile, relatively inexpensive compared to other meats, and most importantly it can be found in every grocery store through out the United States. All of those factors are made possible because of factory farming. Factory farming is the reason why consumers are able to purchase low-priced poultry in their local supermarket and also the reason why chickens and other animals are being seen as profit rather than living, breathing beings. So what is exactly is factory farming? According to Ben Macintyre, a writer and columnist of The Times, a British newspaper and a former chicken farm worker, he summed up the goal of any factory farm “... to produce the maximum quantity of edible meat, as fast and as cheaply as possible, regardless of quality, cruelty or hygiene” ( Macintyre, 2009). Factory farmers do not care about the safety of the consumers nor the safety of the chicken, all the industrial farmers have in mind are how fast they can turn a baby chick into a slaughter size chicken and how to make their chicken big and plumped. Factory farming is not only a health hazard to the well-being of the animals, but the environment, and human beings ;thus free range and sustainable farming need to be put into practice.
We all know that one person amongst our friends or family that has a heart for animals and refuses the thought of eating a poor furry friend. Others believe that animals were put here for a reason to be eaten and used as a resource, but what most people don't know is how badly animals are mistreated in factories and in slaughterhouses. Most animal's diets are interchanged and modified to save money and make the company more efficient. What this means is that the animals often suffer from deficiency of vitamins and nutrients. The PETA organization says, The factory farming industry strives to maximize output while minimizing costs—always at the animals’ expense. The giant corporations that run most factory farms have found that they can make more money by cramming animals into tiny spaces, even though many of the animals get sick and some die. The industry journal National Hog Farmer explains, “Crowding pigs pays,” and egg-industry expert Bernard Rollins writes that “chickens are cheap; cages are expensive.” (4). Realistically, a healthy diet doesn't need to contain meat. Killing animals is an unethical use of resources. In fact, diets not containing any...
The animals that are raised in factory farms, and the farms are ran just like any other business. According to the article Factory Framing, Misery of Animals, the factory farming industry strives to maximize output while minimizing cost, always at the animal’s expense. “The giant corporations that run most factory farms have found that they can make more money by squeezing as many animals as possible into tiny spaces, even though many of the animals die from disease or infection” (Factory Farming). This is actually quit disgusting that we eat food that walks around in each other’s feces and can attract disease. These animals live a life of abuse, but we sit back and say it’s okay because we will eventually eat them. “Antibiotics are used to make animals grow faster and to keep them alive in the unsanitary conditions. Research shows that factory farms widespread use of antibiotics can lead to antibiotic-resistant bacteria that threatens human health” (Factory Farming). These animals aren’t treated with proper care and we act as if they are machines. Chickens for example, become so big and distorted that their legs can longer support them. Eventually they die because they can longer walk to get food or water. According to Factory Farming, most of these animals have been genetically manipulated to grow larger and to produce more eggs and milk than they naturally
Factory farms have portrayed cruelty to animals in a way that is horrific; unfortunately the public often does not see what really goes on inside these “farms.” In order to understand the conditions present in these factory farms, it must first be examined what the animals in these factory farms are eating. Some of the ingredients commonly used in feeding the animals inside factory farms include the following: animal byproducts, plastic, drugs and chemicals, excessive grains, and meat from members of the same species. (Adams, 2007) These animals are tortured and used for purely slaughter in order to be fed on. Typically large numbers of animals are kept in closed and tight confinements, having only little room to move around, if even that. These confinements can lead to suffocation and death and is not rare. Evidence fr...
Morally, one may feel obligated to exercise Vegetarianism due to the inhumane treatment of animals throughout the farming process. The issue is that roughly ten billion animals are raised for United States food consumption alone. Animals such as cows, fish, chickens, pigs, and turkeys are subjected to entrapment and confinement, less than sanitary living conditions and mutilation for the purposes of efficiency. Cows and pigs, from birth, are placed in narrow stalls where there is no room to turn around or even lay down. These animals’ daily lives consist eating and overeating until it is time to be slaughtered. Thousands and thousands of egg-laying hens are packed in cages, chicken crates, and coops. These animals are so densely packed that it is hard to distinguish between those that are living and dead. This often times leads to the spread of diseases among these animals and is one of the more prominent factors that contribute to unsanitary living conditions. The discomfort experienced by these animals leads to them being mutilated. The chickens that try to peck have their beaks cut; the chickens that try to fly have their wings clipped; the livestock that lose mobility, as a result of limb atrophy due to the stationary lifestyle experienced in stall confinement, are beaten. Animal mutilation, ...
...nment and sentient beings. Since our society has become so desensitized to the industrialization of mass slaughter in the name of 'economies of sale,' clearly our 'cultured society' has had an extreme ethical collapse. According to Matthew Scully, a literary editor of the National Review: "the moral teachings of every major faith recognize that cruelty to animals is shameful and wrong, yet somehow these widely shared principles are seldom translated into serious policy debates over the treatment of animals." (CAFO 11) If the principle of animal cruelty is accepted to be wrong, immoral and evil, then there is no justification to the harmful treatment of animals in places like Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations which marginalizes and industrializes nature to fit an industry, rather than having an industry built to fit the needs of, and to protect nature.