“Approximately 10 billion land animals are raised and killed for meat, eggs, and milk each year. Of those 10 billion animals, about 35 million cattle are raised for beef, 9 million for milk, and 1 million for veal. Approximately 95% (9.5 billion) of the animals in food production are birds.” (Hessler and Balaban) We, as a society, often go about our lives blind to the means in which these animals are brought to our tables. Very few people think about the places that these animals have to live their lives up until they are taken to a slaughter house, or die of other causes, and brought to our markets. The standard of home that these animals must live in doesn’t simply need to be maintained at a higher standard for those animals, but also for …show more content…
PETA, The Humane Society, and the Animal Legal Defense Fund are just a few groups who have carried their want for anticruelty over to the legal system. In 2008, for example, the Humane Society took legal actions against Hallmark Meat Packing, “the second- largest supplier to USDA’s Commodity Procurement Branch”, to stop their inhumane treatment of downed, too sick or injured to walk, cows. They were seen putting the animals into extreme conditions and even torturing them in order to make them walk to the slaughter houses. (The Humane Society) The court ruled in favor of The Humane Society and the Department of Justice decided to aid the group in recovering approximately $150 million worth of taxpayer money that went to the potentially tainted meat. (The Humane Society) This case, while not specifically over the confinement of the animal, brought attention to the problems surrounding factory Farms. While the living conditions of the orca whales residing at Sea World are not the purpose of this essay, the PETA vs. Sea World case can be seen as influential for the future of factory farming. PETA sued the park on the basis of cruelty, much the same as that seen in factory farms, towards their animals. The orca whales’ conditions specifically were seen as incredibly inhumane and were brought up by PETA to be a violation of the 13th amendment. The poor living conditions and forced, circus-like acts performed could be seen as involuntary servitude. (McWilliams) If, in fact, the case was proven and accepted, then the conditions in which the animals of factory farms live would be considered unconstitutional as well and would end the use of this form of farming. The most recent of these three court cases was brought on by the Animal Legal Defense Fund. They sued California State Exposition and Fairs (Cal Expo) and the University
The modern fight for animal rights has been geared toward factory farms and the removal of animal testing and ag-gag laws. Protection for test animals and farm animals has become an important focus for many animal rights groups including ASPCA. The end of uncomfortable and inhumane treatment of animals is still a fight thousands are fighting
An orca, more commonly known as a killer whale, is currently one of the largest marine animals held in captivity. Countless arguments are being made, supporting and opposing captivity of orcas to be exploited as circus animals in theme parks around the world. Throughout recent history, Sea World trainers have been injured and killed by the orcas and the whales, and the whales themselves have been observed as severely depressed. If Sea World releases the whales, they would undergo an immense economic downfall and the whales would be too weak to survive in the wild if they were freed. Since the first Sea World park opened in San Diego, California in 1964, common questions have arose concerning the well-being of orcas in captivity, the dangers of humans training them, the physical capability of whales theoretically being released, and the psychological differences between whales living in the wild versus whales living in Sea World's confinement.
“A dog is not a thing. A thing is replaceable. A dog is not. A thing is disposable. A dog is not. A thing does not have a heart. A dog’s heart is bigger than any “thing” you can ever own.” -Elizabeth Parker. According to the ASPCA, a puppy mill can be defined as “a large-scale commercial dog breeding facility where profit is given priority over the well-being of the dogs” (Puppy Mills 1). Dogs are more than just items that are sold for profit, they are part of many people’s families. The way dogs are being treated in the mills is not the way one would want someone in your family to be treated. Because puppy mills do not care for the animal’s health, wellbeing, or safety they should be banned federally.
Factory farming is often a sore spot for American and other first world consciences. Even those that are ethically comfortable with consumption of animal products are often discomfited by the large-scale maltreatment of living creatures that is present in contemporary agribusiness. Writings that are similar to Peter Singer's “Down on the Factory Farm”, which depicts the multitude of unnatural horrors and abuses that billions of farm animals undergo before they are ultimately slaughtered for our use, make up the majority of the commentary on the subject. There seem to be few writers with the audacity to dispute the popular outcry that there is something morally reprehensible in our systematic exploitation of other species. Yet, as Stanley Curtis shows in “The Case for Intensive Farming of Food Animals”, a less emotionally charged examination is likely to be necessary if we have any aspirations of revising the current model into one that is not only more humane, but also sustainable for the environment and for the growing human population. Though our sympathies are immediately swayed by Singer's work, we must remain cognisant that, as Singer himself said, “We can't take our feelings as moral data, immune from rational criticism” (The Lives of Animals 89). Though Curtis's work seems at times overly cold in its utilitarian views, it provides an undoubtedly useful contrast to the call-to-arms of Singer's work. Evaluating them in tandem is likely the best approach to deriving a model that placates our moral dissatisfaction while meeting the requirements set forth by reality.
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?
The meat packing industry in the U.S is one of the top industries that make an example of bringing corruption to new heights. According to the article “Corrupt American Food Industry is too powerful”, the meat packing industry obtains far more power than what should be acquired. The people of America have the right to know what process the meat they are consuming goes through in order for it to sit in their refrigerators. The American people should have the right to know what kind of cruel difficulties come into play when it comes down to the meat industry. The largest meat packing industries make their money by slaughtering animals, and harming living beings behind closed doors. “Welcome to the land of the free, where we consider prioritizing money over clean resources and human and animal welfare” (Ray1) is used to demonstrate the way the meat packing industry within the Unites States operates (1).
In 1824 a group of people started to notice all the abuse that was happening to all the animals in England, so they formed the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. A man named Henry Bergh saw all the good things that this group was doing in England, so he decided to open one in the United States. In Massachusetts around 1836, there was a law that was passed that stated that there will be no stoning and beating of cattle as week as dog and cockfighting. In 1866 he created a group called the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) in New York. This organization helped end the beating to animals, end inadequate food for animals, end poor housing for animals, and humane standards for treatment of animals used for vivisection. After his success...
Each year, 10 billion animals, not including fish, are raised and killed each year for food, but did you know that an overwhelming 99% of them are raised and killed on factory farms? A factory farm is a place where animals are packed into spaces so tight that they can hardly move. They are forced into cages so small that the animals can’t even turn around. Many of these animals have no access to the outdoors and they spend most of their lives in cages or pens. This type of treatment can cause severe and mental distress. Many would agree that this type of treatment is animal cruelty, but why are there so few laws to protect these animals? Every year, animals raised for meat, dairy and egg industries are among the most abused in the United States. Many of the abusive tactics used on farm animals would be illegal to do to dogs or cats. These farm animals are inhumanly slaughtered, tortured and killed. In some cases before these animals get to the slaughter house they suffer brutally cruel treatment that has been legal for the most part. One of these practices is of shoving a pipe down the throat of a duck or goose to force feed the animal several times a day. One example of the abuse that goes on inside these factory farms is a practice called 'debeaking'. It is a process that involves cutting or burning through bone, cartilage and soft tissue to remove the upper beak of chickens, turkeys, and ducks. These animals are not even given anesthetics. These farm animals are also deprived of exercise so that all their bodies’ energy goes toward producing flesh, eggs, or milk for human consumption, fed drugs to fatten them and keep them alive in conditions that w...
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...
There are many debates around the world about the topic of animal abuse. Animal abuse in the food industry has become a major problem due to the cruel treatment of animals. Most of the world's population might think that animal cruelty is only found in homes and on the street, but they forget about the other forms of animal abuse that affect the food industry. Large contributors to animal abuse are due to fishing methods, animal testing, and slaughterhouses. "Animals have always been a major part of our society in history and they have played huge roles in agriculture" (ASPCA). Factory farming is a system of confining chickens, pigs, and cattle under strictly controlled conditions. Slaughterhouses are places where animals are killed
"Factory Farming: Cruelty to Animals." People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Web. 29 April. 2014.
Can you imagine spending your whole life in a cage? This is the reality that animals face daily on a factory farm. Factory farming needs to be stopped. This should be a serious concern because animals from factory farming can harm human health, it also harms the environment and it is not an ethical way to treat the animals.
As a human, we possess certain rights that protect us in society, however the animals we raise for food live under a much more complicated system that constantly changes. Americans have recently begun to protest animal treatment, especially in the meat industry. Many animal rights groups claim that animal farming is an inhuman practice that violates the rights of all living creatures. Farmers believe that animal right shouldn't change as any changes could cost them millions in new technology to safely care for the animals. The American farming industry poses several moral issues about animal rights which possess no easy solution, however new alternatives appear to have answers for this growing dilemma.
... individuals may understand and spread the word of the horrific conditions the animals are forced to be a part of on factory farms.
Ever since the world?s first fast food restaurant started business, it has been responsible for the death of 50 billion animals worldwide each year. It?s an astounding number, yet the slaughtering is still increasing rapidly. The irresistible taste of heaven keeps the cash coming in, and keeps the people addicted. ?Meat is an essential part of our food-chain.? One might say. ?We can?t all live our lives being vegetarians!? It?s true that we can?t stop the butchering of animals. But if you were to witness the horrifying pictures of slaughter houses, you?d think differently. The pigs all have their skin sliced open to revel the organs, while chickens hang with their furless wings flapping. Just because of our selfish needs, we?re treating them with violence and cruelty. It is time for some real action, to correct our mistakes. It was wrong in the first place, to slaughter others for our own benefits. And it would be more so, if we don?t put a stop to it. And because we humans are...