Meat Industry Research Paper

The amount of poultry and cattle that are slaughtered every day never crosses a meat lover’s mind. The life and treatment animals of the meat industry encounter isn’t commonly thought about. From the day they are raised by farmers until the day they are made into food sold across the country, never became significant until reading and researching about the process was done. There are many cows that graze on the grass fields beside the highways in Nevada. Chickens also trot on farmland from time to time as well. The treatment the industry’s animals face throughout their lifetime till death, compared to those outside of the business is shocking and somewhat sickening. Living conditions are unbelievable, the development of the animals are unnatural,

The beef industry in, The Jungle exposes and represents the harsh realities of the processing of meat. In Upton Sinclair’s book it states, “That day they had killed four thousand cattle, and these cattle had come in freight trains from far states, and some had got hurt” (66). This exemplifies the importance and significance of a cattle’s life. As workers gathered these animals, it seems as if these creatures aren’t animate nor significant because they arrive at the slaughterhouses injured without caring and nurturing aid. The merciless treatment endless numbers of cows undergo remains unimportant as long as companies and workers earn money, when meat is later sold in stores. “Cattle were driven by men with goads which gave them electric shocks. Once crowded in here, the creatures were imprisoned, each in a separate pen… leaving no room to turn round” (Sinclair 40). This demonstrates how the livestock is forced and placed in a small setting with no option but to stay still. Being electrocuted is insensitive and nauseating because it expresses the lack of compassion the industry has towards these innocent animals. The way cattle are handled by men elucidates the suffering they have to endure. In addition to the beef industry, the lives of chickens today in the modern day chicken industry are harsh and dreadful

The routine and procedure farmers follow regarding poultry is foul. In The Omnivore’s Dilemma, it states, “The door remains shut until the birds are at least five to six weeks old… and the chickens are slaughtered two weeks later” (Pollan 140). In fact, the industry’s chickens remain in their coops or houses, they’re in the dark their whole life without sunlight (Food Inc). These emphasize the chicken’s lack of activity and presence in the world outside of their cages. For chickens to be locked up in a building filled with their own kind in the dark their whole life, it seems to be like they’re not even living. Fowl are forced to live their short and limited life in the dark without other wildlife. Compared to other species, these birds are confined and don’t have the life they were meant to be living. Furthermore, chickens aren’t developing naturally, they are genetically manipulated. According to Food Incorporated, “Because people like white meat, farmers have redesigned chickens for large breasts with antibiotics… their bones and organs can’t keep up with the rapid growth.” As industries reach the people’s wants and needs by changing the chicken’s physical traits, companies obtain a lot of money due to the fact people like larger portions of meat. Although the chickens can’t keep up with their body growth due to drugs, money is beneficial because it is highly wanted and