Persuasive Essay On Animal Welfare

Since the creation of fast food restaurants, there has been an increase in the consumption of meat which has caused a shift in the way food is produced, including the way animals are treated in factory farms. For many years factory farming has been part of life, which perhaps have led humans to be ignorant when it comes to factory farming because people so not want to admit that animals have feeling and emotions. Animals suffer their entire lives in both factory farms and slaughterhouses, animals are kept in small cages and pens with no access to the outside world. As a result, state and federal laws were created to protect animals from abuse, but they are rarely followed or enforced. Animal welfare was also established to enforce the well-being

The Twenty-Eight Hour law states that after twenty-eight hours of travel, livestock must be unloaded and providing feed, water, and resting area for at least five hours and the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act states that livestock must be provided with insensible pain prior to slaughter (Mench). Even with these laws intact, the US legislation has barely changed in relation to farm animals. Many use animal welfare as a recognition of animal sentience, but also believe nonhuman animals are not worthy of moral respect like humans (Freeman). But many organizations are starting to recognize animal welfare as a constituent feature of the product image and quality because consumers have demanded better food safety and animal health (Horgan & Gavinelli). As those demands become more frequent, two other federal farming acts are being considered in Congress. The Downed Animal and Food Safety Protection Act, which would set out provisions for the treatment of cattle that cannot rise or walk and prevent them from going into the food chain (Mench). The law also requires animals to be treated humanely handled and to be held in separate pens

With undercover investigations, the public began to pay attention to the conditions of animals in factory farms, leading to disapproval and pressure for suppliers to adopt new animal-handling practices (Wilson). Promotion of animal safety has not only been in the US, but also in the European legislation. European consumers have increasingly focused on clean and green production methods that are attracted to better food quality, safety, and animal health (Horgan & Gavinelli). Research has also indicated that animals who are well-treated and are able to behave naturally are healthier than animals who are abused, which led Europe to recognize the importance of animal welfare (Horgan & Gavinelli). European consumers have started to focus on a “clean and green” production because they have previously undergone many critical situations such as dioxins and avian influenza (Horgan & Gavinelli). The mindset of consumers and producers started to shift to preventing animal cruelty, avoiding suffering to animals and becoming focused on promoted the wellbeing of farm animals (Horgan & Gavinelli). As Europe changes their ways of factory farming, the US decided to try and make a change as well. All US states have an animal cruelty legislation, but interest in animal protection has led to more state and local initiatives and