What is factory farming and why is it bad?
Did you know, according to the US Department of Agriculture, Americans eat over 220 pounds of meat per year. Did you also know that there are 327.2 million people living in America. Now if we do some basic math, did you know that Americans all together eat 71,984,000,000 POUNDS of meat?!? That’s just under 72 billion pounds of meat every year, just in the US!
Now we hope you all know that meat comes from animals, and that animals for consumption (found in grocery stores) are raised on farms. Ok, that’s cleared up. So we have 2 questions: How many animals are killed each year in America to support 72 billion pounds of meat? And How do you think farmers/ranchers keep up to raise that many animals?
Well, 56 Billion land animals are killed each year and the only way for farmers/ranchers to keep up with this economical demand is to not focus on animal wellbeing, but to focus on increasing production at the cheapest cost. This means animal welfare goes right out the door.
Maximizing production of animals at the lowest cost possible means that animals are held in cages barely big enough to stand in, for most if not all of their lives. A great, great, great, GREAT website to check out is https://animalclock.org/. We strongly encourage you to visit this site. They not only have a continual running clock of the number of animals killed in the US, but they have so many other life changing pieces of information. Things like the death stats of each animal, photos of living conditions for the animals, facts about the living conditions, and even a QandA section that discusses how animals feel and even how they fear death.
These factory farming industries are doing unthinkable things to these living beings and the government isn’t doing anything to stop it or even regulate it. Did you know there is actually a law called the Humane Methods of Livestock Slaughter Act which requires that animals be properly rendered incapable of feeling pain prior to slaughter. But this law has been proven difficult to monitor, enforce, and prosecute resulting violations. So factory farms are getting away with not following this law. Oh, and those animal cruelty laws that are supposed to protect all animals… Factory farms are exempt from those laws. So they don’t have to follow those rules either. That’s why you see dairy farms and the like kicking, hitting, and even electrifying livestock.
Here are some Youtube clips of this happening, but remember that most of this is hard to watch and that viewer discretion is advised. Our intention of letting you see this is not to frighten you or make you sick (although watching this might do that to you) but it is to bring to you the reality of your food industry and how your food gets to your plate. Links are below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_vqIGTKuQE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIY6zm_DVWU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RNFFRGz1Qs
Pretty awful right? Everyone on our team here at More or Less Vegan have seen those clips and more. It absolutely breaks our hearts to see animals being treated that way. Innocent creatures are forced to live in environments that resemble, if not completely are, concentration camps. Think about it: living in places that are ridiculously too small, over crowded, forced to stand and lie in their own feces, and because of all this disease in rampant in these farms. Actually, the diseases can get so bad that they leak into water ways. Yes, water ways that people use and that gets us sick. These diseases can also contaminate crops as well, ruining massive fields of things we eat!
Look, here at More or Less Vegan we are not here to tell you what to eat and what not to eat. We are here to educate you on realities and sciences of your food. And the reality is, factory farming is not ok. We are also not here to tell you not to eat meat or to eat meat, because we are… well… more or less vegan. But we are here to tell you that you vote with your dollars. So if you continue to eat large quantities of meat, then factory farms will continue to supply your demand.
So what can we do? Well you can lessen the amount of meat you eat. Have a small portion once a day, once a week, once a month, or cut it out completely. And if you choose to still eat it, please do your research!!!! Find a local, small ranch near you that has a ton of acreage to let their animals roam as much as they want. Even go and visit the ranch, and see how they are treated. Yes, it will cost you more but you will be voting with your dollars, and voting for a happier life of the farm animals. Here are some links of places that are or can help you find humanely raised farm animals:
We hope you have found this information eye opening. We also hope that you really think about it. DO NOT TURN A BLIND EYE! This form of animal cruelty needs to stop and the only way it will is if society changes, and society changes one person at a time. Be one of the one.