Throughout my life, I have searched for the perfect diet balance that would support me in my daily activities. Coming from a family where each meal usually has meat on the plate, it made the challenge of stopping to eat meat harder than expected. Flowing in and out of different dietary plans has proven to me that no two individuals will have the same requirements to sustain their daily needs. Meat has provided the human race with an abundant amount of protein and energy which has helped us develop into what we are today. The problem arises with livestock farming and its environmental footprint. Livestock farming should be abolished due to the arising ethical issues with how the animals, and workers are treated and also its negative effects on the environment. Human-beings should all be able to eat as they please while also keeping our ethical and moral values intact.
A factory farm is a large industrial operation that raises majority of the animals human-beings consume. A large portion of farm animals in the United States are raised in these poor conditions in hopes to reach maximum profit with the least amount of labor required. It is cheap and affordable for us to raise livestock in these conditions, in exchange for the animals well-being. It is time people became more aware of the effects confined animal feeding operations have on our planet. Statistics from Farm Sanctuary have stated that with more than nine billion animals raised and slaughtered for human consumption each year in the United States, modern animal agriculture puts an incredible strain on natural resources such as land, water, and fossil fuel. These small confinement areas that the animals are kept in are the perfect grounds for bacteria from feces and urine to runoff into our water streams and nearby neighborhoods.
Furthermore, the procedures on the livestock will only lead to us deficient health. The thought of pumping hormones into the livestock in order to respond to the demand of this product is a gruesome idea in the first place. Livestock at a very young age are pumped with hormones in able to shock their growth in order to slaughter them quicker than expected. We see chickens being remodeled to match the higher demands of certain parts of the chicken, like breasts. As seen on Food Inc., the chicken grows four times faster in confined animal feeding operations due to added chemicals and hormones. Furthermore, cattle are forced to eat certain foods that they cannot digest. Feeding these cows corn because it is cheaper for the corporations only lead to health problems in the livestock—later leading to health problems in humans. Eating these toxic food can only lead to many detrimental effects on our health, mentality, and daily activities. You would think that it is clear that factory farming is not the answer to our nutrition yet these large corporations attempt to keep the curtain closed and continue to make their profit at the expense of these animals.
The owners of these corporations are so involved in finding new ways to be able to produce these massive quantities of food but they are not worried about finding new technology to clean up the mess they have made. The pathogens that grow in this environment are crucial and have caused death to the livestock and a handful of humans as well. In Food Inc., the audience is exposed to the horrific actions these corporations take to make an easy buck. The corporations control the entire food industry from the factory farms to restaurants and grocery stores. Viewers were able to get a first-hand look of what the farming process really looks like. The animals are put into cages with little to no space to move around, they breathe in poor air quality and barely ever see real sunlight. They are put in conditions that do not allow them to engage in their natural behaviors.
Not only are the animals treated poorly, but the workers, in the factory and on their farms, are put in extreme conditions where they are mistreated and have minimal benefits from the corporation. The farmers under the contracts of the corporation have little to no freedom to express their feelings about this issue without fear of losing their job. One of the twelve farmers that agreed to the interview with Food Inc. stated “ I understand why farmers do not want to talk because the company can do what it wants to do as far as pay goes since they control everything but it has just gotten to the point that it is not right what is going on… dust flying everywhere, feces everywhere…this is not farming this is just mass production”(Carole Morison). Farmers are forced to keep this secret away from public eyes because the company itself knows they are doing something morally wrong that would upset many people. It is not farming anymore, farmers do not enjoy raising livestock in this way but technology advancements and economic conditions have led them with no other choice but to compromise with this horrific sight. While the farmers suffer significantly, the workers inside the factories, who are usually immigrants, are not treated well. The jobs have become unpleasant, wages are low, and it is hard to find anyone willing to be in these conditions. Illegal immigrants are one of the few people who will work here because they are in need of the financial aid. The corporation does not care for these people because they seem them as replaceable. There will always be someone willing to work for less and sadly this removes a part of the workers humanity.
Humans demand equality amongst one another but fail to see that animals deserve equality, as well, because they do feel and they do have emotions. They need to be spoken for because the way humans have gone about treating them is abusive and torturous. In A Utilitarian Defense of Animal Liberation, Singer argues that the basic principle of equality should include animals because they are able to express both pain and happiness. It is right to say that livestock animals have interest. Singer states that “the basic principle of equality, I shall argue, is equality of consideration; and equal consideration for different beings may lead to different treatment and different rights” (Singer, 22). If they are able to express pain and happiness then it is safe to say that they have interest in living a happy lifestyle. Even though the human race may have higher interest than livestock they must view their interest as something valuable and lead them away from suffering.
As humans, we define equality as the interest of each group being considered equally. The argument in favor of livestock farming states that animals do not have the same awareness nor intelligence as the human race. If intelligence and awareness were factors of equality then our society would treat the interest of a new born human and a sickled old man differently. The child is not aware of anything at this stage in his life but our society still view these two as having equal awareness. Livestock animals are different beings and will have a different level of intelligence and awareness but that does not mean they are null in these two areas. Humans weigh their own species interest to fulfill their desire to consume, over the interest of the animals desire to live. Creating an environment where livestock is able to enjoy a happy life, while humans still get the resources they need from them is crucial for this planet and our moral values.
Singer makes a great argument in favor of animal rights and spreading awareness of his principles of equality. Most people cannot stand the thought of animals being subjected to abuse and cruelty just in order for them to get food on their plate. Allowing for animals to be subjected to cruelty and abuse reflects on the way we view each other in our society. Speciesism falls into the same categories as racism and sexism. The corporations running confined animal feeding operations believe that the interest of members of our own species are higher and against those of members of other species. If they are capable of this, then they are also capable of acts of racism and sexism. Although humans may have superiority over animals, it does not make it okay to exploit them the way we do. People are aware and ashamed of the unethical procedures performed on these animals. The problem with this matter is that the meat, milk, and eggs coming from these abused animals is all they have access to. Food Inc. suggests some disturbing links between big government and big business in the food industry, along with some appalling statistics. For instance, in the 1970s, the top five beef packers controlled 25% of the market; now the top four control more than 80% – meaning that if ever meat is tainted by bacteria or chemicals it has the potential to reach vast numbers of people.
Having local organic farming in close proximity to multiple towns will be the key to saving our ethical values and improving the animals conditions. It is not the eating of the animal that is unethical but rather the torture and abuse the animals face in these factory farms. The innovations of organic farming will someday put an end to this massacre and also get rid of most of the environmental disasters caused by factory farms. If we were to change the commercial factory farm system into organic ones, the sense of our moral and ethical values would rejuvenate because we are eating animals that are not being tortured just to satisfy our needs. Salatin farms are a perfect example of how it should look raising livestock.
Eating animals that are raised on polyface farms removes the strain on our ethical values because we can trust that the animals are living a great life before they are used for our needs. With local farming, each region would have a specific taste because the abolishment of commercial farming would lead to us being unable to transport products for long periods of time. What each area grows well is what they would focus on producing. Salatin’s farms are the solutions to the negative effects of confined animal feeding operations on our health, environment, and also our values. With local farms, it would be a very short chain between where your food is being slaughtered and how quickly you get it—making it fresher.
Food is individualistic and central to our social lives, our economy, and our mental health. With a wide variety of nutritional options, everyone is entitled to eat however they please. Although I do believe our country eats too much meat, cutting it out entirely would not work for everyone. Speaking from a personal experience, I once chose to try the veganism lifestyle while pursuing my collegiate soccer career. I felt fresh and energized at first but soon my health started to plummet. I started experiencing tooth decay and low level of iron when my nutritional coach finally told me that it might not be the diet for me. Being on a team with thirty-five women has shown me that each individual thrives off of different nutrition. To try and limit an entire nation to not eat any more meat after we have been doing it for centuries, would not work for every individual.
Our society needs to wrap their heads around the fact that meat eating is not the problem but factory farming is the reason for health defects, and environmental disasters, like global warming. At this point in time, there is very little we can do about factory farming because it will cause economic strains before we are able to localize farms in closer proximity to urban areas. We must change the way we view different animals based on if they are our food or if they are our pets. Having this respect for animal rights will only bring humans closer to their core compassionate values and only make us more humane.