Animal Cruelty

The most horrific abuse is happening right under our noses, and we are contributing to it.

In our world we cherish some animals and consume others. There is widespread ignorance of how all animals are sentient beings, no matter if it's your beloved puppy dog or a quite loveable chicken. Animal abuse is an acknowledged issue when it comes to the animals we consider "pets"; however, the most horrific abuse and exploitation is protocol when it comes to our factory farm system.

"Never believe that animals suffer less than humans. Pain is the same for them that it is for us. Even worse, because they cannot help themselves."

How Bad is it really?

Factory farming is horrific. Animals farmed for food are treated like feelingless objects as they are farmed and killed for us. Today 99% of animals produced for food live on massive, industrial “factory farms." They are crammed into spaces barely any bigger than themselves. These spaces are rarely cleaned and are hothouse for diseases and infection. Thousands of animals die from disease in these facilities and aren't even consumed. Not only is it a waste, it's also incredibly cruel to raise them in this insane captivity only for them to die from infection and not even be used for food.

Not only are they kept in captivity, but before they are killed, their bodies are broken by this system. Chickens have the tips of their beaks cut off, the most sensitive part of their body, when they are only chicks. These animals are also genetically modified and pumped full of antibiotics. They are like franken- animals of what they used to be as the breasts of birds grow wider and wider in order for more meat to be produced. When they are genetically modified like this, they are in constant pain and can barely stand up. This practice also happens with pigs and cows who are grown to massive size.

It is the most horrific system that we support.

You'd think, since their quality of life is so horrible, that death would be a merciful release for them. But it's called a slaughterhouse for a reason. Animals are killed by humans while fully conscious by being dunked in scalding water or hacked apart until they die.

Watch with caution.

Video below is graphic and displays what really happens in factory farms.

Beyond all of the animal cruelty practice, the antibiotics and genetic modification is horrible for our own bodies. It is a harmful practice for both us and the animals. The whole system is completely unnatural. Animals were not meant to be in this captivity. They are meant to roam on grassy fields and play in the mud. Industrial agriculture confines them to cages too small to move in where they will sometimes never even see the sun until they are transported to the slaughterhouse.

Please scroll through the images below, no graphic images, just the implications of violence toward animals and the horrible conditions of factory farms.

If you eat meat from non-free range farms, this is the system you contribute to.

What can you do?

The best thing you can do is go vegan, and if you continue to eat animal products, buy them from local and organic, free-range farms. Protest this system and boycott companies that get their money from factory farms. And of course, educate yourself and those around you on the horrors and detrimental effects of factory farms.

Sources:

“Factory Farming: The Industry Behind Meat and Dairy.” PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, 30 December 2020, https://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-food/factory-farming/

The Natural Resources Defense Council. “Industrial Agriculture 101.” NRDC, 12 August 2020, https://www.nrdc.org/stories/industrial-agriculture-101