 As farming has become more industrialized,
animals raised for food production are treated more like
commodities than animals. They are handled as units of
production, rather than living, breathing creatures. This
mechanized approach ignores animals’ needs, which often
sacrifices their health and well-being in the name of higher
profits. Although there is controversy surrounding the degrees
of comfort and freedom that farm animals should have, most
people agree that farm animals deserve a minimum standard of
cleanliness and space, and that animals should not be made to
suffer needlessly. Increasingly, more and more consumers are
demanding better treatment of animals.
 Much of the problem
of animal welfare has to do with the basic structure of
industrial farms themselves. Confining animals indoors, as
closely together as possible, rather than letting them roam and
graze on pasture, means that they are exposed to high levels of
toxins which come from so much manure decomposing in an enclosed
space. To counteract the disease inherent in such conditions,
animals are then given constant doses of antibiotics. Animals
are exposed to pesticides and other unhealthy additives through
their feed, and they are often bred and fed so as to produce
unnatural amounts of eggs, milk or meat.
Although many of the techniques found on factory farms
were developed to make production more profitable, other
techniques were created to increase efficiency and safety.
However, these practices often cause discomfort, pain, and
stress to animals, while prohibiting their natural, instinctual
behaviors. Though these tactics may help “mechanize”
the animals by causing less interference with production, they
ultimately contribute to further health problems in both animals
and humans, revealing the inefficiency of industrialized farming
systems.
Cows
At birth, male calves are slaughtered and sold for cheap beef,
sold to be raised for veal,i or castrated before they
are three months old and sent to feedlots to be
fattened.ii Their female counterparts that are
intended for the dairy industry are separated from their mothers
within the first couple of days of life, moved to a rearing
operation where they are fed milk replacer rather than milk, and
many will eventually have their tails “docked,” or
cut off.iii Tail docking is a painful procedure
presumably intended to keep the cow from developing infections
caused by constant exposure to manure, yet there is evidence
that this practice is simply for the convenience of the workers.
As a result, cows are forced to undergo this painful process,
followed by years of discomfort as they are unable to ward off
the flies that infest their manure-filled surroundings.iv
Dairy cows are bred to produce unnaturally high amounts
of milk, weakening their bodies and making them vulnerable to
disease.vii Cattle in both the beef and dairy
industry also show high levels of stress and lameness resulting
from the rough manner in which they are handled and their
extreme living conditions.x Whether on crowded
feedlots where animals are exposed to heat and sun or rain, snow
and freezing temperatures, or in tightly packed and unsanitary
barns, tethered by short ropes around their necks, the life of
factory farm cattle is marked by physical and mental suffering.
Once beef cows have grown to an adequate size and dairy
cows are no longer producing milk at an acceptable rate, farms
send the cattle off to slaughter. Slaughterhouses
are required to meet United States Department of Agriculture
(USDA) standards, but they are also paid to kill animals, so the
faster they kill, the more profits they earn. Because of this
pressure to slaughter animals quickly, mistakes are made that
result in the violation of USDA regulations and extreme
mistreatment and degradation of the animals. Cattle
slaughterhouses have been reported as regularly failing to
completely stun animals before killing them, meaning that the
cows are often conscious while they are being killed.ix
 |
| Suckling pigs. On factory farms, piglets are
confined in crates together, prohibited from running, jumping
and playing according to their natural tendencies. Photo by Jason
Houston. |
Pigs
Factory farmed pigs are born in small crates that limit the
sow’s mobility to the point where she can not turn around.x
As their mother lays immobile, unable make a nest or separate
herself and her offspring from their feces, piglets are confined
in the crate together, prohibited from running, jumping and
playing according to their natural tendencies.xi Once
separated from their mother, pigs are confined together in
concrete pens with no bedding or soil for them to root in. In
such conditions, pigs become restless and often resort to biting
other pigs’ tails as an expression of stress.xii
Rather than simply giving the pigs straw to play in, many
factory farm operators will cut off their pigs’ tails in
response to this behavior.xiii
By the time a pig has grown to slaughtering age, it has
experienced a great deal of stress and is likely carrying
pneumonia caused by extremely high levels of ammonia in their
air, or afflicted with leg deformities resulting from a life
lived on concrete and slatted floors.xiv Many pigs
die en route to the slaughterhouse due to illness and the stress
caused by rough handling and transportation.xv
Chickens
Chickens raised in large-scale poultry and egg farms are packed
individually in cages or all together in large pens, and in
either case the average bird spends its entire life in a space
smaller than a piece of writing paper.xvi Because
they are unable to peck and forage for food, chickens will begin
to peck at one another.xvii In order to prevent this,
their beaks are seared off, which is not only painful and
stressful, but also makes it difficult for the bird to feed
normally.xviii
Chickens observed in factory
farms have shown high levels of stress, which is often displayed
by beating their wings against their cages to the point where
they lose half of their feathers.xix Many intensive
egg operations starve their chickens for up to two weeks in
order to force molting so that the birds will produce more eggs.
This practice has been deemed unsuitable by recent United Egg
Producers (UEP) Animal Husbandry Guidelines, and as of January
2006, feed withdrawal- induced molts are no longer permitted by
the UEP.xx
 Because
they aren’t bred to produce meat, and properly
slaughtering them consumes time and money, hens that can no
longer produce eggs at a desirable pace are sometimes left to
slowly suffocate and die in dumpsters and plastic bags.xxi
Looking Forward
Although it is clear that industrial farming often allows for
animals to be mistreated without any regard for their ability to
suffer, consumers have begun to demand increased standards of
humane treatment of animals in the dairy and meat industries. As
a result of these concerns, large food service enterprises such
as McDonalds and Wendys have responded by asking for a higher
standard of animal welfare in the factories that produce their
meat. Beef producers for these restaurant chains have showed
significant and rapid improvements in the treatment and
slaughter of their cows because of consumer demand for change.xxii
Improving animal welfare in today’s agricultural
sector will depend on widespread changes in the mindsets of farm
owners and workers, but many of the technical adjustments
required to make animals more comfortable and content are
inexpensive and simple to install.xxiii Many
practices that are considered “humane” are also
economically beneficial to the farmer, as happy animals tend to
be healthier and less likely to die prematurely.xxiv
The best possible thing consumers can do to improve the
standards of animal welfare in farming is to buy from local, independent farms and
small-scale, sustainable family farms that permit their animals
to carry out their natural behaviors, like rooting, pecking, and
grazing. Meeting the farmer and visiting their farm will give
you a good idea of how their animals live. By supporting
sustainable farming, consumers vote with their dollars for a
higher standard of treatment and quality of life for farm
animals.
Did You Know?
- In the 1960s, the US Congress
received more letters from citizens concerned with animal
welfare issues than letters concerning civil rights and the
Vietnam War combined.xxv
- Due to genetic manipulation, 90% of
broiler chickens have trouble walking.xxvi
- Ammonia and other gases from manure
irritate animals' lungs, and one study of 34,000 pigs found
that 65% of the animals had "pneumonia-like lesions"
in their lungs.xxviii
What You Can Do?
- Finding humanely-raised meat, dairy
and eggs can take a little research because organic standards
do not adequately cover animal welfare issues. Therefore, it is
important to know your farmer or local butcher, and ask them
how the animals were raised and if they were slaughtered
humanely. Visit the Eat Well Guide to find farms, stores, and
restaurants near you.
- Search out companies and brands
that follow very strict animal welfare guidelines.
Reports and Articles
- Farm Animals - A well-written booklet from
the Animal Welfare Institute on the inhumane treatment of
animals on factory farms.
- Livestock Handling and Transport –
A detailed book explaining various aspects of the treatment of
animals in conventional agriculture.
For more information:
Sources
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