Image by *ea* via FlickrBy Mark BrohlJustification For Inconceivable Torture
Many folks have told me with pride that they are strong supporters of animal rights and they seem to revere and respect animals to a high degree. I have sometimes wondered if these same people might possibly have more respect for animals than people but that is another topic altogether. Many have even gone so far as to basically indicate to this writer that animals should be revered on just about the same level as humans. I am not sure about taking it to that degree, nevertheless I do believe that all animals are God's creation and should be treated with tenderness, dignity, and respect.
Unfortunately when it comes to the raising of animals for food this mindset is light years away from the actual modes and customs of the industry. The only consideration in this billion dollar money machine is the bottom line in dollars and cents, and innocent animals pay a dear price in terms of the unimaginable cruelty inflicted on them in order to satisfy our insatiable unhealthy desires.
According to the "USDA Slaughter Stats" for 2008, over 18.5 billion animals were slaughtered (there is a good reason the word "slaughtered" does not sound very friendly) and that figure rises every year. You can be sure that precious little consideration will be given to any of the more than 18 billion animals that will die this year as to the methods of raising and then killing them. Many who speak of their love for animals turn a deaf ear to this obvious and incomprehensible cruelty when they sit down to their regular ritual of gorging on the flesh of innocent animals.
The High Cost of an Animal Based Diet
First of all let me say that if the flesh of animals was necessary for human survival I would be the first to stand up and say that we should consume them, hopefully using humane systems of raising and killing them. However, the fact is that eating animals is not even beneficial, much less necessary. It is actually the cause of the massive increases in the rates of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, clogged arteries, strokes, and high blood pressure. Therefore the hamburger you will eat tonight will come at an extremely high cost. The environment will suffer as excessive amounts of precious natural resources are necessary to raise the animal, and the animal will undergo unspeakable humiliation, degradation and torture. Moreover the consumer of the flesh will be taking a long step towards one or more of the above mentioned infirmities.
In the high stakes world of raising animals for human consumption the key is to squeeze the most out of each animal for the least amount of money. Therefore whether you are chowing down on some turkey, chicken, pig, duck, cow, or any other animal, be assured that your dinner was probably kept in a space so small that it couldn't even turn around or lie down and that is, by the way, for the entirety of its cruelly shortened life.
Many of the animals that you have consumed in the past and will consume in the future, were of course, not allowed the luxury of even a little exercise in the totality of their existence so that every bit of energy that their tortured bodies generated went towards producing flesh, eggs or milk. The huge corporation heads that are responsible for getting your supper to Safeway, have discovered that the more animals they pack into a smaller space, the more mansions and cars they are able to buy.
Your Dinner Was Most Certainly Tortured
In order to satisfy your ritual craving for animal flesh, your "main course" was fed drugs and growth hormones to get it fatter faster and to make sure it didn't die before it could "pay the piper". You see the living conditions it was subjected to would normally kill it were it not for the drugs. Your dinner was probably genetically mutated so it would be able to produce more eggs, milk, or whiter flesh. The type of cruelty your choice of animals for dinner has endured is universal to all farmed animals although each type, whether they be hens, chickens, cattle, pigs, turkeys or any other factory farmed animal has faced tortures unique to the way that industry raises (it sickens me to use the word) them.
Hens that suffer abuse so that you can get your breakfast served over easy are warehoused in cages no bigger than the space underneath your sink. These tiny cages which house up to seven hens are stacked in tiers one on top of the other by the hundreds. That is where these intelligent animals will live until they are slaughtered. They won't be let out for an afternoon walk or even a stretch. They will not get out of that enclosure until they die.
Your breakfast bacon was warehoused in a crate so small that it was not able to turn around or lie down comfortably for the entirety of its shortened life. The pigs you have eaten (which is the reason you are fighting obesity and clogged arteries) are actually kind, intelligent sweet, inquisitive, loving creatures who certainly should not end up on your fork or stuck to your intestinal walls.
When you take a bite out of your "Flame Broiled Whopper" at lunch, remember that the cow that provided your indulgence (and your next heart attack) was castrated, and was subjected to branding, and had its horns torn out of its head. Rest assured that your hamburger won't cost you one dollar more on account of these atrocities because the big corporations didn't waste any money on things like pain killers before they ripped out the animals horns. And if it is all the same to you I don't even want to discuss how uncomfortable castration would be while still completely conscious and without pain relief.
Drugged and Genetically Altered
Wash your hamburger down with some nice cold milk and rest in the fact that the dairy cows were drugged and genetically manipulated to produce more milk then they were naturally capable of. They were artificially inseminated so that they could have babies and thereby produce milk, but of course the farm factory did not allow any of your breakfast milk to go to the babies. They were stolen from their whaling mother right after birth and sent to veal farms where they will be housed in a cage too small to move for the remainder of their short lives.
They will have their flesh artificially whitened so it looks more appealing to your palate, and when they have outgrown their incredibly small cage (remember they have never been out of it one minute since being stolen from their mother) they will be slaughtered so you can have some tender veal and a glass of wine at your favorite restaurant. Meanwhile their mother will be artificially inseminated again and the same process will be repeated until she is physically incapable of producing any more milk. She will undergo all of this and also face the most inhumane treatment imaginable awaiting the time she is deemed to be no longer useful and then she will be sent to the slaughterhouse.
There is No Such Thing As HUMANE MEAT
Every animal you have ever bought at King Soopers has undergone an existence that is nothing short of torture. Many would now make the case that they buy only "Humane Meat", or "Free Range Eggs" or "organic" milk and so they have assuaged their guilt in the ritual consumption of animals. Even if these animals were truly raised in a totally humane system (they almost certainly were not) there is for all practical purposes no regulation in place to protect their slaughterhouse fate. When they have outgrown their usefulness (which means their bodies are wasted and spent) they will be jam-packed into trucks, unable to move, and driven over many miles in every possible extreme weather condition. Many will not survive the trip which will actually be a more merciful fate. If they do make it alive to the slaughterhouse they will likely experience one or more of these injustices; strangling, beatings, skinning, scalding, and butchering while still fully conscious.
Find a Federal Meat Inspector or just the regular Joe who works in the slaughterhouse if you need verification of the above because if they are honest they will admit to witnessing these heinous acts repeatedly. Please do not turn a deaf ear to this because this most certainly was the fate of the animal you will consume for dinner tonight.
If You Really Love Animals the Solution Is Not Difficult
You might be one who claims to love animals (and really do) and even champion their rights but if you are an animal consumer you are the cause of unthinkable torture and cruelty to many of these innocents each and every year. If it were your dog or cat you would have the full extent of the law on your side if anyone were to so much as think of hurting it. I can say with utmost confidence however, that the cow that is the main course on your plate was also an extremely intelligent animal with a distinct personality. It was loving and loyal and an amazing creature. It truly would have made an excellent friend and companion no less suitable then your dog or cat, except that it would eat more and wouldn't maneuver very well in the living room.
You would probably be astonished to learn about the intelligence and distinct personality traits of chickens, hens, pigs, and other farm animals. If you really knew more about the intelligence of these animals and their true natures you would not readily be the cause of their misery. If you don't know, or refuse to know, then your ignorance will continue to cause their torture. The law is on your side however and certainly not on the side of the farm animal. Large corporations have long since paid for the right to inflict untold suffering on these wonderful creatures, and have lobbied for the right to make you believe the lie that you need to eat these animals for health. Nothing could be further from the truth however, and I hope that at the very least you are willing to take off the blindfold of indifference and open your eyes to this brutal inhumane treatment of the animals that share our planet. The only solution is to stop eating animal flesh. All you have to lose is your diabetes and a few excess pounds.
More to come...
I am passionate about health issues, and the state of the health of our wonderful America. I believe the American Diet is literally killing us and I believe that lobby money is the reason that we have been brainwashed into the shift from a plant based diet to an animal based diet. The result has been an unprecedented increase in heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and cancers of all varieties. I believe Americans are suffering from a lack of truthful information concerning our diets. I enjoy writing articles that will help to correct the problem regarding this lack of information and also examine the prevailing misinformation in the light of truth.
Healthy Vegetarian Choices For Life
Dedicated to the advancement of informed choices that will benefit our health, our environment, and our animal friends. http://www.ourhealthforlife.com
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