Factory farms are also known for raising animals under appalling conditions. The majority of the farm animals live their entire life without feeling the sun on their backs or tasting fresh grass. Pigs, for example, are separated from their mothers only two weeks after birth, and are put in windowless, dirty sheds without fresh air, sunlight or ability to go outside. Day in and day out they are forced to stand in their own toxic waste and choke on the fumes they generate. The sheds are so small and packed that the piglets can barely move. What many people don’t know is that pigs are actually smarter and more sociable than dogs, and the stress of their confinement leads to both physical and psychological injuries.
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They are forced to endure all weather conditions without any shelter, and they are left to stand in mud, ice and their own waste, with thousands of other cows. The cows are castrated, branded and have their horns burned off without painkillers. The situation for veal calves is even more barbaric. All calves are taken from their mother right after birth to make the mother’s milk available for collection, and the first few weeks they are denied their most basic instinct — to suckle. Unlike other cows, veal calves are confined in tiny crates that restrict the slightest movement. But for them the conditions are even more brutal than for pigs, as they are tied by the neck to inhibit further movement. They cannot lift their heads properly and are forced to live in isolation without any physical contact with other cows. These inhumane and brutal practises are considered the norm at factory farms. …show more content…
In order to save our planet, our health and our humanity, consumers must join together and take a stand against these inhumane operations. They do not have the consumers, the environment, or the animals’ best interest at heart, and their products do certainly not deserve to be on our dinner tables. It is time for change, and change will only happen if consumers choose alternative products that are raised to sustainable standards. Pastoral livestock, for example, “create almost no carbon dioxide emissions. They are not mechanised; nor do they [the farmers] grow or buy feed” (Kumm). According to Dr. Donald Broom, silvopastoral farming, which is a form of raising livestock with trees and shrubs instead of conventional pasture alone, can “provide shade from the hot sun, and shelter from precipitation as well as fulfilling the need of animals to hide from perceived danger”. Animals in these types of systems are treated in a humane way and are raised in their natural environment. This means that there is no unnecessary stress or psychological damage. And because the animals are fed with natural and more digestible forages and their manure is returned to the environment, methane emissions are also reduced. Silvopastoral farming also results in a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from the industrial
They are forced to endure all weather conditions without any shelter, and they are left to stand in mud, ice and their own waste, with thousands of other cows. The cows are castrated, branded and have their horns burned off without painkillers. The situation for veal calves is even more barbaric. All calves are taken from their mother right after birth to make the mother’s milk available for collection, and the first few weeks they are denied their most basic instinct — to suckle. Unlike other cows, veal calves are confined in tiny crates that restrict the slightest movement. But for them the conditions are even more brutal than for pigs, as they are tied by the neck to inhibit further movement. They cannot lift their heads properly and are forced to live in isolation without any physical contact with other cows. These inhumane and brutal practises are considered the norm at factory farms. …show more content…
In order to save our planet, our health and our humanity, consumers must join together and take a stand against these inhumane operations. They do not have the consumers, the environment, or the animals’ best interest at heart, and their products do certainly not deserve to be on our dinner tables. It is time for change, and change will only happen if consumers choose alternative products that are raised to sustainable standards. Pastoral livestock, for example, “create almost no carbon dioxide emissions. They are not mechanised; nor do they [the farmers] grow or buy feed” (Kumm). According to Dr. Donald Broom, silvopastoral farming, which is a form of raising livestock with trees and shrubs instead of conventional pasture alone, can “provide shade from the hot sun, and shelter from precipitation as well as fulfilling the need of animals to hide from perceived danger”. Animals in these types of systems are treated in a humane way and are raised in their natural environment. This means that there is no unnecessary stress or psychological damage. And because the animals are fed with natural and more digestible forages and their manure is returned to the environment, methane emissions are also reduced. Silvopastoral farming also results in a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from the industrial