The average American citizen is expected to consume 222 pounds of meat in 2018 (Singh and Durisin, 2018). To produce this much meat, around 9 billion animals are killed yearly, with about one million slaughtered every hour. (Humane Society) You can only imagine the number of people it takes to slaughter these animals. However, we will never know the exact number, because many slaughterhouse workers are undocumented immigrants. Agriculturally, the U.S. makes a profit of about 2 Billion off of tomatoes (USDA). Unfortunately, many of the people required to produce this much food are terribly mistreated. Even more so, many injuries go unaccounted for because many are undocumented immigrants. Some are sexually assaulted, and many suffer detrimental
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The physiological consequences of working in a slaughterhouse can wreak havoc on workers’ lives. Slaughterhouse workers experience higher rates of PTSD and PITS (Perpetration Induced Traumatic Stress). PTSD is usually caused by witnessing horrific acts. In contrast, PITS is caused by committing potentially morally horrific acts. (Metta Center for Nonviolence) Symptoms of PTSD include irritability and anger, feeling detached from others, and substance abuse and addiction (valley behavioral) . The result of slaughtering animals can almost completely change a person’s personality. Constant violence against animals causes workers to put up a mental shield to save themselves from a higher emotional toll resulting from the slaughter of animals. This shield leads to decreased empathy for the animal kingdom as a whole. Consequently, this decreased empathy for animals also leads to decreased empathy for people. Many workers said they found themselves occasionally looking at people as nothing more than animals and one even said that at certain moments he would look at people and knew that in that moment he would feel no remorse if he had to kill them. (Dorovskikh, 2015) Slaughterhouse workers sometimes find themselves unusually angry, even if fits of rage are extremely unusual for them. One worker described a fit of rage where he began to beat and kick his car for no reason other than a minor mistake he made while fixing the car. He also explained that he became irritable and cranky after employment at a slaughterhouse. (Dorovskikh, 2015) Another worker recalls that many of his coworkers used alcohol to deal with the emotional strain of working in a slaughterhouse. (Dorovskikh, 2015) Lack of empathy created through the slaughterhouses could explain the high crime rates that often exists in areas where slaughterhouses are located.
The physiological consequences of working in a slaughterhouse can wreak havoc on workers’ lives. Slaughterhouse workers experience higher rates of PTSD and PITS (Perpetration Induced Traumatic Stress). PTSD is usually caused by witnessing horrific acts. In contrast, PITS is caused by committing potentially morally horrific acts. (Metta Center for Nonviolence) Symptoms of PTSD include irritability and anger, feeling detached from others, and substance abuse and addiction (valley behavioral) . The result of slaughtering animals can almost completely change a person’s personality. Constant violence against animals causes workers to put up a mental shield to save themselves from a higher emotional toll resulting from the slaughter of animals. This shield leads to decreased empathy for the animal kingdom as a whole. Consequently, this decreased empathy for animals also leads to decreased empathy for people. Many workers said they found themselves occasionally looking at people as nothing more than animals and one even said that at certain moments he would look at people and knew that in that moment he would feel no remorse if he had to kill them. (Dorovskikh, 2015) Slaughterhouse workers sometimes find themselves unusually angry, even if fits of rage are extremely unusual for them. One worker described a fit of rage where he began to beat and kick his car for no reason other than a minor mistake he made while fixing the car. He also explained that he became irritable and cranky after employment at a slaughterhouse. (Dorovskikh, 2015) Another worker recalls that many of his coworkers used alcohol to deal with the emotional strain of working in a slaughterhouse. (Dorovskikh, 2015) Lack of empathy created through the slaughterhouses could explain the high crime rates that often exists in areas where slaughterhouses are located.