Meat production methods have been evolving throughout history in order to meet the demands of a hungry, exponentially growing world population. Meat is a widespread component in the diets of almost all existing cultures and is an important source of proteins. However, modern era industrial food production disregards the lives of animals. So, morally speaking, is eating meat the right choice to make? By eating meat from fast food or chain restaurants such as McDonald’s we are directly supporting the industrial meat factories, and as a consequence their systematic slaughter and mistreatment of animals. This, however, does not mean that we should entirely boycott meat as a food source, or become vegetarian. The best option is to purchase meat
…show more content…
There is no universal definition for free range food, however the general consensus is that it is food procured from animals whom have had frequent access to outdoors and live in more spacious, and therefore, more humane conditions. Many small, family-owned farms are exclusively organic and free range because they cannot afford the expensive machinery required for industrial farming. Also, the big multinational corporations that control the food industry, such as Tyson, outcompete or simply buy the smaller businesses that attempt to implement industrial techniques in meat production. This leads to the existence of only a select few industrial meat factories which control the entire meat industry in the US, and as a result exert a great deal of influence over the nation’s politics. This is pointed out by Robert Kenner, a journalist who set out to make a documentary about the food industry: “I gradually realized that, while I had set out to make a film about food, I was now making a film about unchecked corporate power” (28). Therefore, the only survival option for farms that want to keep producing meat is to implement organic farming techniques. “One of the fastest growing sectors of agriculture …show more content…
Due to the small, congested space where the animals live in industrial meat factories, it is easy for various diseases and bacteria to spread, such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, also known as mad cow disease, E.Coli, and salmonella. For example, the Angell Animal Medical center website states that chicken sheds called “grower houses” confine up to “20000 chickens at a density of approximately 130 square inches per bird. To reduce the effects of confinement, breeder chickens undergo a serious of mutilations. This includes the removal of beaks and toes, as well as the removal of combs and leg spurs on males, to minimize the increased aggression related to confinement.” As is shown in Food, Inc., testing for mad cow disease by the U.S. Department of Agriculture is very weak, “Only 40,000 cattle, one-tenth the number tested the year before, will be tested annually. Given the weakness of the rules that are supposed to prevent the spread of disease, this limited testing effectively leaves consumers unprotected” (Weber 21). Contamination of the environment is another issue that stems from raising a large number of animals in a relatively small, confined environment. “A dairy farm with 2,500 cows produces as much waste as a city of 411,000 people” (Weber 24). This waste is dangerous as it can easily end up in water supplies and contaminate them. For environmentally conscious people, the
There is no universal definition for free range food, however the general consensus is that it is food procured from animals whom have had frequent access to outdoors and live in more spacious, and therefore, more humane conditions. Many small, family-owned farms are exclusively organic and free range because they cannot afford the expensive machinery required for industrial farming. Also, the big multinational corporations that control the food industry, such as Tyson, outcompete or simply buy the smaller businesses that attempt to implement industrial techniques in meat production. This leads to the existence of only a select few industrial meat factories which control the entire meat industry in the US, and as a result exert a great deal of influence over the nation’s politics. This is pointed out by Robert Kenner, a journalist who set out to make a documentary about the food industry: “I gradually realized that, while I had set out to make a film about food, I was now making a film about unchecked corporate power” (28). Therefore, the only survival option for farms that want to keep producing meat is to implement organic farming techniques. “One of the fastest growing sectors of agriculture …show more content…
Due to the small, congested space where the animals live in industrial meat factories, it is easy for various diseases and bacteria to spread, such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, also known as mad cow disease, E.Coli, and salmonella. For example, the Angell Animal Medical center website states that chicken sheds called “grower houses” confine up to “20000 chickens at a density of approximately 130 square inches per bird. To reduce the effects of confinement, breeder chickens undergo a serious of mutilations. This includes the removal of beaks and toes, as well as the removal of combs and leg spurs on males, to minimize the increased aggression related to confinement.” As is shown in Food, Inc., testing for mad cow disease by the U.S. Department of Agriculture is very weak, “Only 40,000 cattle, one-tenth the number tested the year before, will be tested annually. Given the weakness of the rules that are supposed to prevent the spread of disease, this limited testing effectively leaves consumers unprotected” (Weber 21). Contamination of the environment is another issue that stems from raising a large number of animals in a relatively small, confined environment. “A dairy farm with 2,500 cows produces as much waste as a city of 411,000 people” (Weber 24). This waste is dangerous as it can easily end up in water supplies and contaminate them. For environmentally conscious people, the