Why Animals Matter
Factory Farming
“The tragic reality is that the vast majority of farmed animals in this country live a fraction of their normal lifespan, and their lives are filled with suffering that is difficult for many of us to even imagine. Brought into existence by corporations that consider them mere units of production, they endure routine, institutional abuses. Old MacDonald’s farm has become a bygone of an earlier era, and not only do animals pay the price, but so too do other people and the environment.”
—From Why Animals Matter
—From Why Animals Matter
Of all the industries that exploit animals, none are responsible for as much cruelty as animal agribusiness. The number of animals who suffer at the hands of all other industries is a tiny fraction of the billions who perish every year to satisfy our nation’s appetite for meat, dairy, and eggs.
Factory farms
Each year, animal agribusiness slaughters more than 10 billion land animals such as chickens, turkeys, pigs, cows, and even rabbits for American dinner plates. Nearly all endure lives filled with suffering on factory farms—massive operations that can confine tens of thousands of animals in sickening conditions. Virtually no laws protect animals from even the worst abuses.
Millions of calves raised for veal and sows used for breeding spend nearly their entire lives confined inside filthy, individual crates so cramped, they can't even turn around. Egg-laying hens are crammed inside cages so small, they can't spread their wings or walk. And many dairy cows endure often-painful health problems.
Fish
Billions of fish are killed for human consumption each year. As wild fish populations plummet due to overfishing, aquaculture—fish factory farming—has surged. These animals suffer many of the same problems as other factory-farmed animals, including confinement, health problems, and frustration of their important natural behaviors.
Slaughter
Nearly all land animals killed for food are chickens. Slaughterhouses kill them by shackling them upside-down while they are fully conscious, electrically stunning them into paralysis, and slitting their throats with a mechanical blade. Many animals survive this process and are drowned in tanks of scalding water used to loosen their feathers.
Slaughter methods for other land animals and fish are similarly inhumane. Many animals are conscious when killed.
Factory farms and the environment
Animal agribusiness is a leading cause of resource depletion and ecological damage. The massive amount of manure from animals on factory farms pollutes our air, water, and soil. Animal agribusiness generates even more greenhouse gas emissions than cars. Aquaculture pollutes our nation’s streams, lakes, and rivers, and overfishing is jeopardizing the ocean’s delicate food web.
Factory farms and people
Slaughterhouse and factory farm workers can be injured by struggling animals on the slaughter line, sharp knives to dismember animals, or repetitive labor. Workers can be infected by a number of illnesses from feces, dirt, and blood. Often, workers are undereducated, poor, and/or unable to speak English—all factors that put them at risk of exploitation by the powerful corporations that employ them.
Factory farms and public health
As the meat industry has become increasingly consolidated, food safety has become jeopardized. Dangerous bacteria and viruses enter the meat supply, causing thousands of illnesses and deaths every year. Illnesses such as avian influenza pose a public health threat.
Factory farms
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| Two chickens rescued from the meat industry enjoy each other's company. Photo courtesy East Bay Animal Advocates. |
Each year, animal agribusiness slaughters more than 10 billion land animals such as chickens, turkeys, pigs, cows, and even rabbits for American dinner plates. Nearly all endure lives filled with suffering on factory farms—massive operations that can confine tens of thousands of animals in sickening conditions. Virtually no laws protect animals from even the worst abuses.
Millions of calves raised for veal and sows used for breeding spend nearly their entire lives confined inside filthy, individual crates so cramped, they can't even turn around. Egg-laying hens are crammed inside cages so small, they can't spread their wings or walk. And many dairy cows endure often-painful health problems.
Fish
Billions of fish are killed for human consumption each year. As wild fish populations plummet due to overfishing, aquaculture—fish factory farming—has surged. These animals suffer many of the same problems as other factory-farmed animals, including confinement, health problems, and frustration of their important natural behaviors.
Slaughter
Nearly all land animals killed for food are chickens. Slaughterhouses kill them by shackling them upside-down while they are fully conscious, electrically stunning them into paralysis, and slitting their throats with a mechanical blade. Many animals survive this process and are drowned in tanks of scalding water used to loosen their feathers.
Slaughter methods for other land animals and fish are similarly inhumane. Many animals are conscious when killed.
Factory farms and the environment
 |
| Truffles and Rudy, who were rescued after falling off transport trucks, relax at Farm Sanctuary. |
Factory farms and people
Slaughterhouse and factory farm workers can be injured by struggling animals on the slaughter line, sharp knives to dismember animals, or repetitive labor. Workers can be infected by a number of illnesses from feces, dirt, and blood. Often, workers are undereducated, poor, and/or unable to speak English—all factors that put them at risk of exploitation by the powerful corporations that employ them.
Factory farms and public health
As the meat industry has become increasingly consolidated, food safety has become jeopardized. Dangerous bacteria and viruses enter the meat supply, causing thousands of illnesses and deaths every year. Illnesses such as avian influenza pose a public health threat.
How you can help animals on factory farms:
• Eat Vegetarian! Nearly every restaurant serves vegetarian or vegan options, grocery stores offer delicious meat alternatives, and a huge selection of cookbooks, websites, and countless other resources are at your fingertips. Here are some ways to start:
• Identify vegetarian or vegan foods that you already enjoy.
• Make simple substitutions like vegetables, tofu, and faux meats in your favorite dishes to make them vegetarian or vegan.
• Buy a vegetarian or vegan cookbook, and check out some of the great recipes available online.
• Try some new vegetarian or vegan products from your grocery or health food store.
• Try vegetarian or vegan dishes from your favorite restaurants.
• Try new ethnic foods. Italian, Mediterranean, African, Chinese, Thai, Mexican, and Indian foods that are often plant-based.
• Experiment with some of the simple dairy and egg substitutions that are available at natural food stores, and even at regular groceries.
• If you continue eating meat, reducing the amount of meat that you consume—even by pledging to eat vegetarian, say, three days a week, and by substituting some meat alternatives in some of your dinners—is a good way to alleviate suffering as well.
• Not all animal products are equal. Because most birds and farmed fish are small, there’s more suffering per serving.
• Finally, switching your purchases of animal products from factory farm producers to producers that treat animals better is a step in the right direction.
• Eat Vegetarian! Nearly every restaurant serves vegetarian or vegan options, grocery stores offer delicious meat alternatives, and a huge selection of cookbooks, websites, and countless other resources are at your fingertips. Here are some ways to start:
• Identify vegetarian or vegan foods that you already enjoy.
• Make simple substitutions like vegetables, tofu, and faux meats in your favorite dishes to make them vegetarian or vegan.
• Buy a vegetarian or vegan cookbook, and check out some of the great recipes available online.
• Try some new vegetarian or vegan products from your grocery or health food store.
• Try vegetarian or vegan dishes from your favorite restaurants.
• Try new ethnic foods. Italian, Mediterranean, African, Chinese, Thai, Mexican, and Indian foods that are often plant-based.
• Experiment with some of the simple dairy and egg substitutions that are available at natural food stores, and even at regular groceries.
• If you continue eating meat, reducing the amount of meat that you consume—even by pledging to eat vegetarian, say, three days a week, and by substituting some meat alternatives in some of your dinners—is a good way to alleviate suffering as well.
• Not all animal products are equal. Because most birds and farmed fish are small, there’s more suffering per serving.
• Finally, switching your purchases of animal products from factory farm producers to producers that treat animals better is a step in the right direction.