Vegetarian Awareness Month Promotes Education
Animal Cruelty and Poor Product Quality Plagues the Meat Industry
Oct 13, 2009
For some the idea of becoming a vegetarian is marked by intense feelings of substantial loss; meat is marketed as the normal means to ensure that the body’s protein requirements are met. After all, meat consumption is normal; it is typically incorporated into each of the daily recommended three meals, and is found in popular snacking products as well
But where does this meat come from? Most of the meat consumed is from cows, but chicken and pork are also common forms of a meal’s main course. So where do the cows, chickens, and pigs come from? Recent investigations into the farms on which these animals are raised and slaughtered continue to reveal the horrific and inhumane conditions of the source of our Nation’s meat.
Meat Producers Accused of Animal Cruelty
The methods employed in raising these animals for food are as despicable as the methods of slaughter; these animals are pumped full of hormones, fed corn products of poor quality, are kept caged and are beaten into coercion. They often suffer from abuse, neglect, and of a variety of diseases and ailments. Those animals that do survive life on the farm are subjected to torture throughout their deaths; the throats of cows are usually slit and their tracheas are removed so they can no longer breath all the while they are fully conscious. These slaughter techniques are widespread amongst our Nation’s leading meat suppliers and continue to be practiced despite the attempts of organizations for animal rights and the humane treatment of farm animals.
But why? The meat industry has continued to practice cruelty and inhumanity because it continues to profit greatly from the Nation’s vast consumption of meat products. With no monetary incentive to adopt sustainable, organic, and humane methods, our meat industry will continue to be characterized by heart-breaking images depicting the sickening relationship developing between a Nation’s people and its animals.
Advocate Health and the Environment by Refusing Meat
It isn’t just about the animals; films such as 'Fast Food Nation' and 'Food Inc' advocate the importance of understanding the source of meat in an effort to sponsor the movement towards holistic health and environmental awareness. Meat is hard to digest, contains contaminates, has a low nutritional value and has been linked as the cause of such diseases and abnormalities as appendicitis, arthritis, breast cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer, diabetes, gall stones, gout, high blood pressure, indigestion, obesity, piles and strokes.
In addition, an enormous amount of our diminishing resources are being used to maintain the large population of cattle. More than half of the crops grown in our nation’s soil are used as cattle feed, and in return cattle and other animals raised for food produce an overwhelming amount of waste; they continue to be significant contributors of global greenhouse gas emissions (carbon dioxide). Also, livestock contributes to groundwater pollution, as the cows eat crops which are heavily treated with pesticides, and eliminate this as waste onto the earth and thus into our source of water.
What’s more disturbing than the origin of meat is its availability; this meat is on the shelf of every major grocer, in the food produced by fast-food restaurants and restaurants alike, in meat products such as burger patties and chicken nuggets, pork rinds and pork links, sausage and hotdogs. If the source of meat is not immediately surrendered by the establishment or provider, chances are it is the tainted product of an inhumane slaughterhouse operating with minimal guidelines and low standards of quality.
Some say enough is enough; PETA and other animal activist’s groups urge the consumer to halt meat-buying altogether; after all, the benefits of a meatless diet greatly outweigh the losses. It has been shown that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables is highly beneficial, and the nutrients once supplied by meat can be easily supplemented by earth-organic produce.
The Non-Profit Organization for Humane Farm Animal Care
The consumer does not need to bury their steak knife so soon; a certain non-profit organization encourages the humane treatment and slaughter of animals by issuing the Humane Certification. The ‘Certified Humane Raised and Handled Program’ targets animal welfare and product quality by its rigorous evaluation of the animals from birth until slaughter. A meat producer is thus Certified Humane if the product "meets the Humane Farm Animal Care Program standards, which include nutritious diet without antibiotics, or hormones, animals raised with shelter, resting areas, sufficient space and the ability to engage in natural behaviors” (Certified Humane.org).
Meat wearing this badge can be found at local organic or whole foods outlets; however it is the responsibility of the consumer to inquire regarding the humane certification of the meat product. A list of Certified Humane Resellers can be found by visiting the Certified Humane website.
Education First, Action Second
Every effort intended to cease animal cruelty and food-associated illness and ailments in mankind needs to begin with consumer education and awareness; if enough people join the movement towards sustainability and are made aware of their inadvertent contributions to the unethical industries of our nation’s largest suppliers of food, perhaps those ideals which are beginning to surface in the holistic agricultural community will begin to emerge mainstream. Thousands of animals could be spared of their lives and thousands of workers could be spared of the act of slaughter.
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