In the interest of full disclosure, I am a vegetarian but not a vegan, and quite ashamed about it. I try to stick to organic yogurt, and cage-free eggs when I buy eggs, and I don’t eat ice cream or drink milk as a general rule, but that’s a pretty small concession to veganism, and I admit it honestly, if not freely. It should be assumed that the following applies to “factory-farms,” not necessarily operations like family-owned farms, kosher facilities, or certified humane businesses. Whether or not these other types of farms are acceptable alternatives is another question, which may be addressed here at a later date, though I’m not making any promises.
So, it’s a pretty miserable life being an egg laying hen. Hens are debeaked, with hot irons, because the horrendous conditions in which they are kept can induce destructive behavior such as cannibalism. 98% of egg-laying hens “live” in stacked battery cages, with 5-7 birds in space not really adequate for long term residence for one: 20x24”. They’re improperly fed to manipulate their egg production. They lose their feathers from malnutrition and their feet are destroyed by the harsh metal floors they have to stand on. The egg industry also feeds the slaughter. Any male chicks which are born are killed, as they have no use for egg laying. According to PETA, they’re often killed in a high-speed grinding machine called the macerator. The hens, who are exhausted by the malnutrition and overproduction, not to mention osteoporosis, are worn out and therefore shipped to slaughter around 2 years of age, one-fifth the potential life-span of a chicken.
Dairy cows in factory farms also suffer. There are approximately 9 million cows on dairy farms, some 13 million less than in 1950. Yet milk production is up, an indication of the unnatural and demanding position dairy cows are in. They are kept constantly pregnant, and never given the chance to actually raise their young. Male calves are taken away when they’re a day old and fed a milk substitute, destined for the veal market. Females are slaughtered or “groomed” for dairy production. Through genetic manipulation, antibiotics, and hormones cows are forced to produce an unnatural quantity of milk. Some cows are kept chained to poles on concrete floors while others are crammed into over-crowded mud lots. Grass doesn’t even come into the equation, as their feed consists of various animal parts, even including cow meat. This particular abomination is what gave rise to the mad cow problems being experienced, particularly in Britain, a few years ago. One of the most frequent disorders affecting dairy cows is mastitis, a painful inflammation of the mammary glands, in part due to the automated milking systems employed by high-yield dairy farmers. Here’s something particularly disturbing from PETA factsheets:
Studies have shown that providing cows with cleaner housing, more space, and better diets, bedding, and care lowers the SCC of their milk and their incidence of mastitis.(15) A Danish study of cows subjected to automated milking systems found “acutely elevated cell counts during the first year compared with the previous year with conventional milking. The increase came suddenly and was synchronized with the onset of automatic milking.”(16) Yet instead of improving conditions on factory farms or easing cows’ production burden, the dairy industry is exploring the use of cloned cattle who have been genetically manipulated to be resistant to mastitis.(17)
Rather than consider a little bit of kindness or compassion, dairy farmers are trying to make Frankencows.
We shouldn’t kid ourselves. Eggs and dairy aren’t harmless, especially when we don’t pay attention to where they come from. It isn’t easy to give up, or even cut back on, the foods we love. But that omelet may come at the price of everything that’s supposed to be good in humanity.
And if the suffering of animals doesn’t bother you, you should see what the livestock industry is doing to people.
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ugh...as much as I enjoy reading your blog entries, I really hate to read them too sometimes. You do quite a good job at pointing out the simple blindsightedness of the general public. This is not common knowledge, this is information that must be sought out, and then trusted by publications from organizations which the media actively portrays as crazy and out of touch with reality. It's sad how out of touch with reality most of the rest of us are, and how we are so purposefully ignorant. People don't want to hear about this stuff b/c they don't want to be guilted into changing their lives, b/c they will otherwise be seen as an insensitive, inhumane prick. This is a great example of how 'out of sight, out of mind' is such an effective strategy to keep most people from caring about something. Although, as compelling of an argument as you've written, and as much as I believe everything you've said, and as much as I abhor the innerworkings of this industry...I am going to get up tomorrow and pour milk into my bowl of cereal. Hopefully I will start feeling badly about it though, and maybe soon find myself pouring soy milk into my Cap'n Crunch.
To Dano,
So what you're really saying is that you care about the millions of animals that are forced into lives of suffering, but you're not willing to do anything about it.
My question to you is this:
What good does it do anyone if you care about something, but you don't act upon that concern?
Larry Parker
(Blogging for those who cannot blog for themselves)
http://vanguardpublications.blogspot.com
Dano,
If you're even still visiting this blog, let me begin by asking you to accept my apologies. Though I stand by my initial comments, I admit that they might have been rudely presented.
It's just that I have a great compassion for all animals, and when I think about hundreds of millions of them being forced to endure unspeakable horrors at the hands of members of my own species, my attitude tends to distort and bend a bit.
Besides, the question is not really whether or not you should swear off of meat or what kind of milk you pour on your cereal; because let's face it - Dairy is everywhere: butter, margarine, salad dressing, cheese, catsup, frosting, icing, even the eggs used to make your breads, cakes, doughnuts, etc. It's virtually inescapable.
The question is rather how do we ensure that the things we want to eat (and should be able to eat without feeling guilt) can be derived from animals that have been treated responsibly and with care.
And this is going to be no easy task since factory farms account for the overwhelming majority of all the meat and dairy products which are currently being consumed in this country. The forces which control these baseless institutions are rich, powerful, well-entrenched, and supported by a convenient serving of corrupt politicians.
This is why I feel so strongly about the fact that every single person who cares about what is going on needs to take some kind of action rather than simply caring. If we're ever going to change things, everyone must contribute.
Larry Parker
Don't worry, Larry. As Dano is a personal friend of the blogger, I don't think you'll chase him away. And I understand your pain. Sometimes you just want to yell at people. I think Dano's point is that it's hard for people to be the change they want to see in the world, to borrow from Ghandi. Hey, at least he admits it. Pisses me off less than people who refuse to even acknowledge that they're doing the wrong thing. One doesn't generally want to call friends and family sociopaths but. . . . Still, it took me years before my first realization that eating animals is wrong and my ability to permanently become a vegetarian at age 16, so I always try to remember that the struggle to become better is an important part of the ultimate ability to actually be better, so we have to support people who are still in the process of struggling.
uhm, sorry, that should've been "took me years between my realization. . ." not "before"
Well said. And you know what?
I'm in my mid-fifties and have only recently begun to institute the kinds of changes in my life which both you and Dano are obviously attending to at a much younger age. Maybe it's the two of you who should be lecturing me instead of me shooting my mouth off without knowing all the facts.
By the way, don't feel so bad about not going full-blown vegan. Even they are unable to reach a state of perfection. Let me refer you to some text I picked up from www.afa-online.org:
"...animal fats are used in the production of steel, rubber, vinyl, and plastics. Hence, cars, buses, and even bicycles are not vegan items."
"Vegans acknowledge that purity in an industrial country is not only unattainable but unrealistic, and to maintain the impossible as an objective may very well be counterproductive."
It goes on about this at some length, but I think you probably get the idea.
Anyway, for my part, I will continue to blog on the subject of factory farms in the hopes of reaching as many people as possible.
Take care.
P.S. I just ran across a podcast this morning. It's an interview based on the book "None Dare Call It Stolen" by Mark Crispin Miller. When I read in your profile that you're an extreme liberal, I thought it only right that the two of you should meet each other.
Find it at: http://podcast.audioevolution.org/mediaplayers/player.aspx?podcastid=1338
Enjoy.
I appreciate your candor.
FYI, many smaller farms are filled with cruelty: turkeys in 95-degree heat with no shade or water, injured animals left to slowly die, and so forth. I know the investigators and saw their pictures.
Of course, some smaller farms are far less cruel. But even there, newborn male chicks are killed for each laying hen, baby calves are pulled from their mothers so we can have their mothers' milk; modern, genetically engineered chickens grow to adult size at such a rapid rate that they suffer from internal organ and chronic joint problems, etc.
In general, we make animals suffer and die for our innessential desires. It seems like you already know that's wrong, but it also seems like you're earnest in your efforts to reduce animal-derived products from your diet as much possible, so sometimes it's good to be reminded of the cruelty.
On a more positive note, there is a profusion of blogs and web sites that have suggestions on how to "veganize" your diet. Using bananas instead of eggs in pancakes tastes great; you can make some fantastic muffins and cakes with Bob's Red Mill egg replacer; there are some very decent tofu scramble recipes out there, and so forth.
Eating as humane a diet as possible is a great feeling.
Best of luck.
Gary--
Yes, nI iknow there are substitutes. I actually do very little cooking with eggs, so what I'm actually referring to is pre-made products which have eggs in them. I'm scrupulous about checking for gelatin and animal fats and stock bases, but I'm not so careful about egg products. Like I said, it's a continuing effort, I'm just not all the way there yet.
Gary-
Also, thanks for the heads-up on small farms. I wasn't trying to acquit them, I just like to have stats and references to back up any accusations I make, and I didn't have any on hand.
I feel that a sharp distinction needs to be made here between "small farm" and "family farm". There are indeed many small farms that are actually just tiny replicas of larger factory farms. That is precisely, in fact, one of the strategies that factory farm organizations are using to sneak in under the radar of existing anti-industrialization laws.
A family farmer, on the other hand, grew up on and depends on the farm for his livelihood. It's been in his family for generations, and as a rule, he cares very much about the welfare of the animals under his care, and when it's time to slaughter them it's done humanely.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not tryin to talk anyone here out of pursuing a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle (As if I could). In fact, until I can find a place to buy meat from that satisfies the above criteria, I'm strictly vegetarian as well for right now.
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