Dear Nicholas - STOP EATING!
8
I have thought that "catch and release" fishing is cruel and torturing an animal for pleasure. I have no problem with fishing to eat, but to subject the fish to pain and panic for no reason is not moral.
13
If your haven't read it yet, pick up a copy of Omnivore's Dilemma. Great book about our food supply, chickens included.
10
We live in a glorious world of aware and knowing creatures on all levels. It would be amazing if humans could figure out how to care for and further them all.
http://www.sun-gazing.com/free-range-chicken-egg-farmer-filmed-chickens-...
http://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/2016/04/10/are-your-chickens-talkin...
http://www.sun-gazing.com/free-range-chicken-egg-farmer-filmed-chickens-...
http://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/2016/04/10/are-your-chickens-talkin...
4
I'm a vegetarian. For the rest of you, it is all about the price of dinner. You can't have a $30 KFC bucket and truly care about the animals who were slaughtered so that you could munch on that drumstick. Prices are going to go up if animals are to be treated better and people should be grateful when they do.
And by the way, when we get a $15 minimum wage nationwide prices will go up too. And that's a good thing.
And by the way, when we get a $15 minimum wage nationwide prices will go up too. And that's a good thing.
16
How about cruelty to humans?
World War I
Killed: 16 Million soldiers and civilians (all sides)
World War II
Killed: 60 Million soldiers and civilians (all sides)
Korean War
Killed: 1 1/2 plus Million soldiers and civilians (all sides)
Vietnam War
Killed: 1 1/2 Million soldiers and civilians (all sides)
World War I
Killed: 16 Million soldiers and civilians (all sides)
World War II
Killed: 60 Million soldiers and civilians (all sides)
Korean War
Killed: 1 1/2 plus Million soldiers and civilians (all sides)
Vietnam War
Killed: 1 1/2 Million soldiers and civilians (all sides)
12
I don't let my dogs eat chicken, let alone my family. Those poor, abused birds in the factory farming system that drop dead or are otherwise too diseased for human consumption are ground up and turned into the "chicken" and chicken "byproducts" you see listed on the packages of most wet and dry pet foods. If your pet is sick, including with serious irritable bowel or stomach issues, try taking them off all chicken products and see what happens.
14
Today's meat production industry is broken and despicable at so many levels. You can pick and choose from a range of concerns:
- If you are concerned about the environment, look into the immense ecological cost of raising animals for consumption.
- If you are concerned about animal welfare and trying to avoid/minimize extreme cruelty and suffering, then just watch an undercover video or two, or read an investigative expose of how these animals are raised.
- If you are concerned about human (and animal) health, look into the use of antibiotics and, even, simply what food these animals are fed.
- If you are concerned about labor conditions, look into the employment conditions of those employed in factory farms.
- If you are concerned about economic justice, study the contractual relationship between ordinary small-scale farmers and big food producers.
Even if you have no philosophical objection to the concept of eating animals, the practices of today's meat industry might be enough to turn you off meat.
- If you are concerned about the environment, look into the immense ecological cost of raising animals for consumption.
- If you are concerned about animal welfare and trying to avoid/minimize extreme cruelty and suffering, then just watch an undercover video or two, or read an investigative expose of how these animals are raised.
- If you are concerned about human (and animal) health, look into the use of antibiotics and, even, simply what food these animals are fed.
- If you are concerned about labor conditions, look into the employment conditions of those employed in factory farms.
- If you are concerned about economic justice, study the contractual relationship between ordinary small-scale farmers and big food producers.
Even if you have no philosophical objection to the concept of eating animals, the practices of today's meat industry might be enough to turn you off meat.
94
Multi dimensional column Nicholas. Vegans are given a chance to vent and feel morally superior, people who are into anthropomorphism,get an opportunity to empathize and project about the horrible reality of chickens in death ghettos, and those of us at the apogee of the food chain are given new insight as to why it's better to be the consumer than the consumed.
3
This race to the bottom of food prices is something humans should be ashamed of. But it doesn't stop there. The overwhelming view that we are here for our own comfort and pleasure and everything else on this planet be damned is going to come around and hurt us big time. Such a beautiful planet and such amazing creatures and we turn a blind eye to so much of it.
16
Paul McCartney famously said "if slaughterhouses had glass walls we would all be vegetarians". Let's start there.
38
I remain happy to have lived with the benefits of mass production. Yes, mistakes happen, but predators who eat their prey alive are not evil.
And you don't scare me with silly stories of diseases. I've seen swine flu, mad cows and I already wash my eggs before cracking one open. Cooking kills most pathogens.
When will you care about those you could really help: underprivileged kids like me who were born in urban ghettos. Look up, kids cops and computers cut crime on YouTube- it was a prototype for the world.
And you don't scare me with silly stories of diseases. I've seen swine flu, mad cows and I already wash my eggs before cracking one open. Cooking kills most pathogens.
When will you care about those you could really help: underprivileged kids like me who were born in urban ghettos. Look up, kids cops and computers cut crime on YouTube- it was a prototype for the world.
10
I became a Vegan because I want nothing to do with this horror and cruelty.
People can justify all they want and but the truth is unavoidable: in order to feed 7.4 billion humans who want to consume animal flesh there is no other way than horrific cruelty upon the animals. They are our fellow earthlings and the legacy of humans is one of despicable monstrous behavior. I especially cringe at Artisanal-Hipster-Bacon-Jerks and their "everything is better with bacon" stupidity.
Go to the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary web site and watch the video of Lexi the piglet who acts just like a dog or the Turkeys who peck at the door in the morning asking for a treat. They are Sentient Beings if we just left them alone, but we cannot because the truth is Humans are the animals.
People can justify all they want and but the truth is unavoidable: in order to feed 7.4 billion humans who want to consume animal flesh there is no other way than horrific cruelty upon the animals. They are our fellow earthlings and the legacy of humans is one of despicable monstrous behavior. I especially cringe at Artisanal-Hipster-Bacon-Jerks and their "everything is better with bacon" stupidity.
Go to the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary web site and watch the video of Lexi the piglet who acts just like a dog or the Turkeys who peck at the door in the morning asking for a treat. They are Sentient Beings if we just left them alone, but we cannot because the truth is Humans are the animals.
28
The horrible torture of animals by agribusiness is why I no longer eat meat.
21
What The New Emperor should do: Mandate that anybody who wants to eat meat must raise an animal and slaughter it. Eating is then optional. This would get you your US Meat Card, allowing you to buy meat in stores. Connect the meat to the blood, guts and murder and more vegetarianism will result.
13
There is one simple answer that Nicholas never seems able to offer: go vegan. Nobody any long doubts that doing so is better for the earth, better for people and obviously, better for animals.
The food my family and I eat is easy to prepare, healthy, delicious and cheap. Nick, give it a try.
The food my family and I eat is easy to prepare, healthy, delicious and cheap. Nick, give it a try.
34
Leave the animals alone. They were not put here for us to use. They are living brings as we are with the same capacity to suffer.
15
A good column. Pigs are treated even worse. Perhaps it is too much to hope that the people in this country, and the world, will do something to alleviate the suffering of our fellow animals. We are finally doing a little for the orcas and dolphins. We certainly need to do something for our food. Keep doing columns-even exposes on the front page.
15
"…when the process doesn’t work properly, the birds are scalded alive."
If you want to buy meat from animals that were individually slaughtered in the most humane way simply buy kosher meat.
This individual treatment of these animals raises the price but millions of Jewish people are willing to sacrifice these few extra dollars for a more humane way of treating them individually.
If you want to buy meat from animals that were individually slaughtered in the most humane way simply buy kosher meat.
This individual treatment of these animals raises the price but millions of Jewish people are willing to sacrifice these few extra dollars for a more humane way of treating them individually.
11
White meat chicken is the real Soylent Green. Unfortunately for me, I find it too dry, and flavorless.
Well said. The more we distance our selves from food production, both animal and vegetable, the lower the quality and the more inhuman and polluting the processes become. It has got to the point where if you attempt to butcher a legally shot deer in the garage a neighbor may call the police and having a vegetable garden in the backyard is against the HOA rules.
4
I can't decide if I am repulsed by this article or inspired. In any event, I am definitely closer to becoming a vegetarian. Thank you for reminding me that cruelty should not be a part of my daily recommended nutritional allowance.
58
Interesting article.
This country, and the world around it are challenged by enormous problems.
I would rank chicken farming somewhere between #10,000 and #20,000.
(Leaning toward the latter)
This country, and the world around it are challenged by enormous problems.
I would rank chicken farming somewhere between #10,000 and #20,000.
(Leaning toward the latter)
11
The choice isn't between factory farmed chicken and soy, it's between factory farmed chicken, humanely raised chicken, and soy. Here are stories of people who eat meat but only from ethical farms that raise animals with care:
http://www.humaneitarian.org/being-a-humaneitarian/your-stories/#.VxOLDe...
http://www.humaneitarian.org/being-a-humaneitarian/your-stories/#.VxOLDe...
3
Ransom May II dangled a dog by the scruff of its neck over a second-floor balcony, threatening to drop it 12 feet to the ground.police on Tuesday arrested him on a charge of cruelty to animals- Police do not waste your time in putting him in jail/fine him $$. Just hang him by his scuff over a busy highway or from a cliff near by preferably in hot sun. He will know how it feels.He will never again do such thing in his life.
5
But why do we have to "follow the Pied Piper" of agribusiness ?
Why are we looking for cheap ? One gets what one pays for.
If you don't have a "family flock of chickens" like Mr. Kristof, maybe you have a neighbor, or maybe you could search "further afield".
It might be a fun adventure to take the car/bus/train out to show the children chickens with feathers & fresh eggs with orange yolks & pretty colored shells.
I have; you can, too.
Why are we looking for cheap ? One gets what one pays for.
If you don't have a "family flock of chickens" like Mr. Kristof, maybe you have a neighbor, or maybe you could search "further afield".
It might be a fun adventure to take the car/bus/train out to show the children chickens with feathers & fresh eggs with orange yolks & pretty colored shells.
I have; you can, too.
3
What if vegetables had feelings? What if gouging the eyes out of a potato or ripping corn off by the ears caused excruciating pain? And don't forget all that slicing, dicing, and chopping: that has got to hurt.
8
HUMANE TREATMENT I agree with Nick that the animals that humans consume need to be bred, raised and slaughtered with respect. Native Americans have hunting rituals that involve showing thanks for the sacrifice that the animals make to feed humans. Learning from their example would be a logical starting point. Temple Grandin, inventor of humane methods of slaughter of cattle, has extended her expertise to turkeys. There is a 13 minute video of Grandin explaining and demonstrating her humane model for their slaughter. I think she's yet to design humane methods for the raising and slaughter of chickens. Till then, consumers who truly wish to find more humanely treated birds will probably find what they're looking for by patronizing small old-time kosher butchers. Though they're a disappearing breed, they're required to monitor every step of the animals' raising and slaughter to assure that they are treated in accordance with Jewish dietary laws, Kashrut. There may be some standards of human treatment of animals in the practices of Muslim hallal butchers. We need to transition to human treatment of domesticated animas we use for food.
5
I live on a street with a chicken farm in NW Georgia. I recently rescued a bird that fell off the truck on way to slaughter. The bird was unable to stand or really move without just flopping using its wings. With protection in a stall and paddock, good feed and human contact, it was able to get in and out of a roost. he quickly attached himself to me and follow me down the barn aisle. He liked to be held and stroked. I did not want this because I eat chicken and wanted to minimize their ability to interact with me. He quickly made eye contact and I was sickened.
His sweetness and clucking when he wanted out amazed me. I will no longer buy chicken and never fix beef at home. I do not like soy products consistency or taste. Exploring new ways to eat at 70. To do anything else is impossible now.
His sweetness and clucking when he wanted out amazed me. I will no longer buy chicken and never fix beef at home. I do not like soy products consistency or taste. Exploring new ways to eat at 70. To do anything else is impossible now.
144
George Orwell knew the answer back in 1945. "Some animals are more equal than others."
16
I've been a vegetarian for 25 years and am engaged to a man who's been an avid hunter for about the same amount of time. Friends and family always wonder how our relationship has survived, but hunting is far, far more humane than factory farming. To bemoan the fate of "those poor deer" while cheerfully buying neatly packaged meat at the supermarket suggests not only hypocrisy but ignorance.
59
I am a vegetarian for a variety of reasons, the cruelty to animals one of them.
I am lucky to have some savings which I have invested carefully in the stock market, mostly the S&P 500 which is supposed to be fairly conservative and safe for the long term. I need these funds for my modest retirement. I'm following the widely held beliefs that this is the most prudent course. I'm very happy when the markets rise.
But if I look into what exactly I own shares of I see all kinds of companies which I wouldn't really like to invest in. They produce things and have practices which I really don't want to participate in. One of those companies would be any of these gigantic poultry processors. I don't buy their chickens in the store and feel sickened when I see these films showing how the chicks are handles. But I am making a small amount of profit, I hope, as the years go by toward my retirement and beyond.
And where else can we put our money? You can't get any kind of return except in the markets. If I put it in a sock in the basement it loses value to inflation, so I am forced to do something with it. I'm too old to use it to start a business, which I already did earlier in life.
Even if you don't have any shares in companies like these we all participate in this horror show, by purchasing cheap food at the big grocery stores or the fast-food places. And you can pretty much apply this to many industries, how they pollute and destroy life.
What a situation we find ourselves in.
I am lucky to have some savings which I have invested carefully in the stock market, mostly the S&P 500 which is supposed to be fairly conservative and safe for the long term. I need these funds for my modest retirement. I'm following the widely held beliefs that this is the most prudent course. I'm very happy when the markets rise.
But if I look into what exactly I own shares of I see all kinds of companies which I wouldn't really like to invest in. They produce things and have practices which I really don't want to participate in. One of those companies would be any of these gigantic poultry processors. I don't buy their chickens in the store and feel sickened when I see these films showing how the chicks are handles. But I am making a small amount of profit, I hope, as the years go by toward my retirement and beyond.
And where else can we put our money? You can't get any kind of return except in the markets. If I put it in a sock in the basement it loses value to inflation, so I am forced to do something with it. I'm too old to use it to start a business, which I already did earlier in life.
Even if you don't have any shares in companies like these we all participate in this horror show, by purchasing cheap food at the big grocery stores or the fast-food places. And you can pretty much apply this to many industries, how they pollute and destroy life.
What a situation we find ourselves in.
5
Dear Mr. Kristof,
Thank you and please continue to cover issues related to animal cruelty. Raising awareness is the first step in stopping this horrible situation, though it feels like a baby step. In addition to becoming vegan, is there anything else the average person can do?
Thank you and please continue to cover issues related to animal cruelty. Raising awareness is the first step in stopping this horrible situation, though it feels like a baby step. In addition to becoming vegan, is there anything else the average person can do?
5
Mike Weaver and Eric Hedrick ar true heroes, jeopardizing the business they probably struggled. All because of the corporate bean counters who are investing almost every type of business in America. We need to be kept abreast of what consequences they end up paying.
1
Dear Nick,
As in previous columns in which you stood up for the rights of living beings to be happy you have yet to announce you have become a vegetarian and have stopped hunting. You have mentioned you struggle with the morality of both and I wish you well on your journey of discovery. You are so close...
Jeff
As in previous columns in which you stood up for the rights of living beings to be happy you have yet to announce you have become a vegetarian and have stopped hunting. You have mentioned you struggle with the morality of both and I wish you well on your journey of discovery. You are so close...
Jeff
4
There's a terrific book that gave me a whole new respect for chickens, an understanding of their wild roots, and a better grasp of what, exactly, we have done to this amazing bird. It's also a fun read, beautifully written and researched, and does not preach..."Why Did the Chicken Cross the World" by Andrew Lawler.
5
It is indeed sad but true that we show more concern--concern reinforced with legal penalties--over the welfare of household pets than we do over the millions of animals humanely grown and processed for human consumption. Unfortunately, the solutions so often supported by animal rights groups such as PETA (to which I belong and support) offer little promise of constructive change. The reality is that we live in a meat culture (with support readily found in scripture) and the efforts to promote veganism, for example, have no chance of success and a high likelihood of boomerang public reactions. Likewise, the adversarial posture assumed by many toward the industry(s) responsible for animal- derived protein production has proven to be counterproductive (think ecoterrorist accusations). The real key to combating factory farming abuses and improving animal welfare lies in harnassing the power of the market, particularly at the retail level. When the largest purchasers of factory farm output (beef, pork, poultry, dairy, etc.) are convinced they can gain competitive advantage through differentiation tied to animal welfare, change in production practices will soon follow as factory farms are pressured to clean up their acts or risk losing the business of McDonald's, Taco Bell, Yum Brands, etc. Parallels can readily be seen in the apparel industry where prestigious brands (e.g., Nike) have sought to distance themselves from sweatshops via labeling and "fair trade" agreements.
4
A picture is worth a thousand words. I believe that if Americans viewed videos of what is happening on feed lots, calf crates and slaughterhouses we would quickly lose our appetite.
64
Anyone who has travelled the world understands how precious food is, and animals have been a food source for mankind since its dawn. Whether we are hunting on the veld or shopping in the supermarket, we have to eat. It is a miracle that modern, urbanized societies can feed themselves, and it has been the invention of industrialized farming that has made it possible. I have seen poultry production up close, and in many ways, it frightens me, but not because of the pending slaughter, but because of the potential for biological disaster or pandemic. High density poultry farming creates the perfect reservoir condition for avian diseases transmissible to humans because the majority of that production is along traditional migratory routes for ducks, geese, etc.
There is an inherent symbiosis to agriculture, and humans are a big part of it. We change the genetics, health, and yes the very lives of the creatures we feed on. Seeking a moral imperative to better food seems like the natural thing to do because our lives depend on the lives we consume. I'm all for better farming methods because I'm interested I eating better food and lowering the health and environmental risks of industrialized farms. As for the chickens, I prefer free range, but kosher is best. It's fair to you and the bird.
There is an inherent symbiosis to agriculture, and humans are a big part of it. We change the genetics, health, and yes the very lives of the creatures we feed on. Seeking a moral imperative to better food seems like the natural thing to do because our lives depend on the lives we consume. I'm all for better farming methods because I'm interested I eating better food and lowering the health and environmental risks of industrialized farms. As for the chickens, I prefer free range, but kosher is best. It's fair to you and the bird.
7
I'm a long term vegetarian who believes that most people know that big agribusiness is bad. I've seen many people make positive changes in their life to try to alleviate the problem. But some continue to act as if nothing is wrong. I believe they don't change their behavior because they think there are rules in place that must be obeyed in polite society:
- Rule One: To eat meat is to be normal.
- Rule Two: It's impolite to discuss how agribusiness breeds animals.
- Rule Three: It's okay to plan a meal that doesn't accommodate vegetarians, but it is impolite to serve a meal that contains no meat.
Let's linger for a moments on that last point. Not often, but sometimes friends who eat at our house worry about their health or their children's health because they are eating one meal that contains no meat. If they skip meat for one meal out of the 1095 meals they will eat that year, then they might -- what? Topple over from malnutrition? Succumb to a virus on the spot? Their child's flesh will waste away due to a lack of protein? The meal we serve may have more protein in it than they get from a typical meat dish, but isn't their something suboptimal about the protein found in plants? What propaganda were they subjected to that made them believe such nonsense?
I admire meat eaters who simply choose to eat less meat. Perhaps they eat meat for only one meal a day. Or eat meat only three days a week. Anything that might help lesson the terrible problem outlined in this article.
- Rule One: To eat meat is to be normal.
- Rule Two: It's impolite to discuss how agribusiness breeds animals.
- Rule Three: It's okay to plan a meal that doesn't accommodate vegetarians, but it is impolite to serve a meal that contains no meat.
Let's linger for a moments on that last point. Not often, but sometimes friends who eat at our house worry about their health or their children's health because they are eating one meal that contains no meat. If they skip meat for one meal out of the 1095 meals they will eat that year, then they might -- what? Topple over from malnutrition? Succumb to a virus on the spot? Their child's flesh will waste away due to a lack of protein? The meal we serve may have more protein in it than they get from a typical meat dish, but isn't their something suboptimal about the protein found in plants? What propaganda were they subjected to that made them believe such nonsense?
I admire meat eaters who simply choose to eat less meat. Perhaps they eat meat for only one meal a day. Or eat meat only three days a week. Anything that might help lesson the terrible problem outlined in this article.
10
Just one question... If eating meat isn't normal, why did we evolve so that it tastes good? Otherwise I agree with pretty much everything you say.
1
Must take issue with this statement "I’m also struck that less than 5 percent of the meat chickens die prematurely". It seems to me that all the chickens are destined to die prematurely.
Last night at a local cafe, a couple with a miniature potbellied pig on a harness were enjoying dinner. Needless to say, they were attracting quite a bit of attention! One would swear it was a dog, the way the pig would run up to each new visitor, sniff their hands, snort & wag its little curly tail. I had to ask if it knew any tricks, and I was promptly shown a spin, then a "sit" on command.
These animals are very smart. Our industrial production methods have distanced us from these realities, and the dark forces of capitalism have created an immoral farming system. I have been vegetarian for decades now, as I will not join in this savage torture of the very animals that sustain our health. It seems to me that since we owe these animals everything, we should show proper respect.
Last night at a local cafe, a couple with a miniature potbellied pig on a harness were enjoying dinner. Needless to say, they were attracting quite a bit of attention! One would swear it was a dog, the way the pig would run up to each new visitor, sniff their hands, snort & wag its little curly tail. I had to ask if it knew any tricks, and I was promptly shown a spin, then a "sit" on command.
These animals are very smart. Our industrial production methods have distanced us from these realities, and the dark forces of capitalism have created an immoral farming system. I have been vegetarian for decades now, as I will not join in this savage torture of the very animals that sustain our health. It seems to me that since we owe these animals everything, we should show proper respect.
12
Before an abundant and inexpensive food supply, the world average human life expectancy was low. In 1900, it was only 31. Today, with modern agriculture, the same stat is 67. The quality of the human condition should be a factor in this discussion. It appears to me that those railing against modern farming have never been to a third world market where all the chickens look like they all died of natural causes. Elites that have never had to scrounge for a meal are welcome to shop at Whole Foods. The poor of the world should be allowed to continue to benefit from efficient production, plump chickens, and lower food prices.
15
Being eaten is never pleasant, no matter who the predator is, but that does not excuse us. I've been watching the DC eagle nest cam. The adult eagles bring live fish into the nest, rip off the gills, and start feeding their eaglets chunks of meat while the poor fish is still flopping around, gasping for breath. So, our species is not alone in inflicting great pain on our prey. But, while eagles' prey has torturous deaths, our prey also have terrible lives -- from birth to death. And, unlike other animals, we separate the killing from the eating so that we can pretend that chickens just appear in the grocery store, as if that somehow leaves our hands clean. (It does not.)
7
Perspective: Eagles and fish are part of the natural food chain. As to public response to cruelty to the pup dangled from the balcony. might it be that we empathize with mammals more than with poultry because mammals are what we are. Outrage to the Trump sons with their trophy kill photos is understandable. If there is public outrage to chicken processing, I don't see much of it. A consumer society demands cheap industrial produced food. Chickens garner less empathy than dogs. If you want to see American empathy for dogs, ask us what we think about Vietnamese ( and other societies) practice of eating dogs.
4
Americans should understand that other countries do not allow their food supply system to be hijacked by giant corporations. The failure of our government to put the interest of its citizens before those of giant corporations has been going on for decades. Our internet is more expensive, our health care is ridiculously overpriced, and while our food is cheaper, it's killing us. Intelligent governance has completely disappeared and we now have candidates for president who make Barry Goldwater seem like Einstein. The US is clearly a nation in decline and new leadership is not just important, it is critical to our future.
14
Nicholas Kristof is not kidding about the toll being taken on farmers in the chicken business. I would recommend the book "The Meat Racket: The Secret Takeover of America's Food Business" by Christopher Leonard. The deck is stacked against any farmer trying to make a living in this business, as the industry has been taken over by a very few large companies, Tyson being the largest.
The farmers raising chickens for a company are constantly being compared with other farmers as to the time it takes for a chicken to become marketable, as well as how big their chickens grow. And the companies rig the system to get rid of any farmers that complain. When farmers try to organize and get laws passed to rein in these abuses, the company lobbyists descend on legislators, and that's the end of that.
And that's just the business end of it. The horrors endured by the chickens themselves are the main reason I am a vegetarian. I do eat eggs, but only those from hens labeled as "pasture raised". "Free range" simply means there is a small door leading to a small outdoor area, which few chickens actually use.
The farmers raising chickens for a company are constantly being compared with other farmers as to the time it takes for a chicken to become marketable, as well as how big their chickens grow. And the companies rig the system to get rid of any farmers that complain. When farmers try to organize and get laws passed to rein in these abuses, the company lobbyists descend on legislators, and that's the end of that.
And that's just the business end of it. The horrors endured by the chickens themselves are the main reason I am a vegetarian. I do eat eggs, but only those from hens labeled as "pasture raised". "Free range" simply means there is a small door leading to a small outdoor area, which few chickens actually use.
5
I am not yet a vegetarian. However, I am beginning to become nauseated at the idea of eating an animal. A number of small experiences are leading me in this direction. I watched the movie Blackfish; I recently attended a lecture by Jane Goodall; I read about that octopus who figured out how to escape from his tank into the ocean; I cheered for the cow in Queens who was rescued by Jon Stewart; I adopted my first pet (a rescue cat); I read articles like this one, and I must stop and truly consider what I eat and why.
13
Good for you, nowadays! You are obviously open to learning about what is happening to animals behind closed doors, from SeaWorld's tiny concrete tanks to factory farms, and the compassionate choices we can make every day that will stop those abuses. Look into the fashion industry (how wool and leather are produced, e.g.) and animal experimentation, too. There are fantastic cruetly-free options for everything from clothing to laundry detergent. Vegan meat is delicious and easy to find in grocery stores; you will never have felt better after going veg, physically as well as emotionally.
3
Until mankind extends compassion to all living beings the world will continue to be a dangerous, brutal, war-torn place. Cruelty inflicted on animals is the first step in justifying brutality toward humans.
If compassion was the moral standard of behavior, the world would be a better place for all. The belief that everything we see in the universe was put here for humans is the greatest injustice of all. Stop the war against animals and you will stop the war against humans.
If compassion was the moral standard of behavior, the world would be a better place for all. The belief that everything we see in the universe was put here for humans is the greatest injustice of all. Stop the war against animals and you will stop the war against humans.
13
This is why I turned to hunting as my meat source two years ago. Industrial farming is cruel and disgusting. We only eat meat that we killed using Fair Chase standards. By doing this, we support environmental conservation and provide quality food for our family. I know it's not for everyone but it certainly works for us.
5
Does "Fair Chase" mean you don't use a weapon?
3
One explanation for Mr. Kristof's paradox is that dogs are bred as human companions, whereas chickens are bred for food.
But in China, dog-owners are very careful to watch their "companions" against dognapping, since dog is a common and accepted food there. And in the US, baby chicks are still bought for children as pets at Easter; what happens to them after a few weeks when they are no longer small and cuddly?
We should also remind ourselves of the genetic vulnerability and even suffering that we impose on our domestic animal companions after generations of in-breeding those cute deformities that humans find so attractive.
To many people, there is no difference between exploiting animals for food and exploiting them for domestic companionship.
But in China, dog-owners are very careful to watch their "companions" against dognapping, since dog is a common and accepted food there. And in the US, baby chicks are still bought for children as pets at Easter; what happens to them after a few weeks when they are no longer small and cuddly?
We should also remind ourselves of the genetic vulnerability and even suffering that we impose on our domestic animal companions after generations of in-breeding those cute deformities that humans find so attractive.
To many people, there is no difference between exploiting animals for food and exploiting them for domestic companionship.
4
Why animal rights are wrong:
An examination of all human instincts suggests an underlying impulse for self perpetuation. Thus pleasurable instincts like food, peer approval, sex etc are those which enhance the likelihood of self perpetuation.
Conversely, instincts associated with pain like injury, social rejection etc are those which hurt the likelihood of self perpetuation.
Importantly, these instincts can become counter productive in contexts different from those in which they arose. Thus, the tendency to store calories as fat, which was useful in historical situations of scarcity, today leads to a major spike in obesity.
We can then conclude that instincts have evolved for self perpetuation but, being hardwired can be rendered obsolete by changing environments.
I believe the same applies to empathy. Empathy is an instinct strengthens society by directing resources to fellow citizens in need, who can then repay that help when the tables are turned. In effect it's like a mutual insurance policy.
Based on the above reasoning, empathy is only correct when directed to those willing and able to reciprocate.
As animals are not willing and able to reciprocate, empathy directed at them is misplaced, just like obesity.
Thus animal rights do not make logical sense.
See http://tarkmarg.blogspot.sg/2016/04/tark-marg-pole-star-of-moral-behavio... for a detailed analysis.
An examination of all human instincts suggests an underlying impulse for self perpetuation. Thus pleasurable instincts like food, peer approval, sex etc are those which enhance the likelihood of self perpetuation.
Conversely, instincts associated with pain like injury, social rejection etc are those which hurt the likelihood of self perpetuation.
Importantly, these instincts can become counter productive in contexts different from those in which they arose. Thus, the tendency to store calories as fat, which was useful in historical situations of scarcity, today leads to a major spike in obesity.
We can then conclude that instincts have evolved for self perpetuation but, being hardwired can be rendered obsolete by changing environments.
I believe the same applies to empathy. Empathy is an instinct strengthens society by directing resources to fellow citizens in need, who can then repay that help when the tables are turned. In effect it's like a mutual insurance policy.
Based on the above reasoning, empathy is only correct when directed to those willing and able to reciprocate.
As animals are not willing and able to reciprocate, empathy directed at them is misplaced, just like obesity.
Thus animal rights do not make logical sense.
See http://tarkmarg.blogspot.sg/2016/04/tark-marg-pole-star-of-moral-behavio... for a detailed analysis.
2
As soon as you said 'I believe' your argument became moot. Stick with facts, not your belief system. Many animals show tremendous empathy towards those in their own species. We've evolved a
'conscious' and we use this conscious to justify anything we want. This is not surprising because it's just our conscious talking.
'conscious' and we use this conscious to justify anything we want. This is not surprising because it's just our conscious talking.
4
I am not sure when industrial farming will end, if ever. I am fortunate in that I can make a choice not to eat meat etc.- this isnt a realistic choice for most people. We are by nature, judgemental and therefore hypocrites. So animal labs are bombed or destroyed by people who eat meat sourced from industrial production. Animal cruelty laws do not apply to industrial farms
It is perhaps no coincidence that meat-eating humans tend to resemble factory farmed animals that 'stagger on splayed legs that can barely support their artificially engorged breasts.'
It's not just cruelty to animals, but cruelty to humans who, ironically, refuse to put two and two together to realize this. If we are what we eat, we are artificially fattened, diseased, and taste of ammonia. I've even noticed a plasticky sheen to the flesh, much like that of a chicken breast glowering on its bloody toxic styrofoam tray beneath its toxic plastic packaging.
It's not just cruelty to animals, but cruelty to humans who, ironically, refuse to put two and two together to realize this. If we are what we eat, we are artificially fattened, diseased, and taste of ammonia. I've even noticed a plasticky sheen to the flesh, much like that of a chicken breast glowering on its bloody toxic styrofoam tray beneath its toxic plastic packaging.
3
“I wouldn’t say it is dysfunctional,” Weaver told me. “More like it is functioning very well for the companies and their executives only, and very poorly for farmers and consumers."
You forgot to mention how it's functioning for the animals. They are also affected by what's going on! More than any of the other players. They do not deserve such disgraceful conditions.
You forgot to mention how it's functioning for the animals. They are also affected by what's going on! More than any of the other players. They do not deserve such disgraceful conditions.
5
The way we mistreat (i.e. torture) billions of sentient beings each year is nothing short of insane. Perhaps the only thing worse is how we turn a blind eye to it.
I think one of the best solutions to end this insanity is lab-grown meat ("cultured meat"). It seems to be one of those rare instances of a technological breakthrough whose benefits would be immediately apparent and undoubtedly massive.
Not only would it put an end to the needless suffering of billions of sentient beings each year, it has the potential to drastically reduce carbon emissions, energy and water use and associated land use impacts of animal agriculture, in some cases by an order of magnitude.
if we can get cultured meat to a place where it is identical, indistinguishable, and even better than the real thing — if we could decouple our food systems from the social, environmental, and ethical costs of animal agriculture — then I believe that it has the potential to be one of the most important and beneficial technological breakthroughs ever achieved.
https://markbessoudo.com/2016/04/13/an-eco-moo-dernist-manifesto/
I think one of the best solutions to end this insanity is lab-grown meat ("cultured meat"). It seems to be one of those rare instances of a technological breakthrough whose benefits would be immediately apparent and undoubtedly massive.
Not only would it put an end to the needless suffering of billions of sentient beings each year, it has the potential to drastically reduce carbon emissions, energy and water use and associated land use impacts of animal agriculture, in some cases by an order of magnitude.
if we can get cultured meat to a place where it is identical, indistinguishable, and even better than the real thing — if we could decouple our food systems from the social, environmental, and ethical costs of animal agriculture — then I believe that it has the potential to be one of the most important and beneficial technological breakthroughs ever achieved.
https://markbessoudo.com/2016/04/13/an-eco-moo-dernist-manifesto/
6
"…needless suffering of billions of sentient beings each year…"
From "If Peas Can Talk, Should We Eat Them?" (NYT Article April 28, 2012) by Michael Marder:
"Since Nov. 2, however, one possible answer to the riddle is Pisumsativum, a species colloquially known as the common pea. On that day, a team of scientists from the Blaustein Institute for Desert Research at Ben-Gurion University in Israel published the results of its peer-reviewed research, revealing that a pea plant subjected to drought conditions communicated its stress to other such plants, with which it shared its soil.
In other words, through the roots, it relayed to its neighbors the biochemical message about the onset of drought, prompting them to react as though they, too, were in a similar predicament."
I guess we all have to stop eating vegetables too.
1
Americans have become very attached to their pets, and most people don't have chickens for pets. That's why people care about the dog and not the chicken. I lived several years in a developing country where dogs and cats were just another animal--useful, but not "man's best friend". I witnessed otherwise decent people beat dogs and fail to adequately feed them. Such abuse/neglect was not looked down upon the way it is here. Our fixation with dogs/cats is cultural.
With regard to factory farming, I agree that it's inhumane. But I don't think you can have a humane system for systematically killing animals for food. When I lived abroad, I slaughtered quite a few chickens, and I never felt good about it, even knowing that the chicken lived "free range." Regardless of how it lived, it still feels pain when you kill it. And even if you could eliminate the pain completely, you're still taking the life from a previously conscious, living being.
With regard to factory farming, I agree that it's inhumane. But I don't think you can have a humane system for systematically killing animals for food. When I lived abroad, I slaughtered quite a few chickens, and I never felt good about it, even knowing that the chicken lived "free range." Regardless of how it lived, it still feels pain when you kill it. And even if you could eliminate the pain completely, you're still taking the life from a previously conscious, living being.
5
Please do not say - Hmm- when you are about to make some sort of point.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Animal cruelty and indifference is symptom of mankind's general disregard for the entire planet and all that is living on it. We do worse to our species in the name of justice, self protection and righteousness. Knowledge creates a pain that can be overwhelming.
2
I seen the vegans are out in force here. The misguided ones will preach that eating meat is unnatural. You do realize that even chickens eat other animals preferentially, right? Insects, worms, and their own eggs...yes even in a free roaming setup.
Want to control ants and ticks in your yard? Raise chickens. Last fall I planted 12 fruit trees in my chicken yard. I was very popular. Why? Cuz when the dirt was turned over the bugs and worms were visible. The chickens would flock and fight over them.
Even seed eating songbirds raise their chicks on animal protein.
My tortoises will seek out any meat protein. Their timothy hay will often come with snake jerky in it from snakes that got too close to the bailer. They will fight over it, and chase anyone who takes it away. They also like to find cat poo in the garden and dig it up. Cat poo has a high concentration of meat protein in it. Galapagos tortoises are known to eat their dead.
Eating meat for humans is normal and natural.
Want to control ants and ticks in your yard? Raise chickens. Last fall I planted 12 fruit trees in my chicken yard. I was very popular. Why? Cuz when the dirt was turned over the bugs and worms were visible. The chickens would flock and fight over them.
Even seed eating songbirds raise their chicks on animal protein.
My tortoises will seek out any meat protein. Their timothy hay will often come with snake jerky in it from snakes that got too close to the bailer. They will fight over it, and chase anyone who takes it away. They also like to find cat poo in the garden and dig it up. Cat poo has a high concentration of meat protein in it. Galapagos tortoises are known to eat their dead.
Eating meat for humans is normal and natural.
10
I could write a very long list of things that are "natural" that we as a society do not condone. Those same songbirds also commit infanticide and forced copulation, but we don't use their behavior as a guide to our own morality.
Rather than justifying the status quo using the naturalistic fallacy, we should look at each choice we make and ask ourselves, "Can we do better?" In the case of factory farming, the answer is an unqualified "yes."
Rather than justifying the status quo using the naturalistic fallacy, we should look at each choice we make and ask ourselves, "Can we do better?" In the case of factory farming, the answer is an unqualified "yes."
8
All true, but there is an important distinction: chickens don't build giant industrial containment systems that doom their prey to miserable living conditions before harvesting them for consumption. The worms live a normal, natural life before the are eaten. That matters. We should know better than to raise animals in a way that is objectively--and needlessly--cruel.
1
Eating meat for humans is 100% unnecessary. It is torturing the defenseless and destroying the planet.
3
Thanks, N. I was on the fence about chicken before this article. I'm done now. I can live without meat. Can't live with how wrong, and cruel, the slaughtered is.
10
I cannot understand why this is permitted to continue. Anyone who lives with animals understands that they have intelligence and live emotional lives. Their lives are as precious and interesting to them as ours are to us; not, perhaps in a way that we can conceive but that does not make it any less correct to accept it as true. Most vegetarians have a story to tell of how they turned away from meat. Mine is of coming to the realization that I could never kill with my own hands the animal I wanted to eat because it would be too horrifying.
The way our industrialized systems of "farming" animals destined for slaughter tortures these creatures is more horrifying than anything I could have imagined when I made my personal decision 30 years ago. Adding to these horrors is the appalling notion that the bodies of very sick animals, bodies that are also pumped full of chemicals to keep the poor beings alive long enough to be killed, end up in packages on supermarket shelves, or on plates at chain restaurants, or in the meals people get for their children at any fast food place one can name.
I read this line a long time ago in a book I've otherwise forgotten: There can be no rest for anyone as long as there are slaughterhouses. I'd now add to that cause for disturbed sleep the systematic torture of these billions of helpless animals (WE are animals too!) caught up in an abject holocaust.
The way our industrialized systems of "farming" animals destined for slaughter tortures these creatures is more horrifying than anything I could have imagined when I made my personal decision 30 years ago. Adding to these horrors is the appalling notion that the bodies of very sick animals, bodies that are also pumped full of chemicals to keep the poor beings alive long enough to be killed, end up in packages on supermarket shelves, or on plates at chain restaurants, or in the meals people get for their children at any fast food place one can name.
I read this line a long time ago in a book I've otherwise forgotten: There can be no rest for anyone as long as there are slaughterhouses. I'd now add to that cause for disturbed sleep the systematic torture of these billions of helpless animals (WE are animals too!) caught up in an abject holocaust.
9
The majority of humanity—100,000,000 since recorded history (National Geographic) are very satisfied eating meat.
"…they have intelligence and live emotional lives…" which sounds OK but
most believe human beings have a soul and animals do not—a major difference.
That's why all of mankind are not "horrified" by eating them.
They are horrified by cannibals.
2
Absolutely right. Not eating meat at all is another option. But for those who do, insisting on humane treatment is a must.
1
A more humanely raised chicken? No such thing. Corporations treat animals badly because they can and because there's profit in it. Better for animals and better for your health to refuse to support factory farming altogether and become vegan.
8
Almost everyone seems to be completely unaware that labels like "free range"; "humane"; etc. mean that the birds were raised in horrific conditions on factory farms. People say "buy organic" or "buy free range" as if that makes a significant difference. It doesn't. Those labels are highly deceptive. You are being defrauded.
Jonathan Safran Foer in the NY Times:
"'Free range,' 'cage free,' 'natural' and 'organic' are nearly meaningless when it comes to animal welfare."
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/11/magazine/11foer-t.html
Animal products are always cruel and are always unnecessary. The answer is obvious: boycott. Start with Meat-Free Mondays or Vegan Before 6:00 or whatever works for you, and take it from there. But do start now. It's essential.
Jonathan Safran Foer in the NY Times:
"'Free range,' 'cage free,' 'natural' and 'organic' are nearly meaningless when it comes to animal welfare."
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/11/magazine/11foer-t.html
Animal products are always cruel and are always unnecessary. The answer is obvious: boycott. Start with Meat-Free Mondays or Vegan Before 6:00 or whatever works for you, and take it from there. But do start now. It's essential.
9
I don't feel guilty for eating meat, fish, and other animal products. "Cruel" is in the eye of the beholder, and I bet there's a lot of things you indulge in that would seem "unnecessary" to me. I've had too many weird tasting, almost inedible vegan meals that I've had to choke down out of politeness for it to ever be an option for me.
2
I'm planting a garden.
4
“I wouldn’t say it is dysfunctional,” Weaver told me. “More like it is functioning very well for the companies and their executives only, and very poorly for farmers and consumers.”
Sounds like most of the modern capitalist system.
Thank you, Mr Kristof, for your compassion, and for your reporting.
Sounds like most of the modern capitalist system.
Thank you, Mr Kristof, for your compassion, and for your reporting.
4
"... less than 5 percent of the meat chickens die prematurely, which is lower than the mortality rates for humans in many countries..one child in six dies before the age of 5. Yet terrible things happening to children shouldn’t excuse abuse of animals."
But it does put it into perspective about which problems deserve most of our attention
But it does put it into perspective about which problems deserve most of our attention
3
Changing childhood mortality is hard. Not buying abused chickens is easy. And you can even do both.
30
Thanks, Nick. Chicken slaughter is about the grossest, most inhumane industry ever. It's an indictment of our culture generally as well as our cruelty specifically.
6
AC -- Your comment suddenly brought to my mind that awful video of Sarah Palin yakking away, while in the background was a slaughter line of turkeys being dropped into those cones for killing.
Part of a national campaign for ou highest offices, and there it was, and why do we tolerate a visual like that and continue to support factory and corporate farming?
We know it can be done better and more humanely. The profits just won't be as high. Oh, right, that isn't allowed in our system.
Part of a national campaign for ou highest offices, and there it was, and why do we tolerate a visual like that and continue to support factory and corporate farming?
We know it can be done better and more humanely. The profits just won't be as high. Oh, right, that isn't allowed in our system.
1
I am a vegetarian but all this makes me feel sad anyway.
6
There is a story of a mystic adept telling his student to take this chicken and kill it where no one can see.
The student of the mystic adept returns later with the live chicken The adept asks why he has not killed the chicken
He replies" Everywhere I go the chicken can still see me" No doubt the adept saw that his student had learned well.
The student of the mystic adept returns later with the live chicken The adept asks why he has not killed the chicken
He replies" Everywhere I go the chicken can still see me" No doubt the adept saw that his student had learned well.
24
I work in medical research, frequently with animals. My father worked for an SPCA when I was a child, and our house had at least one dog since the day I came home from the hospital, and after we adopted our first cat out of a shelter, theres always been felines present too. I now have rescue animals of my own, and I care for the stray cats on my block, feeding them, having them fixed, and attending to their veterinary needs as they arise. I've been able to see how humans neglect animals, after all they've given to us, greedily just asking for more and more from them, ripping their lives away without any gratitude.
Most people are hypocrites, and this issue reveals that hypocrisy at its finest. Don't hurt my designer puppy, but here, we're BBQing ribs out back on the grill, try them, the meat falls right off. Everyone should think a little more about what it means to bite into cheeseburger or scarf down a 20 piece McNuggets.
These animals are born to die for our dinner plate. Its disgusting.
Most people are hypocrites, and this issue reveals that hypocrisy at its finest. Don't hurt my designer puppy, but here, we're BBQing ribs out back on the grill, try them, the meat falls right off. Everyone should think a little more about what it means to bite into cheeseburger or scarf down a 20 piece McNuggets.
These animals are born to die for our dinner plate. Its disgusting.
79
Sorry how mistaken people are.
Animals are born to help humanity in many ways as pets, guardians, protectors, pack animals, etc.—and yes—for meat.
It's the most enjoyable way to get protein so we can have strength and accomplish something with our lives.
Preserving animals is not that accomplishment.
Animals serving humanity is.
2
Back in the 1950s, my grandfather farmed chicken and veggies for his home-delivery route. There was a big coop, and every year after the asparagas was harvested, the chickens were turned out into the asparagas enclosure. We all helped. The chickens were healthy, and grandpa used ether to put the birds to sleep before slaughtering them. Tasted good, too!
Thank you s much for bringing to light the torture of chickens and of all farm animals. I quit eating meat 5 years ago. When I see commercials for "juicy" hamburgers, it makes me nauseous. Please do not buy meat until humane farms come into existence. You are eating cruelty. Also, cage free chickens just means thousands of chickens are crammed in a huge warehouse where they still do not see the outdoors and still have no room to move. Also, I have really noticed how many men have boobs now. Gee, could it be the hormones they give our cows which leach into our dairy products including cheese and milk?
5
th treatment meted out to animals by humans over th millennia is horrifying
not only th treatment of food animals, but animals by th trillions tortured to death for research in drug testing, food testing, , cosmetics, surgical techniques, etc
and there is barely a human alive who has not benefited from it
if we are ever called to answer for this, there isnt a hell big enough or horrible enough for just punishment
not only th treatment of food animals, but animals by th trillions tortured to death for research in drug testing, food testing, , cosmetics, surgical techniques, etc
and there is barely a human alive who has not benefited from it
if we are ever called to answer for this, there isnt a hell big enough or horrible enough for just punishment
1
all i can say is thank you Nicholas!
“One farmer says to me, 'You cannot live on vegetable food solely, for it furnishes nothing to make bones with;' and so he religiously devotes a part of his day to supplying his system with the raw material of bones; walking all the while he talks behind his oxen, which, with vegetable-made bones, jerk him and his lumbering plow along in spite of every obstacle.”
― Henry David Thoreau, Walden: Or, Life in the Woods
― Henry David Thoreau, Walden: Or, Life in the Woods
4
Try eating the exact same food that horses, dogs, cats, and other animals eat.
You will die from it.
Despite all the arguments; humans are not animals.
BTW Animals only eat raw meat. A starving lion will walk away from a fresh grilled sirloin steak.
BTW Human beings have souls and can write poetry too.
1
Mr Kristof,
Shortly after midnight Thursday morning the Guardian led me to the Oxfam pdf. report Broken at the Top. I read the report and then read your Thursday op-ed and I thought the report was going to see the light of day.
The Oxfam report makes it abundantly clear that to America's economic and political elite the Price of Dinner is all important and the people of the world are the main course.
Shortly after midnight Thursday morning the Guardian led me to the Oxfam pdf. report Broken at the Top. I read the report and then read your Thursday op-ed and I thought the report was going to see the light of day.
The Oxfam report makes it abundantly clear that to America's economic and political elite the Price of Dinner is all important and the people of the world are the main course.
1
In tiny farms here and there, chickens do live wonderful lives. http://wp.me/p44c6k-33F
I know- Let's shame people for eating chicken! Let's put every chicken in a red "service animal" vest and label them as emotional support animals, that way people will have second thoughts the next time they think about ordering chicken nuggets.
2
Just Go Vegan.
It is better for the animals, it is better for the planet, it is better for your health and for your soul.
Choose compassion.
It is better for the animals, it is better for the planet, it is better for your health and for your soul.
Choose compassion.
7
This is certainly a valid point about chicken production, something that has been talkied about for a while. What is left to eat....red meat is out, some seafoods are out, pasta and rice are out, etc. Second point: You or a parallel article should talk about chickens from aware and responsible producers that are appropriate to buy and eat.What is left to eat....red meat is out, some seafoods are out, pasta and rice are out, etc.
So Nicholas, will you become a vegan?
6
1) You can rally for both the dog and the chicken. Just as I rally for my related issues. Is the author saying that that dog was unworthy of rescue?
2) Massachusetts will soon ban eggs from farmers who keep their chickens in those barbaric cages. Kudos to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts!
2) Massachusetts will soon ban eggs from farmers who keep their chickens in those barbaric cages. Kudos to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts!
Living vegan is a lot better for the animals, a lot better for the environment, and a lot better for the person eating a plant based diet. Ever wonder how a nation almost obsessed with eating cheese and yogurt is also so afflicted with osteoporosis?
8
Osteoporosis? Why would eating calcium rich food cause Osteoporosis? That makes no sense to me. Neither does it make sense to give up milk, cheese, eggs and ice cream. Vegan food is mostly awful, though their chocolate cake is sometimes yummy. I realize we treat most food animals poorly, but that has always been true, even before factory farms. Chickens may have been able to run free and scrounge for bugs, but grandma didn't worry about wringing their necks and beef cattle have always lost their potential manhood in a most painful way, when young. I don't think we should be cruel to any animals, but I don't think Vegan food is the way to go either. Can't we find a compromise?
6
It is ironic that the ones at the top of the food chain would do everything in their power to weaken the links in that chain for greed's sake. We had better wake up to this or find a way to get nutrition from our currency.
1
As Mahatma Gandhi (a vegetarian) long ago observed, "The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way it's animals are treated."
8
And what about the humans, yes, in this country, who simply cannot afford to pay more?
14
There are plenty of sources of healthy plant-based foods that are cheap. The problem is not the price; it's being informed about alternate sources and their health benefits. Basically this is not a question of affordability. Even if it were, then the government should reconsider some of its subsidy priorities. Instead of lavishing financial incentive on those growing crops to feed livestock the government could direct more funds to subsidize plants that humans consume directly. Behind that highly-prized cheap chicken lies a massive, out-of-whack system.
4
If we regard an animal product as a special occasion, the higher price becomes irrelevant. We do not need daily animal protein for good health. That said, if we are able to change consumer culture toward humane animal husbandry, the husbandry industry will adapt quickly to certify faux humaneness as humane, much as the 'organic' industry as already done.
1
Affordability is no justification for cruelty.
1
"Animal Cruelty or the Price of Dinner?" Op-Ed column, by Nicholas Kristof, April 16, 2016.
Nicholas Kristof is a columnist of conscience. I applaud his efforts to educate his readers about the abusive treatment of chickens. What he writes about the cruel treatment of chickens on the farms and in the poultry industry reminded me of still more abhorrent abuse of cows in the slaughter houses. Then I asked myself: How many meat consumers in America truly want to learn about the way cows and chickens are raised, slaughtered, and packaged before they arrive at our dinner tables? Just a tiny percentage of the population, to be sure. The rest just don't see the horrors visited upon them before they eat them. So my suggestion is, in order to increase the number animal friends and spokespersons for the helpless and speechless beings we eat, let's have organizations like Compassion in World Farming that Kristof's column refers to, prepare meticulously researched textbooks and videos about chickens and animals' pre-slaughter lives and insist they be incorporated into our school curriculum, from grade one on to high school. Most children are sensitive to cruelty to animals and birds. Learning about abuse of and cruelty toward animals and chickens may turn them into vegetarians--one of the best solutions for the problem of obesity--and others may develop into outspoken critics of cruelty toward
fellow-beings who can't defend themselves; both outcomes are positive and always welcome.
Nicholas Kristof is a columnist of conscience. I applaud his efforts to educate his readers about the abusive treatment of chickens. What he writes about the cruel treatment of chickens on the farms and in the poultry industry reminded me of still more abhorrent abuse of cows in the slaughter houses. Then I asked myself: How many meat consumers in America truly want to learn about the way cows and chickens are raised, slaughtered, and packaged before they arrive at our dinner tables? Just a tiny percentage of the population, to be sure. The rest just don't see the horrors visited upon them before they eat them. So my suggestion is, in order to increase the number animal friends and spokespersons for the helpless and speechless beings we eat, let's have organizations like Compassion in World Farming that Kristof's column refers to, prepare meticulously researched textbooks and videos about chickens and animals' pre-slaughter lives and insist they be incorporated into our school curriculum, from grade one on to high school. Most children are sensitive to cruelty to animals and birds. Learning about abuse of and cruelty toward animals and chickens may turn them into vegetarians--one of the best solutions for the problem of obesity--and others may develop into outspoken critics of cruelty toward
fellow-beings who can't defend themselves; both outcomes are positive and always welcome.
3
Among its many omissions this article completely ignores the devistating environmental impact of animal agriculture. From massive fresh water use & pollution to rainforest destruction to more harmful atmospheric emissions than all global transportation combined, animal ag externalizes these costs for all of us to pay. Roughly 50B chickens are raised and slaughtered each yearl; both the moral and environmental tolls are high indeed. The only solution is to reduce or preferably eliminate consumption of animal products. Doing so is easier and far more personally rewarding than 99% of people realize.
4
People care more about the puppy than the chicken because they don't see the chickens suffering. Meat companies are very good at hiding the conditions farm animals are being raised in, and most people don't want to investigate too hard because they really enjoy their chicken sandwich. Those who do spend a little time looking into the situation are more likely to look more carefully at how their food is raised, or not eat meat at all. Thank you, Mr. Kristof, for giving this issue more exposure.
126
Very pleased to see this issue being raised in the NYT. I have been a vegetarian for many years and try to use alternatives to dairy whenever possible, given the appalling conditions that dairy cows are subjected to. As a child, I loved to play with my toy farm, arranging the different animals in fields and their appropriate shelters. My children did the same. But the cruel reality of modern farming makes it impossible for me to give these same toys to my grandchildren since I might also have to explain to them how the vast majority of farm animals are now actually raised, and I simply don't have the stomach for it. Please, more articles on the inhumanity of modern farming.
5
I am glad to see this and related articles appear in the NYT. As a matter of morality, we should be looking for reasons to extend our compassion and moral considerability. Given that there are many healthy and enjoyable ways to live without eating meat, I find that the treatment of sentient animals with a "good of their own" in raising animals to satisfy Western preference diets fails a test to fulfill obligations to other sentient beings.
And, the less meat that is raised the less chemicals are used that pollute our landscape and find their ways into humans and other animals. Importantly, were a significant number of people to rely on a vegetarian or vegan diet a lot of fossil fuel use would diminish and result in a significant reduction of anthropocentric greenhouse gases.
Then, too, I wonder about how someone involved in traditional raising and killing animals might change a person. Does one become more "blinded' to the cruelty one sees?
And, the less meat that is raised the less chemicals are used that pollute our landscape and find their ways into humans and other animals. Importantly, were a significant number of people to rely on a vegetarian or vegan diet a lot of fossil fuel use would diminish and result in a significant reduction of anthropocentric greenhouse gases.
Then, too, I wonder about how someone involved in traditional raising and killing animals might change a person. Does one become more "blinded' to the cruelty one sees?
47
"… fails a test to fulfill obligations to other sentient beings."
Well if that is the argument consider this and stop eating vegetables too:
The NY Times in an article titled, "If Peas Can Talk, Should We Eat Them?" (NYT April 28, 2012) stated:
"…a team of scientists from the Blaustein Institute for Desert Research at Ben-Gurion University in Israel published the results of its peer-reviewed research, revealing that a pea plant subjected to drought conditions communicated its stress to other such plants…"
2
Where else can we buy humanely raised chickens? More information on what companies are doing it right would be helpful.
Thanks!
Thanks!
1
And what about all that inflammatory arachidonic acid in that layer of fat just beneath the skin? https://eatandbeatcancer.com/2012/07/20/anti-cancer-recipes-beware-the-r...
Also chicken sold in franchises is usually liquefied then reformed into the pieces you eat. I once got chicken in one such place that was reliquefying. Not cruel to the dead chickens, but cruel to my stomach if I think about it.
1
For those who think that they are not harming chickens, because they are eating eggs from the chickens of friends or local organic farmers, think again. What do you think happened to the brothers of all those happy hens? there are videos on Facebook and YouTube, that show the little male chicks writing a conveyor belt to a tube into a grinder....alive. I have not eaten animal products for about seven years now, and I am very healthy. Giving up animal products and being healthy, means that you turn your attention to whole plant foods, and not fill up your plate with French fries, bread, or mashed potatoes. you need to replace the animal products with a variety of nourishing whole plant foods, such as a rainbow of vegetables and different kinds of grains. Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, by Caldwell Esselstyn Jr. has wonderful easy delicious recipes in the second half of the book. My husband's asthma went away when I started cooking this way.
5
Would have liked some thoughts on organic, free range chicken producers. Cost a bit more but might hurt inhumane "growers" profits if we buy organic . ?!
1
There is a humane way of slaughtering a chicken as my Grandfather shared with me many years ago.
Grandpa was a schochet - ritual slaughterer - and provided to one chicken at a time. No conveyor belt.
Grandpa was a schochet - ritual slaughterer - and provided to one chicken at a time. No conveyor belt.
2
Till others Whole Food get a round, how could we protect ourselves against possible diseases?
The problem is we have all become addicted to "cheap meat." It is incredible to me that someone raised a chicken, slaughtered, prepared and cooked it - and I can buy that as a rotisserie chicken at my local grocery store for $8. There is so much that is wrong with that. The lives and deaths of the animals we eat, (google factory farming) are depressing to look at. Meat's unhealthy, and meat is unethical - at least the way we process and consume it.
Worse, animals are intelligent, especially pigs but also cows. Here is a video of animal rescuers saving a bull called Bandit. Just watch him jump around like a playful, affectionate puppy when he is released:
http://www.lostateminor.com/2016/01/08/bandit-the-bull-shows-his-appreci...
That put me off hamburgers completely.
Worse, animals are intelligent, especially pigs but also cows. Here is a video of animal rescuers saving a bull called Bandit. Just watch him jump around like a playful, affectionate puppy when he is released:
http://www.lostateminor.com/2016/01/08/bandit-the-bull-shows-his-appreci...
That put me off hamburgers completely.
3
Major mistake!
Just because "animals are intelligent" and seem to act like humans that does not make them the same.
One sad example:
"My chimpanzee! He ripped her apart! Shoot him, shoot him!"
—Sandra Herold, 70-year-old, about Travis her chimp pet who mauled, and tore off the face of her neighbor Charla Nash who came to help her capture the chimp who escaped from the house.
The chimp drank wine from a stemmed glass, clothed and bathed himself, enjoyed watering flowers and loved to watch the New York Yankees play baseball…
2
When I adopted a few parrots years ago, I quickly learned about the intelligence of birds. I eat mostly vegetarian, but while I can eat some red meat, after learning about the way chickens are handled, I can no longer eat chicken without gagging. (I try to only eat humanely raised animals when I do, but it's tough to really know about the lives those animals have led.) We all have our limits and hypocrises about the food we eat; these are mine. Thank you for bringing this cruelty to the attention of others.
1
I will definitely pay more for chickens raised without cruelty. Hope it soon becomes our norm. If agencies refuse to regulate, then our wallets must as consumers. Choose humanely raised chickens.
2
I wish there were humane and environmentally sound options available in pet food. I myself am vegan, for both personal health and as a choice to avoid supporting industrial animal agriculture, as described here. But I do wish I could ascertain the sourcing of my dogs' food. At present they are on a fish based formula, but recent exposés about illegal fishing operations on the high seas are worrying.
3
Our dogs have done very well on Natural Balance Vegetarian kibble, which is vegan, for many years. VDog also makes a vegan kibble. The options are out there, and even if stores in your community don't stock them, you can often find deals online that include free shipping.
1
I live in a community where even our school teams are named after poultry (Chix and Dux). I'm grateful that you are raising these questions. I've seen more conscious questions about how we treat creatures, knowing that the Golden Rule even extends to animals. I think in this issue, as in other issues, industry uses practices that others use (to remain "competitive") and don't think reflectively. This includes how we treat people, schedule hours, offer sick time, etc. Some in the industry are offering more humane treatment--but we have a long way to go. Our nation has to decide who/what we want to be in how we treat the least of these--including chicken and children. And we have to decide who makes the rules--corporations or communities? And to do this we need to talk about the truth of (a) what is REALLY happening, (b) the unintended consequences, and (c) whose voices/experiences aren't being heard.
4
"…including chicken and children."?
This train of thought follows the convoluted ideas of PETA.
Founder Ingrid Newkirk said a number of years back, "A boy is a pig is a dog." She has never repudiated her words.
This kind of thinking leads us to:
Steve Kane Show (WIOD-AM Radio Miami, FL) question to PETA Outreach Coordinator Susan Rich:
"If you were aboard a lifeboat with a baby and a dog, and the boat capsized, which would you rescue?"
Rich's answer: "I wouldn't know for sure...I might choose the human baby or I might choose the dog."
Heaven help us!
1
As a plant based/vegan person if you know such inhumane treatment is happening I asked Nicholas Kristof 'will you still consume meat? If so why?'
And what about baby calves who are removed from their mothers at birth because the dairy wants the milk for sale not for the baby? Remember heifers are force bred because having a calf is what produces milk.
And what about pigs that are are force bred, and spend their lives in crates inside buildings never seeing sun light? With as equal a painful death as how chickens are slaughtered.
Animals build trust with humans, and its so wrong to take that trust and like a Jekyll and Hyde mentality then brually slaughter the animal
And what about baby calves who are removed from their mothers at birth because the dairy wants the milk for sale not for the baby? Remember heifers are force bred because having a calf is what produces milk.
And what about pigs that are are force bred, and spend their lives in crates inside buildings never seeing sun light? With as equal a painful death as how chickens are slaughtered.
Animals build trust with humans, and its so wrong to take that trust and like a Jekyll and Hyde mentality then brually slaughter the animal
6
For roughly 4,000,000,000 Bible-believing Jews, Christians and Muslims can on God who gave permission to Noah for mankind to eat animals.
Makes sense.
Without the animals being saved by being brought into Noah's Ark there would be no animals at all.
Of course, those who are atheists no religious argument will do.
2
If you think that is disgusting you should do a little research on the way cows are slaughtered for beef. As Linda McCartney once famously said, "If slaughterhouses had glass walls we'd all be vegetarian." And what makes it OK to eat cows and chickens but not dogs and cats? Who made that rule? What gives anyone the right to eat another living creature? There is a very interesting documentary available on you-tube called "Meat the Truth", kind of a take off on Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" that I think it would behoove everyone to watch. It explores not only the health risks of eating factory farmed animals but also the way factory farming contributes to global warming. And if all that doesn't convince you to give up meat maybe watching "Forks Over Knives" would.
5
Thank you so very much, Mr. Kristof. John Webster, professor of Veterinary Science, has noted that industrial chicken production is, “in both magnitude and severity, the single most severe, systematic example of man’s inhumanity to another sentient animal.” The single greatest thing we can each do is to give up eating factory farmed chickens.
6
I'm a 30 yr vegetarian female. Worked full time while raising 4 kids (2 adoped special needs multi-racial), 1/2 marathon runner, weights, dancer, volunteer in animal rescue, rebuilt New Orleans, world traveler, diver, writer. At 74, I still lift weights, practice yoga, hike & work out w/ Aikido. You will never know how great you can be & feel until you give up eating animals.
7
Regarding the question in the headline (Animal Cruelty or the Price of Dinner?), the answer is "both" if you eat chickens raised in factory farms, which means almost every chicken in this country.
2
Former Tyson chicken slaughter employee Virgil Butler wrote of his observations of the chickens he witnessed every day: "Every chicken is bled out while still sentient. They hang there and look at you while they are bleeding. You can definitely tell they know what is going on. Sometimes if they are not completely immobilized by the paralytic 'stunner' (which happens frequently), they will try to hide their head from you by sticking it under the wing of the chicken next to them." Virgil Butler became a vegetarian when finally, speaking of himself and his partner Laura, "We just couldn't look at a piece of meat anymore without seeing the sad, tortured face that was attached to it some time in the past."
8
If a Vegan was abandoned on a small deserted island with just chickens or domesticated animals for food (and no vegetables) are they willing to starve to death.
If not, it is just pompous hypocrisy.
2
The last 40 years, agriculture built a prosperity machine, creating industrial animal-raising and processing systems that were horrendously cruel and hidden from public view; increasing its grip on Congress and state houses; and using deceptive marketing, created a population addicted to unhealthy and unsustainable consumption of animal products.
And its the industry's immense profitability and senseless loyalty from legislators and consumers that make it so difficult to move away from these cruel systems and methods towards humane alternatives, and better buying choices.
One just has to look at the efforts of the nefarious Center for Consumer Freedom run by lobbyist Rick Berman (who the NYT exposed for his unethical tactics last year), bankrolled by Agribusiness to the tune of millions of dollars a year simply to smear the Humane Society, a national group making significant progress on behalf of farm animals.
In my home state of Massachusetts, where we love to claim to be a bastion of progressivism, we can't get our state legislators to pass a bill outlawing extreme confinement of livestock, despite support of 85% of the population. We have to take it to the ballot now, and the estimates are that Agribusiness will spend $20M + to fight it.
This is why these animals need our better judgement as consumers, and support at the ballot box - the decks and dollars are well stacked against them.
And its the industry's immense profitability and senseless loyalty from legislators and consumers that make it so difficult to move away from these cruel systems and methods towards humane alternatives, and better buying choices.
One just has to look at the efforts of the nefarious Center for Consumer Freedom run by lobbyist Rick Berman (who the NYT exposed for his unethical tactics last year), bankrolled by Agribusiness to the tune of millions of dollars a year simply to smear the Humane Society, a national group making significant progress on behalf of farm animals.
In my home state of Massachusetts, where we love to claim to be a bastion of progressivism, we can't get our state legislators to pass a bill outlawing extreme confinement of livestock, despite support of 85% of the population. We have to take it to the ballot now, and the estimates are that Agribusiness will spend $20M + to fight it.
This is why these animals need our better judgement as consumers, and support at the ballot box - the decks and dollars are well stacked against them.
4
I am glad I am mostly meatless -- I probably am going to go even less meatless after reading this!
1
"..but I'm not willing to pay a premium for it.."
There's the problem right there.
There's the problem right there.
41
It's always the same issue, isn't it? More money in the pockets of shareholders & CEO's, and never mind anyone else.
Laissez-faire & let the chickens beware.
Laissez-faire & let the chickens beware.
47
We own 20 chickens and they "free-range". That said they are mostly inside a large wire enclosure to keep predators away from them. We do not butcher them but we do eat their eggs. For the most part they have a pretty good life; lots of food, dirt for scratching, and a coop for roosting at night and protection from the weather. They are by no means "pets" but we do recognize differences among them in their behavior. Large factory style poultry operations are sad. On the other hand, chicken is a source of inexpensive protein for many. Not every one has access to the food stores of places like NYC and San Francisco.
2
I used to volunteer at my city's animal care and control and got to spend a lot of time with rescued chickens. Each one was a delight and had a unique personality. They were smart, lively, social, curious, fun, resourceful, and even mischievous, trying to nick the parsley meant for the bunnies. Others were more shy, quiet, and sensitive. It is hard to wrap one's mind around the fact that each one of the billions of these wonderful individuals has a personality and a life that he or she values, and humans abuse them for a fleeting taste of flesh. Vegan chicken is easy to find and delicious. And no one had to die.
92
A NYT Pick answer. You are so right.
1
"…wonderful individuals…"
Basic Course, Humans 101:
Humans have a soul.
Walt Disney and natural history filmmakers have done a job on us of the anthropomorphism of animals.
Man-eaters are made so friendly. The problem is we have taken it to heart as real. Try raising a Yellowstone bear or Serengeti plains lion as a pet to full adulthood.
"Has he gone mad?"
That's what many people thought when paleontologist Louis Leakey hired Jane Goodall to study wild chimpanzees. The enthusiastic, young woman had no scientific training…(National Geographic Explorer, September 1, 2002)
She "humanized" the chimps as individuals by naming them (Scientists traditionally numbered the animals they observed).
Everyone in the industry followed suit and anthropomorphized animals in their studies.
1
One culprit in our cruelty to animals (and to nature generally) is our misunderstanding that science is somehow morally and ethically neutral and that it is synonymous with technology. It isn't and it ain't. Husbanding animals for food is not just about producing protein.
5
I commend you on this well thought article. Current agribusiness is an abomination and we should do everything to improve it. There should also be a push to influence Americans to reduce percentage of animal products in their diets: that is healthier, but it is also good environmental policies because It takes far less energy and water to grow plants. It amazes me that green peace and other environmentalists never bother to raise that point or give an example themselves but they are pretty vocal for other causes. You are rich I think people just don't want to be inconvenienced when it comes to their own lives.
5
It goes beyond big ag's inhumane treatment of the animals they raise and slaughter. We wonder why congress won't pass meaningful immigration reform. Big ag doesn't want that to happen. If they had to ensure all their employees were legal, they'd have to pay at least. minimum wage for all hours worked , provide worker's comp etc. and that would cost them more.
The indifference the industry has shown in the face of instances of E. coli and other diseases in their meat has sickened thousands of Americans and some have died. Cleaner slaughter practices could reduce this but the industry resists changes that could make their products safer.
So, this is an industry that doesn't care about their workers, doesn't care about the treatment of the animals they slaughter to create that product and doesn't care if their product sickens or kills their customers. Why do we support them?
The indifference the industry has shown in the face of instances of E. coli and other diseases in their meat has sickened thousands of Americans and some have died. Cleaner slaughter practices could reduce this but the industry resists changes that could make their products safer.
So, this is an industry that doesn't care about their workers, doesn't care about the treatment of the animals they slaughter to create that product and doesn't care if their product sickens or kills their customers. Why do we support them?
6
Our horrifically cruel treatment of animals we raise for food is perhaps the biggest single blind spot in our 'civilization'. We have moved from a time when we hunted animals that had full lives in the wild, then to domesticating animals that at least sometimes roamed free, and now to building enormous concentration camps (they are not farms) where animals are confined in the most wretched circumstances before they are killed. I eat meat, so I myself am complicit. I mostly eat meat from sources that state the animals are pasture-raised or free-roaming. So I try to live with myself that way. But this is like saying "I mostly condemn concentration camps." It is obvious to me that people who have given up eating meat for ethical reasons operate on a much higher plane. Articles like this one remind me of what I should be doing.
27
Farm subsidies over the past 40 years has created the agricultural industry on corporate welfare.
The result is a glut of food. Corn syrup has invaded the American diet because it is not only cheaper than raw sugar, but it is subsidized by the government. Too many grains, particular corn leads to too much beef. Then the corporates lobby the Department of Agriculture for more dollars in the SNAP program.
Hungry children don't lobby Congress, Coca-Cola, Frito-Lay, and Yum lobby for more.
Then there's obesity. A single mom living in an urban area without supermarkets can feed her three children at KFC for perhaps the most calories per dollar.
Curtail the subsidies, the Russian grain embargo ended long ago. Give the local sustainable farmers a chance to come back.
Meanwhile, I'll be building a backyard chicken coop next month!
The result is a glut of food. Corn syrup has invaded the American diet because it is not only cheaper than raw sugar, but it is subsidized by the government. Too many grains, particular corn leads to too much beef. Then the corporates lobby the Department of Agriculture for more dollars in the SNAP program.
Hungry children don't lobby Congress, Coca-Cola, Frito-Lay, and Yum lobby for more.
Then there's obesity. A single mom living in an urban area without supermarkets can feed her three children at KFC for perhaps the most calories per dollar.
Curtail the subsidies, the Russian grain embargo ended long ago. Give the local sustainable farmers a chance to come back.
Meanwhile, I'll be building a backyard chicken coop next month!
4
Compounding the nausea aroused by factory farming is the fact that the purpose of this sickening cruelty is not, as carnivores sometimes argue, to feed the starving millions, but to keep the price of food so low that we can afford to waste nearly half of it while stuffing ourselves to obesity. The lives of half these creatures are in vain, tossed into garbage cans.
Industrial farming has separated the consumer from the consumed. Many who eat meat have forgotten, or never knew, their dinner except as neatly shrink-wrapped or precooked frozen or handed to them over a KFC counter. So it's easy not to care.
I haven't eaten meat since 1973. Carnivores often wonder why I'm not more 'tolerant' toward them. But when I look at them, I see the 'good Germans' who knew that they could have nice houses, clothes, furniture, established businesses, all at fire-sale prices - as long as they didn't inquire too closely where the previous owners went, or where those closed boxcars were going. And I shiver in horror, seeing the embodiment of Arendt's phrase 'the banality of evil'.
Industrial farming has separated the consumer from the consumed. Many who eat meat have forgotten, or never knew, their dinner except as neatly shrink-wrapped or precooked frozen or handed to them over a KFC counter. So it's easy not to care.
I haven't eaten meat since 1973. Carnivores often wonder why I'm not more 'tolerant' toward them. But when I look at them, I see the 'good Germans' who knew that they could have nice houses, clothes, furniture, established businesses, all at fire-sale prices - as long as they didn't inquire too closely where the previous owners went, or where those closed boxcars were going. And I shiver in horror, seeing the embodiment of Arendt's phrase 'the banality of evil'.
21
I love meat as much as anyone, but lately I have been eating less of it.
If you look at the big picture, you will know why.
1. The slaughter of so many animals is wrong, come on you know it's true.
2. Check out The China Study. When populations stop eating meat the life expectancy goes up. During WW2 some countries coudn't get meat, and the results were not in question.
3. The Environment. It takes something like 100 Gallons of water to produce a single hamburger. the amount of cows, (and the gasses) they produce needed to continue feeding everyone beef are simply unsustainable.
4. Our tax dollars support the meat farming industry. If not for Government
subsidies a pound of Hamburger or a gallon of milk would cost something like $15-20, so all you people complaining about high taxes. there you go
If you look at the big picture, you will know why.
1. The slaughter of so many animals is wrong, come on you know it's true.
2. Check out The China Study. When populations stop eating meat the life expectancy goes up. During WW2 some countries coudn't get meat, and the results were not in question.
3. The Environment. It takes something like 100 Gallons of water to produce a single hamburger. the amount of cows, (and the gasses) they produce needed to continue feeding everyone beef are simply unsustainable.
4. Our tax dollars support the meat farming industry. If not for Government
subsidies a pound of Hamburger or a gallon of milk would cost something like $15-20, so all you people complaining about high taxes. there you go
31
Que the Vegans, where every dish is "Delicious" and "easy to prepare". I suppose the biggest downside to being a vegan is the compelling need to lecture others in order to justify your diet to yourself. ( not all vegans i know but more than a few). I've spent a lot of time in the last few years reading different books on the where our food comes from subject. Probably the best is "The Mindful Carnivore". There is a lot of quackery out there on both sides of the issue. I think eventually we will be a more vegetarian society as people turn away from industrial meat produced in a questionably humane manner, and a lot of people eat only or mostly what they raise or hunt/fish for, ecologically much more sound and certainly a higher quality food without the chemicals. Sadly, most people can't do that at least not to the extent they eat only what they shoot or grow themselves. I suppose a visit to the new "Whole Paycheck" is in order.
5
After 5 years vegan, I don't need to "justify" the diet to myself. It recommends itself, in terms of health (better), expense (less), taste (just fine, thank you),
and guilt (less). Industrial scale killing of animals and depleting seas of fish is like Auschwitz. Humans won't advance until they cease taking pleasure (and justifying to themselves) the killing of innocent, helpless animals. And if this sounds like a lecture, it is. But you asked for it. But doubtful that any lecturing or setting example can change the violent and mindless majority of humans.
and guilt (less). Industrial scale killing of animals and depleting seas of fish is like Auschwitz. Humans won't advance until they cease taking pleasure (and justifying to themselves) the killing of innocent, helpless animals. And if this sounds like a lecture, it is. But you asked for it. But doubtful that any lecturing or setting example can change the violent and mindless majority of humans.
3
One reason so much chicken is eaten is the false notion that it provides a good source of protein without which the human body cannot function. On the flip side, it is hard, if not impossible, for many people to believe that bodily needs for protein can be satisfied by non-animal sources of protein. One reason for these widespread misunderstandings is the marketing campaigns by the animal products industry, which also lobbies to influence the phrasing of federal dietary guidelines. Hopefully the public will become more informed about the benefits of meeting more of their protein needs from plant-based sources.
22
" ... it is hard, if not impossible, for many people to believe that bodily needs for protein can be satisfied by non-animal sources of protein."
I have been vegetarian since I was 21, and am now 67. I worked in building and grounds maintenance and did stuff like logging and stone wall construction. In my mid years I was a competitive road runner. I have been strong and vigorous and have felt no need to eat animals. It has not been hard to find food I like, and never felt I missed meat foods. I dont put down people for eating their own way, I just want to be clear that a non-animal diet works fine
I have been vegetarian since I was 21, and am now 67. I worked in building and grounds maintenance and did stuff like logging and stone wall construction. In my mid years I was a competitive road runner. I have been strong and vigorous and have felt no need to eat animals. It has not been hard to find food I like, and never felt I missed meat foods. I dont put down people for eating their own way, I just want to be clear that a non-animal diet works fine
2
Since the dawn of agriculture, humans do not need to kill animals for their survival.
Just because we can, does not make animal farming for human consumption a just way of life. Animals have rights. Over a very long history of existence, humans have been evolving to be better beings. It is time for us to transition to a world of Dharma; a world of non violent peaceful coexistence. All lives matter, including the lives of animals.
Just because we can, does not make animal farming for human consumption a just way of life. Animals have rights. Over a very long history of existence, humans have been evolving to be better beings. It is time for us to transition to a world of Dharma; a world of non violent peaceful coexistence. All lives matter, including the lives of animals.
24
Thank you.
1
dismissing the dangling of a dog off of a balcony as merely "scaring one dog" in order to express moral indignation at the scalding alive of billions of chickens is in utterly contemptible. The murder of one individual is not different, morally, than the murder of millions. beating into unconsciousness a single homosexual is not morally less outrageous than exterminating six million jews Trying to build a case against one moral outrage by being dismissive of another moral outrage is not only counter-productive but speaks to a basic lack of compassion and moral judgment by Kristof himself.
4
I think you completely missed Nicks point.
2
You in effect claim that all wrongs are equal--that shoplifting a candy bar is as wrong as mass murder. To say that dangling a dog off a balcony is less wrong than scalding alive billions of chickens is not to be dismissive of the former. And to say that murdering two people is worse than murdering one is not to be dismissive of the latter.
2
I want to support small rural farmers, not industrial ag. It's a small step and, eventually, I suspect I'll become a vegetarian. After raising animals I'm eating less meat. That way I can afford to buy only meat raised locally and in humane conditions.
I raise chickens too, but not for meat (though I'll soon learn how to slaughter and process our surplus roosters). Our small flock of hens have more than 7,000 square feet of pasture fenced from predators. I plan to keep that ratio of bird-to-range that way, even as we move up our flock of layers to 100 birds. It takes money and time, but the animals are healthy and happy. And they give you breakfast.
I raise chickens too, but not for meat (though I'll soon learn how to slaughter and process our surplus roosters). Our small flock of hens have more than 7,000 square feet of pasture fenced from predators. I plan to keep that ratio of bird-to-range that way, even as we move up our flock of layers to 100 birds. It takes money and time, but the animals are healthy and happy. And they give you breakfast.
10
Peak Oiler,
I encourage you to give it a shot! We did, and after a small investment in equipment and several hours gleaning online information on the butchering process we dove right in. We are now are in our fifth year raising meat chickens for ourselves, our families and neighbors. It is gratifying to know that the meat we eat comes from birds that have had as good of a life as a chicken can possibly have, and the taste is incomparable. I highly recommend Herrick Kimball's "Planet Whizbang" website as a great source of information.
I encourage you to give it a shot! We did, and after a small investment in equipment and several hours gleaning online information on the butchering process we dove right in. We are now are in our fifth year raising meat chickens for ourselves, our families and neighbors. It is gratifying to know that the meat we eat comes from birds that have had as good of a life as a chicken can possibly have, and the taste is incomparable. I highly recommend Herrick Kimball's "Planet Whizbang" website as a great source of information.
1
will you call your roosters by their names as you beckon them to the chop? Just curious.
Growing up, we eat meat once a week for Sunday Dinner, it was expensive, it was special. Eating meat every day is now what many people do, not special, not expensive and ruining the future of human survival on our planet. We need to return to the idea of meat being expensive and special and eaten once a week max. Yes have great barbecue's, great beers/wines with it, just on special days. We think we are consuming meat but actually the meat industry is consuming us and our planet so best advice is dial the consumption way down.
40
A black teenager with a history of mental illness and a knife was shot 16 times by a white Chicago Police officer. And the Cook County States Attorney, the Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department and the Mayor of Chicago chord to suppress the video of the incident until just before last Thanksgiving.
Why? It was not like he shot a dog or something. As Michael Vick learned white folks love their dogs much more than they do their famous black athletes. A dog shot sixteen times would have media notoriety and a political hurricane working in it's favor.
I am not moved by any appeals to mistreatment of animals. I do not favor their abuse but I am indifferent to animals when my fellow humans are closer to me in their misery.
Human beings evolved as omnivores. And we share a DNA common biological evolutionary heritage with our fellow carbon life forms. Yet we do not anguish over cruelty to plants, fungi, bacteria or protozoa. Some cultures ate and still eat dogs. The line between pet and food is thin porous and shifting.
Why? It was not like he shot a dog or something. As Michael Vick learned white folks love their dogs much more than they do their famous black athletes. A dog shot sixteen times would have media notoriety and a political hurricane working in it's favor.
I am not moved by any appeals to mistreatment of animals. I do not favor their abuse but I am indifferent to animals when my fellow humans are closer to me in their misery.
Human beings evolved as omnivores. And we share a DNA common biological evolutionary heritage with our fellow carbon life forms. Yet we do not anguish over cruelty to plants, fungi, bacteria or protozoa. Some cultures ate and still eat dogs. The line between pet and food is thin porous and shifting.
3
"I am not moved by any appeals to mistreatment of animals. I do not favor their abuse but I am indifferent to animals when my fellow humans are closer to me in their misery."
All exploitation--of all living beings--and discrimination is interconnected and is underpinned by the same gendered, racial system of dominance. Have the strength to examine your indifference. See how it helps to strengthen the very exploitation you rebel against.
All exploitation--of all living beings--and discrimination is interconnected and is underpinned by the same gendered, racial system of dominance. Have the strength to examine your indifference. See how it helps to strengthen the very exploitation you rebel against.
18
It doesn't have to be a binary choice. You can support fair and humane treatment for both people and animals.
38
Humans have a voice and can speak of their suffering. I'm sensitive to their suffering too, but animals suffer anonymously and without a hashtag. So I stand for them and all of Nature we are raping and ruining.
4
Articles such as these tend to bring out politically-correct, lop-sided responses and one would get the impression that we have limited solutions, that is vegan, or some from of humanistic vegetarian, or conscious meat-consuming. Unfortunately as I write this only one brave soul has noted that there are limits to what many people can afford, either financially or time-wise.
Over the last 150 years or so, we have moved off the farm because we weren't satisfied being farmers (of any size farm) into the City where we believed opportunities were greater. Feeding us today is not easy. There aren't sufficient arable lands to do some of the things people suggest. If everyone was required to eat only non-GMO foods, grown organically, many would starve or only a few would be in a position to afford such a lifestyle. Limiting waste would be nice, but come-on, is that going to save us all?
We need to admit that the human species has over-populated the world and have very limited capabilities to address this problem in a likewise humane manner. So the lower end of the food chain is going to pay the price. Maybe we should start by stopping to extend life expectancies, eliminate those drugs that cure life-shorting diseases, stop childhood immunizations, or would that be inhumane? You might say we can do both, but realistically, just not possible. So lets acknowledge where we are and stop trying to move back in time because it just doesn't work.
Over the last 150 years or so, we have moved off the farm because we weren't satisfied being farmers (of any size farm) into the City where we believed opportunities were greater. Feeding us today is not easy. There aren't sufficient arable lands to do some of the things people suggest. If everyone was required to eat only non-GMO foods, grown organically, many would starve or only a few would be in a position to afford such a lifestyle. Limiting waste would be nice, but come-on, is that going to save us all?
We need to admit that the human species has over-populated the world and have very limited capabilities to address this problem in a likewise humane manner. So the lower end of the food chain is going to pay the price. Maybe we should start by stopping to extend life expectancies, eliminate those drugs that cure life-shorting diseases, stop childhood immunizations, or would that be inhumane? You might say we can do both, but realistically, just not possible. So lets acknowledge where we are and stop trying to move back in time because it just doesn't work.
5
I agree about population. As far as cheap meat goes, we don't need to eat as much as we do.
Animal cruelty and the organic/non GMO debate are two issues that do not need to be tied together. We can treat animals well while using GMO crops.
Animal cruelty and the organic/non GMO debate are two issues that do not need to be tied together. We can treat animals well while using GMO crops.
1
Raising animals for slaughter is unacceptable.
People ('consumers') must be continually made aware of what is happening in these genocidal torture factories so they will find this form of 'food' inedible.
We do not need to participate in this brutality by sustaining it.
Individuals do have the choice.
People ('consumers') must be continually made aware of what is happening in these genocidal torture factories so they will find this form of 'food' inedible.
We do not need to participate in this brutality by sustaining it.
Individuals do have the choice.
30
Mr. Kristof, our species population is ever increasing, and rapidly. One billion more mouths to feed a decade from today, and very few of them will be able to afford Whole Foods prices. This ugly industrial production of living things for slaughter is necessary so our own species can continue to "be fruitful and multiply".
We need industrial food production because there are so many more of us now, and more and more every day.
If you think chicken production is cruel, go out and see what the monocultures of massive industrial farming does to the land and the water and the other species that struggle to survive as their homes are lost to food production for humans. Chickens are just one part of the slaughter.
We need industrial food production because there are so many more of us now, and more and more every day.
If you think chicken production is cruel, go out and see what the monocultures of massive industrial farming does to the land and the water and the other species that struggle to survive as their homes are lost to food production for humans. Chickens are just one part of the slaughter.
32
Many, many more people can survive when all eat vegan. All the food that animals eat, like soy and grains, are better and sooner distributed to the people. It is the best solution against poverty around the world, against animal cruelty, against the destruction of the environment.
One can eat vegan on a low budget. Next to that it is good for your health. I feel great being a vegan and more and more (sports-)people do too!
These kinds of articles are more common in other countries, like Germany, where veganism is booming business. Veganism is the future of ehics. It will save us, the animals and the planet.
One can eat vegan on a low budget. Next to that it is good for your health. I feel great being a vegan and more and more (sports-)people do too!
These kinds of articles are more common in other countries, like Germany, where veganism is booming business. Veganism is the future of ehics. It will save us, the animals and the planet.
25
The majority of Americans can't afford humanely-raised meat or organic food of any kind. We can use this fact as an excuse to continue poisoning the world with pesticides, torturing animals, and filling our children with junk food--or we can reverse the upward distribution of wealth that has been going on since the Reagan days. We work longer hours than people in most other nations and have a higher productivity rate. We need is to be fairly compensated for our labors instead of having all the money go to the 0.1%. Then we all could afford a healthy, humane diet.
12
You can eat very well vegan for 4$ a day. There are even cookbooks called like that. All the info is in there. Free recipes on the internet. People in poor countries can do it - most in India are vegan/vegetarian. It is possible low-budget. You can have higher quality food for your money. Beans taste great and are cheap. For most people there are no excuses.
The killing of animals is never humane. There are enough animals suffering in our world, who need help, and humanity does not need to create *more* animal cruelty and suffering.
The killing of animals is never humane. There are enough animals suffering in our world, who need help, and humanity does not need to create *more* animal cruelty and suffering.
2
We as a society have yet to acknowledge the huge impact that all the various forms of livestock farming have on the environment, including climate change.
Livestock farming in toto is said to produce at least 20% of the amount of greenhouse gases we put into the air (collectively equal to all cars), mostly in the form of methane, which apparently has 23 times greater impact on climate change, molecule for molecule, than carbon dioxide.
Anybody who wants to do their share in reducing climate change can contribute by eating less meat, cheese, milk, eggs. The sad part is that as Americans are eating less meat, the rest of the world is catching up and eating more.
Livestock farming in toto is said to produce at least 20% of the amount of greenhouse gases we put into the air (collectively equal to all cars), mostly in the form of methane, which apparently has 23 times greater impact on climate change, molecule for molecule, than carbon dioxide.
Anybody who wants to do their share in reducing climate change can contribute by eating less meat, cheese, milk, eggs. The sad part is that as Americans are eating less meat, the rest of the world is catching up and eating more.
12
I suspect that the minds of all sentient beings on this planet are connected and that the pain of the multitudes, of the millions of these tortured creatures is felt by and affects us all.
13
Too many people talk about animal suffering and potential human health concerns due to animal suffering on the same scale as if they were even remotely linked. Animal rights have to be enforced if need be. We need to move beyond animal rights being good because they also mean humans get to enjoy being healthy.
7
If the concern is to push for food that causes less harm to everyone, human, animal and bird, there is little option other than educating the public on the merits of vegetarianism.
In fact we Hindus strongly believe that the human feelings and whole nature becomes blunted by association with butchering of animals and people will find it extremely difficult to govern animal passion violent nature and restless condition. It is for this very reason vegetarianism is strongly linked with Indic religions that originated in ancient India.
Indic religious (Jainism, Hinduism and Buddhism) philosophical schools forbid consumption of meat and Jainism institutes an outright ban on the same. Consequently, India is home to more vegetarians than any other country. About 30% of India's 1.2 billion population practices lacto vegetarianism.
Every act by which a person directly or indirectly supports killing or injury is seen as violence, which creates harmful karma, a spiritual principle of cause and effect where intent and actions of an individual (cause) influence the future of that individual (effect). The aim of ahimsa is to prevent the accumulation of such karma.
Jains consider nonviolence to be the most essential religious duty for everyone. Their scrupulous and thorough way of applying nonviolence to everyday activities, and especially to food, shapes their entire lives and is the most significant hallmark of Jain identity.
In fact we Hindus strongly believe that the human feelings and whole nature becomes blunted by association with butchering of animals and people will find it extremely difficult to govern animal passion violent nature and restless condition. It is for this very reason vegetarianism is strongly linked with Indic religions that originated in ancient India.
Indic religious (Jainism, Hinduism and Buddhism) philosophical schools forbid consumption of meat and Jainism institutes an outright ban on the same. Consequently, India is home to more vegetarians than any other country. About 30% of India's 1.2 billion population practices lacto vegetarianism.
Every act by which a person directly or indirectly supports killing or injury is seen as violence, which creates harmful karma, a spiritual principle of cause and effect where intent and actions of an individual (cause) influence the future of that individual (effect). The aim of ahimsa is to prevent the accumulation of such karma.
Jains consider nonviolence to be the most essential religious duty for everyone. Their scrupulous and thorough way of applying nonviolence to everyday activities, and especially to food, shapes their entire lives and is the most significant hallmark of Jain identity.
52
Interestingly enough, India is the single largest exporter of red meat in the world http://money.cnn.com/2015/08/05/news/economy/india-beef-exports-buffalo/
Also, the Buddha did not ban the consumption of meat. His rules for the monastic community, the Vinaya, contains 227 rules of conduct for the monks. Some of them address manners in eating, but none of them forbid the consumption of meat.
Also, the Buddha did not ban the consumption of meat. His rules for the monastic community, the Vinaya, contains 227 rules of conduct for the monks. Some of them address manners in eating, but none of them forbid the consumption of meat.
True, but dairy is also an extremely cruel industry and involves lots of killing.
http://milkiscruel.com/
Pretending otherwise only hurts.
http://milkiscruel.com/
Pretending otherwise only hurts.
1
The industrialization of food whether it be chickens or pigs or cattle is all inhumane. It is mass torture of the type you describe with animals squeezed into narrow cages, shot full of hormones, and cruelly slaughtered if they don't die from diseases like gangrene. It is the modern version of Upton Sinclair's "Jungle," but there are few voices like yours and some courageous farmers advocating for the animals and humane procedures for raising and killing them. We need to stop exploiting animals as well as those who are forced to participate in these cruel practices in order to make a living for literally chicken feed.
54
Food manufacturers like these chicken farmers keep food costs low. Imagine rising food costs in the era of flat to declining incomes in the U.S. As bad as these large confined animal feeding factories are to read about, low and middle income families would be devastated if food costs rose to end these practices.
There are options for those who can afford them to buy food from small farmers. And not eating meat is an option for those with the food education resources to eat meatless and healthy. For the others, low cost food is a life saver.
There are options for those who can afford them to buy food from small farmers. And not eating meat is an option for those with the food education resources to eat meatless and healthy. For the others, low cost food is a life saver.
5
We waste up to 90% of the food value in crops by feeding them to animals and then eating the corpses. The way to feed everyone inexpensively is to stop eating corpses and eat only plants.
21
In Germany and other countries around the world veganism is on the rise. The new companies create jobs and invent new products. Also in the U.S.
Next to that poor people don't have to feel guilty, because they can eat for 4$ a day vegan or even less. It will keep them out of the hospitals, because the cheap fast food with lots of meat is very bad for ones health.
More than 80% of diseases can be prevented (!) and partly reversed with a plantbased diet. The movie "Fat, Sick and nearly Dead" is an interesting watch about the fat and fastfood eating american society. Loads of people die before they are 50 or 60 - totally uneccesary. Only because the don't eat healthy and don't do any excercise.
Healthfood should be affordable for all - including the homeless, animal cruelty should be forbidden by law and the information should be everywhere: how to eat healthy plantbased and how to excercise. A government should provide that - and not billboards of fastfood everywhere that support a fastfood addiction. Obesity is cause of death nr. 1. That does not have to be like that!
Next to that poor people don't have to feel guilty, because they can eat for 4$ a day vegan or even less. It will keep them out of the hospitals, because the cheap fast food with lots of meat is very bad for ones health.
More than 80% of diseases can be prevented (!) and partly reversed with a plantbased diet. The movie "Fat, Sick and nearly Dead" is an interesting watch about the fat and fastfood eating american society. Loads of people die before they are 50 or 60 - totally uneccesary. Only because the don't eat healthy and don't do any excercise.
Healthfood should be affordable for all - including the homeless, animal cruelty should be forbidden by law and the information should be everywhere: how to eat healthy plantbased and how to excercise. A government should provide that - and not billboards of fastfood everywhere that support a fastfood addiction. Obesity is cause of death nr. 1. That does not have to be like that!
15
Meat certified as humanely raised is more expensive but one way to afford it is to stop viewing meat as a stand alone star of a meal and use it as an ingredient in something else. For example, a pot of chili made with a pound of chuck would be cheaper and go much further than grilling sirloin steaks for a family.
1
This is tragic. These are sentient creatures who feel misery and pain. Surely we can do better. That this happens haunts every day of my life.
"An ant's life is as sweet to it as ours to us." -- Abraham Lincoln as a boy, in reaction to seeing an instance of animal cruelty.
"An ant's life is as sweet to it as ours to us." -- Abraham Lincoln as a boy, in reaction to seeing an instance of animal cruelty.
136
Check out Humane Farm Animal Care and its program of offering a Humane Certified logo to food producers complying with standards of humane care and slaughter. You can find a list of such producers and where their products are sold on their website. Unfortunately, last I looked, the group had not yet established humane slaughter standards for chickens. An aspiring but failed vegan, I am uncomfortable that most even humanely cared for chickens, cows and goats are slaughtered when they no longer can produce enough milk and eggs to pay for their upkeep. I let myself believe that Redwood Hill Farm in Petaluma, CA does better in that regard, and wish I could locate dairy products said to be produced in ??Radiance, IA. Meanwhile, I also take some comfort from the point made by the Humane Farm Animal Care people that being a vegan does not improve the lives of farm animals, (and by implication, it probably diminishes their likelihood of having lives at all.)
4
For some reason chickens are exempt from the USDA standards and I share your concerns about the treatment of chickens. We're lucky to live not too far from a small farm that sells chicken and eggs (among other things) and you can see where they house their animals. You can even go into the hen house to collect you own eggs. It's a world away from the horrendous conditions the factory chickens endure. I still find myself eating less chicken than I used to but it's nice to have an option like this.
1
I recently asked a group of students whether they would eat dog meat. All except for one (a Chinese) were horrified by thus idea. I said I would - if I ate meat, which I don't. Dogs and cows are mammals with approximately the same level of sentience. If you eat one, why should you not eat the other? My point was to illustrate how often we substitute emotions for reason. Ethics should be as rigirous as logic, proceeding from clearly defined premises and not muddled by feelings. I believe that the value of a life depends on two parameters: the animal's sentience and its capacity to feel pain. Humans are more intelligent and self-aware than other animals, so our lives count for more. But chickens have the same capacity for pain as we do. So killing a chicken is not as morally reprehensible as killing a child, but torturing a chicken is as bad as torturing a baby. There is no other word that more accurately describes industrial farming than torture. So I don't eat meat. But I would if I were assured that the animal - whether a chicken or a dig - was humanely raised and killed without inflicting unnecessary suffering.
20
Humans are more intelligent and self-aware than other animals, so our lives count for more.
i cant even begin to address how utterly wrong that statement is
i cant even begin to address how utterly wrong that statement is
58
ordinarily our repulsion at eating a particular animal is directly proportional to how close it is to humans ion th evolutionary scale
eating a chimpanzee would repel most people, bc they are our closest genetic relatives
while most people eat fish as if they werent even living things
eating a chimpanzee would repel most people, bc they are our closest genetic relatives
while most people eat fish as if they werent even living things
Dogs are pets and we bread and raise them for companionship. Cows are bred and raised for food; if we didn't want them for food there would be far fewer of them around.
13
Now vegan, not wanting to support cruelty, we often encounter irrational opinions as if eating flesh is a right. We do not engage or try to convert others but it is curious how angry people can be when asked to think carefully about animals. The position we find most bizarre is the "it's too depressing." If something is depressing to think about it is usually wrong and in this instance, we have a choice to correct that wrong.
173
Yes, and it makes me wonder that people will continue to eat something they think "it's too depressing" to contemplate. More evidence that "denial" is truly a river in Egypt:-(
2
It is shameful that a nation that considers itself civilized can be so indifferent and downright cruel to living creatures who obviously feel pain and the effects of illness.
135
with reference to the comment "... If we can rally on behalf of a frightened dog in Orlando, can’t we also muster concern for billions of farm animals ..." perhaps the quote attributed to Stalin is appropriate here "The death of one man is a tragedy, the death of millions is a statistic."
2
It only " considers itself civilized". For it is the sole nation to use nuclear weapons on human beings, to defoliate the forests of Vietnam and has a "defense budget" larger than that of any six other nations. Add to that the fact that we have killed 58 million of our unborn since 1973 and imprison people at the highest rate on the planet.
Britain imprisoned Alan Turing for being gay. We imprisoned Kim Davis for refusing to sign some marriage certificates. Victims change but victimization remains a constant.
True, America is a well educated and developed nation and does have the capacity to become humane. But it has yet to USE that capacity.
Britain imprisoned Alan Turing for being gay. We imprisoned Kim Davis for refusing to sign some marriage certificates. Victims change but victimization remains a constant.
True, America is a well educated and developed nation and does have the capacity to become humane. But it has yet to USE that capacity.
2
There is a wealth of nourishing and delicious foods for us to choose that are animal-free. These foods include protein-rich chicken-like products that replace any need for us to bring chickens or any other animals into the world merely to suffer and die for our appetites. We need to put slaughterhouses behind us and welcome the culinary opportunities that beckon. Fortunately, more and more people are discovering these culinary opportunities and taking advantage of them.
70
Name those products and their prices and their availability across the US.
Meat provides concentrated vitamins, minerals and proteins in a small package. Industrial farming puts that nutrition in financial reach of all but the indigent. Huge industrial farming puts that food in every grocery.
Chicken meat provides 27% protein per serving.
Tofu provides 8%.
Seitan provides 70% protein per serving, but costs $10/lb versus $1.10/lb for chicken.
Seitan is wheat gluten...a dietary hazard here. You can make gluten free seitan if you have:
1/3 cup teff flour
1/3 cup buckwheat flour
1/3 cup sweet rice flour (glutinous rice flour)
1/4 cup moth bean flour (or mung bean or lentil flours)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 cup tapioca flour
3 tsp xanthan gum
In my city, 75% of the children are below the poverty line. They don't have shoes, books, winter coats or a full compliment of parents. How the heck are they supposed to spend $10/lb for seitan or come up with xanthan gum, teff flour or moth bean flour?
Whole Foods does not cater to those Americans living below the poverty line. Here in NY State that is 15% of our population. Not a lot of seitan or tofu at the corner bodega. They DO have fresh chicken for $1/lb, and you get to keep the bones for broth.
Meat provides concentrated vitamins, minerals and proteins in a small package. Industrial farming puts that nutrition in financial reach of all but the indigent. Huge industrial farming puts that food in every grocery.
Chicken meat provides 27% protein per serving.
Tofu provides 8%.
Seitan provides 70% protein per serving, but costs $10/lb versus $1.10/lb for chicken.
Seitan is wheat gluten...a dietary hazard here. You can make gluten free seitan if you have:
1/3 cup teff flour
1/3 cup buckwheat flour
1/3 cup sweet rice flour (glutinous rice flour)
1/4 cup moth bean flour (or mung bean or lentil flours)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 cup tapioca flour
3 tsp xanthan gum
In my city, 75% of the children are below the poverty line. They don't have shoes, books, winter coats or a full compliment of parents. How the heck are they supposed to spend $10/lb for seitan or come up with xanthan gum, teff flour or moth bean flour?
Whole Foods does not cater to those Americans living below the poverty line. Here in NY State that is 15% of our population. Not a lot of seitan or tofu at the corner bodega. They DO have fresh chicken for $1/lb, and you get to keep the bones for broth.
10
@EndlessWar:
Plant-based foods are nutrient dense. Animal-based foods are calorie dense. I think we know which is better for Americans today.
Plant-based foods are nutrient dense. Animal-based foods are calorie dense. I think we know which is better for Americans today.
4
I have been vegan for years and I never eat seitan. I am not gluten-intolerant, I just don't like seitan. Assuming that seitan is the only option available to vegans is ridiculous. Grains and beans/legumes are incredibly cheap and versatile and healthy.
5
"...it’s time for consumers to use their buying power to push for food that causes less harm to everyone,..." As you note Mr. Kristof there is much horrible cruelty happening to humans. I cannot imagine the conditions experienced in many refugee camps or fear that forces people to hide in the water during bombing raids. We also know animal, fish, plant cruelty exist as well and could lead to a health crisis. Farm fisheries can be filled with contaminated water; cattle and chickens suffer from disease, close living conditions, often cruel deaths; and the insecticides used on our plants & trees is cause for concern. So, we respond by writing rules to change treatment, cleanliness of water, insecticide toxicity and then rely on a congress that wants a smaller government, is very pro business and cuts budgets to insure there are few inspectors. How shall I use my buying power to provide fair legislation for farmer, and meat/fish/vegetable industry, and encourage my elected officials to support better monitoring of our food? I say cyncically that it appears I need to make very significant contributions to senators and representatives to insure that my "buying power" is effective/persuasive. Congress needs to get out of the fund raising business and back to addressing the needs of this country and indeed our planet.
11
Everyone should start to make the world better by him- or herself. That means doning good right now where you are. In a city or a village. That means making choices: buy vegetables, fruits, nuts, beans instead of dead tortured animal flesh or milk that is ment for baby cows taken away from their mothers. That means helping out neighbours. That means donating to or helping poor children. That means driving your bike more (for the environment).
If everyone would change themselves first ethically - our world would be ideal.
Don't wait for the government, don't dance on excuses - but do your thing. Ethically. Morally.
“Don't do unto others what you don't want others to do unto you.” - Confucius
If everyone would change themselves first ethically - our world would be ideal.
Don't wait for the government, don't dance on excuses - but do your thing. Ethically. Morally.
“Don't do unto others what you don't want others to do unto you.” - Confucius
2
Almost everyone agrees that unnecessarily harming animals is wrong. The key word here is "unnecessarily." Since animal products are unnecessary in a healthful diet, and always harmful to the animals exploited, consuming animal products is unnecessarily harmful to animals. The solution is to learn about vegan cooking and nutrition, and become vegan for life.
54
Yes, Nick, agribusiness has its sordid parts. It reminds me of the great story in Pohl and Kornbluth's "Space Merchants". It's time to reread about Chicken Little, the chicken grown in culture to feed humanity.
Profits are important to companies, whether from torturing animals or using cheap, offshore labor. They keep executives well compensated and provide value to retirement portfolios. And chicken has to be the lowest price for consumers.
Were we more conscientious, we could do all of this business much more compassionately.
Profits are important to companies, whether from torturing animals or using cheap, offshore labor. They keep executives well compensated and provide value to retirement portfolios. And chicken has to be the lowest price for consumers.
Were we more conscientious, we could do all of this business much more compassionately.
8
Ethical businesses are on the rise, the vegan Supermarket "Veganz" from Germany already has shops in other countries and now in Portland US. In Germany veganism is the biggest booming newcomer in the economy and in every supermarket they have a steadily growing product inventory with the vegan label now. In more and more countries the same effect is taking place because of the interconnectivity of the internet and articles like this one. People are shocked about the animals abuse and unneccessary cruelty. And because the consumer stood up - the companies are following or being created. Hello future!
4
I have nothing against people who wish to be vegans. I just wonder why, if they despise meat so much, they flock to new products that pretend to look, feel, and taste like meat. If they were really honest with themselves, they would shun such things and eat only what they can make from natural foods themselves, without the fantasy of a producer/manufacturer who is looking for profit ("steadily growing product inventory with the vegan label"!).
1
It's the unnecessary cruelty and death that is the problem, Mary. Not the taste. So many omnivores find this very confusing, which in itself confuses me! Those products are not animals, ergo the market for it? It's another ingredient at one's disposal.
3
A time will come when we'll be eating chicken-like and beef-like vegetarian snacks and whole meals, with the appropriate flavor, and looks, of the animals we, henceforth. would raise as pets only. A niece of mine (in Germany) is 'vegan' because she wants to remain true to herself, and not become complacent with the cruelty on animals, as our current practice is guilty of doing; and where the only regard is the bottom line, money (harboring greed?).
31
remember, tuesday is soylent green day
You have picked a difficult subject to discuss. A review of our food growing and production techniques only leads to one story after another of cruelty and/or law breaking. Chickens are abused, beef is fed suspect hormones, plants are poisoned with insecticides, water is being misused and is running out . . . there is almost nothing good to be said for our efforts to feed ourselves and when you add in the harm being done by the wealthy and the neglect heaped upon us by our bought and paid for Congress, well, the future is grim.
I won’t even mention the abuses heaped upon us by our fellow humans and that certainly includes our questionable collection of Presidential candidates.
It all begs the question, “Where are we to turn?”
I won’t even mention the abuses heaped upon us by our fellow humans and that certainly includes our questionable collection of Presidential candidates.
It all begs the question, “Where are we to turn?”
17
The solution is right in front of you. Go vegan.
3
Aside from this horrifying cruelty, there's the environmental and public health aspects. Environment - Animals raised for food produce waste that must be processed somehow. Public Health - antibiotics are fast losing their effectiveness due to being fed to farmed animals. Ever hear of MRSA? Even for a person who has no compassion for animals, taking all that into account, what possible justification can there be for continuing to eat animals? What kind of people support this morally bankrupt industry?
48
One thing that stands out about us humans is our inconsistency. Dangle a dog over a balcony and a large amount of police resources swing into action. On the other hand, subject billions of chickens to cruelty and most people just shrug it off. So many worthy causes in life we can focus on. I take my hat off to those who work to uncover the cruelty associated with animal farming.
103
Hunters know you can taste the way an animal lived and fed.
Hunters know you can taste the way an animal died. You can taste the stress hormones of a painful or stressful death, and you get a different, clean taste without that.
Hunters also know that ethics apply to animals. Any decent hunter would be ashamed of himself for anything like this.
Hunters know you can taste the way an animal died. You can taste the stress hormones of a painful or stressful death, and you get a different, clean taste without that.
Hunters also know that ethics apply to animals. Any decent hunter would be ashamed of himself for anything like this.
48
Who do we pet and who do we eat?
After 30 years of not eating mammal or bird flesh, I can only let folks know that sometimes the kindest thing is not to eat animals. Lets make it financially unrewarding for factory animal breeding and slaughtering to happen. (Full disclosure: I also do not eat or drink mammal milk due to allergies.)
I do not eat fertilized eggs (religious requirement) and my eggs are produced by hens that are pasture raised by local (less than 200 miles) farms. I know where the farms are and have seen the environment the hens are raised in.
Yes it costs more, but so what? If cost is a concern, not eating any animal products is the lowest cost (and kindest) solution.
After 30 years of not eating mammal or bird flesh, I can only let folks know that sometimes the kindest thing is not to eat animals. Lets make it financially unrewarding for factory animal breeding and slaughtering to happen. (Full disclosure: I also do not eat or drink mammal milk due to allergies.)
I do not eat fertilized eggs (religious requirement) and my eggs are produced by hens that are pasture raised by local (less than 200 miles) farms. I know where the farms are and have seen the environment the hens are raised in.
Yes it costs more, but so what? If cost is a concern, not eating any animal products is the lowest cost (and kindest) solution.
36
"Yes it costs more, but so what? If cost is a concern, not eating any animal products is the lowest cost (and kindest) solution."
Not for the working poor. Not everyone has the time to travel around to boutique farms to pick up seasonal greens and unfertilized eggs. With four kids in my household and parents working two jobs each, the luxury of asking about how much space Collin the Chicken has at the elusive Aliki's farm is non-existant.
Not for the working poor. Not everyone has the time to travel around to boutique farms to pick up seasonal greens and unfertilized eggs. With four kids in my household and parents working two jobs each, the luxury of asking about how much space Collin the Chicken has at the elusive Aliki's farm is non-existant.
7
I also do not eat or drink mammal milk due to allergies
no animall other than man drinks milk after its weaned
theres a reason for that
its not good for you
no animall other than man drinks milk after its weaned
theres a reason for that
its not good for you
2
You can eat vegan for 4$ a day, and also for less. There are books about that and free recipes on the internet. There are also books and website for vegan families where they exchange (healthy) recipes. Also possible for the bigger families. Any parent that does support animal or any other cruelty is the best example for their kids.
3
Good to see some attention paid to what John Webster, professor of animal husbandry at the University of Bristol’s School of Veterinary Science and the founder of what is now the world’s largest center for the study of animal welfare and behavior, has described as “in magnitude and severity, the single most severe, systematic example of man’s inhumanity to another sentient animal." Webster estimates that because of the leg problems caused by their rapit weight gain, about one third of them are in chronic pain for the last third of their lives. If there are nine billion chickens raised for meat in the U.S. every year, that is 2.6 billion birds experiencing chronic pain for the last two weeks of their lives. Industry reports and scientific journals provide evidence that each year 139 million chickens don’t even make it to slaughter. Their legs collapse under them and, unable to move or reach food and water, they die of thirst or they starve.
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The real Peter Singer? Thank you for your book, Animal Liberation. I read it as an angsty teen, back when my parents thought my veganism was just a phase. I wish more people would read it.
As for the chickens, let's all remember that this food production is not an unfortunate necessity needed to feed a starving population. These chickens are bred, tortured, slaughtered, and processed to produce completely unnecessary snacks (Burger King's new "chicken fries" spring to mind). We could all get by just fine with legumes and nuts, but our society has instead chosen the cruel and environmentally devastating path of relying on animal protein.
As for the chickens, let's all remember that this food production is not an unfortunate necessity needed to feed a starving population. These chickens are bred, tortured, slaughtered, and processed to produce completely unnecessary snacks (Burger King's new "chicken fries" spring to mind). We could all get by just fine with legumes and nuts, but our society has instead chosen the cruel and environmentally devastating path of relying on animal protein.
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In general I'm not all that sympathetic to animal rights arguments. Human beings are also animals, and as far as I'm concerned human beings eating chickens is no more questionable morally than lions eating zebras. And if the animal we eat face a certain amount of fear and pain at slaughter time, so what? No wild animal is guaranteed a painless death. (For that matter, no human is either!)
This single place where I think the animal rights people have a real point is when the animals we raise suffer fear and pain not just at the end, but throughout their entire lives. That does bother me! I'm not sure what to do about it, given the economics, but I'd be willing to pay more for pain-free chicken, and to support legislation that would make the lives of domestic animals more normal and comfortable. This is where I think the animal rights people should be focusing their efforts, because this is where they actually have a chance to win.
This single place where I think the animal rights people have a real point is when the animals we raise suffer fear and pain not just at the end, but throughout their entire lives. That does bother me! I'm not sure what to do about it, given the economics, but I'd be willing to pay more for pain-free chicken, and to support legislation that would make the lives of domestic animals more normal and comfortable. This is where I think the animal rights people should be focusing their efforts, because this is where they actually have a chance to win.
7
I have it on good authority that the system works perfectly almost every time. Instead of being scalded alive, the bird first has the aorta automatically snipped as it moves upside-down along the conveyor and bleeds out, dying almost instantly and well before it gets to the scalding steam, intended to de-feather it. The blood, collected at the bottom of "blood rooms", is used in animal feed.
This part of the process is far more automated than it is with steers, which provide us with steaks. Here, the steer moves on an automated bar to a person holding what looks like a power nailing gun. It’s a pneumatic device called a “stunner”, which injects a metal bolt about the length and thickness of a thick pencil into the steer’s brain, right between the eyes. That should render the animal brain dead. Chains then are attached to the animal’s rear legs and it’s attached to an overhead trolley and hoisted upside down. Another person cuts the aorta and bleeds the animal, at which point we’re pretty sure the animal is completely dead.
I’ll spare readers subsequent operations on the carcasses of both birds and steers. Because I’m a nice guy.
If we’re going to consume animal flesh of any kind, expect that there’s a process for killing the animal that is not for the squeamish. I don’t imagine human cannibals employ immensely humane means of euthanizing their meals.
What appears to us under cellophane in supermarkets has a history. If that’s a problem, stick with fruits and nuts.
This part of the process is far more automated than it is with steers, which provide us with steaks. Here, the steer moves on an automated bar to a person holding what looks like a power nailing gun. It’s a pneumatic device called a “stunner”, which injects a metal bolt about the length and thickness of a thick pencil into the steer’s brain, right between the eyes. That should render the animal brain dead. Chains then are attached to the animal’s rear legs and it’s attached to an overhead trolley and hoisted upside down. Another person cuts the aorta and bleeds the animal, at which point we’re pretty sure the animal is completely dead.
I’ll spare readers subsequent operations on the carcasses of both birds and steers. Because I’m a nice guy.
If we’re going to consume animal flesh of any kind, expect that there’s a process for killing the animal that is not for the squeamish. I don’t imagine human cannibals employ immensely humane means of euthanizing their meals.
What appears to us under cellophane in supermarkets has a history. If that’s a problem, stick with fruits and nuts.
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I have it on good authority that any third-hand description which offers blanket statements of butchering 9 billion animals will not be reliable.
The use of the word "automatically" - as if automatic procedures are guaranteed to be flawless - is not convincing. The point of this article is that first-hand observations show that these stupidly cruel procedures can and do fail to work correctly.
The question is not whether these things happen, the question is what to do about it. WE do not have an obligation to the stockholders of the companies whose executives believe that "quick, dirty, cheap and cruel" is the only way to work.
The use of the word "automatically" - as if automatic procedures are guaranteed to be flawless - is not convincing. The point of this article is that first-hand observations show that these stupidly cruel procedures can and do fail to work correctly.
The question is not whether these things happen, the question is what to do about it. WE do not have an obligation to the stockholders of the companies whose executives believe that "quick, dirty, cheap and cruel" is the only way to work.
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E.S. Jackson:
The procedures are anything but "stupidly cruel", and are intended to: 1) conform to law; and 2) be as defensible as rationally possible to all the bleeding hearts to which mankind is heir.
What to do about it is what I suggested. Either refrain from consuming animal flesh of any kind, and if enough people do this I imagine we won't be slaughtering many animals soon enough for their flesh; or just tell the waiter how you like your steak cooked and cease boring me to tears.
The procedures are anything but "stupidly cruel", and are intended to: 1) conform to law; and 2) be as defensible as rationally possible to all the bleeding hearts to which mankind is heir.
What to do about it is what I suggested. Either refrain from consuming animal flesh of any kind, and if enough people do this I imagine we won't be slaughtering many animals soon enough for their flesh; or just tell the waiter how you like your steak cooked and cease boring me to tears.
4
In the slaughter plants, chickens, turkeys and ducks are subjected to electric shock water through which their faces are dragged, head down. The purpose is to paralyze the muscles of their feather follicles after they are dead. They are NOT stunned, i.e., rendered unconscious or pain-free. This procedure precedes their necks being partially cut by huge automatic blades after which they are moved to a bleed-out tunnel while alive and conscious, where they hang for 90 seconds before being plunged into scald water tanks, dead and alive. The millions of chickens each year who are still alive when they enter the scald tank struggle so violently that their eyes come out of the sockets and their bones break. They are put through all this agony after having been forced to live in filth and darkness on crippled joints in bodies wracked with pain and diseases. I live on the Eastern Shore of Virginia and see day after day the baby chickens being trucked up and down the roads to slaughter. All they have ever known of being alive in the flesh is human cruelty, illness, pain, and filth in all its forms.
7
Yes, we should stop eating meat because it involves unnecessarily breeding, confining, often mistreating, killing, and dismembering sentient beings for our pleasure of palate. You can harp all you want about humane meat and regulations, but that will never happen on a large scale. It's way too efficient to produce meat in the cruel manner it's done now. At any rate, how humane can it be to take the life of an animal when we don't have to? At root there is no difference between eating that chicken sandwich and dropping the dog off the 12 story balcony.
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As the story of the dangling dog illustrates, we human beings are funny creatures, who feel quite inconsistent feelings about different animals, suffering different hardships, in different circumstances, for different reasons.
And so it should not surprise us that Nicholas Kristof serves us his own kind of inconsistency: great on examining some very grave moral problems with the chicken industry, and chickens raised for meat, about which he has written well in the past too; but then he glides by the no less grievous situation of chickens bred to lay eggs; and finally he plainly believes that it's not really a problem if human beings eat the flesh of chickens (and of other animals too, presumably), provided the conditions of their maintenance and their slaughter pass a "humaneness" test.
Let's be clear: There's no such thing as "humane meat." So long as animal-source foods are being produced for a profit, the interests of the enslaved animals are NEVER going to be treated as a real priority. And this goes for small, family-run, organic operations as well as factory farms or Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations. To paraphrase Christopher Hitchens, "Capitalism poisons everything."
The even bigger moral problem is the assumption that it is legitimate for human beings needlessly to kill sentient animals whenever they choose to. Simply to shrug, with a sheepish smile, and say, "Well, we've always done it," or "It seems to be part of the natural way," is quite insufficient.
And so it should not surprise us that Nicholas Kristof serves us his own kind of inconsistency: great on examining some very grave moral problems with the chicken industry, and chickens raised for meat, about which he has written well in the past too; but then he glides by the no less grievous situation of chickens bred to lay eggs; and finally he plainly believes that it's not really a problem if human beings eat the flesh of chickens (and of other animals too, presumably), provided the conditions of their maintenance and their slaughter pass a "humaneness" test.
Let's be clear: There's no such thing as "humane meat." So long as animal-source foods are being produced for a profit, the interests of the enslaved animals are NEVER going to be treated as a real priority. And this goes for small, family-run, organic operations as well as factory farms or Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations. To paraphrase Christopher Hitchens, "Capitalism poisons everything."
The even bigger moral problem is the assumption that it is legitimate for human beings needlessly to kill sentient animals whenever they choose to. Simply to shrug, with a sheepish smile, and say, "Well, we've always done it," or "It seems to be part of the natural way," is quite insufficient.
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I disagree. I am a vegetarian, but I do believe that there is such a thing as humane meat. Are the animals treated well while they are alive and slaughtered in a way to minimize suffering? That is surely a better outcome for the animals and our own moral welfare than the current system of factory farming.
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@Mark
I eat meat because I want to. There is nothing sheepish about it.
I eat meat because I want to. There is nothing sheepish about it.
2
If only we were as concerned about people as we are about dogs, cats and chickens. Noam Chomsky recounts how during the Clinton administration, dark chicken meat was sold to Haiti. American like plump-breasted chicken white meat. The dark chicken meat is exported. As a result, the Haitian chicken market was devastated by Tyson. Haiti, once France's richest colony and which accounted for 40% of the European country's trade was rendered dependent on U.S. exports of rice, chicken and pigs.
The story of the devestation of the Haitian economy by NGOs was told in the NY Yimes article; "When Food is not the Answer to Hunger."
Bill Clinton blocked Haiti from putting duties on food products imported from the U.S. He has apologized for this but not before this caused great harm to an already poor and suffering nation.
As we consider "all creatures great and small," we might also consider the impact of ill-considered agricultural policies on humans.
The story of the devestation of the Haitian economy by NGOs was told in the NY Yimes article; "When Food is not the Answer to Hunger."
Bill Clinton blocked Haiti from putting duties on food products imported from the U.S. He has apologized for this but not before this caused great harm to an already poor and suffering nation.
As we consider "all creatures great and small," we might also consider the impact of ill-considered agricultural policies on humans.
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99% of the news articles circle around manmade human problems.
Enough room to vent your frustration there.
The devastating torture and murder of animals is another manmade disaster.
Where millions of innocent, feeling living beings are being used and abused for... cheap unhealthy fastfood.
Let's stay with the subject.
Enough room to vent your frustration there.
The devastating torture and murder of animals is another manmade disaster.
Where millions of innocent, feeling living beings are being used and abused for... cheap unhealthy fastfood.
Let's stay with the subject.
2
A great article, especially as Earth Day approaches. As individuals, and as a society, we can no longer conscience the consumption of animal products. Agribusiness poisons the world--and sooner or layer will probably kill millions due to Avian Flu. And then there are the poor animals who live in such unending torment and torture that, for many, the day they die and are released from it all is the best day in the lives.
I urge everyone to work on becoming more vegan. Do Meatless Monday, Mark Bitman's VB6, make one meal or substitution at a time. You'll find lots of information on line and loads of supportive people at your local vegan club.
I urge everyone to work on becoming more vegan. Do Meatless Monday, Mark Bitman's VB6, make one meal or substitution at a time. You'll find lots of information on line and loads of supportive people at your local vegan club.
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I'm not putting down the chicken sandwich because it's too delicious. Fish and poultry are the only reasonably healthy, reasonably priced complete protein sources available. I'd support regulation to make their production more ethical, but I'm not willing to pay a premium for it given a choice.
6
That's why we should all try to widen our circle of compassion:
"Our task must be to free ourselves . . . by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty." "Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances of survival for life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet."
--Albert Einstein
"Our task must be to free ourselves . . . by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty." "Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances of survival for life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet."
--Albert Einstein
8
The food industry has discovered that actually seeing "modern food production and processing" is not good for their brand, so they get the states to cooperate in banning videos of it, through so called "AG-GAG" laws, such as signed into law in Iowa and Utah. Such laws have been proposed by GOP legislators in dozens of other states and largely tabled for now, but don't expect that to last.
Fortunately, there are now good choices in most markets for organic, uncaged chicken and eggs. I have seen some of the obviously genetically modified stuff as well, especially grotesque breasts twice the normal size. No thanks!
Fortunately, there are now good choices in most markets for organic, uncaged chicken and eggs. I have seen some of the obviously genetically modified stuff as well, especially grotesque breasts twice the normal size. No thanks!
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Those "organic, uncaged" chicken and eggs also come from torture factories. This is well documented.
3
I'm not sure those organic, uncaged eggs come from the kind of place they want you think they do. Be careful there.
2
There are many consumers that, due to the higher cost of organic chicken, eat it less regularly, but do only buy certified organic, or free range without antibiotics, etc. It would have been helpful to have added a paragraph about viable options such as retail food cooperatives, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) groups that sell meat, and people that form buyers clubs and buy sustainably raised chicken/meat at discounted prices. It is a real solution for both farmers and consumers.
Fortunately, in the Finger Lakes region of NY, CSA farms and gardens abound, and the local Health Food Cooperative is about to open its third store. It just takes consumers willing to pay more, but in return people enjoy better health, support farmers and growers that work extremely hard to raise quality food, and overall there is much better stewardship of the animals and land!
Fortunately, in the Finger Lakes region of NY, CSA farms and gardens abound, and the local Health Food Cooperative is about to open its third store. It just takes consumers willing to pay more, but in return people enjoy better health, support farmers and growers that work extremely hard to raise quality food, and overall there is much better stewardship of the animals and land!
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I will definitely pay more for chickens raised without cruelty. Hope it soon becomes our norm. If agencies refuse to regulate, then our wallets must as consumers. Choose humanely raised chickens.
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There is no such thing as a "humanely raised chicken." See:
http://www.humanemyth.org/
Even if there were, it simply wouldn't be feasible to produce enough of it to feed all Americans the amount of chicken products they demand.
99% of the animal products you buy at your grocery store come from the factory farm industry. The only humane option is to stop supporting the factory farm industry by avoiding animal products altogether. It's not so hard, and the ability to live with oneself easily makes up for any initial difficulty.
http://www.humanemyth.org/
Even if there were, it simply wouldn't be feasible to produce enough of it to feed all Americans the amount of chicken products they demand.
99% of the animal products you buy at your grocery store come from the factory farm industry. The only humane option is to stop supporting the factory farm industry by avoiding animal products altogether. It's not so hard, and the ability to live with oneself easily makes up for any initial difficulty.
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We need to revisit how we learn and then apply social ethics not only in the meat industry, pick your meat, but every industry that is left in the US, and most important of all, our society in general. It is a sad state of affairs that we begin, in many states, by officially discouraging the teaching of critical thinking skills, and the study of the great philosophers, from antiquity to the present day, all throughout the learning cycle in public and private schools. Not only would we have better citizens, but we would have a better educated, more engaged voting population.
Back to meat... No, we shouldn't stop eating meat but we should be pickier about where the meat we buy comes from. We should demand that our elected officials move toward eliminating any and all money in politics and reverse years of corruption that, by now, has seeped into the entire system. When corporations essentially run government, animal and human cruelty are the result, whether it is chicken that is raised in appalling conditions, or entire cities whose water supplies are poisoned, with city officials aware and uncaring of the consequences.
Carelessness and greed are as old as time, but the current iteration of it, according to my findings, got a huge boost with a book published by economist Milton Friedman in 1962. That book has had even more of an effect than Ayn Rand. We need to reverse course. Completely.
---
From Milton Friedman to Ronald Dworkin: http://wp.me/p2KJ3H-1DG
Back to meat... No, we shouldn't stop eating meat but we should be pickier about where the meat we buy comes from. We should demand that our elected officials move toward eliminating any and all money in politics and reverse years of corruption that, by now, has seeped into the entire system. When corporations essentially run government, animal and human cruelty are the result, whether it is chicken that is raised in appalling conditions, or entire cities whose water supplies are poisoned, with city officials aware and uncaring of the consequences.
Carelessness and greed are as old as time, but the current iteration of it, according to my findings, got a huge boost with a book published by economist Milton Friedman in 1962. That book has had even more of an effect than Ayn Rand. We need to reverse course. Completely.
---
From Milton Friedman to Ronald Dworkin: http://wp.me/p2KJ3H-1DG
24
Yes, we should stop eating meat because it involves unnecessarily breeding, confining, often mistreating, killing, and dismembering sentient beings for our pleasure of palate. You can harp all you want about humane meat and regulations, but that will never happen on a large scale. It's way too efficient to produce meat in the cruel manner it's done now. At any rate, how humane can it be to take the life of an animal when we don't have to? At root there is no difference between eating that chicken sandwich and dropping the dog off the 12 story balcony.
14
We are huge fans of Temple Grandin, the Autism advocate. She dedicated her professional life to making the process of keeping livestock in an ethical and humane way.
When you live in a society that is founded on an awareness and deep knowledge of ethics, a lot of what you see today is avoided because people just won't stand for it. When it comes to resolving all of the gross problems we've heard about when it comes to the production of our food and drugs, in just the last two decades, it is obvious that the root of the problem is not the inability to regulate processes and businesses or even inspect plants, but the political rot we have allowed to take root.
If it is too efficient to produce this way, there needs to be an incentive, moral and regulatory, not to do it that way. Temple Grandin is one scientist. There are others. Demand from our politicians that they invest in research and development of equipment. Demand not only better regulations, but fully fund regulatory agencies. Change the nature of our public and private education system by demanding that the national curriculum include all those things that make us better informed and help us think more critically about how we want to live in our society. Philosophy and social ethics shouldn't wait til the end of high school or college. It should start in pre-K and Kinder and never stop. It makes us better.
http://www.rimaregas.com/2015/07/the-benefit-of-teaching-philosophy-in-e...
When you live in a society that is founded on an awareness and deep knowledge of ethics, a lot of what you see today is avoided because people just won't stand for it. When it comes to resolving all of the gross problems we've heard about when it comes to the production of our food and drugs, in just the last two decades, it is obvious that the root of the problem is not the inability to regulate processes and businesses or even inspect plants, but the political rot we have allowed to take root.
If it is too efficient to produce this way, there needs to be an incentive, moral and regulatory, not to do it that way. Temple Grandin is one scientist. There are others. Demand from our politicians that they invest in research and development of equipment. Demand not only better regulations, but fully fund regulatory agencies. Change the nature of our public and private education system by demanding that the national curriculum include all those things that make us better informed and help us think more critically about how we want to live in our society. Philosophy and social ethics shouldn't wait til the end of high school or college. It should start in pre-K and Kinder and never stop. It makes us better.
http://www.rimaregas.com/2015/07/the-benefit-of-teaching-philosophy-in-e...
1
Temple Grandin's professional legacy will be to have given a false ethical sheen to the industrial meat industry and its practices. The changes she has brought about might relieve the billions of animals we slaughter of a small percentage of their misery, but they have created the false impression that the meat industry operates according to standards of animal welfare, which it absolutely does not. Many people would never eat meat again if they saw the reality of its production with their own eyes. Instead, we are given false assurances that the industry is constantly innovating, that the horrible expose videos are anomalies. Temple Grandin's work (and her inspiring status and strategies as an autistic person) is good PR for the meat industry, but ultimately horrible for animals.
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