







When you were younger and discovered where meat, eggs, and dairy came from what was your reaction? I was personally horrified! I remember stealing eggs from our refrigerator and trying to incubate them in my sock drawer (I came up with this ingenious idea after watching Fly Away Home). If I'm not alone in reacting like this, please share your experience in the comments. ;)

Children are incredibly compassionate and generally don't want to consume animal products after discovering where they come from. They only begin to lose these morals when they are influenced by parents with good intentions and introduced to a society that believes the western diet is healthy and ethical.

Your favorite meals as a child were likely chock-full of meat, dairy, and eggs. Yet, more and more scientists are beginning to agree that animal products are unnecessary for us to thrive and may actually be detrimental to our health. What we can all agree on, though, is that there is a movement towards more humane animal agriculture practices. The public has come to realize that animal welfare hasn't been a priority for industrial farmers and that a change is needed.





This is something I've struggled with for a really long time. I've switched between a vegetarian and an omnivore diet more times than I can count and only recently became vegan . I attribute my indecisiveness, up until this point, to my conscience and a fundamental flaw in our food system.

Ethical Treatment

Cage-Free Chicken Farm in Pennsylvania. Photo: Dan Charles/NPR

It's pretty widely accepted that CAFOs (confined animal feeding operations) are in-humane. Many proclaim that if the walls of CAFOs were made of glass, the public would be shocked, to say the least. I will not share details of what occurs at these sites but encourage folks to do some research. Knowing where your food comes from and how it's produced is enlightening.





I used to get upset at friends that posted cruel footage of animal treatment at dairy farms and CAFOs and maybe you've felt the same way. Maybe just mentioning this stirs up feelings of anger and discomfort. It's generally too difficult to watch another being suffer. Perhaps this is because we recognize and empathize with the pain they are feeling. That these animals are capable of enduring the same emotions and sensations that we are.

Yet we convince ourselves that animal agriculture is a necessary evil and that if we eat as "humanely" as possible, we are doing some good in the world. That if you are buying "pasture-raised", "cage-free", "free-range", "organic", "grass-fed", etc., the animal lived a healthy and happy life. This simply isn't true. All animal products are produced by exploiting powerless creatures for profit. Period.





Animals raised in humane facilities are generally no better off than they would be in a CAFO. Many face overcrowding, debeaking, castration, ear notching, tail docking, dehorning, and more! Recently, Chipotle was in the spotlight for touting that their farms were humane, when really, animals were found to be in filthy conditions and many were ill, injured, starving, dying or dead. And Trader Joe's has been in some legal trouble for deceiving customers about "cage-free" eggs. The list can go on.





Marketers are aware of how important animal well-being is to the public. Like greenwashing, animal products are given labels that tug at heart-strings and misinform buyers. There is very little truth behind these humane designations.





Humane Slaughter









Whether your hamburger was factory-farmed or pasture-raised, that animal did not want to die for the fleeting satisfaction ones taste buds experience.

Now we know that the classification of humane slaughter and treatment of animals is not well enforced; therefore, the label you see at the store doesn't guarantee that the farmer is complying with current regulations. Not to mention, what is considered "humane" under the Humane Slaughter Act is questionable, as "a single blow or gunshot or an electrical, chemical or... severance of the carotid arteries with a sharp instrument" is acceptable. And the interpretation of these guidelines can vary widely.

Therefore, none of these animals can escape a painful end. But for those that are not convinced, it is difficult to dispute that humane farms are interconnected with industrial farms. When egg-laying hens or dairy cows stop producing, they are sent to slaughter, often at industrial facilities (something I find even crueler and exploitative than animals strictly raised for their meat). Male calves in the dairy industry are sold to become veal and backyard chickens are often sourced by CAFO chicken farms. No matter where one gets their animal products from, their money continues to support industrial farming.





When I was consuming animal products, I put thoughts of animal treatment and slaughter out of my mind. Now, I wonder why I did that. If I felt guilty or uncomfortable thinking about the animals I was eating, why was I eating them? If I couldn't bear the thought of slaughtering my own food, why was I okay with someone else doing it?





I decided that the best way to humanely care for animals was to not consume them or their byproducts. That, each day, the animal agriculture industry would make a little less money and an animal's life would be saved because of my decision.





I respect everyone that is embarking on a journey of compassion. No matter where you are, vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, etc, thank you! You are making a difference in the lives of animals now and in the future. <3

Love animals? Go vegan! Here are some books and documentaries that helped me along the way:













































Resources

Jacy Reese. "There's no such thing as humane meat or eggs. Stop kidding yourself." 2018

Humane Slaughter Act. 1 958





HumaneFacts.org











