Mutant pigs bred to grow to an enormous size just to be slaughtered and eaten? No, we aren’t talking about the plot of the eye-opening Netflix sensation Okja—rather, this is the very real horror that seems to be unfolding on a Cambodian farm, where genetically altered pigs are being bred to develop heaping knots of muscle mass. Disturbing video footage and images captured on the farm have exploded around the web, sparking discussions about the many ways that animals suffer and are abused when they’re treated as nothing more than “food.” Take a look at the shocking “double-muscled” pigs for yourself:

https://www.facebook.com/DUROC.CAMBODIA/photos/a.1300920059942358.1073741828.1300895169944847/1609073599127001/?type=3&theater

Posted by កសិករខេត្តបន្ទាយមានជ័យ on Saturday, September 2, 2017

Hulk-like pigs are the stuff of nightmares, not meals, and those who are genetically engineered are also likely to be born with painful health issues.

When South Korean and Chinese scientists created 32 double-muscled piglets in 2015, according to reports, only one was considered even marginally healthy. But pigs suffer even without this “Frankenscience”—on typical pig farms, their tails are cut off, their sensitive teeth are ground down, and the males are castrated, all without so much as an aspirin. Then, even though we have a wealth of nutritious plant-based foods to eat, these intelligent, playful, sociable animals’ throats are slit and their bodies are turned into pork chops or sausages.

And it’s not just pigs who are suffering as a result of twisted science like this.

Breeders have exploited natural double-muscling, which occurs in Belgian Blue cattle, to create behemoth animals who suffer from a slew of health problems—just to yield slightly larger profits.

The best way to help animals suffering in the food industry is to stop eating them.

As the reality of animal agriculture becomes more unsettling and bizarre than a dystopian sci-fi film, there’s never been a better—or easier—time to become a hero for billions of animals by going vegan and refusing to let your money go to support such twisted science experiments.

Just as the story of Mija and Okja shows how animals are much more than food, pigs and cows bred to develop this unhealthy double-muscling all experience fear, pain, happiness, and despair—just as the cats and dogs with whom we share our homes do and just as we humans do.

No animal, regardless of breeding, wants to die for someone’s dinner. Anyone disturbed by the thought of eating manipulated and mutilated animal flesh can bypass the bacon and steaks and instead choose from the countless vegan foods that no one has to die for. Don’t know where to get started? We’ll send you a free vegan starter kit to point you in the right direction.