Americans eat not only a lot of calories, but a lot of "meat," in particular. Americans eat more meat than any other nation. Other developed countries only eat 1/3rd of the "meat" we eat, and developing countries eat less than 1/5th.
US Americans are only increasing their consumption of animals, chicken and turkeys specifically. Over the last 25 years, the number of animals raised and killed in the US has thus doubled--from ~5 billion to 9+ billion land animals.
As the rest of the world earns wealth and privilege, it will aspire to eat a diet as rich in either "meat" and/or dairy as ours. By 2050, demand for "meat' and dairy is expected to double--that's 120 billion land animals every year!
Yet, 70% of agricultural lands, 1/3rd of all arable land on Earth is already used for producing "meat" and milk. If meat consumption doubles, where are they going to raise and kill all these animals?... "Factory Farms."
As you will see, cows, pigs, and chickens are all "factory farmed." No longer are they integrated into ecological systems and contribute to society. These animals are reduced to mere meat, mere commodities.
Egg-laying chicks are sexed at hatcheries, then divided by their gender.
Though they are sentient beings, they are treated no differently than potatoes.
The female chicks are "debeaked" so that when they are placed in crowded confinement they will not damage the bodies of others.
Male egg-laying chicks cannot lay eggs and are thus worth no more than trash. The killing of 250 million chicks is a byproduct of the egg industry.
The female hens are then trucked to egg farms, narrow football field-length sheds.
Inside a modern egg farm, the ammonia from feces burn human and hen lungs. The hens are kept in the dark on wire mesh, unable to dustbathe and forage.
95% of all eggs come from "battery cage" hens. Hens will have a space no larger than a sheet of paper--so small they can't extend their wings--to live out their lives.
"Cage-free" and "free-range" eggs are often still produced industrially with tens of thousands of hens in a single barn.
"Broiler" chickens, who are raised for "meat", are also industrially farmed in large sheds.
"Broilers" have been genetically modified to grow twice as quickly as traditional breeds so that they are slaughtered as children at 45 days of age.
"Broilers" live with up to 70,000 or more birds in a warehouse. They too, are debeaked to prevent injuries. because they grow so fast, some are unable to walk and others "flip-over" from heart stress and die.
The majority of turkeys are also raised this way. They too grow to enormous sizes quickly, and because they have their toes removed, they have difficulty walking. Turkeys grow so large they can no longer reproduce without human intervention.
"Free range" chicken usually comes from industrial farms like these, not so different from "conventional" farms.
Once they've reached 42 days, "broilers" are transported hundreds of miles in all weather conditions to a "processing plant." They are provided no water and food during this journey (nor are pigs and cows who may be transported for several days!).
Chickens are shackled into conveyor lines. Because producers demand a chicken be killed every two seconds, many will still be conscious by the time they enter the "defeathering tank"--a tank of scalding water.
In order to produce milk, cows (like humans) must give birth. "Conventional" farms forcefully impregnate cows in what some farmers call "rape racks." this is necessary to keep the milk flowing.
Calves are separated from their mothers 1-2 days after they are born so the cow's milk can be sold to humans. Females are placed into solitary hutches for a couple months, unable to socialize or see their mothers and are fed "milk replacer."
Most milk now comes from industrial dairy feedlots. Because the cows are constantly impregnated to keep milk production up, their are lots of replacements for when the moms are "spent."
Here is one industrial dairy farm. They too live in warehouse like buildings. Notice the 1,200 hutches for the female calves hidden from view behind the trees.
veal is a byproduct of the dairy industry. Male dairy calves cannot replace their mothers and don't grow high-grade flesh, so they are placed in dark shed, chained up to crates for several months in which they'll be slaughtered.
When the females grow up, sometimes their tales are "docked" for the convenience of the farmer.
Dairy cows are kept indoors for 6 months or more of their lives. Some are chained up to stalls for years at a time so it is easier to bring them in for milking 2x-3x a day.
The "dry feedlot" of dairy cows was pioneered by Californian dairy farmers. "Happy cows" certainly do not come from California.
Like every aspect of their life, cows are milked by uncomfortable machines. Cows are now milked by cold and forceful pumps.
Dairy cows have been breed and fed (and sometimes given hormones) in such a way that they'll produce 3-10x the normal amount of milk. Because of this enormous burden, 1/3 of dairy cows have mastitis, an utter infection.
Dairy cows on average live to 5 or 6 years old before their milk production drops and they are considered "spent." After having given birth to 3 or more calves and producing 100 liters of milk/day in that time, many are "downers"--cows who can't walk.
After all their labor and produce for humans, the mother cows are given no mercy. They are more efficient dead than alive. 50% of hamburgers are made from dairy cow.
Male beef calves are castrated in order to control their genes and keep them docile. Castration, however, is administered without any anesthetic.
After castration, steers will then be "dehorned" to prevent potential injury to the farmer or other cows--again, without anesthetics despite the presence of nerves and blood vessels in their horns.
The majority of "beef" today comes from cows raised on dry feedlots such as these. The cows are fed corn and soy instead of their natural diet of grass. Ecoli counts are higher because of this diet which tears up their digestive systems.
Feedlot beef is the most resource intensive of all agricultural "commodities." It requires huge inputs of fossil fuel, water, land, and grain, while producing "mountains" of manure and millions of tons of methane.
Feedlot cattle will sometimes be forced to lie and stand in their own excrement for days on end.
Beef cows, sheep, and pigs may be transported on transcontinental journey to be slaughtered fresh in European and Arabian countries without any water and rest. they are dropped off at slaughterhouses where undocumented workers are taken advantage of.
Sheep, just like cattle, are also "factory farmed" in feedlots. While this is "efficient" for the farmer, the real costs are passed onto the surrounding communities, environment, and taxpayers.
Farmers in Northumberland... lost 600 sheep lost in severe flooding. People rarely think about the millions of animals who don't make it to the plate who die from disease, disaster, abuse, and neglect.
To meet demand for cheap "pork," sows are confined in "gestation crates" for months every year once they have been forcibly impregnated in a "rape rack." Unable to move around and socialize, they go insane.
Immediately before birth, the mothers are placed in "farrowing crates" where they still cannot move around for another two months.
Once weaned, the male piglets are castrated--again, without any anesthetics. In addition, their teeth and tails will be cut to prevent them from damaging each other in over-confinement.
Pigs, who are raised on concrete slit flooring grow so quickly they have leg problems. They will be packed together like this and fattened until they reach 6 months, when they are sent to slaughter.
TAIWAN - A giant earth mover is used to load hundreds of dead pigs into a truck after their destruction. Because of an outbreak of hog foot-and-mouth disease...all pigs -- even healthy ones are to be killed.
Those pigs who survive their farms may perish in transport accidents or on their journey to slaughterhouses. Thousands of pigs will freeze to the sides of trucks every winter.
Replacing animal protein with a variety of plant-based foods is the best action you can take to prevent animal suffering. With rising global demand for "meat' and milk, vegans are examples for more compassionate and sustainable ways of living.
