The Gazette

Issue date: 2/18/09 Section: News

It appears that most Americans have either ignored or didn't get the memo that fruits and veggies are a body's best friend, and meat, while quite tasty, just isn't that good for you.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, last year the average American ate approximately 84 pounds of chicken, 64 pounds of beef, 48 pounds of pork, and 17 pounds of turkey. That's a lot of meat, and as studies have shown, Americans' huge consumption of meat hurts more than just waistlines. It also supports animal cruelty and poses environmental hazards. This can be remedied by cutting back on one's meat intake, or being even more proactive and adopting a vegetarian diet.

Save Animals

One of the harsh realities of life in the 21st century is that the "Old McDonald's Farm"-sung about in children's hymns and seen by our grandparents-no longer exists as the major supplier of the meat products we consume every day. Factory farms have replaced the small farm as America's main supplier of food. The problem with this is that factory farms are just that, factories. In these huge steel buildings, animals are not treated with the respect all living creatures deserve, but with brutal contempt and a blatant disregard for ethical behavior.

In a recent incident, Butterball, one of America's largest suppliers of turkey, was the target of an undercover investigation by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). The images captured by the non-profit's hidden cameras were not only disgusting but disturbing. Workers were shown violently kicking the birds and slamming them into walls, among other things. They were also overheard talking about the types of things they generally do to the birds, which included jumping on their stomachs until their insides came out of their rectums.

Turkeys aren't the only animals forced to endure inhumane treatment. Chickens raised for meat are forced to live their short lives in cramped, artificially lit sheds and receive injections of growth inducing hormones so they can be fat and juicy for our kitchen tables. Chickens raised for their eggs live in tightly packed wire cages that cripple their feet. It is not unusual for factory workers to cut off their sensitive beaks with a hot blade to prevent them from pecking at and killing each other. When a cow is slaughtered and dismembered, it may still be alive as it hangs upside down by its hind legs. And what is done to pigs is perhaps even more sickening because they endure cruel treatment for so long. After female pigs are artificially inseminated, which happens over and over again, they are forced to live in "gestation crates" 2 feet wide for the entire length of their pregnancy. This crate is too small for pigs to turn around in and they often develop sores. It is common for male piglets to have their testicles cut out of their scrotums (to prevent them from reproducing), their teeth clipped in half (so they don't bite each other), and their ears sliced off (to make identification patterns). This is all done without anesthesia.

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