Put knowledge on your dinner plate

defaultuser
Tue, 28 Sep 1999 22:13:20 +0000
Uncategorized

I lend my support to all those vegetarians out there, and for those of you that aren’t, I’m not one to condemn you for it. However, it remains vital to understand what exactly is being supported when meat products are purchased. That includes understanding the methods large-scale corporations have devised in order to get that meat upon your plate. The Vegan Outreach reports that, “The trauma caused by factory farms result in downers, animals too sick or weak to walk, even when beaten or shocked with electric prods.” Large-scale farm industries are notorious for the cheap and inhumane methods by which they raise their stock. Hormones, at dangerously excessive levels are administrated into animals’ diets in order to make them grow larger in shorter amounts of time. A photograph taken by Vegan Outreach exposed a cow treated with BGH/BST (hormone used by industries to produce more milk in cows) resulting in an oversized utter that swelled to the ground. The Poultry Tribune says, “We have discovered chickens literally grown fast to the cage… the flesh of the toes grew completely around the wire.” These cages, compiled with four and five animals in one unit, are vertically stacked allowing for feces and urine to drop from the top levels down. Due such small living quarters, animals often attack each other. The ingenious farm industry hasn’t decided to arrange for larger living quarters. Instead they elect to cut the beaks off chickens, detach the hooves of pigs, and de-horn cattle, all without anesthesia, and you whimpered at the doctor’s office when the needle came out of the wrapper.And for all you veal lovers out there, let me enlighten you of what was done to provide for that tender piece of meat you so desire. The male calves of dairy cows, because unable to produce milk, are immediately thrown into darkened stalls, so small that the walls often press against the sides of the animal, done to ensure the meat stays tender. In this cell he will live his life, usually from 14-22 weeks, until called upon for dining pleasure. Large-scale corporations have taken it under their power to neglect all degrees humanitarianism, and take it personally that our ignorance is being completely exploited. Conditions on corporate animal farms continue to deteriorate, and I put it in my up most levels of faith that the meager resistance distributed so far is in fact due to public ignorance. I’m not purposing that the whole world become vegetarian, but what I am purposing is that education be enhanced and toleration for these barbaric practices be lost. If our society continues such simple compliance toward the farm industry, I feel safe in proclaiming that morality is of a past virtue.
Lisa Bhungalia is a senior majoring in English from Springboro, Ohio.