The End of the Carnivore Age

Parker Freeman

Intermediate Writing: ENGL-2010-016

Proposal

The End of the Carnivore Age

Due to the rising demand of meat in the United States we have been constantly on the path to finding cheaper and more efficient ways of farming. In the mid 20th century factory farms were invented with the goal of cutting costs and raising productivity which they have achieved, although at the cost of much animal suffering and death. According to the FDA’s slaughter report in 2008, 35,507,500 cattle were killed along with 116,558,900 pigs, 9,075,261,000 chickens, 69,683,000 layer hens, 9,005,578,000 broiler chickens and 271,245,000 turkeys (Animal Liberation Front). The sum of all of these animals totals around 20 billion!

Since perfecting the art of exploitation in the 20th century, the farming industry in the United States has abolished almost all animal rights, treating animals more and more like products. To cut costs, animals are forced to live in the worst of conditions. The majority of modern farms force animals to live either in small cages barely larger than their own bodies or stuffed into small pens with several other animals. Apart from their living quarters being extremely small and crowded, they are also filthy. Many cows live the better part of their short lives wading through knee high pools of feces. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service, “each year about 10 percent, or 900 million, of the animals raised for food never reach the slaughterhouse” (The Humane Farming Association). Small living quarters, poor diets, filthy conditions and psychological stress account for most of the deaths.

The meat industry has proven to be extremely powerful both politically and economically in the United States. The meat industry is the largest sector of the Department of Agriculture with total sales in 2008 totaling approximately $159.6 billion dollars. Given that the industry has so much power, they have been able to avoid almost all regulation regarding the improper treatment of animals.

Among the myriad problems stemming from our consumption of animals in this day and age, namely, an increase in the expulsion of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, health problems and a loss of resources in the farming process (i.e. water and grain) the biggest reason for not contributing to this modern meat industry is because it is not moral. Animals have rights which includethe right not to suffer, the right not to live in a tiny cell their whole life and, most importantly, the right to not be devoured by the “rational and more intelligent species”, humans.We must remember that animals are sentient creatures and, as the Humane Society said,“have their own personalities, inquisitive natures, likes and dislikes, and—most importantly—the ability to feel pain, suffer from boredom and frustration, and experience joy”(Humane Society).

To fix this problem, people need to first become aware of the problem. The ultimate goal should be abstinence from all meat products. It will be a society that respects animal’s rights and that lives in harmony with nature, a society that does not go against nature and their conscience by eating the flesh of another creature unless driven by necessity. The more we know about the issue and the more we educate ourselves, the more empathetic we can be towards animals. Although vegetarianism has been practiced for many centuries in many Eastern countries and religions, it is somewhat of a new idea in the western world. Many people are under the impression that the consumption of meat is vital to our health. This is a misconception. Although eating some types of meat in moderation have proven to be good for our health, it is just as easy to replace these meats with a vegetable to get the same results. For example, it is commonly known that meat is a very good source of protein; however, one could receive the recommended daily amount of protein by eating non-animal sources of protein i.e. rice, different types of beans and nuts, a variety of vegetables and fruits. Also, the well known vitamin B12 is vital for humans and found mostly in animal based foods, however, it can also be found in other places as the Vegetarian Society states “Good sources of vitamin B12 for vegetarians are dairy products or free-range eggs. ½ pint of milk (full fat or semi skimmed) contains 1.2 µg. A slice of vegetarian cheddar cheese (40g) contains 0.5 µg. A boiled egg contains 0.7 µg. A range of B12 fortified foods are available. These include yeast extracts, Vecon vegetable stock, veggieburger mixes, textured vegetable protein, soya milks, vegetable and sunflower margarines, and breakfast cereals” (The Vegetarian Society).

I would recommend the complete and instant cessation of all meat consumption; however, for some people this could be very difficult. So the next thing one could do is lessen their meat consumption; go from eating meat once a meal to once a day, once a day to once every other day, from once every other day to once a week and so on. As well as limiting our meat consumption, it would also be a good idea to investigate where the meat or meat products you are eating are actually coming from. If you must eat meat, know where your meat is coming from. Support the industry or company that respects animal’s right more. Between a factory farm and an actual farm, pick the actual farm, caged to not caged and so forth.

If everyone were to make somewhat of an effort, even a little one, the number of animals being murdered and tortured would decrease drastically. According to the Humane Society, “if each one of us cuts back on our animal consumption by only 10%, approximately one billion animals would be spared a lifetime of suffering each year” (Humane Society).

The worst thing one could do is nothing at all. Any effort; however small it may be can make a difference. Animals don’t have voices to plead for their own rights; they depend on us to do that for them. Their lives are in our hands and it is up to us if that is going to be in the form of a hamburger or not.

Works Cited

"B12 Information Sheet." The Vegetarian Society. Web. 29 July 2010. <

Be a Voice for Those Who Cannot Speak. Web. 29 July 2010. <

"HFA [ F a C T O R Y F a R M I N G ]." Untitled. Web. 28 June 2010. <

"Humane Eating and the Three Rs | The Humane Society of the United States." The Humane Society of the United States : The Humane Society of the United States. Web. 29 July 2010. <

"USDA's Official Number of Animals Killed for Food." Animal Liberation Front. Web. 24 July 2010. <