Mistreatment of Commercial Farm Animals

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Mistreatment of Commercial Farm Animals

America’s habitual complacency coexists with its lack of inquisitiveness. People used to know where their food came from because they asked. They knew the country, state, and most likely the farm as well. Currently, society is so far removed from the entire food process that their knowledge of its origin is limited to the grocery store it came from. This disconnection not only creates a lack of appreciation for the source, but a lack of interest in conditions, treatment, and final product too. People’s common “ignorance is bliss” attitude has led to animals’ torturous inhumane treatment, slaughter, and conditions. They are also pumped full of a plethora of preemptive drugs intended to sustain their lives without a physician’s attention.

In “Crimes Unseen” Dena Jones illustrates farm animal suffering through many sources. She suggests Americans are not conscious of terrible acts and circumstances before slaughter occurs, but should be concerned. Society removes the reality that meat was living and capable of being scared and hurt. Laws for less painful death have been in place and had modifications; however, previous improvements from changes are speculatory due to lack of available information gathered. There are many examples of disregard for living beings and the laws protecting them. Workers, desensitized over time, show minimal concern for contaminants and none for animal well-being. Ultimately, increasing quantity and speed of animals killed leads to unwarranted suffering by improper stunning, skinning, gassing, and electrocuting. While seemingly improvements have been made, enforcing loose laws with limited support proves difficult. Furthermore, if cattle standards have been rais...

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... better quality food. Why should animals suffer for part of the world to over-eat inexpensively? Perhaps quantity needs to drop in order for quality to rise. There are many farms that treat their animals extremely well, but when they are sent to slaughter there are no guarantees the same respect carries over. Perhaps the butchering of animals should not be a manufacturing process. A return to nature would do the world a world of good. Although the days of hunting for survival are over, there is no benefit to people’s apathy towards the animals they ingest.

Works Cited

Jones, Dena. “Crimes Unseen.” Orion Magazine July/Aug. 2004: 60-67. Abstract. Sirs

Researcher. Web. 9 Nov. 2010.

Wolcott, Jennifer. “Cage-Free Eggs: Not All They’re Cracked up to Be?” Christian Science

Monitor. 27 Oct. 2004: n.p. Sirs Researcher. Web. 9 Nov. 2010.

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