Jeremy Rifkin’s book, Beyond Beef, is an indictment against the cattle culture that has come to shape our world. America’s obsession with beef has led to increased hunger, disease and environmental destruction. Rifkin, without a doubt, is anti beef and with painstaking verisimilitude attempts to shed light on the horrific conditions which are brought about by the entire industry. Furthermore, his book is somewhat of a continuity of Upton Sinclair’s novel The Jungle, the first attempt made at exposing the exploitations of the meat slaughtering industry.
Ironically and rather unfortunately, the present situation is that while the poor nations of the world are starving their own populations to produce and export beef, the rich, who are able to afford beef, are dying from diseases. Rifkin has several chapters dedicated to the host of illnesses those beef eating individuals are susceptible to. The titles include, “Sacrifice to Slaughter,” "Cows Devour People, “and "Marbled Specks of Death." One point he makes is that because of the widespread use of antibiotics among the cattle industry, the “human population is increasingly vulnerable to mor virulent strains of disease-causing bacteria” (12). Rifkin further attests that beef, but ranks second as the food posing the greatest cancer risk. The reason is simple: beef is the most dangerous food for herbicide contamination and ranks third in insecticide contamination. Eighty percent of all herbicides in the United States are sprayed on corn and soybeans which are used primarily as feed for cattle and other livestock. When consumed by the animals, the pesticides accumulate in their bodies. The pesticides are then passed along to the consumer in the finished cuts of beef. Large feedlots have other sources of potential chemical contamination in beef including use of “industrial sewage and oils in feedlot mixtures and aerial spraying of insecticides on feedlot cattle” (13).
Furthermore, Rifkin indicts the human civilization and sheds light into the barbarous actions of men in the early development of the cattle culture. One of the most effective is in the chapter, "The Great Bovine Switch," an expose of the atrocities committed by the United States Army and cattlemen. Rifkin states that the cattle culture was responsible for the demise of many Indians,
When we get rid of all the Indians and buffalo, the cattle...
Will fill this country...These men [the buffalo hunters] have done...more to settle the vexed Indian question than the entire regular army has done in the last thirty years.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how jeremy rifkin's book, beyond beef, is an indictment against the cattle culture that has come to shape our world.
- Explains that while poor nations starve their populations to produce and export beef, the rich, who can afford it, are dying from diseases. rifkin has several chapters dedicated to the host of illnesses that beef eating individuals are susceptible to.
- Analyzes how rifkin indicts the human civilization and sheds light into the barbarous actions of men in the early development of the cattle culture.
- Explains that rifkin's message is clear: eat organic beef or better yet, don't consume any form of it. however, the way in which they are reared is destructive. overgrazing is a problem worldwide.
- Analyzes how rifkin adheres to a blunt and factual style of writing throughout the book.
- Analyzes how jeremy rifkin interweaves anthropology, history, sociology and economics in a devastating examination of the cattle culture that has come to devastate our world.
- Analyzes how rifkin depicts the world in which the poorer individuals have been starved to support the beef addicted, wealthy nations.
- Analyzes how rifkin exposes the disturbing points about beef culture and the american beef processing industry.
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- The Beef With Meat By Jonathan Foeranalytical essayMost of us do not think twice about the foods we pick up from the supermarket. Many Americans have a preconceived belief that the food being sold to us is safe, and withholds the highest standard of quality. Certainly, compared to many places in the world, this is true. But is the United States sincerely trying to carry out these standards, or have we begun to see a reverse in the health and safety of our food- and more explicitly in our meat? Jonathan Foer, author of “Eating Animals” argues for reform within the food industry- not only for the humane treatment of animals but moreover for our own health. Although Foer exposes the ills within the food industries in order to persuade readers to change their diets for the better, his “vegetarianism or die” assessment may be too extreme for most Americans. The true ills do not start with the meat, but with industrialized production of it through methods practiced by factory farming.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how jonathan foer, author of "eating animals," argues for reform within the food industry, not only for the humane treatment of animals but moreover for our own health.
- Explains why there isn't more of an up stir being caused by avoidable food-borne illness. it's not obvious that something is wrong simply because it happens all the time.
- Explains that factory farms are contributing to the growth of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens because of the overconsumption of antibiotics.
- Explains that farmed animals are fed antibiotics before they get sick. in the united states, about 3 million pounds of antibiotic are given to humans each year.
- Explains that antimicrobial resistance quickly follows the introduction of new drugs on factory farms. the american medical association, centers for disease control, institute of medicine, and world health organization have all called for a ban.
- Explains that the industry's immense power is given to them by eating factory-farmed animal products. the same conditions that lead at least 76 million americans to become ill from their food annually contribute to the risk of a pandemic.
- Explains that the council for agricultural science and technology's 2005 report argues that factory farming promotes the growth and mutation of pathogens. the cost of increased efficiency is increased global risk for diseases.
- Explains that the factory farm-pandemic link couldn't be more lucid. the 2009 h1n1 swine flu outbreak originated at a hog factory and spread throughout the u.s.
- Explains that scientists have been able to trace six of the eight genetic segments of most feared virus in the world directly to u.s. factory farms.
- Explains that we know that it cannot possibly be healthy to raise such grotesque animals in such grossly unnatural conditions. we know more than we care to admit.
- Argues that eating meat is a pleasure, but our digestive tract is not herbivore; our enzymes advanced to digest meat, which aided in overall brain growth and better physical growth.
- Opines that the pleasure principle is still the driving force that has kept the meat industry flourishing. we all like convenience and affordability, which these methods cannot offer.
- Asks, is it possible to come up with an all-inclusive evaluation to compare the positives of meat consumption with the negative consequences of the meat production?
1400 wordsRead More - Eating Animals, by Jonathan Safran Foeranalytical essayIn the book Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer, the author talks about, not only vegetarianism, but reveals to us what actually occurs in the factory farming system. The issue circulating in this book is whether to eat meat or not to eat meat. Foer, however, never tries to convert his reader to become vegetarians but rather to inform them with information so they can respond with better judgment. Eating meat has been a thing that majority of us engage in without question. Which is why among other reasons Foer feels compelled to share his findings about where our meat come from. Throughout the book, he gives vivid accounts of the dreadful conditions factory farmed animals endure on a daily basis. For this reason Foer urges us to take a stand against factory farming, and if we must eat meat then we must adapt humane agricultural methods for meat production.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how jonathan safran foer's book eating animals reveals the dreadful conditions factory farmed animals endure on a daily basis.
- Analyzes how foer's "hiding / seeking" chapter emphases the horror of the animals he encounters at factory farms.
- Argues that the unsanitary conditions found within the factory farm industry contributes to the pathogens found in the meat we eat.
- Analyzes how foer understands the importance of animal welfare in a vegan diet. nicolette's essay shows how it is possible to adapt to humane animal agriculture.
- Opines that factory farming holds no regard to animal welfare and it is why it must be stopped; shut down.
946 wordsRead More - Analysis Of My Year Of Meats By Ralthy Pachiratanalytical essayBoth Ruth L. Ozeki, the author of My Year of Meats, and Timothy Pachirat, the author of A Politics of Sight use ideas such as the concealment of producers towards consumers, and point of view to further promote political and social change. In order to promote the political and social change both of the authors use different techniques in an attempt to convince the readers of the negative consequences of the meat industry and how not monitoring it can prove to have many negative consequences.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how ruth l. ozeki and timothy pachirat use different techniques to convince readers about the negative consequences of the meat industry.
- Analyzes how ozeki uses concealment and visibility in the television industry to convince readers of the negative consequences of hiding away the gruesome meat industry.
- Analyzes how pachirat entertains the topic of concealment and visibility through sequestration in slaughterhouses to force readers to explore the idea of how society hides away distasteful actions.
- Analyzes how ozeki and pachirat contemplate the same idea that we need to make visible what is hidden in order to create political and social change.
- Analyzes how ozeki switches between two different types of point of view to help the reader understand both sides of the rampant beef situation.
- Compares timothy pachirat's point of view in a politics of sight with his own.
- Analyzes how ozeki and pachirat use point of view to get the reader to contemplate the consequences of not monitoring the meat industry.
1569 wordsRead More - Factory Farming And Slaughterhousesexplanatory essayIt seems like the entire world is in more in demand for meat right now than when factory farming first started.Just in the U.S. alone ,over nine billion animals are being raised and slaughtered for human consumption every day (farm sanctuary).If that doesn't seem to shock you read this: just last year 10,509 of cattle were killed, 2,834,600 chickens were eliminated ,the number of hogs went up to 37,235 and the number of turkeys dead is 78,823 (humane society).It doesn't seem like a big deal but it in fact is: many of these animals are mistreated and live in unsanitary conditions some of which include cows ,pigs ,and chickens.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the world is in more demand for meat right now than when factory farming first started.
- Explains that factory farming abuses animals and causes damage to the environment. 70% of land that supported the amazon rainforests has been turned for animal grazing.
- Explains that farming industries use growth hormones in farm animals to increase the weight of an animal with all these chemicals which are not great for human consumption. to prevent more damage from this cycle, we must come up with ideas that help us the animals and the enviroment.
- Explains that many of the meat produced in these so called "farms" mistreat innocent animals in horrific and demeaning ways.
- Explains that the animals raised for food are among the least protected class of animals in our nation.
- Explains that unnatural feeds and hormones located in factory farms put a great risk for chronic disease and obesity. the u.s produces more than one million tons of manure per day.
- Recommends bringing awareness of factory farming to the community and reducing the amount of meat consumed. people should buy their food from local farmers markets instead of fast food restaurants and the supermarket.
- Explains that celebrities like laura marano are starting meatless mondays and bills are being passed to reduce the number of animals killed and the condition there living in (humane society).
747 wordsRead More - Upton Sinclair The Jungle Summaryanalytical essayIn the early parts of the 20th century “The Jungle” by Upton Sinclair shed some light on the terrifying conditions being held in the meat industry. With the help of Teddy Roosevelt, Strict government laws came into play to regulate the meat packing industry.
In this essay, the author
- Narrates how upton sinclair's "the jungle" shed light on the terrifying conditions being held in the meat industry.
- Explains that the progressive movement or "progressive era" began as a social movement and grew into political movement.
- Explains that factories weren't the safest place to work in and that the labor union was formed because of the mistreatment of children during that era.
- Explains that in the early 1900s, four major meat corporations brought out small slaughterhouse companies scattered out the united states. the meat-packing companies were focused in a couple of cities, but mainly in chicago.
- Explains that meat packers developed the first industrial assembly line, which required 80 separate jobs from the killing of an animal to processing its meat for sale.
- Explains that the chicago meatpacking industry was the greatest concentration of labor and capital in the world.
- Analyzes how upton sinclair's novel "the jungle" tells the story of a man named jurgis rudkis, who came to chicago with his friends and family from lithuania. he witnessed men losing fingers, working with skin diseases, and lifting and pulling 100-pounds of meat.
- Analyzes how upton sinclair describes the meat industry appalling concern for the people that were consumed in the vats.
- Analyzes how sinclair focused a lot on the meat back then was being made and treated in his book. the people were being served rotten contaminated meat filled with chemicals.
- Analyzes how upton sinclair's "the jungle" shed light on the terrifying conditions being held in the meat industry.
- Analyzes how roosevelt's first move was to sue the packinghouse under the sherman antitrust act, which outlawed monopolistic business practices.
- Explains that roosevelt noticed that there was something wrong with the meat inspection act. roosevelt helped allocate money to inspect these industries.
- Explains that the federal government didn't have much power against a lot of the companies during that era.
- Explains how roosevelt fought against the meat industry, milk dealers, and the sanitary conditions in sinclair's "the jungle." roosevelt sent an internal investigation of the bureau of animal industry and sent new york attorney james reynolds and commissioner of labor for an independent investigation.
- Explains how the book "the jungle" became an international best-seller and helped roosevelt fight against big industries and strict government laws to regulate the meat packing industry.
1631 wordsRead More - Analysis Of The Omnivore's Dilemmaopinionated essayThis then brings up the issue of how our food is much worse than we had originally believed. Bryan Walsh, writer for TIME, wrote the article, The Real Cost of Cheap Food, “To stay and grow in such conditions, farm animals need pharmaceutical help, which can further damaging consequences for humans” (Walsh 34). From the chickens to the cows, animals are kept in “prison-like conditions” that causes them to become very sick (Walsh 34). To prevent animals from getting extremely sick to the point where they die before it’s their time, farmers feed them antibiotics. Not only are the animals eating corn and antibiotics, but so are we. We are eating so much more than we ever asked for. I’ve never asked to have antibiotics in my hamburger, and I’m sure many others haven’t either, however, that is the price we ought to pay for our cheap food. Not only must we ask ourselves if we are healthy, but now we must ask ourselves if what we are eating is also eating
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how michael pollan's book, the omnivore’s dilemma, has opened their mind to the fact that they don't know much about the food they are eating.
- Explains that pollan's words, "you are what what you eat, too", got them thinking about how not only are they eating their food, but they are also eating what the cow ate.
- Opines that our food is much worse than we had originally believed. farm animals are kept in prison-like conditions that cause them to become very sick.
- Opines that obesity is a problem in the united states, citing sharon begley's article fat and getting fatter: u.s obesity rates to soar by 2030.
791 wordsRead More - Upton Sinclair's Accidental Success: The Jungleanalytical essayAn American writer, reformer, and an idealistic supporter of socialism, Upton Sinclair, became a famous “muckraker” in the early 1900s. Through his writing, he made it his principle goal to expose political and social evils (Daniel Mark Fogel). The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair, comes across rather elementary as far as novels go; however, the way the story reads is not what was so important about the book. By writing the book, the author aimed to expose the horrendous working conditions in the meatpacking industry in the early 1900s in Chicago, Illinois. As a worker himself in the meatpacking plant yards, Sinclair often witnessed illegal practices and unsafe food handling first hand (Gallagher). In addition to the poor working conditions, he attempts to shed some light on the diseased, rotten and contaminated state of the meat products that these deprived workers produced. Upton Sinclair’s, The Jungle, highlights the devastating condition of the meatpacking industry’s workers, their poor health practices at the turn of the century, and by reaching the White House, this anti-capitalist and pro-socialist author’s novel changed the way our food reaches the American public forever.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how upton sinclair, an american writer, reformer, and idealistic supporter of socialism, became a famous "muckraker" in the early 1900s.
- Analyzes how sinclair depicts hardworking immigrants as suffering, with scarce employment opportunities, and with the jobs they do have, people cannot make a decent living on the mediocre compensation.
- Explains that the "american dream" of a capitalistic lifestyle was not as attainable as they thought it would be.
- Analyzes how jurgis finds a job in packingtown, where the meatpacking industry is located, but realizes that corruption runs wild in his new home country.
- Analyzes how sinclair's depiction of jurgis' immigrant family and their systematic denial of the american dream is not subtle.
- Analyzes how sinclair illustrates a glaring theme of social darwinism throughout the novel, the jungle.
- Analyzes how sinclair's novel, the jungle, gained such high visibility that president theodore roosevelt read it. the novel was intended to be propaganda for socialism.
1189 wordsRead More - America’s Food Crisis, by Bryan Walshanalytical essayAmerican society has grown so accustomed to receiving their food right away and in large quantities. Only in the past few decades has factory farming come into existence that has made consuming food a non guilt-free action. What originally was a hamburger with slaughtered cow meat is now slaughtered cow meat that’s filled with harmful chemicals. Not only that, the corn that that cow was fed with is also filled with chemicals to make them grow at a faster rate to get that hamburger on a dinner plate as quickly as possible. Bryan Walsh, a staff writer for Time Magazine specializing in environmental issues discusses in his article “America’s Food Crisis” how our food is not only bad for us but dangerous as well. The word dangerous could apply to many different things though. Our food is dangerous to the consumer, the workers and farmers, the animals and the environment. Walsh gives examples of each of these in his article that leads back to the main point of how dangerous the food we are consuming every day really is. He goes into detail on each of them but focuses his information on the consumer.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that american society has grown accustomed to receiving their food right away and in large quantities, but factory farming has made consuming food a non-guilt-free action. bryan walsh discusses how our food is not only bad for us but dangerous as well.
- Explains that salmonella is a food poisoning caused by bacteria found on different food types that has caused an epidemic.
- Explains that manure lagoons are a dangerous process that affects workers and the environment or community. a rolling stone journalist, jeff tietz, wrote an article about them.
- Explains that open-air lagoons can overflow in heavy rains and contaminate nearby streams and rivers, posing a risk to the community in that they can breathe in diseases from walking outside of their homes.
- Analyzes how walsh discusses the danger of farm animals being medicated, which eventually gets passed down to the consumer.
- Explains that obesity is a major issue that is discussed in walsh's article.
- Analyzes how bryan walsh discusses the dangers of eating food in his article, "america's food crisis." factory farming has become the new way of producing food for america.
961 wordsRead More - Analysis Of Direct Action Everywhereanalytical essayIn a review the website writes that “Slaughterhouse is the first book in which workers in the meat industry speak publicly about what is actually taking place in America’s slaughterhouses.” This particular book shined light to the graphic and very disturbing facts that factory farms are providing all types of products at the expense of the lives of innocent animals. The book is able to bring forth evidence and enticing information that is hard to miss by the reader because at one point or another, this matter was meant to come to light. The review goes further in illustrating “Eisnitz 's investigation with a single complaint from a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) worker alleging that cattle there are having their heads skinned while fully conscious. This single complaint becomes a full-scale, groundbreaking investigation.” Slowly but steadily, Eisnitz was able to figure the puzzle out and attract the attention of individuals and organizations who are particularly found of advocating for animal rights. The book itself had testimonies from workers who would deliberately beat, “strangle, boil, or dismember animals alive. Today’s slaughter line does not stop for anything: Not for injured workers, not for contaminated meat, and least of all, not for sick or disabled animals.” This is the driving force of individuals who have no other
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how direct action everywhere targets companies that claim to do the right method of killing animals but do not realize killing the animal is still doing the crime.
- Analyzes how direct action everywhere is lobbying chipotle mexican grill restaurants, which claim that meats are humanely produced and undergo specific standards to sell to consumers.
- Analyzes how the humane farming association epitomizes the book written by gail eisnitz, slaughterhouse, which shines light on the graphic and disturbing facts that factory farms provide all types of products at the expense of the lives of innocent animals.
- Analyzes how direct action everywhere's campaign against whole foods and chipotle is a radical organization whose mission is to empower activists to take strong and confident action wherever animas are being denigrated, enslaved, or killed.
- Argues that the 'korean animal rights advocates' focuses on animal cruelty, worker safety, consumer health, and the failure of the federal inspection system.
1327 wordsRead More - Analyzing Ethics in Fore´s Eating Animalsanalytical essayJonathan Safran Foer has entertained enormous significant approval and international awareness for his writing approach in novels for example Everything Is Illuminated: a Novel. The most recent book, however, is a factual and on edge. Eating Animals is a comprehensive Foer’s individual description of disagreements with the principles of eating animals subsequent to the delivery of his son. The book is sectioned into eight chapters, each one containing a title that is not completely obvious but more reminiscent and figurative. For “All or Nothing or Something Else” for the second chapter plunging into the predicament of the quantity and type of animal goods one can consume ethically. As expected, eating animals depends a great deal on the details of factory husbandry: the circumstances that the animals encounter; the cruel, proceeds-driven science and economics, which revolve existing beings into bio-widgets; the self-compelled lack of knowledge that buyers show in order that they can carry on shopping, consuming, and living devoid of disgrace. Conversely, consistent with Foer, “A straightforward case for vegetarianism is worth writing, but it’s not what I’ve written here” (13). Conversely, eating animals penetrates into an unattractive territory and it may seem like an endeavour to convert the animal-eaters.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how jonathan safran foer's latest book, eating animals, is a factual and on edge description of disagreements with the principles of eating animals after the delivery of his son.
- Analyzes foer's desire to push the buttons and stimulate readers in thinking about what and how they eat.
- Analyzes how foer's modernist writing style conveys an additional round of inspection and a fresh reader demographics, to the types of farms that "treat living animals like dead ones."
- Analyzes foer's three-year research keen on what turned out to be his first factual book was the imminent delivery of his offspring.
- Analyzes foer's viewpoint as biased as peta readers have minute uncertainty that he has merely not been decisive on vegetarianism, but desires to proselytize regarding it.
- Analyzes how foer's eating animals suffers from his self-righteous approach and the overdramatic script that has alienated his readers into love-him or hatred groups.
- Analyzes how he slips onto an industrial turkey ranch using an animal advocate recognized merely as "c." he permits her to add to a first-person article while she formulates tremendous statements.
- Analyzes how foer's portrayal of the dreadfulness of industrial slaughterhouses shows that the option doesn't have to be stuck between eating meat or not.
- Analyzes how nicolette hahn niman, bill's wife, wrote her own book about domestic animals farming, "righteous porkchop." in it, she claimed that little farms that pasture-graze their animals reduce greenhouse gasses.
1152 wordsRead More