why haven't more people realized what happens within factory farms and stopped consuming animal products?

Answer 1

This is simply a matter of public education, and keeping the issue hot. People make consumerist decisions based on what information they have regarding any subject, with factory farms being no exception, but easily forget what they don't "want" to know.

Imagine the difference in public response between:
A 2 paragraph bottom corner article on the 35th page of the newspaper written by a conservative carnivour receiving financial kickbacks from factory farming corporations; and ...

A 2 hour big budget film called "Fast Food Nation" with an extremely obese man from Texas walking to his car with Burger King products in hand, cigarettes in his shirt pocket, and a flag pin on his breast that says "I love America. Land of the free." It depicts exactly the process that cattle endure from feedlot to the freezers at fast food outlets, among many other powerful messages.

For reference purposes, what kind of ratings did "Super Size Me" receive when Morgan Spurlock was a big name? Not great, right? Meat products corporations spend billions on public relations, a field I am trained in, to manipulate the public into believing whatever they want them to believe. And this strategy works. It has worked for decades for smoking corporations, for election campaigns, for war campaigns, and the methods are interchangable.

There is also the matter of taste. Consumer studies, polls and surveys show a clear and distinct favour toward animal materials over plant materials in the matter of stimulation of taste buds, aroma, and texture when eaten.

Lastly, I would say that even those who know about the suffering of animals prefer to be allowed to forget, because out of sight often means out of mind, which means out of concern. This leads to complacency similar to the complacency people have for many other very important areas, like global warming, questioning their God, maintaining their car engine, or cleaning under the keys of their computer keyboard.

If you want more awareness of an issue, you must first make the issue appear worthy of the media's awareness. This can be done by extracting the most powerful, while simultaneously tasteful, images and quotes from reputable sources, and collating them into a powerful message. This means you can't use images that will gross out many citizens, but they must be shocking enough to grab the reader's attention as they skim over the pages. And they must be relatable most of all. If a reader sees it and is allowed to instantly think "doesn't concern me" then they won't read it. It has to be local, it has to be part of their daily life, it has to be something they want to hear news about, and it's best off being something new and exciting:

Eg. (this news article is completely fictional, but the scenario and facts are 100% realistic) [if this were acompanied by a photo of the accident scene before cleanup, it would turn stomachs].
Breaking news here in Wichita, Kansas, today. A truck carrying 500 chickens was involved in a traffic accident at 11pm earlier today, when the driver veered off the highway into the embankment, taking several cars and a motorcyclist with him.

He died on impact, but crime scene investigators say the driver, aged 27, was most likely on a cocktail of drugs including speed, alcohol, aspirin, caffeine, guarana, refined sugar and a variety of highly processed fatty fast food, based on the packaging in the cab. The autopsy shows that he had suffered a mild heart attack causing unconsiousness at the wheel which led to the accident.

A cleanup of the accident site by council workers showed that many of the chickens were being subjected to unconscionable conditions that were possibly in contravention of animal rights laws, but in any case they were not comfortable with a maximum of about half an inch of extra space in which to move per chicken.

Several dozen chickens had been found dead, with quite a few already showing signs of rigormortis, which means they had been dead for several hours before the accident.

A spokesperson for the company the driver worked for said that this was normal practice, because the comfort of chickens is secondary to production and profits.

He also said, quote "We do not condone the use of illegal drugs by our drivers. We require drivers to drive for long hours without breaks because we are concerned for the lives of the stock. Any break in transit would unneccessarily extend the time produce spend in these conditions."

Further interviews with other executives and managers at the company revealed that drivers are given monetary bonuses if they arrive with their load in tact at their destination early, and being a few minutes late can lead to employees being sacked.

I spoke with one employee outside KFC earlier, on his way to pick up another load. "This is piece work, you realise that, right. We don't get paid by the hour, so it is in our best interest to do everything as fast as possible. The life of a chicken means nothing compared to my being able to feed my family next week."

"The smell coming from the crates the chickens sit in is vile, aswell. I wouldn't be able to do this job if it weren't for the airconditioning in the cab. Remember, these chickens are laying in a pool of their own urine and feces for several hours while being transported from the battery to the slaughterhouse. I feel like vomiting every time I open the window, all so the fast food chains can say their food is fresh."

Animal rights activists were demonstrating outside the McDonalds restaraunt on main street on my third visit, and I had a chance to talk to their coordinator. "The judges on the McLibel case in the UK ruled that, I quote "... culpably responsible for the cruel practices in the rearing and slaughter ... of their food" and we are here to serve them with a mock up writ, demanding compliance with USDA animal rights laws immediately, particularly in the transportation of live animals for food."

I also had the rare chance to interview a seemingly overworked and underpaid USDA inspector while driving out to a battery. He said "There are 2 of us here in Wichita County to cover all the agricultral practices, and with all the paperwork and beaurocracy that the government requires of us I might get a chance to do an inspection of 1 or 2 sites a month out of hundreds that need policing."

Answer 2

I don't think there is an easy answer to this question. Some have more compassion for animals than others. So many people don't even realize animals have feelings, or just don't think it matters because they 'were put here for us*.' I could not eat meat for 2 years after completing my geology mapping field camp** on Virginia chicken farms. But out of 20+ people in camp, I was the only one affected so deeply.
Now I buy the best I can find for treatment, harmones and anitbiotics.

Answer 3

Because it's not well publicized. Especially in the US where people simply go to the grocery and select from very sanitary looking cuts of flesh on white, Styrofoam trays and clear cellophane wrapping. It all seems so nice and simple. It's a very intentional campaign to keep the concept of meat as separated from the animal as possible.

What's more, the myth of the Old McDonald farm still lives in the minds of most metropolitan dwellers. They think of this quaint little farm with a large red barn where all of the animals live in comfortable, straw strewn pens or out lounging in the yard eating grasses or resting in the shade.

Answer 4

Omg, Godself explained it so well. I couldn't have said it better myself.

He said:
"Lastly, I would say that even those who know about the suffering of animals prefer to be allowed to forget, because out of sight often means out of mind, which means out of concern."

My sister and I were having this conversation yesterday. She flat out refused to watch the PETA videos, and insisted that by her doing so, it doesn't mean she's hiding from the facts. OH REALLY??? She said that watching that is like watching an X-rated film, something she doesn't wanna see. She sees lots of carnage films at work since she's a cop, and gets her fill of gore already, and doesn't wanna see any more. I said these are two different things. There is no industry that houses and breeds and butchers human beings like they do animals. She still refused, and doesn't believe her refusal is any kind of cowardice. I told her that refusal to watch and see what goes on makes it easy to ignore the suffering. We disagree on this.

Anyway, the first answer was right on. People are not aware of what goes on, that's all. As Linda McCartney said, "If factory farms had windows, everyone would be a vegetarian."

Answer 5

There is a huge difference between facoty farms and consuming animal products.

Most of the animals I consume, I harvest myself. I know that the tools I use for the butchering process are clean and that my meat will not be recalled.

Also, there is nothing more 'organic' than wild game or wild fruits & veggies.

Answer 6

why don't people just of organic and go HUNTING!! doesn't get more organic than that! the only true all natural food , not farmed, not grown by people just from the earth to your table you hunt it you kill it you , you cut it up you , you cook it you eat it! you use the hide for nice work gloves about 3 good pairs and use the rest on book covers and binding. I don't know why people don't eat meat, don't be lazy and complain about animal cruenity , hasn't anyone watched the animal channels and see what other animals do to eat? wolfs kill animals just to kill them, they let them die slow , they bite into there hind quarters and there spine so they can't get away and they go for another. sometimes the animals like deer take hours if not up to days to die, seems a lot less painful and more humaine to shoot the deer in the head of heart and kill it instantley just food for thought. .. just wondering what people think about going all organic and do a little more hunting?????

Answer 7

I think most people (who know about factory farming) know that they should stop, but they don't want to so they make up fake excuses about why it's okay. for example, one of my good friends' excuse is "...everything is good in moderation..." or something very obscure like that. the thing is, she's actually very intelligent, so you'd think she knew better! it just shows how desperate people are to not see the truth.

Answer 8

They are in like a state of denial I guess. They have eaten meat for such along time and liked it. They are like why stop now. Some even have the mind state of well it isn't like the animals are in risk of extinction.

Answer 9

I asked this same question to myself. I dont know. it's just sick what factory farms do to animals, and some people are just sick enough to not care.

Answer 10

Because the effort put in by the meat industry to get the public to disassociate what they eat from were it comes from is so great that it's no surprise that most people don't know.

Answer 11

Perhaps they haven't yet seen this video on the horrors of factory farming

http://www.meat.org/