What are the REAL (as in, unbiased) facts about how the average animal is raised for slaughter in the US?

Question

I always feel like such a hypocrite, saying what I learned from PETA or whoever and then hearing that whatever I said isn't true, is worst case scenario, etc. But it's so hard to explain why you have a good point in being vegan when you have no support that you know is true. So anything that anyone knows, any facts, links, whatever, that could be of help, please post! I don't care if it's biased against or for vegetarianism, but unbiased is best (of course). Thanks!

Yeah, I know that finding actually unbiased, real facts are not likely, but seeing how I have no chance of sneaking into a slaughterhouse, I figure that asking a variety of people might get me a better idea. YOu know, I have no way to find out otherwise (being a teen and therefore unlikely to be able to sneak into every food animal raising place in the US) and there's no one making a site about animal slaughter without a reason.

Answer 1

Okay,think of the things that you know that go on for sure.

1.Male calves will be raised for veal since they don't produce milk(or slaughtered)

2.Male chicks can't produce eggs,therefore they are useless to egg farming,so they will be thrown away or killed the cheapest way possible(by throwing them in a bag)

3.The goal of factory farming is to raise as much animals as possible in as little time and space as possible(hormones and antibiotics are required for this)

4.Chickens have their beaks seared of to prevent killing eachother

5.Pigs have "vices",attcking one another and tailbiting(vice was made up by the industry)

6."redskins" are chickens that have been scolded alive(another term made up by the industry)

7.They consider factory farming a job,so they will do whatever it takes to produce the "product"(aka food animals)

8.Ten billion animals are raised for food each year,family farms simply can't produce that

9.There is no law to prevent cruelty done to animals raised for food

10.There are more,but I'm done with that part,you can probably think of more

Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO)
An AFO that is defined as a Large CAFO or as a Medium CAFO. . ., or that is designated as a CAFO. . . Two or more AFOs under common ownership are considered to be a single AFO for the purposes of determining the number of animals at an operation, if they adjoin each other or if they use a common area or system for the disposal of wastes.
[40 CFR 122.23(b)(2)]

Large Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (Large CAFO)
An AFO is defined as a Large CAFO if it stables or confines as many or more than the numbers of animals specified in any of the following categories:
700 mature dairy cows, whether milked or dry;
1,000 veal calves;
1,000 cattle other than mature dairy cows or veal calves. Cattle includes but is not limited to heifers, steers, bulls and cow/calf pairs;
2,500 swine, each weighing 55 pounds or more;
10,000 swine, each weighing less than 55 pounds;
500 horses;
10,000 sheep or lambs;
55,000 turkeys;
30,000 laying hens or broilers, if the AFO uses a liquid manure handling system;
125,000 chickens (other than laying hens), if the AFO uses other than a liquid manure handling system;
82,000 laying hens, if the AFO uses other than a liquid manure handling system;
30,000 ducks (if the AFO uses other than a liquid manure handling system); or
5,000 ducks (if the AFO uses a liquid manure handling system)
[40 CFR 122.23(b)(4)]

Medium Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (Medium CAFO)
The term Medium CAFO includes any AFO with the type and number of animals that fall within any of the ranges listed below and which has been defined or designated as a CAFO. An AFO is defined as a Medium CAFO if:
The type and number of animals that it stables or confines falls within any of the following ranges:
200 to 699 mature dairy cows, whether milked or dry;
300 to 999 veal calves;
300 to 999 cattle other than mature dairy cows or veal calves. Cattle includes but is not limited to heifers, steers, bulls and cow/calf pairs;
750 to 2,499 swine each weighing 55 pounds or more;
3,000 to 9,999 swine each weighing less than 55 pounds;
150 to 499 horses;
3,000 to 9,999 sheep or lambs;
16,500 to 54,999 turkeys;
9,000 to 29,999 laying hens or broilers, if the AFO uses a liquid manure handling system;
37,500 to 124,999 chickens (other than laying hens), if the AFO uses other than a liquid manure handling system;
25,000 to 81,999 laying hens, if the AFO uses other than a liquid manure handling system;
10,000 to 29,999 ducks (if the AFO uses other than a liquid manure handling system); or
1,500 to 4,999 ducks (if the AFO uses a liquid manure handling system); and
Either one of the following conditions are met:
Pollutants are discharged into waters of the United States through a man-made ditch, flushing system, or other similar man-made device; or
Pollutants are discharged directly into waters of the United States which originate outside of and pass over, across, or through the facility or otherwise come into direct contact with the animals confined in the operation.
[40 CFR 122.23(b)(6)]

Animal feeding operations (AFOs) are agricultural enterprises where animals are kept and raised in confined situations. AFOs congregate animals, feed, manure and urine, dead animals, and production operations on a small land area. Feed is brought to the animals rather than the animals grazing or otherwise seeking feed in pastures, fields, or on rangeland. There are approximately 450,000 AFOs in the United States. Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) are a relatively small number of AFOs that are regulated by the EPA.

Check out this page
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Factory_farming

Answer 2

Unfortunately, the only way for you to get unbiased information is to sneak into your own slaughterhouses.

Any information you could get would come from someone who has his/her own ideas and experiences... probably from one situation, and apply it to everything.

Just because others say it is *worst case scenario* certainly doesn't make them right either. Check out their proof (if they have any) and see if you think it applies to the majority.

Remember, there is no humane way to raise animals for slaughter. People are still holding on to outdated ideals of Farmer Joe and his Betsy. The real world may not be exactly like the PETA videos, but they probably have more of a realistic representation than all those who want to believe that slaughterhouses are humane places.

The most you can do is research a wide variety and find what rings most true to you. No one is going to believe anything they don't want to believe, even if you made the video yourself.

Answer 3

Bubba may be right about family farms, but the meat in the local deli probably isn't from a family farm. On a factory farm the animals are treated horribly. The whole process in a slaughter house is an assembly line and it doesn't stop for an animal that's still alive.

http://themeatrix.com/

Answer 4

Having lived my entire life so far involved in agriculture, I think I have a pretty good idea of how farm animals are raised. There of course are exceptions to every rule, but as a whole, most farmers treat their animals quite well. Face it, the better the animal, the more the farmer will be paid for it. For this reason alone, they will usually be given plenty to eat, plenty to drink, pleasant surroundings (stress causes them to lose weight), and overall good care. On our farm, even the animals being raised for slaughter are almost pets. They will allow you to rub their heads, pet them on the rump, scratch behind their ears, etc. If they were being mistreated, they wouldn't allow such familiarity. In all, I would say that animals raised for slaughter are actually treated better than they would be otherwise. None of our animals go hungry, but we DO feed the slaughter animals better than the breeding ones, just so they will bring more money.

Answer 5

Everything is biased. Sorry. Vegetarians make it seem worse, meat-eaters make it seem like paradise. You won't find any completely unbiased information.