As a hobby farmer, I certainly don't want to see animal agriculture become outlawed as some would like to see

Question

happen. As vegans and vegetarians, what is your biggest issue w/animal agriculture and what do you think is the most practical approach (people ceasing to eat meat is not a practical approach because it's not going to happen). Is it the slaughter or the living conditions that upset you the most?

Answer 1

Actually..it's the immoral behavior of the hobby farmer.

Answer 2

The living conditions are the things that upset me the most. I'd feel a lot better if all animals were allowed to live free the way they were meant to and if people wanted to eat them then they could hunt them from the wild. I still wouldn't participate in this or consume any animal flesh or biproducts because I don't agree with doing so, but I'd feel a heck of a lot better if animals were able to live actual lives before being turned into dinner. It just isn't right to treat a living creature with flesh, blood, eyes, and a heart like it is a machine.

Answer 3

I am a rancher/financial field profesional.  I first dont  believe that cattle for the most part have bad living conditions.  As to slaught with the rare exception of some r****d that didn't grow up around livestock and thinks its funny or acceptable to treat animals in that matter I don't be believe that even slaughter is an issue

Answer 4

The living conditions in many farms is what I take issue with most.  The slaughter is horrible too, but it's relatively quick (albeit sometimes minutes or even hours) compared to the animals' wretched lives.

I couldn't imagine being shackled on a two foot chain, with people poking and prodding me, feeding me a diet that my body wasn't meant for, taking my family away.  Many of these animals have sores, wounds, and tumors.  The amount of waste in their living areas is disgusting.  Can you even think about how bored the animal is to live in a 20"x40" cage, not turning, not moving, not playing for a period of years until the slaughter? It's hard to wrap my mind around.  

I understand that not all farms are like this...and yours I'm sure isn't because you aren't for-profit.

You do realize that it's animal agriculture that is causing all the vegetable-related illnesses, right?  How does a tomato, spinach leaf, or onion get salmonella, e. coli?  From animal waste seeping into the soil or used as fertilizer.  So meat-eaters are actually responsible not only for their own food-related illness but also the illness of people who eat no animal products.

Go get a copy of "Mad Cowboy: Plain Truth from the Cattle Rancher Who Won't Eat Meat"  by Howard Lyman.  It's powerful.

Answer 5

I have the biggest issue with "factory farms", where animals are treated inhumanely, are loaded up with hormones and antibiotics, and animal waste is allowed to pollute the surrounding land.  My husband eats meat, but we make sure we buy it from Whole Foods, or from a locally farmed reputable source.

The other issue I have is that it takes way more grain to feed and raise cattle than if you were to use that grain to feed people or use it for something else, lilke biofuels or something.

I don't think all people will stop eating meat, I'm not advocating that, but as a society, I think we need to cut back.

Answer 6

The thing that upsets me the most is the animals being slaughtering. Why do the animals have to be put threw so much pain just for some people (not me) to have a meal. There are alot of other things out there that we could be eating. And yes I know that God gave us animals to eat (not in the begining tho Adam and Eve didn't eat meat until they first sinned). It just was just hard for me to eat somthing that I know was somthing that had a face and eat. It also bothers me the way some farmers (not all) treat the animals. They give them shots of hormones that will make the animals bigger just so they make more money. They also cram lots of animals into little areas so they can have more. We wouldn't want to live like that so why should they?