How come it's a big deal when pets or wild animals are abused, but factory farms are mostly ignored?

Question

First let me say I'm NOT a vegetarian or vegan and I have nothing against animals being raised for food, but I am against ANY kind of abuse of animals, but I find it horrifying that people will fight the abuse of pets or wild animals, and then go to the store and buy meat, milk & eggs from factory raised animals. These animals are raised in HORRENDOUS conditions, pumped full of antibiotics and hormones (they would die without all the medications because of the terrible conditions they are forced to live in), and people don't think anything of it. Why aren't people more outraged about the conditions animals are being raised in at factory farms?

Answer 1

Listing an animal rights site (HSUS) is not a way to make your point on an ag site. But what I see - there's several things. These sites have misrepresented things so badly for so long people discount it as true. Further there are alternatives...and people are not willing to do something about it because of a quest for what they perceive is a cheaper option at the local meat counter. The fact they can get better, cheaper meats raised in a different way for less never occurs to them. Most legislation in most states has eliminated the choice to buy direct from the farmer - so the government has made choices for you in the realm of "consumer safety"...never mind the outbreaks of stuff on a regular basis that shows our food supply is NOT safe. When competition is eliminated you pay what they say pay - and it's looking like $4.50 cent milk from reports last night....never mind the farmer is getting less than 1/4 of that. If it was possible to sell direct it'd change things.

Now the government powers that be want to do the same thing to meat - already higher from corporate entities. With implementing NAIS it eliminates those farmers just hanging on; it puts many rare breeds probably into extinction and it eliminates open competition in what should be a fair market place. Allowing people to make educated decisions for themselves is something the government doesn't think we're smart enough to do.

I wouldn't want to be anywhere but the US - but the fact that millions of consumers are being misled is amazing that it seems we've lost the ability to think for ourselves. We can research and buy a car, computer, alarm system and anything else but not the food we put on our tables.

On the other hand hormones occur naturally in animals - there is nothing that can truly say "hormone free" - WE have hormones. So do animals - it regulates many things. Antibiotics are needed to handle contamination from conditions in some cases - but in an open market it'd be possible to buy from someone who doesn't do that to begin with. Unfortunately there's places that make big$$ on that - $5/# for burger that is pasture raised and "organic". Common sense doesn't seem to apply. I have an animal that has had nothing unneccessary given to it - you want to buy it and put in your freezer that's straightforward. If the dairy farmer up the road wants to charge a little more than market and sell the milk to you instead of the market - and you're willing to pay $20/100# (8.6# is 1 gallon) you should be able to do it - without suing the farmer if you mishandle it and someone gets sick.

As long as people have the perception there is no choice it will do nothing but get worse. Few people have any real clue what the farming environment is like anymore - not on the large farms and not on the smaller farms trying to hang on. If the average person had any idea how few corporations hold most of our food supply it'd scare them into action...but for the most part until something happens they don't care...and until it happens on the level of the pet food recalls it won't change. Importing what we grow here is apalling - and the majority don't have a clue. We import catfish from China (another product with contamination issues!) even though we grow it here. Even toothpaste from China has been contaminated - with antifreeze - but it barely makes the news.

JMO.

Answer 2

money, power, money, power, money, power...need I say more.  I work on a farm and am apalled by the treatment of animals in the ag. industry.  These animals are treated like they have no nervous system.  Try buying Kosher or Halal meat.  The animals are treated humanely and slaughtered quickly and painlessly according to tradition and religion.

Answer 3

I am sure this has to do with the economic realities of meat production, but I also do not believe it is considered ethical to deliberately abuse or neglect farm animals.

Answer 4

Well...

Farmers could feed chicken with caviar, make them sleep on king size beds and wash them in a jacuzzi, but then you'd have to pay 5$ per egg.

What do you prefer?

Answer 5

Hm, you aren't really asking a question here, so you aren't going to get many answers, and certainly not under 'Math and Science'.  I think the reason many people ignore factory farms is that it is not possible to tell how animals are abused at every farm; even within farms, it is often the workers who control specifics of the animal's life.

Also, relax a little about the antibiotics...most humans in the western world have plenty of exposure to antibiotics.  One could argue that NOT giving cattle antibiotics would be cruel.

Answer 6

Because factory farm animals are bred to die, and we don't like to think about that aspect of it, so it gets ignored overall.

We don't eat pets, and hunting for food is considered an acceptable sport (the animal lived a free and wonderful life before reaching the dinner plate)... but farm animals are born and bred just to be killed.  

In true fashion, we ignore anything that we find unpleasant.

Answer 7

Again, it's all about money.  They get by with it because they have the money and power to do so.