Factory Farm Animals

Factory farm animals suffer daily. The conditions they endure are horrible, some of which will be explained below. The information below is provided by the Humane Society of the United States.

Laying Hens-

Arguably the most abused animals in all agribusiness, about 95% of the nearly 300 million laying hens in the United States are confined in barren, wire "battery cages" so restrictive the birds can't even spread their wings. With no opportunity to engage in many of their natural behaviors, including nesting, dust bathing, perching, and foraging, these birds endure lives wrought with suffering.Inside a single windowless shed on a commercial egg factory farm, tens if not hundreds of thousands of egg-laying hens are confined in severely restrictive battery cages for more than a year.
Photo courtesy of HSUS.

Cattle and Pigs-
Nationwide, one million calves raised for veal and nearly six million breeding sows (female pigs) suffer nearly their entire lives inside tiny crates so small the animals can't even turn around. Veal factory farmers separate calves from their mothers within the first few days of birth and cram them into individual crates or stalls, tethered by their necks. Inside these enclosures, the calves can barely move. Breeding sows suffer a similar fate. Throughout nearly their entire four-month pregnancies, the animals are confined inside individual metal gestation crates barely bigger than their own bodies, unable to perform nearly any of their natural behaviors.

Due to animal welfare concerns, the entire European Union has already banned both veal crates and gestation crates, effective 2007 and 2013, respectively. Yet, in the United States, the use of these abusive crates remains customary practice. For both calves and pigs, intensive confinement in crates causes painful and severe welfare problems.

Inside barren, restrictive gestation crates, pregnant pigs are unable to turn around—or even move more than a step or two. For nearly four months, they languish in these cruel enclosures.
Image courtesy of HSUS.

Ducks and Geese-
Ducks and geese are forced-fed unnaturally large quantities of food through a metal tube that is shoved down their throats and into their stomachs two or three times each day. The extensive overfeeding causes their livers to become diseased. The livers become enlarged up to ten times their normal size, making it difficult for the birds to move comfortably and, for some, even walk.

The practice of force-feeding can cause painful bruising, lacerations, sores, and even organ rupture. On some foie gras factory farms, the birds are severely restricted inside small, filthy cages where they cannot even turn around or spread their wings.

Due to animal welfare concerns, more than a dozen countries—including the United Kingdom, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Israel (formerly the world's fourth-largest foie gras producing nation), Norway, Poland, Sweden, and Switzerland—have prohibited the production of foie gras. In 2004, California became the first U.S. state to ban the cruel force-feeding of birds and the sale of foie gras produced from force-fed birds, effective 2012. And in 2006, Chicago—famous for its meatpacking history—banned the sale of foie gras.

Image courtesy of HSUS.
This bird suffers inside a restrictive isolation cage covered with his vomit due to being force fed.

Pains of Poultry-
Each year, more than nine billion chickens, turkeys, ducks, and other birds raised for food are slaughtered in the United States with no requirement that their deaths be humane—more than one million birds killed every hour without legal protection.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture exempts birds from the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act (HMSA), an act passed more than 50 years ago intended to ensure that animals are rendered insensible to pain before they are killed. As a result, these birds—more than 95 percent of land animals killed for food—have no federal legal protection from being hung upside-down in shackles, electrocuted, cut with mechanical blades, and even being immersed in scalding water, all while fully conscious.

Indeed, these chickens, turkeys, and other birds are permitted to be slaughtered in ways that would be illegal if forced on cattle or pigs.

If these things disturb you, you are not alone. Below is the Humane Society's tips for humane eating.

Humane Eating and the Three R's-

Each year in the United States, nearly 10 billion land animals are raised and killed for food. Just like the dogs and cats we welcome into our homes, chickens, pigs, turkeys, and cows have their own personalities, inquisitive natures, likes and dislikes, and—most importantly—the ability to feel pain, suffer from boredom and frustration, and experience joy.

Yet these animals are routinely mistreated on industrialized factory farms. No federal law protects animals from cruelty on the farm, and most states exempt customary agricultural practices—no matter how abusive—from the scope of their animal cruelty statutes.

Fortunately, each one of us can make a significant difference in the lives of these animals and help decrease their suffering.

Reduce

Every hour in the United States, one million animals are killed for human consumption. If each one of us cuts back on our animal consumption by only 10%, approximately one billion animals would be spared a lifetime of suffering each year.

Refine

If you do continue to eat animal products, know that not all animal products are equal when it comes to animal welfare. Each industry has its own abusive practices, and some are much more cruel than others. For example, the chicken, egg, turkey, and pork industries tend to be far more abusive to animals than the beef industry. And a growing number of producers are raising animals without intensive confinement. Refining your diet by choosing cage-free animal products, instead of the conventional factory farm products that fill most supermarket shelves, will help to reduce animal suffering.

Replace

Each one of us can help prevent animals from suffering in factory farms simply by choosing vegetarian options. It's never been easier to replace animal products with readily available vegetarian alternatives. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, "Vegetarian diets can meet all the recommendations for nutrients." The American Dietetic Association goes even further to state that vegetarian diets "provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases."

Need Help Getting Started?

Visit the HSUS Guide to Vegetarian Eating for more information on how you can help farm animals when you eat, including delicious recipes, tips on incorporating more animal-free meals into your diet, shopping list suggestions, and much more. And for more information on the lives of farm animals and other ways you can help them, visit www.FarmAnimalWelfare.org.