People seem to be afraid to say it, but eating animals and their produce is cruel. In fact is there anything more harmful to a sentient being than taking its life after a lifetime of duress?
What makes this more illogical is that there are other options. There's absolutely no need to eat animals or their produce.
Factory farming, the cruellest type of farming system, is a system of industrialised agriculture that has become increasingly popular over the past few decades.
It is a way to produce large quantities of meat and dairy products at a low cost. I've heard statistics that 90% of the worlds meat comes from factory farmed animals.
The truth that is not so widely spoken about is that farming animals for their meat and produce has come at a very high price for the animals involved.
Today, i've chosen to talk specifically about cows, but every farmed animal suffers a similar fate.
The life of a factory farmed cow is one of constant confinement, stress, and suffering.
The typical life of a factory farmed cow begins with being taken away from their mother very shortly after birth. This separation causes great emotional distress to both the calf and the mother, as cows have a strong maternal bond.
When I visit my friend in Wales I can hear cows calling for their calf throughout the night. It is very heart breaking to hear.
The calf is then placed in a small individual pen, where it will spend the first few months of its life.
These pens are so small that the calf cannot move around freely or interact with other cows, and neither its own mother, which is essential for its development and its ability to feel soothed.
After a few months, the calf is moved to a larger pen where it will spend the rest of its life. The conditions in these pens are often crowded and unsanitary, with very often no access to natural light or fresh air.
The cows are fed a diet of grain, soy, and corn, which is not a natural diet for them.
In addition to the poor living conditions, factory farmed cows are subjected to painful procedures such as dehorning and castration without anaesthesia.
Factory farmed cows are subjected to painful procedures such as dehorning and castration without anesthetic.
When it is time for slaughter, the cows are loaded onto trucks and transported to the slaughterhouse. The transport process can be extremely stressful and traumatic for the cows. Sometimes they are transported in very high temperatures and for very long distances without breaks.
Often animals are transported abroad. The Tory commitment went back on its pledge to ban live transport of animals as they have gone back on many of their other commitments to animal welfare.
Once they arrive at the slaughterhouse, they are often kept in holding pens for hours before being slaughtered. The slaughter process itself can be incredibly painful and terrifying for the cows. Workers are under a lot of stress and do not stun the cows properly and they are sometimes conscious throughout.
The life of a farmed animal is one of confinement, stress, and suffering.
As consumers, we have the power to make a difference by choosing alternatives to meat and dairy products and by trying Vegan.
By reducing our consumption of animal products, we can help reduce the demand for farming animals for their meat and their produce.
We can choose plant based sausages or burgers. We can try plant based cheese. We can opt for the oat or soya milk. The alternatives are endless.
Together, we can create a more compassionate, just and sustainable plant based food system for all.