You probably think that an overall wearing, industrious farmer raised the chicken from when it was an egg to the time of slaughter by providing it with grains to eat and a comfortable environment for it to roam around, but in reality, most of the chicken you find in your local grocery store weren't exactly raised by a 'farmer', but rather were produced through industrial agriculture, or the modern-day style of farming.
Nowadays, thousands of chicken are raised in large, factory-like warehouses, where they don't have room to move around, and are treated poorly. They are also genetically altered to grow twice as large, and twice as fast in order to keep up with the consumers' demands. Due to these alterations, the chickens' heart and lungs aren't developed enough to support the extra weight, causing many [chickens] die before they're taken to the slaughterhouse.
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| An example of a 'chicken house' |
Not only are these procedures harmful and cruel towards the chicken, but they're also harmful to us, the consumers. In fact, in the early 1950s, the first synthetic estrogen hormone, diethylstilbestrol (DES) was made and used to fatten poultry, but they discontinued use of it in the late 1970s because it caused cancer. And currently, Arsenic is commonly found in the chickens' feed, which can also lead to cancer.
You may be asking yourself, "If industrial agriculture promotes animal cruelty, and has negative side effects, why do we continue to consume its products?" This is because it's much faster and cheaper to buy and produce food that's produced in "farms", rather than raised on farms.
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| Society's idea of a farm |
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ReplyDeleteThis is a horrible way of raising chickens. They should keep it old school like letting them run around and eat grains. And the fact that they inject steroids that affects both humans and animals is just plain cruel. They should find other ways to keep up with the demand without any side effects.
ReplyDeleteAlthough i myself agree that i would rather spend a few extra dollars on purchasing a food that is grown via sustainable agriculture, it's not entirely up to us. When we go to the super market, be it us or whoever provides the groceries, we disregard how the meat came from and immediately focus on the quality and cost, which may be towards industrial agriculture. The problem is not the people, but the farms itself.
ReplyDeleteGood insights Camela! I never knew chickens were treated that way in modern day farming. Sometimes when I go by farms, I see that the chickens are all crowded together, thinking that they are being raised really well. Guess I was wrong ! People really need to realize how their food is reallt prepared before they buy it in stores.
ReplyDeleteHey Camela,
ReplyDeleteI would also like to add that this modern farming, better known as industrial agriculture, puts our world’s biodiversity at risk. Imagine planting the same few crops yearly, over and over again. This monoculture is more vulnerable to disease because of its lack of diversity. A single strain of a disease could wipe out a whole field. The amount of pesticides used also increases because pests who feed on a specific kind of crop can now damage a whole field. This in turn causes food prices to increase because now, the farmer has to pay for these pesticides as well. On another note, allowing less productive breeds to become extinct can greatly affect various ecosystems and/or food chains. Take a look at the Hinton’s Oak tree, for example. This tree is now endangered because of the increased area of land used for agriculture. Trees play an important part in an ecosystem. Not only do they provide oxygen, but they also maintain the health of their ecosystem, act as medicinal plants, remain as a habitat for animals, and are a resource for many products. We should definitely consider all this before continuing to practice industrial agriculture. Overall, great blog!
Great blog Camela! I really learned a lot especially on what Industrial Agriculture is and what they do in our livestock. I even used it as a source of information for my blog. You have a great research and good visuals. Good job!
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