One particular chapter, The Animals, sits with me deeply. I'm choosing to share a small section that I came across yesterday because I woke up this morning still thinking about it. This made me realize sharing was necessary.
"Piglets in these CAFO's (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation), are weaned from their mothers ten days after birth (compared to thirteen weeks in nature) because they gain weight faster on their drug-fortified feed than on sow's milk. But this premature weaning leaves pigs with a lifelong craving to suck and chew, a need they gratify in confinement by biting the tail of the animal in front of them. A normal pig would fight off his molester, but a demoralized pig has stopped caring. 'Learned Helplessness' is the psychological term, and it's not uncommon in CAFO's, where tens of thousands of hogs spend their entire lives ignorant of earth or straw or sunshine, crowded together beneath a metal roof standing on metal slats suspended over a septic tank. Farmer's therefore, typically dock or snip off the tails at birth.
It's not surprising that an animal as intelligent as a pig would get depressed under these circumstances, and a depressed pig will allow his tail to be chewed on to the point of infection. Since treating sick pigs is not economically efficient, these underperforming production units are typically clubbed to death on the spot."
Why am I telling you this? I feel it is my duty to inform people of what's going on. Every time you order bacon at a restaurant to participate in that trendy thing we call brunch... you are directly contributing to this horrific industrial machine. I try my best every day to avoid negative thoughts and behaviors, but I feel I must share this so that others might rethink what they eat. Please avoid animal products unless they come from a small local farm that is to be trusted. I cannot stress enough the importance of knowing your farmers.
Check out this beautiful farm in Virginia that does things the right way, how nature intended. These people work hard all year, and personally I would rather pay more money to receive food from farmers such as this than pay less for farms that receive government money to produce and sell in a cheaper way.
Polyface Farm