Slaughterhouses: Behind the Image
Everyday 94.8% of Americans practice Speciesism, which is putting one’s own species before another (“The Number”). So, how is eating a slaughtered cow over a house cat different from denying a person’s rights because of their race? Society is only now discovering the truth of these slaughterings, and what needs to be done to prevent these terrible forms of cruelty is not happening. For instance, when dairy cows can no longer produce milk, they are forced to their death with forklifts, electricity, and even high pressure water forced into their snouts. (Pacelle). Even though some argue that animals are slaughtered humanely, they deserve to receive equal treatment in slaughterhouses because they contain the
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Supporters state how the environment is much like their natural one on the farms and they are killed without pain and suffering (“Think Going”). The killing of these animals on Kosher farms is said to be this way, but, most often, this is not the whole truth. When a study was performed on the intelligence of birds, the outcome was not entirely favorable to animal rights. A piece of meat was put on a string, from which it would have to be pulled through a hole. Another string was set up in a different hole. The crows were tested on whether they would pull the right string and how they would configure the problem. Few were able to complete the obstacle with ease. One researcher saying, “That’s not a miracle, just a small tweak in cognition” …show more content…
Oliver Broudy interviews Peter Singer about his new book and experiences on kosher farms.“I guess I had this idea that kosher slaughter is more strictly controlled than normal slaughter, and when you see that video and you see these cattle staggering around with their throats cut, and blood pouring out—by no stretch of the imagination is this just a reflex movement. It goes on and on. And this happens repeatedly, with many different animals.” (Broudy). Slaughterhouses are taking an increasing toll on the environment. As well as it being a main contributor to global warming with its large emissions of Greenhouse Gases, diseases like mad cow, e coli, and salmonella are all originating from the contaminated meat of this corrupt business (Pacelle). Overall, even claims of being good for the animals and environment can be false when it comes to this
In the articles “An Animals Place,” by Michael Pollan, and “The Omnivore’s Delusion: Against the Agri-intellectuals,” by Blake Hurst, the controversial methods of farming in today’s society are examined. Modern farming methods are a relevant topic of discussion because the foods that people consume have a direct impact on their health, therefore they should be aware of the procedures that farming methods employ. Pollan and Hurst have differing beliefs on farming methods, but similar interests in the environment, people, and animals. In the article “An Animals Place,” the author, Michael Pollan sheds light on the barbaric institution of American meat-packing.
Pachirtat writes, “This book provides a firsthand account of contemporary, industrialized slaughter and does so to provoke reflection on how distance and concealment operate as mechanisms of power in modern society.” (3) Pachirtat’s main argument of this book is not to bring light to the thirty-three million cows that are killed every year in the United States, but to make an argument on how distance and concealment of the slaughterhouse are hidden by power. Pachirtat explains that there are laws put into place that prevent any outsiders to enter the slaughterhouse and to keep what is going on inside hidden from society. Throughout the book Pachirtat’s style of writing can make the biggest meat lover think twice before biting into their next hamburger, the main argument is not the cow. He states that “this book does not engage directly with arguments for animals rights, it is my deepest hope that its detailed account of industrialized killing will invite readers to seek a more thoughtful relationship with the nonhuman creatures.
In An Animal’s Place, Michael Pollan describes the growing acknowledgement of animal rights, particularly America’s decision between vegetarianism and meat-eating. However, this growing sense of sentiment towards animals is coupled with a growing sense of brutality in farms and science labs. According to Pollan, the lacking respect for specific species of animals lies in the fact that they are absent from human’s everyday lives; enabling them to avoid acknowledgment of what they are doing when partaking in brutality towards animals. He presents arguments for why vegetarianism would make sense in certain instances and why it would not and ultimately lead to the decision of eating-meat while treating the animals fairly in the process. Pollan
To conclude, the authors argument in this book is that the meat industry is extremely flawed and it needs to be reformed to allow more ranchers, to fix the meat handling to become safer, and to fix the working
Even through things might not happen as bad as once was but still it happens today where and how we slaughter the animals are not always done in a sanitary way. In the book The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan also talks about slaughterhouse in the United States in chapter twelve. He mentions how the slaughterhouse that he visited made sure that there killing was clean because the buyer could come and watch them kill the animal. They then discuss that they how most factories don’t have people that allow to see them kill the animals.
He explains of the stress filled lives these animals endure for the pleasure of humans. The humans are not properly aware of the situations of these animals. They are consistently in cramped cages in farms, while human’s sense of morality towards farm animals has been nonexistent. Norcross’s conclusion does not argue against eating meat, but he justifies it to an extent. Norcross compares two distinctive creatures in his argument, and their comparison does not justify his point of view.
This short story explains and questions how people find eating animals morally acceptable. Steiner 's short story explains that whenever people think these animals are being treated respectfully they are being ignorant to the fact of how these animals are truly treated; Steiner brings up the fact of how an animals typical horrid life is and how it transitions from its horrid life to being killed by a butcher in a matter of seconds. Moreover, Steiner also adheres to the topic of how unacceptable, it is to kill these animals just for human consumption. Steiner 's purpose in writing this short story is to display to us the fact that eating any animal is not only wrong, but it is just downright unacceptable as it is mass murder of these innocent animals. Finally, Steiner tries to define at his best, what a strict vegan truly
Animal rights and livestock farming Many of us, nowadays, eat and enjoy eating meat but many would agree that this is actually not an ethical action. Michael Pollan, in his persuasive style article “An Animal's Place" published in The New Work Times Magazine, on November 10, 2002 intends to persuade his audience that humans should respect animals and as long as they are treated well in farms and give them a more peaceful life and death it will be fine to eat them. According to Pollan, in today's huge industrial farms, cruel and unbearable things happen that are against animals rights. There is a high possibility that in the future these actions will stop as already some protest for animal rights have begun, because animals have feelings and farms take advantage of them thinking that they are mere machines, making them suffer. The solution to this conflict according to the author who supports friendly farms that respect and give a fun and secure life for animals.
Namit Arora, author of the article “On Eating Animals”, harshly captures the inhumane production of meat in America with repulsive imagery and shocking details. Arora, writer at thehumanist.com, reveals the immediate attention that Americans give to their pets and news-famous animals like Molly a runaway cow, yet they neglect to realize the millions of livestock being killed daily. With an accusatory and critical tone Arora condemns the hypocrisy of those who are pro-life for animals, but they still consume meat products. In return, this clarifies the injustice towards these animals for his American readers and global viewers. Namit Arora’s devastating imagery underscores the brutality of American actions towards innocent animals with descriptions such as, “the cow, bellowing miserably and hobbling like a drunk for several seconds before collapsing” and, “...died on the street in a pool of blood.”
In addition, cows and horses are being bought from slaughterhouses. After that, they are being dissected. Because of the harm towards these animals, students disagree with the dissection policy. 4.
Paul McCartney once said,” If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be vegetarian”. At the same time, these animals are tortured and most never see the light of day and workers are underpaid, overworked, and taken advantage of but people turn a blind eye when they are told about how the animals and employees are treated. Meatpacking employees are constantly injured on a daily basis. Schlosser, in Fast Food Nation, states, “ The injury rate in a slaughterhouse is about three times higher than the rate of a typical American factory”. If the employers are being careless about the safety of their employees, does that mean they are careless when it comes to the meat?
In the early 1900’s, the conditions in the slaughterhouses were ghastly. First of all, the basic surroundings of the workers were horrid. The floors of the killing floors were layered in blood. It smelled bad and was unsanitary. Also, there were blood-curdling screeches of dying animals constantly ringing throughout Union Stockyards ("Slaughterhouse to the World" 5).
He presents a compelling argument for why we have to recall lowering or casting off our intake of animal products, the use of evidence and records to guide his claims. for example, Foer cites the fact that animal agriculture is chargeable for more greenhouse gas emissions than all kinds of transportation combined. via presenting this statistic in a clean and concise manner, Foer makes a robust case for the environmental blessings of lowering our meat consumption. Foer additionally appeals to our sense of morality and values. He emphasizes the significance of compassion and duty in our food choices, encouraging readers to remember the ethical implications of consuming meat.
The meat packing industry disregards animal’s emotions and their rights all together by the malicious treatment of animals. The way animals are being treated is highly unfair. Being slaughtered for their body parts and suffering just to be used for protein or an asset to humans is unbearable. An animal’s life is at equal values to a human and deserve the same rights as
Throughout the United States, there are “over 7,800 facilities” (United States Department of Agriculture) where animals are held in horrible living conditions and treated unfairly. “Each full grown chicken in a factory farm has as little as six-tenths of a square foot