Animal liberationEvery day people consume meat, oils and various animal products, without having the slightest idea of the process that these products go through to arrive on our tables. Agriculture and animal processing have evolved on a mass scale to support our ever-growing society. The general idea that it is acceptable to kill animals for useful purposes, such as for food, is widely accepted, but it is the methods by which we do so that are up for debate. The main process used worldwide for these operations is known as factory farming. By raising livestock in a small area with a high stocking density, the farm essentially turns into an animal factory. The well-known advantages of this process include lower costs, increased product availability and, of course, a lot of profits. However, when the details of the manufacturing are revealed, there are many questionable and controversial issues that arise when using this manufacturing method. While the debate technically rages on whether factory farming is morally acceptable or not, it is clear that this process ignores morality in the pursuit of the almighty dollar. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay In Current Issues, Peter Singer writes the article "Animal Liberation" in an effort to enlighten the basic reader about the social and moral problems with factory farming. Singer states, “A liberation movement requires an expansion of our moral horizons, so that practices that were previously considered natural and inevitable are now seen as intolerable” (Singer 205), to lay the foundation for its goal that does not it's just for people to realize the cruelty going on, but to make it so intolerable that the offenders have to change their actions. One of his main arguments is based on the idea of suffering and the proposal to link human suffering to animal suffering. “If a being suffers, there can be no moral justification for refusing to consider that suffering” (Singer 207), refers to the fact that society agrees that animals can suffer and the principle that no being has the right to make another suffer. If people agree that animals have the capacity to suffer, it is unfair and unacceptable for us to deliberately make them suffer for our own benefit. Singer also covers Richard Ryder's accounts and his description of various experiments conducted on animals. He is angry hearing these things and is upset that there has not been a public outcry over these events. This goes back to his definition of “liberation” and the need for consistency in public deterrence of animal cruelty. Singer points to farmers falling into lucrative business methods as the reason why "[Man] has never exploited [animals] as ruthlessly as he does today" (Singer 213). It goes on to specifically cover some of the rules and regulations of acceptable agriculture that are violated by factory farming. Singer ultimately closes with the question of whether a purely moral demand for the acceptable treatment of animals can outweigh the financial gains of immorality. Rick Dove had flown numerous missions in his time as a Navy JAG and Vietnam veteran, but the most notable took place in his backyard in New Bern, North Carolina. Dove's house was built on the Neuse River, as were the homes of many other families in this small North Carolina town. Usually a cool flowing river withan abundance of fish and wildlife, Where he slowly saw the river begin to darken. To his surprise one morning he and the community woke up to the stench of thousands of dead fish washed up on the banks and floating in the water, all covered in open red sores. It turns out that, as a result of the intensive farming practices of a pig farm upriver, contaminants were encouraging the growth of bacteria that were wiping out wildlife along the river in massive proportions. The property that he and his family had enjoyed for years with clean water for sailing and swimming and healthy animals for fishing and trawling, had been reduced to a smelly avenue for contaminated factory waste. Many stories like these continue to emerge across the country, day after day, year after year, and will continue to do so until factory farming is properly regulated and controlled. Intensive farming no longer only affects animals, but is also starting to affect families and communities, as well as surrounding ecosystems. According to Ben Goldsmith, director of Farm Forward, a company focused on animal rights laws, the industry is forcing animals to "no longer be able to reproduce without human interference,[...] and they certainly cannot live a normal life span that they once could” (Anon. NFM 1). A common analogy used by many is that factory farming is comparable to slavery, and it is not just actual torture that we are inflicting on these animals. the problem, but it is also the ripple effects we are creating. This will continue until offenders are forced to change their practices and alternatives are found “factory farming,” focuses on the alternatives of vegetarian food production, humane food animal farming, and in vitro meat production. Humane food farming is the most realistic and attainable alternative at this time. The best point made is the idea that change begins with those “[…] most directly and most severely affected, those who must work in such structures” (Pluhar 456). There are statistics that indicate that there are residual emotional and psychological problems in people resulting from employment in facilities such as a slaughterhouse. Many slaughterhouses and related facilities are adamant about unionizing their industry. This allows them to exploit their workers and continue their practices without repercussions. If these workers were able to join unions and get employers in the sector to meet their demands, this would result in an immediate improvement in the overall process. Without the guarantee of their human resources, employers would be forced to succumb to a reasonable amount of demands and, in turn, give employee unions the opportunity to improve the conditions of animals as well. Another related step in this improvement process would be the collaboration of all administrations related to food, health and agriculture. The FDA, USDA, FSIS, etc. could band together to tighten their regulations for the factory farming sector, resulting in improved animal treatment and reduced safety risks in this production process. Julie Follmer and Roseann Termini look at some organizations and their responsibilities in this area in their article "Whatever Happened to Old Macdonald's Farm?" They ask the question, “Who really has regulatory authority over the safety of meat, poultry, and egg products?” (Follmer 45), which one might think lies beneath the.
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