Badly abused animals may be factory-farmed

It’s been said, we don’t need to know how the sausage is made. Perhaps that old expression stems from a bigger, deeper truth that we don’t like to admit—with the subtle implication of just don’t ask; we don’t want to know.

If we did ask that proverbial question, along with other provoking questions about the food industry, we’d end up with more questions—or, perhaps with less of an appetite. But people like Nick Cooney, founder and director of a local animal rights group in Philadelphia, along with 5,000 members, know full well the answers to some of these questions. And they are concerned.

In 2005, Cooney began the non-profit, animal advocacy organization the Humane League, which now has another office in Boston, as well as interest groups in L.A. and Washington, D.C. These animal rights activists are working to create a more healthy and viable life for animals through campaigns for policy change and education. Right now, the greatest task the Humane League faces is reducing animal suffering. It comes in many forms.

“Approximately 98 percent of the animals that are abused in the U.S. are farmed animals,” said Cooney. “Farm animals have virtually no protection under the law. Activities which would be felonies against cats and dogs are legal when done to farm animals.”

Egregious Farm Practices

Some of the most egregious farm practices include the way chickens are bred. Remember “Old McDonald”? Long gone are the days of his quaint, little farm and his big red barn under a bright yellow sun. The mythical chickens there had a quality of life akin to the royals of the animal kingdom – compared with the reality of commercial livestock farming.

“Chickens are the most exploited and abused animal in this country,” Cooney believes.

“Most chickens are now artificially bred to grow very fast. Their living conditions are filthy and cruel. They never see the sun or feel the grass under their feet.

“A quarter of a million chickens will suffer to death even before they’re brought to the slaughterhouse. The most common method of confinement is shackling them upside down before being carried to slaughter. Oftentimes, they suffer bone breaks along the way. After being dunked into a tank that renders them unconscious, some are still conscious while their feathers are plucked,” said Cooney.

Factory-Farming Worst Practices

Some of the worst factory-farming practices involve the use of battery cages and gestation crates. Battery cages are small wire housing for hens to lay their eggs. The hens are packed inside so tightly that they can’t even turn around. These cages are then stacked vertically and often overflow with urine and feces droppings. Their instincts denied, the hens are treated like a commodity, pumped with chemicals, and must remain confined in dark warehouses.

The gestation crates are not much different for breeding sows on pig farms. They spend an average of four years inside the crates, during which time they are repeatedly inseminated and fed growth hormones to make them fatter. Pigs are known to have the same level of intelligence as a dog or a three-year-old child. They often go mad in these confined conditions.

The Humane League is focusing its efforts in two directions. One is outreach and education for the public to promote vegan eating. The lasting advances that are being made to reduce animal suffering and promote their health and humane treatment largely come through personal lifestyle changes. The League understands this and concentrates on informing consumers as much as possible.

Another powerful aspect of the Humane League’s approach is their on-going campaign for policy changes at restaurants, businesses, and educational institutions.

Unnecessary Suffering

“All of us, regardless of our religious views can see that causing unnecessary suffering to animals is probably not a good idea,” said Cooney. “We can be happy and healthy without causing these animals to suffer through factory farming practices,” he said. “We want to reduce animal suffering -- the best way to reduce it is to leave animal products off our plates.”

Since the advent of the Humane League in 2005, there has been progress.

“Things are definitely changing at both the individual and institutional levels. We’re beginning to see some legislative changes. Just in the past six years, a number of states have banned battery cages. We’ve worked with them to help switch from battery cages to cage-free.”

The Humane League is also responsible for the emergency rescues of farm and laboratory animals, as well as companion animals. Since their founding they have safely rescued over 1,000 animals.

If you have never seen the movies, Food, Inc. or Fast Food Nation, where the back-story to these issues is analyzed, you might not understand the plight of these helpless animals. But given the rise in corporate food profits with an inversely proportionate decline in American health, it appears that both the animals and society’s humans may have been given a very bum steer.