The Horrifying Truth of the Meat Industry

The meat industry is horrifying. And not just because they are killing millions of innocent animals every day, billions if you count fish. It’s the way these animals get to your plate that is simply terrifying. From the second these animals are born they are abused. Right after birth, calves are traumatically separated from their mothers. Then they are dehorned, branded, and tagged.

These baby cows are brought to feedlots where they are confined to pens so small that they don’t have space to turn around, lie down comfortably, or even stretch their limbs. Since factories bring in money based on the weight of animals, they are constantly stuffed with “food”, if you can even call it that. By-products that are commonly mixed with cow feed include stale junk food, gum with wrappers, heat treated garbage, chicken feathers, and urea. These disgusting items found in cow feed plus antibiotics that are often laced in as well can cause liver abscesses, acidosis in their rumens, illnesses and death for these animals.

Animals that survive past the feedlot are then sent to a slaughterhouse in the most horrific conditions imaginable. They are driven hundreds of miles crammed into trucks often without having any food or water the entire trip. And that’s not even the end of it. The trucks animals are transported in don’t have a temperature regulation system. Because of this, cows have been known to collapse in extreme heat and freeze to the sides of trucks in the cold. 

After arriving at the factory, cattle are forced down a chute and shot in the head with a captive-bolt gun supposedly knocking them unconscious and instantly killing them without any pain. But although this may sound like the least cruel way to kill an animal, this method doesn’t do much when shot in the wrong spot which happens often.

An assembly line’s goal is speed; more animals killed means more money. Because of this, most workers don't stop, whether the animal is alive or not. Animals legs and throats are sliced all the time while the animal is still 100% conscious. When killed like this, they can suffer up to seven minutes before actually dying.

The horrible ways animals are treated for human consumption isn’t the only secret the meat industry is trying to hide. The meat you eat every day is packed full of hormones, steroids, antibiotics and additives that never make it on the food label because somehow the FDA thinks they’re okay. Also, processed meats like bacon and hot dogs are so bad for you that the World Health Organization puts them in the same category for cancer risk as asbestos and cigarettes! Have you ever noticed you can never find "packaged on" dates on meats? That's because chemicals allow meat to be stored so long, the dates would scare you.

Something needs to be done about how animals are treated in factories. Be part of the change. Whether you decide to go vegan or vegetarian or attend an anti-animal cruelty protest, you are making a difference. You are showing that cruel treatment of animals is not okay. You are also spreading awareness. Most people don’t know half of the horrific things that happen in these factories. Here’s an interview I did to see how much my one of my friends really knew about what happens behind the scenes. Spoiler alert, she knew practically nothing. While asking other people, they all had similar responses. So...next time you’re about to buy a hamburger or some bacon, think, “Is it worth it?”