Update & Photos

Hi, everyone! I'm sorry it has been so long since I blogged. I've been really busy and the internet hasn't been working. 

I cannot believe that it is already May 20! Since I'm off today and tomorrow, two days next week, and have one travel day, I really only have seven work days left which is just insane!

Today I am going to the Watkins Glen State Park to hike and see some of the beautiful gorges with one of the other interns who is also off. I'm also going to shop in Ithaca, take lots of great pictures of the animals with my camera since I've just been using my phone, and check out the gift shop today and tomorrow.

There isn't much to report since I've just been on Projects, mostly. Yesterday I was on Hospital Extra with two other interns on Projects, so we got everything done really fast and had lots of time to spend with the animals which was great. The other day I also hiked a trail with my roommate and we climbed the fire tower which was nice.

There is an optional stockyard trip next Thursday...I really don't think I will be able to get myself to go. I guess Thursdays are calf auction days. I know I would be completely devastated, angry, disgusted, and want to rescue all of the animals there. Some interns I've spoken to who have gone in the past said it was really difficult but it is helpful to have that reminder of why we work so hard doing what we do and why we are vegan. I don't need that reminder, though. I have reminders every day. The only reason I'm considering going is because they also said there are so many animals in tiny little stalls and you can stick your hand in and let them suckle your fingers...and the reason I would go and do that is to make sure that all of the animals there get a sense of love and compassion for at least one brief moment in their lives. 

Anyway, I thought I would share some photos just from my phone with you. 

This is Ormsby, who is probably the oldest sheep on the farm. He is also almost fully blind, I believe. He feels like a teddy bear, is so sweet, and I love him SO much:

Marley, one of the cats at Melrose helping with laundry:

 Some chicken and sheep friends:

 Two of the baby goats, Maxie and Ingrid, playing, jumping, and eating my hair!:

 Some scenery and cows grazing in the background:

Bunny friends:

I love the big heart on Michael's head!:

What can YOU do?

The other day I was talking to my mom on the phone and she had a great idea for me to post various ways that you can all help animals without it seeming like I'm pushing you all to drop everything and go vegan this second! She definitely shed some light on the fact that while I am personally very passionate about animal advocacy, I need to realize that such a big change in diet/lifestyle can be a bit trickier for some people.

Even I used to eat meat! It disgusts me now to think back on it...but it didn't take me long to say "Hey, this just isn't right" (for me, at least) and go vegetarian. And I have not been vegan for very long at all. I only started the transition a few months ago, actually. But now I will NEVER go back. I know that for a fact.

I think there are a lot of misconceptions about veganism. Vegetarianism, too. That all we eat is kale and salad. That we only care about animals, not people. That we hate anyone and everyone who isn't a veghead. That we don't get any protein. That we're all weird hippies. That we're scrawny and weak. That we don't eat any delicious food. The list goes on! But trust me, these are all ridiculous stereotypes and none of them are true.

In fact, I eat more yummy things than I EVER did before I became vegan. I am discovering so many delicious foods and recipes. It's wonderful! Also, I care a great deal about animals AND people. If you read one of my previous posts with 20 Reasons To Go Veg, you'll see that you help the environment and human beings in addition to animals when you go veg. I don't hate people who aren't vegans/vegetarians. In fact, some of my closest family members and friends eat meat. While I'm not crazy about their choice, I still love them. I'm certainly not scrawny or weak. Especially after this internship! And dancing. Haha! Did you know there are quite a few vegan bodybuilders? Look it up! Also, there are SO many ways to get enough protein and other nutrients and vitamins as a vegan or vegetarian. It's funny that no one ever cares about other peoples' protein intake, health, or nutrition until they hear that they're vegan or vegetarian...Then suddenly everyone is a doctor.

So once you get over the "vegheads are weirdos" mindset, maybe you'll be interested in giving it a shot! If not, I have come up with a list of tons of ways you can do little things to help! Trust me, every little bit helps.

-MEATLESS MONDAYS: Encourage your family to participate in meat-free meals every Monday! Eliminating meat even just one day per week can make a big difference.

-ONE STEP AT A TIME: Try cutting just one animal product out of your diet. Just chicken, just beef, just pork, whatever you think will be easiest for you to let go of. If that works, try eliminating another! Already vegetarian but interested in veganism? Go about it the same way; Start out by just cutting out milk, or just cheese, or just eggs.

-DONATE: There are tons of animal rights/rescue organizations that can ALWAYS use your help! Can't donate money? Donate your time! Don't have the time? Most groups are always appreciative of donations such as old blankets, towels, etc. for the animals. Check out their websites/send an email/make a phone call. Often times they have a Wish List and many of the items on it are things you might find lying around your house!

-RESEARCH: Do your research. Educate yourself and your family. Find out exactly what you are supporting. Not sure about a product or company? Make a phone call! It's really important to know where our food comes from. I have a previous post about the truth behind "humane" meat, milk, and eggs basically explaining that the labels about products being certified humane, cage-free, free range, etc. often don't mean anything. But many small, local farms treat their animals much better than large factory farms, and while I think that "humane slaughter" is the biggest oxymoron out there, at least some places have animals that are not constantly tortured and abused prior to their slaughters. Make a phone call. Make a visit. Find out where your food comes from and how the animals are treated. Avoid purchasing products from companies that use gestation crates and other horrors.

-THOUGHTFUL SHOPPING: If your big problem is giving up the taste of meat, there are other ways you can help! Did you know many shampoos, conditioners, makeups, and other toiletries/accessories/beauty products are tested on animals and also contain animal products? It is SO easy to find cruelty-free and vegan products. There are thousands, and you can find them at almost any drug store or grocery store. You don't even have to make a trip to a speciality store! I have found a lot of mine at places as simple as Hannaford. Check the backs of bottles to see if products say they were not tested on animals and/or don't contain animal products/are vegan. Also know that many brands have certain products that were not directly tested on animals, but they are owned by larger companies that DO test their products on animals, or that there are certain ingredients they test on animals. Once again, just doing a little research can help you find the answers to these questions.

-SKIP THE FAST FOOD: Avoiding places like McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy's, KFC, and all of those other fast food places is a great step towards benefiting animals, your health, and the environment. If you boycott fast food, you will be helping SO much!

-TRY ALTERNATIVES: It's truly amazing how many wonderful substitutes there are out there! It's really easy to replace dairy with something else tasty since there are so many options including almond milk (my personal favorite), soy milk, rice milk, hazelnut milk (which I need to try!), coconut milk, hemp milk, and oat milk in all different flavors! Do be careful when purchasing these products, as well. For example, I almost purchased Silk almond milk before discovering that Silk is owned by Dean Foods, one of the largest dairy manufacturers//distributors in the U.S. So now I get Almond Breeze, Trader Joe's, etc. Likewise, you can easily replace butter with Earth Balance (which I honestly think is tastier than butter, and it's way better for you, too!) Cream cheese can be swapped for Tofutti or Follow Your Heart. Other cheese alternatives include daiya (which I can't believe I have yet to try, since everyone I know loves it!), other types of tofutti, nutritional yeast, and various other products, some soy-based, some not. The amount of alternatives for eggs is endless! For baking and cooking: ground flaxseed mixed with water, mashed banana, applesauce, silkened tofu, soy yogurt, and EnerG Egg Replacer, to name a few. Another tasty dish is tofu scramble, which you can make like scrambled eggs minus the cholesterol and cruelty!

-PLANT-BASED PROTEINS: If you are concerned about getting enough protein as a vegetarian or vegan, fear not! Beans, nuts, quiona, seitan, tofu, and tempeh are all simple and affordable (especially beans and nuts!) options. There are tons of great brands like Gardein, Tofurky, Morning Star, Boca, Amy's, Garden Burger, and many more that offer a variety of frozen products, deli substitutions, and more.

-PICK A PARTNER: It can be tough to make big changes alone! Grab a friend, family member, spouse, or significant other and see if they will take the journey with you in trying new things!

-PINPOINT YOUR PURPOSE: If you are interested in making the veg transition, figure out why! Is it ethical reasons? Health? Environmental? All of the above? Listen to your heart and figure that out, and then you will be able to remind yourself why you have made this choice even when it seems tricky!

-MIND THE MEDIA: There are so many great resources out there; books, documentaries, cook books, websites, etc. about vegetarianism, veganism, animal rights/advocacy/liberation, cooking/recipes, health, environment, factory farms, etc. I would be happy to provide anyone interested with a great list depending on your interests!

-VOLUNTEER: Even if only for a day, volunteering for animal organizations makes a world of difference! If you can do it for even longer, great!

-PATIENCE: Be patient with yourself. It can be a tricky transition. When I first went vegan I would "cheat" and have cheese sometimes. I would get really mad at myself. Don't do that! It takes time. Every little bit helps! Don't be too hard on yourself. Just give it a try. :)

Quote of the day:
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
-Margaret Mead

"So...what do you do?"

^ This is a question I've been getting a lot lately from family and friends who are interested in what exactly it is that I've been doing during my internship! My typical response is "A lot!" partially because I'm too exhausted to go into detail and also because it's true!

As a Shelter Projects intern at Farm Sanctuary, every day you are either assigned to Projects, Hospital Extra, Cleaning, or Checks. Some nights you are also on Sheds and/or Security.

The majority of our days are Projects. So let me break it down for you!

Projects starts at 7 AM, and there are typically two of us on. I would freak out and never get everything done if I was by myself which has happened to people before!

From 7 AM to 12 PM we check our voicemail at the hospital, start laundry, cook beans, defrost vegetables, feed the hospital cats, feed the birds in the hospital kitchen area and exam room, feed the animals in the hospital pens (which right now consist of turkeys, chickens, goats, and ducks), feed the Vegan House cellar cats, make up feed for the sheep and cattle, clean out the cages for the birds in the hospital and replace with fresh towels and kennel pads, sweep floors, switch out blankets for the goats, clean various surfaces and bowls, pick up food or continue feeding for free fed animals, put peanut butter on a lot of bread for all the pigs who get their medicine in it, go through medical kits and organize them, and clean syringes. Also, throughout the whole day we check/change feed and water bowls in the hospital area.

In that same time frame, we have a lot of outdoor tasks as well: collecting eggs on the main farm (I explained our use for the eggs in a previous post), sunscreening the pigs’ ears and bellies, checking the pigs’ mud puddles and refiling if needed, feeding the squirrels, giving treats to 4 groups of bunnies, and cleaning bowls in the sheep, goat, and cattle barns.

Then, back at the hospital, we continue laundry (this is really an all-day thing!), clean, dry, and put away dishes, clean sinks, dust the exam room, scoop litter boxes, straighten up for general upkeep, check dog and cat beds for cleaning, and (if there’s time) start tasks on the Projects Board and/or Daily Cleaning Project.

Right before lunch we clean more, check food/water for the animals and change where needed, and turn off/put away hoses for mud puddles.

Then lunch time! (Which is sometimes actually quick snack/nap time.)

Projects continue from 2 PM to 5 PM. We move feed from different barns/tack areas/silos to new locations, collect garbage and bring it to the dumpster, bring recycling to the Admin building, have another bird feeding, continue laundry/cleaning, boil and mash eggs, sweep, mop, and dust upstairs in the hospital including offices, break room, bathroom, and main area, pick up/compost food in the kitchen, take out dirty kennel pads, give new/top off water, clean final dishes and syringes and put away, wipe down counters and stove, sweep, mop, and dust the entire downstairs area and stairs, check the sheep barn for straggling bowls/buckets needing cleaning, and feed the VH cellar cats again.

To say it is a long and tiring day would be an extreme understatement. The day is even longer and more exhausting when you’re also on Sheds and Security.

I recently said that closing sheds is like tucking the animals in at night and the other interns laughed at me...because that makes it seem a lot more cute and peaceful than it is!!! If you’re on Sheds Closing duty, you start at about 7:40 PM. You have to get all the different birds inside, count them to make sure everyone is accounted for, close and secure doors, change fans/windows depending on the weather, turn off lights, hook latches, etc. You have to do this at Vegan House, Healthcare Hospital, Grey Shed, Red Roo Shed, Jersey Shed, R&R Barn, and R&R Kitchen. This can take anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour depending on how cooperative the animals are, if you can convince another intern to go with you and help, the weather, etc. 

When you’re on Sheds, you’re typically also on Security, which means you keep your radio on you until 9:30 PM and if anyone needs any help they call you to come down. 

Sometimes I end up laughing so hard I cry from how ridiculous Sheds can go...For example, the other night I went with Stephanie to close sheds and we literally spent 20 minutes just trying to get one group of chickens inside. It's this moment of "It's a Friday night and I'm spending it chasing chickens. What is my life?" And there is always that one little stinker that you can just NOT herd or catch. We're so exhausted by 7:40 that it just becomes hysterical. 

There are also a couple groups of geese and ducks that are just plain crazy. I have a theory that before we come in, they start planning what they are going to do to us. They literally work as a team to gang up on you...For example, one with chase you into a corner and the other will grab your boot, pants, shirt, skin, whatever he can and flap and bite and hold on as tight as possible and it's another moment of "It's a Friday night and I'm dragging a duck around a barn who won't let go of my boot and I have another duck attached to my butt." As scary as it can be, I still love them all. Any bumps, bruises, and cuts I've gotten from animals, gates, doors, etc. while I've been here have been well worth it. 

Checks I talked about earlier. You go around with Susie (awesome!) and whoever is on as a caregiver for the day and do health checks for certain animals. I've only been on it once and we did sheep and cows and I really hope to be on again! Checks is 8 to 5 or sometimes to 4:30.

Hospital Extra is different every day, depending on what needs to get done. There is a binder that says what you should be doing depending on the day of the week, but I was on Hosp. Extra on Thursday and there is no Thursday in the book...so I pretty much just helped with Projects and cleaned. 7 to 5 like Projects.

It's funny that there's a duty called "Cleaning" when really all of the tasks involve some sort of cleaning...I haven't been on Cleaning yet (even saying that sounds silly!) but I guess you just help out the paid cleaners with mucking, raking, putting new hay down, etc. in all of the different barns and pens. Cleaning is 7-3 but with a shorter lunch.

So there you have it! Of course, there are always different and new things that happen every day that change the schedule a bit, but those are the things that have to get done every day no matter what. :) 

Thoughts...

I just got back from my first Ed. Lunch. Becky, our absolutely fabulous Intern Coordinator made a delicious vegan mac & cheese, scrumptious salad with homemade ranch dressing, and delectable cookies. I'm sad she'll be leaving for California tomorrow to work at one of the sanctuaries out there, but I'm so glad I got to know her for a brief time. We also watched the documentary "Vegucated," which I had seen clips of years ago but never watched straight through. 

Since today was my third day off in a row since I simply wasn't on the schedule, Ed. Lunch was really all I did today. I was going to go out and explore, cuddle with the animals, and take pictures, but it's pretty cold and rainy out and those of you who know me know I easily feel frozen--ha! So I'll do that on my next days off, because I definitely want to spend as much time with all of the animals as I can.

Right now I'm just going to curl up and reflect, read, and write. I am in a very pensive mood right now...

There is something that is so very inspiring, amazing, and practically magical about living at a sanctuary in the middle of nowhere surrounded by beautiful animals, gorgeous scenery, and extremely compassionate people with the biggest hearts I've ever known. 

Yes, it's incredibly hard work. Yes, I've cried almost every day because of something extremely sad that has happened on the farm, documentaries viewed, or information received. But this is by far one of the most unbelievable experiences I have ever had.

I have no idea what I'm going to do when I go back to the Albany area where I'll be surrounded by all of the crap I've had the luxury of escaping while here. I've been working directly with the victims (some being "the lucky ones") of the beef, poultry, pork, veal, egg, dairy, and foie gras industries. So while I haven't been able to escape knowing all of the horror that occurs day in and day out, I have had the privilege of escaping the people who just don't care, and instead be in the company of likeminded individuals. 

If you thought I was a crazy animal rights activist before...just you wait. I honestly don't think I'll even be able to sit at a table with other people eating meat...eating my friends, eating the animals that I am currently working my ass off to protect, nurse back to health, and rescue. There is no possible way I could ever crave cheese or any of the "tough to give up" products again. If you give it a chance, you'll find that our bodies and taste buds are extremely adaptable. Same with our minds and hearts. Choose compassion. Better the lives of animals and people all over the world, the environment, and your health. Go veg.

The Truth Behind "HUMANE" MEAT, MILK, AND EGGS

The Truth Behind "HUMANE" MEAT, MILK, AND EGGS:

With growing concerns about the cruel treatment of animals exploited for meat, milk, and eggs, some food sellers are now labeling products to suggest that farm animals are being treated humanely. But while some animals may suffer less than others, they still suffer, and the claims made on these labels can mislead consumers about how well the animals are actually treated. The way animals are raised for the "humane" market vary widely, and they may not be consistent with what consumers envision.

"FREE-RANGE" AND "CAGE-FREE" EGGS

Labels such as "free range," "free roaming," and "cage free" provide no assurance that animals are treated humanely, and animal suffering is common despite labels suggesting otherwise:

-Overcrowding: Egg laying hens in cage free operations are typically crowded by the thousands in large barns, with approximately one square foot of space allotted each bird. "Cage free" laying hens are not required to have access to the outdoors, and for "free range" and "free roaming" hens, access to the outdoors can be severely restricted and poorly designed. Under these labels, there are no limits on flock size and their outdoor area may be little more than a barren dirt lot that is difficult for them to access.

 -Debeaking: Virtually all hens slated for egg production have the ends of their beaks removed without anesthesia, causing both acute and chronic pain.

-Inhumane culling: Commercial hatcheries supply hens to both factory farms and smaller egg farms, and the male chicks are unwanted and treated as a waste product. Common methods of killing and disposal include suffocation and being ground up alive. When egg laying hens' productivity declines and they are no longer profitable to the egg industry, they are sent to slaughter or otherwise killed.

"FREE RANGE" POULTRY

"Free range" birds raised for meat may lead lives very similar to their factory farmed counterparts. To sell their meat as "free range," producers need only apply for a US Department of Agriculture (USDA) "free range" label with a description of the birds' housing stating that they are able to have continuous free access to the outdoors for more than 51% of their lives. There is neither a definition of "access" nor independent verification of the statements producers make, and the USDA relies solely on producer testimony:

--Birds are often packed together by the thousands, and like the egg industry, poultry producers are not held to any requirements on flock size or the amount of outdoor space given to birds. 

--Chickens and turkeys have been genetically altered through selective breeding to grow twice as fast and twice as large as their ancestors and suffer various physical maladies as a result. There is no prohibition on the use of these breeds in "free range" operations.

--Even if birds are raised under conditions that consumers associate with the term "free-range," they can still end up at the same slaughterhouses that kill factory raised birds and experience cruel handling, ineffective stunning and botched kills that prolong suffering before death. 

HAPPY COWS? HUMANE MILK? GUESS AGAIN.

Regardless of the size or type of the operation, there are inherent problems with commercial dairy production.

--Just like humans and other mammals, cows must give birth to produce milk. Their calves are taken away after birth, usually immediately. This is known to cause psychological trauma for both cow and calf.

--About two months into their lactation cycle, dairy cows are typically re-impregnated to ensure ongoing production. Carrying a baby and producing milk at the same time is physically taxing. 

--Pushed to their biological limits, dairy cows' bodies commonly wear out after just a few years in production, and they are sent to slaughter. Most become ground beef.

--Male calves born on dairies are of little value to the industry. Some are slaughtered for cheap (bob) veal shortly after birth, while others may be kept alive for four to five months and chained inside dark crates, before they are slaughtered for "white" veal. Others are raised and slaughtered for beef.

HUMANE SLAUGHTER?

Finally, all animals raised for meat, dairy, or egg production - whether factory farmed or otherwise - meet the same cruel end at the slaughterhouse, where their throats are cut and they bleed to death. Poultry, who comprise more than 90% of animals slaughtered, are excluded from the federal Humane Slaughter Act.

Regardless of the welfare standards followed at any farm, all animals raised for food are slaughtered at young ages - broiler chickens at around 42 days when they could live four years or more, pigs at 6 months when they could live 9 years or more, beef cattle at less than two years when they could live 20 years or more, dairy cows at 4 to 6 years when they could live 25 years, and veal calves at only five months. No matter how well they are treated, these animals' lives are cut drastically short.

When animals are seen primarily as production units or commodities for sale (whether on factory farms or on so-called "humane" operations), the animals' welfare tends to be secondary to economic concerns.  According to Webster's Dictionary, "humane" means "characterized by kindness, mercy or compassion." Commodifying and slaughtering sentient animals is incompatible with this definition. 

The Truth Behind DAIRY

The Truth Behind DAIRY:

To meet consumer demand for milk, most dairy cows in the US are continually impregnated, fed unnatural diets and intensively confined - their short lives plagued by painful infections, calcium-depletion and lameness. Far from being the “happy cows” the dairy industry markets them to be, these animals endure immense suffering on factory farms. 

A VICIOUS CYCLE

Like all mammals, dairy cows must become pregnant or give birth in order to produce milk. Most cows are artificially inseminated once a year and, following physically demanding nine-month-long pregnancies, are almost immediately separated from their calves. The cows’ milk - meant for their babies - goes to the dairy industry. Milking begins as soon as the cows’ calves are born and continues for about 10 months. During their second month of milking, the cows are usually re-impregnated. The impregnation-lactation cycle normally continues for three to five years. When the cows’ overall milk production declines, they are typically slaughtered.

RAMPANT ILLNESS AND DISEASE

Today’s cows have been bred to produce unnatural quantities of milk - the amount per cow more than quadrupling since 1925. The enormous strain of commercial milk production quickly makes healthy cows sick. When these animals become so ill or injured that they are no longer profitable to the dairy industry, they are pulled from the herd, and sent to slaughter. The top three reasons why cows are slaughtered include: mastitis (an extremely painful udder infection), lameness and reproductive problems.

--Many dairies inject cows with recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBST), a genetically-engineered hormone used to boost milk production. This hormone contributes to the suffering of millions of animals, and even the FDA admits that it increases cows’ risk for mastitis, severe reproductive problems, digestive disorders, food and leg ailments, and persistent sores.

--Production requires maximum energy from cows. Most producers compensate for energy loss by feeding the animals high-calorie, grain-based diets. Cows, however, have difficulty digesting grain, and these diets can lead to bloat, stomach ulcers, liver abscesses, metabolic disorders, and deadly bacteria growth.

--Milk fever, another common and potentially fatal illness that afflicts dairy cows, is caused by calcium deficiency - a result of their having to produce an excessive amount of milk while pregnant.

HOW NOW, DOWNED COW?

Due to the grueling conditions in which they are raised, dairy cows become “downed” more than any other kind of livestock. Weak, calcium-depleted dairy cows often slip and fall en route to slaughter, or are so badly injured or sick that they are unable to walk or even stand on their own. Many of these “downer” cows languish without food, water or veterinary care for hours, sometimes days, as they await slaughter.

Finally after years of investigations detailing the improper handling, neglect, and abuse of downed animals - especially instances in which animals were dragged with chains and pushed with tractors or forklifts - the USDA announced a new rule prohibiting the slaughter of all disabled non-ambulatory cattle, and mandating that those animals be humanely euthanized.

BIGGER FARMS, BIGGER PROBLEMS

Most small dairy farms have been replaced by factory dairies that operate on dry lots, huge enclosed areas that confine hundreds or thousands of cows. The animals raised on these lots live on dirt instead of pasture and have little shelter from the elements. Dry lot dairies in western states now produce more than half of the US milk supply.

--Between 2000 and 2006, the number of farms with less than 200 cows decreased by more than 40%, while the number of farms with at least 1,000 cows more than doubled.

--In 1925, there were 21.5 million dairy cows in the US, each of whom produced an average of 4,200 pounds of milk a year. By 2007, the number of dairy cows dropped to around nine million, while milk production per cow quadrupled to an average of 20,260 pounds of milk annually.

--These large facilities give rise to big problems for the environment. Waste from dairy farms is funneled into massive lagoons or cesspools. These pits, some the size of football fields, emit huge amounts of greenhouse gases and can leach into the soil, contaminating groundwater and damaging local ecosystems. Worldwide, dairy cattle generate more than 20 million tons of methane gas through normal digestion and manure production alone. 

VEAL DEPENDS ON DAIRY

Nearly every dairy cow produces three to six calves during her lifetime. The cows’ female calves may grow up to join the milking herd. Males are commonly slaughtered for veal - some at just a day old. Other veal calves are isolated from other animals and chained by their necks inside small crates for about 20 weeks. Here, the calves cannot turn around, stretch their legs or even lie down comfortably. Veal producers feed the calves a liquid milk substitute, purposefully deficient in iron and fiber. The calves’ complete lack of exercise, combined with an inadequate diet, results in the pale-colored, anemic flesh sold as “white,” “milk-fed,” “special-fed,” or “fancy” veal.

RETIREMENT = SLAUGHTER

Contrary to public perception, there are no green pastures where dairy cows go to retire. When they are no longer profitable to the industry, they are typically crowded onto trucks and sent to slaughter - their overtaxed, diseased and injured bodies made into hamburger and other low-quality beef products. While cows can live to be 20 years or older, these sensitive, intelligent creatures are normally killed at just four to six years of age.

The Truth Behind EGGS

The Truth Behind EGGS:

To meet consumer demand for eggs, every year approximately 325 million laying hens are raised in the US inside battery cages - small wire enclosures stacked in tiers and lined up in rows within massive warehouses. Each warehouse typically holds anywhere from 80,000 to 100,000 birds. The United Egg Producers - a group representing more than 80% of US egg producers - recommends a 67-to 87-square-inch living space per hen, an area smaller than an 8 1/2-by-11-inch sheet of paper, but this is merely a voluntary guideline, and there are no federal laws pertaining to how chickens are raised. 

CAGED FOR LIFE

Crammed into battery cages, hens cannot even stretch their wings or legs. Within these restrictive confines, the hens’ ability to engage in natural behaviors, like nesting, dust-bathing, and roosting is almost completely thwarted. From birth to death, the birds spend their entire lives being continually battered by a cruel system.

--Soon after chicks hatch, farmers sever substantial portions of the hens’ beaks to prevent them from excessively pecking one another inside the unnatural confinements of battery cages, where severe overcrowding, boredom, and frustration makes the hens uncharacteristically aggressive and territorial.

--This painful procedure, known as debeaking, is typically performed with hot blades or lasers that cut through the bone, cartilage, nerves, and soft tissue - destroying many chickens’ sensory receptors. It can also cause chronic pain that persists for months.

--Birds in battery cages constantly rub their bodies against the wire walls, causing bruises, abrasions and severe feather loss.

--Confined hens spend their lives standing on grated flooring, never touching the ground, so their toenails often grow to encircle the cage wires, making it difficult for them to even stand. Sometimes the wire actually grows into the flesh of the birds’ feet, which can cause limbs to  become infected, deformed and swelled to several times their normal size.

--Even so-called “cage free” and “free range” hens often have very little space, and experience some of the problems associated with caging because there are no limits on flock density.

DIRT AND DISEASE

Inside massive, filthy, and poorly-ventilated warehouses, where rows of cages are stacked tier upon tier and the manure of thousands of birds is collected in pits beneath the enclosures, the air is polluted with dust and ammonia, and disease runs rampant. Many of the health problems associated with these pollutants are widespread and remain untreated as individualized veterinary care is virtually unheard of on factory farms.

--Dust particles carrying airborne microorganisms - including bacteria, viruses, fungi, and molds - contribute significantly to respiratory disease.

--Ammonia from manure can cause sinus infections and impair the birds’ respiratory filtration systems, which would otherwise protect them from the viruses and bacteria that spread easily in crowded, filthy conditions. 

THE HEAVY TOLL OF HIGH PRODUCTION

Selectively bred by the industry to lay more than 260 eggs per year, modern hens are relentlessly overtaxed during their time in production.

--Many birds suffer from fatty liver syndrome, a condition in which the liver accumulates extra fat and becomes prone to hemorrhaging.

--Other hens develop what the industry calls “cage layer fatigue.” These hens often die after becoming “egg bound” - a condition that occurs when their bodies grow too weak to pass eggs.

--Roughly three million hens die every year as a result of prolapsed uteruses, a condition that arises when an egg sticks to the lining of a hen’s uterus and pulls the uterus out along with it as it passes. An untreated hen may languish for days before succumbing to blood loss or infection as other hens step on and peck at her exposed organ.

--Many hens also suffer from osteoporosis because forming eggshells requires more calcium than they could ever assimilate from their diets. Low calcium levels in hens can lead to broken bones, paralysis, and death.

RETIREMENT = SLAUGHTER

Approximately 16 million hens die inside their cages every year, and their bodies are often left to decompose alongside the living. After about one year in production, survivors are often classified as “spent” and sent to slaughter.

--By the time hens are “spent,” their bones are so brittle and calcium-depleted that they frequently shatter upon handling.

--The bodies of most spent hens are used for low-grade meat products, such as potpies and soups, where their bruised flesh will not be noticed. Some slaughterhouses no longer accept spent hens, and the birds are instead processed into feed for farm animals - including other layer hens.

--These hens, like all birds, are excluded from the federal Humane Slaughter Act, and they have their necks cut while conscious and are then dropped into scalding water - many of them while still conscious.

NO ROOM FOR ROOSTERS

For every suffering laying hen, there is also a male chick who was killed immediately after hatching. Because layers have been bred exclusively for egg production, they do not grow fast or large enough to be raised profitably for meat. Hatcheries have no use for male chicks, and like garbage, they are usually disposed of as inexpensively as possible. 

--Many offspring of layer hens are often thrown into trashcans, where they suffocate or are crushed under the weight of other birds.

--Other chicks are thrown into macerators - essentially high-powered meat grinders - while they are still alive. If the equipment is overloaded or not used properly, this method can horribly maim chicks and leave them to die slowly.

The Truth Behind PORK

The Truth Behind PORK:

Approximately 100 million pigs are raised and slaughtered in the US every year. The vast majority are crowded by the thousands on factory farms.

BREEDING MISERY

Several million breeding sows in US factory farms are subjected to some of the cruelest conditions in the industrialized agriculture industry, living most of their lives confined so tightly that they cannot walk or even turn around. 

--Breeding sows are typically first impregnated at seven months of age and then confined by 2-by-7-foot gestation crates barely larger than their bodies. They remain in these crates during their four months of pregnancy.

--At the end of their gestation periods, the sows are moved to similarly confining farrowing crates to give birth and nurse their newborns. After nursing for a period ranging from 10 days to three weeks, the piglets are taken away to be raised for pork. (In a more natural environment, sows will nurse their piglets for up to 17 weeks.) With their movement severely restricted, sows in farrowing crates cannot interact in any meaningful way with their piglets.

--Because the industry pushes sows to produce as many piglets as possible, (more than 20 piglets per sow each year), more than 10% of piglets die before weaning.

--Just four to eight days after weaning their piglets, the sows are typically returned to gestation crates and are re-impregnated (through artificial insemination) to maximize production.

CRUEL CONFINEMENT

Confining sows their whole lives in gestation crates and farrowing crates prevents them from engaging in basic natural behaviors and leads to physical and psychological maladies.

--With no straw or bedding, most sows are forced to stand and lie on uncomfortable concrete or metal floors for their entire lives. Paired with a lack of exercise, this unnatural environment leads to muscle atrophy, skin wounds, abscesses, and crippling leg disorders. 

--Their deprived environment causes chronic stress, anxiety, and boredom, and the sows often exhibit abnormal coping behaviors, such as repetitively chewing on the bars of their crates.

-Recognized as inherently cruel, gestation crates are being phased out in the European Union. Several US states have also recently enacted laws to phase out these cruel systems.

SPENT SOWS

While pigs in a more natural setting can live for about 10 to 12 years, the animals on factory farms live short, painful lives. After three to four years of breeding, the sows’ productivity drops off and they are sent to slaughter, sometimes barely able to walk due to their time in intensive confinement. 

NO GREEN ACRES

Like their mothers, the offspring of breeding sows will only know pain and misery for their entire lives. Piglets who survive weaning are confined inside pens with concrete floors and metal bars where they never have a chance to root in the soil or feel the sun. At six months of age, they are sent to slaughter.

--Painful mutilations performed on piglets without painkillers include cutting off piglets’ tails to minimize tail biting (an abnormal aggressive behavior that results from overcrowding), cutting notches into their ears for identification purposes, and castrating males. 

--Poor housing, unhealthy food, overcrowding stress, and noxious air inside these pig factories contribute to various maladies, including tumors, respiratory diseases, ulcers, and lameness, which can lead to death.

POLLUTION AND HUMAN HEALTH

The air inside hog factories is so polluted with dust, dander, and noxious gases from animals’ waste that workers who are exposed to just a few hours per day are at a high risk for bronchitis, asthma, sinusitis, organic dust toxic syndrome, and acute respiratory distress syndrome. Unlike these workers, the pigs have no escape from this toxic air, and roughly half of all pigs who die between weaning and slaughter succumb to respiratory disease.

ONE-WAY RIDE

After a life of confinement, most pigs will endure a long, overcrowded transport in a tractor trailer to the slaughterhouse. Stress and overcrowding in transport trucks, coupled with highway accidents involving these trucks, kill more than 200,000 pigs every year.

Producers attempt to maximize profits by packing as many animals as possible onto each truck, further contributing to the animals’ stress and often causing many of them to become “downers” - animals unstable to stand or walk when they arrive at the slaughterhouse. Nearly 400,000 pigs every year arrive at slaughter plants as downers who all too often become the victims of abuse as handlers try to unload them as quickly as possible. 

A BRUTAL END

The federal Humane Slaughter Act mandates that pigs are to be stunned or rendered unconscious prior to slaughter. Improper stunning, however, can leave conscious animals hanging upside down, kicking and struggling, while slaughterhouse workers try to stick them in their necks with knives. If the worker is unsuccessful, the pig will be carried to the next station on the slaughterhouse disassembly line: the scalding tank. Designed to prepare hair for removal and disinfect pigs’ skin, the scalding tank boils alive any pig unfortunate enough to survive botched stunning and sticking. 

The Truth Behind VEAL

The Truth Behind VEAL:

WHERE DOES VEAL COME FROM?

Veal is made from the flesh of male calves, and is essentially an economic by-product of the dairy industry. That is, cows, like other mammals, only produce milk when they give birth, so they are impregnated every year. While the resulting female calves are raised to replace older less “productive” cows who are “culled” from the milking herd, male calves are of no use to the dairy farmer. These unwanted male calves are therefore sold to be slaughtered for veal or beef.

A SHORT BUT TRAGIC LIFE

The abuse of male calves raised for veal typically begins when they are forcibly taken away from their mothers just hours after being born. Loaded onto trucks, the calves endure the stress of rough transportation and handling while being driven to livestock auctions, where workers may kick and shock them with electric cattle prods to make them move. Calves who are too weak or injured to walk on their own may be dragged through the stockyard by their legs or ears and thrown onto dead piles, where they are left to die slowly. 

Sold to the highest bidder, the young calves are subjected to even greater cruelties. Roughly two thirds of the approximately 698,000 calves slaughtered every year in the US are confined in veal crates for virtually their entire lives. These 2-foot-wide crates are deliberately designed to prevent any muscle development that would reduce the market "quality" of their soft flesh, and the intensive confinement results in both physical and emotional anguish. 

--Made to stand on wooden, slatted floors and denied bedding, the young animals are often chained by their necks - unable to turn around, stretch, or lie down comfortably.

--As time progresses, many calves suffer from painful leg and joint disorders that leave them barely able to walk. The chronic stress caused by intensive confinement often leads to abnormal coping behaviors, such as repetitive head tossing, shaking, kicking, scratching, and aberrant chewing behaviors.

--Published scientific research on crated calves also indicates that the calves have weakened immune systems and require approximately five times more medication than calves living in less constrictive environments.

While restricting movement keeps calves' muscles soft, an all-liquid diet gives it the color fancied by gourmands. 85% of veal calves are reared exclusively on an iron-and-fiber-deficient milk substitute that deliberately produces borderline anemia and pale pink flesh. The all-liquid diet also causes chronic gastrointestinal upset and diarrhea, frequently leaving calves covered in excrement, barely able to stand, and even more dependent on antibiotics.

NEVER TOO SMALL OR TWO YOUNG

Crated calves are usually slaughtered between 18 and 20 weeks of age - their flesh marketed as "white," "special-fed," "milk-fed," or "fancy" veal. Other calves are slaughtered when they are just hours, days or weeks old and weigh less than 150 pounds (about the size of a large dog). While these frail calves avoid the intensive confinement period endured by those raised in crates, they are still subjected to inhumane transport and handling practices on the way to the slaughterhouse. Those who do not die en route are normally butchered and sold as "bob veal," which is considered an inferior variety of this cruel product.

According to the Humane Slaughter Act, one of the only federal laws that addresses farm animal welfare, calves mut be rendered unconscious before slaughterhouse workers slit their throats. However, stunning procedures are often poorly executed by workers as they try to keep up with the rapid pace of the "disassembly" line. As a result, calves may regain consciousness while they are being killed. 

VEAL INDUSTRY PR VS. PUBLIC OPINION

Attempting to boost sales and reshape public opinion on veal, the industry now refers to the tiny enclosures used to confine calves as “stalls” or “individual care units.” The American Veal Association even deceptively boasted that “This type of housing and tethering allows animals to receive their own feed, individual care and attention,” implying that immobilizing animals in crates is actually for their own benefit. Fortunately, most consumers have seen through such deceptive disinformation, driving sales of veal to an all-time low in recent years.

In fact 71% of respondents to a 2000 Zogby International survey support legislation mandating more space for veal calves. Veal crates have already been banned in California, Arizona, Colorado, Maine, and several European countries, and efforts are also underway to prohibit their use throughout the US. This has prompted some producers to rethink their practices, including Randy Strauss (CEO of the largest US veal producer) who admitted in a written statement that crates are “inhumane and archaic” and “do nothing more than subject a calf to stress, fear, physical harm, and pain.” But even as the public scrutinizes such practices, the veal industry continues, inflicting unnecessary harm on countless innocent calves every day. 

The Truth Behind BEEF

The Truth Behind BEEF:

More than 30 million cattle are slaughtered for the beef industry annually in the US. Their lives are short and often marked by brutality, beginning with painful physical mutilations and ending when they reach the slaughterhouse kill floor, where many are disremembered while still fully conscious. 

LEFT TO FEND FOR THEMSELVES

Living on the range, millions of beef cattle forage and fend for themselves for months, without even minimal veterinary care or adequate shelter. Each year, close to 4 million cattle die as a result of weather extremes, respiratory problems and other diseases. Hundreds of thousands of cattle arrive at slaughterhouses suffering from untreated “cancer eye,” a painful condition that eats away at animals’ eyes and much of their heads. 

PAINFUL PROCEDURES

Animal “husbandry” on cattle ranches typically involves performing extremely painful mutilations on calves. These procedures, typically carried out by untrained workers without the use of anesthetics include:

--Burning or shearing off calves’ horn buds

--Castration - causes acute pain and distress and, when performed with a knife, emasculator (a device with similar properties as pliers) or elastrator (a tight rubber ring), can lead to infection, persistent pain and/or flystrike (a disease caused by fly larvae infestation.) 

--Branding - most ranchers burn brands into the animals’ skin with red-hot irons as a way of claiming ownership of them.

--Wattling - involves cutting chunks of flesh that hands beneath the animals’ necks as a means for ranchers to identify their animals. 

ON THE AUCTION BLOCK

Because they are usually unaccustomed to being around humans, and are often handled roughly when they are, cattle are terrified when loaded onto trucks bound for auctions and stockyards. At these facilities, cattle are shocked, prodded, and kicked as they are herded to holding pens or auction rings, enduring more extreme stress before finally being loaded back onto transport trailers. From the auction, older cattle are either taken directly to slaughter or to feedlots, while newly-weaned calves who are not yet strong enough to survive at a feedlot may first be sent to “stocker” operation sot gain more weight.

AT THE FEEDLOT

Cattle are sent to feedlots for “finishing” - that is, to gain as much weight as possible before slaughter. In these squalid environments, thousands of cattle are crowded together in dusty, manure-laden holding pens.

--Feedlot air is thick with harmful bacteria and particulate matter, putting the animals at constant risk for bovine respiratory disease, which kills four percent of feedlot cattle annually.

--Cattle evolved to eat a grass-based, high-fiber diet, so fattening them on a regimen of high-protein concentrated grain and implanting growth-promoting hormones under their skin to make them gain weight quickly contributes to metabolic disorders, liver abscesses and other ailments.

--Consuming about 18 pounds of feed daily, cattle gain an average of three pounds a day, until they are slaughtered at around 1,200 pounds.

THE LONG JOURNEY

Beef cattle may be transported several times during their lives, sometimes traveling thousands of miles per trip.

--Federal law stipulates that cattle aboard transport trucks be provided with food, water, and rest at least every 28 hours; however, this law has never been vigilantly enforced, and countless animals still endure immense suffering while en route to their destinations. Furthermore, regulations impose no limits on the number of animals crammed into each trailer, resulting in overcrowded conditions that are very stressful for the cattle and can result in injury, illness, and even death.

--The extreme stress of long journeys, which often last days, weakens animals’ immune systems, leading to bovine respiratory disease, which is often called “shipping fever.” While more than one million cattle die annually as a result of respiratory problems, producers simply factor these losses into the cost of doing business.

FROM TRUCK TO KILL FLOOR

After hours or days spent traveling aboard packed semi-trucks, cattle are hastily forced into waiting pens or slaughter chutes by workers using electronic prods, sticks, or paddles. A standard slaughterhouse processes approximately 400 animals every hour, a kill rate that has increased eightfold since the early 1900s. Consequently, while the federal Humane Slaughter Act requires that cattle be stunned or rendered unconscious prior to slaughter, many cattle and calves are still fully conscious when they are sent down the processing line and dismembered.

American Meat Institute guidelines recommend that slaughter plants strive to stun animals on the first attempt (as required by federal law) at least 99% of the time. However, industry audits show that up to one-third of plants surveyed in recent years fail to even meet that goal, meaning that of the 30 million cattle slaughtered every eyar, hundreds of thousands of these animals are improperly stunned and suffer horribly prior to their deaths.