Unless you follow a strictly vegan diet, you likely consume animal products every day in forms you are both aware and unaware of. Just because you don't like red meat, or maybe you don't like meat at all, does not mean you are the exception to this. Animal products go into many foods that are not meats, such as ice cream, Jell-O and even canned vegetable soups. All of these foods and many others contain products derived from a once living creature. Just because you aren't eating something that is as directly obvious as a steak on the grill does not mean you are not consuming materials that came from animals.
At the slaughterhouses where America's meat, poultry and dairy come from, mass production is the main objective. Because of this, sanitation and health are two important aspects constantly overlooked, and many corners are cut in order to meet the minimal requirements necessary to stay in business. The animals at these farms live in deplorable conditions their entire lives, and are overbred with the same principle of mass production in mind.
Although they are meant to eat grass, cows are instead fed corn, because it is cheaper and makes them fatter. This means humans are expecting to get their nutrition from the meat of animals who never even received proper nutrition during their own lives. The cows shown in the documentary Food Inc. also live in such intolerable conditions that they spend their lives literally covered in feces. When they arrive to the slaughterhouse, their manure covered bodies are not cleaned before they are cut into for the meat. To eliminate E. Coli outbreaks and other illnesses caused by this lack of sanitation, meats are often treated with chemicals such as ammonia, which is also found in many household cleaning products.
One of the biggest animal based food groups aside from animal meat itself is dairy. All dairy products contain milk from cows. This includes yogurt, cheese, ice cream, coffee creamers, and more. Unfortunately, the happy and healthy cows we see in commercials are usually not an accurate depiction of a typical farm raised cow's life. Most of the cows who's milk we consume are bred solely for the purpose of mass milk production, and do not live in humane conditions that allow them the nutrition and care necessary to keep them healthy. This means that a large number of the cows will often develop serious illnesses and infections, which will need to be treated with strong antibiotics in order to keep them alive to continue in their role as milk producers. Because these same cows will continue to be milked despite their infections, this means both pus and antibiotics are in the dairy that's in our foods. In order to pass through tests done by the Food and Drug Administration, farmers use illegal antibiotics that cannot be traced using routine tests.
Most mass producing farms house chickens in completely dark storage houses where they will never see the light of day. Because Americans mostly buy white meat, the chickens we eat have been genetically modified so that their breasts are much larger than usual. These unnatural proportions are so extreme that most chickens struggle to even walk upright. The chickens develop illnesses and infections similar to the way cows do, and are also treated with antibiotics. This means we are consuming chicken stalk, poultry and eggs laid by diseased chickens.
Other foods that contain animal products are often less obvious than meat, poultry, and dairy. Gelatin, which is not only in Jell-O but also in most candies, cereals and wines, is made from the collagen of animals. According to PETA, this collagen is retrieved from the boiling of tendons, ligaments and bones of animals. It is one thing to have protein in your diet from the meat of animals, but it would take some convincing to tell me that humans are meant to eat other animals' actual bones.
Few people will read this article and decide to avoid animal products altogether, and that is understandable. Becoming vegan is a huge lifestyle change, and it takes way more time and research than reading one article. Instead, people who do choose to continue consuming animal products should make it a priority to be conscious of where their foods are coming from. Choosing to buy cage free, organic and locally grown products, and looking for foods labeled as non-GMO are some ways to make a difference as an individual. Many documentaries on the food industry are shocking, but also highly informative. Some interesting films available on Netflix include “Food Inc.,” “Cowspiracy” and “Forks Over Knives,” and PETA's website includes lists of surprising foods that contain animal products. Education is our most powerful tool in making healthy food choices as individuals, and in striving towards greater changes in the food industry as a whole.
