What lies ahead in this article may make you want to exit out this window, or it may offend you, but I am hoping it changes your life. In this article, I will be talking about mass murder, rape, torture and how inhumane human beings can be. This article is lengthy, and may have a second part to it.
I will be talking about the truths of our animal farming industry, heavily focused on cows.
First, let's talk numbers. Today, over 56 billion farmed animals are killed each year for food (this number does not include fish and other sea creatures that are killed for food, animals that are hunted in the wild, etc.). As of 2013, there are only 7.125 billion people in the world. There are significantly less people in this world than there are farmed animals. Yet, more animals lose their lives at the expense of human beings than they would living their natural lives without any human contact.
I know you're probably thinking, how is this important? Well, farmed animals are animals that are produced for human consumption. In other words, these animals are kept in facilities, farms, whatever you'd like to call it and they are raised to be our products. Stay with me, I know it's getting a little hard. Let's talk about cows for a moment, then we'll get back to numbers and rape.
Many of us think that a dairy cow produces milk every day, no matter what. But, what if I were to tell you that is a lie?
The truth is, dairy cows need to be pregnant to produce milk. And unfortunately, in order to get pregnant, the cow must be inseminated. In other words, cow's milk is a baby cow's food.
Now, you may think that it seems reasonable to do this. You, like most people in America, understand that in order to get the nutrients you need (that calcium, though!), the cow must sacrifice itself. You may also think that this cow is alive to give you and other humans resources. Well, what if I told you that is a lie as well? What if I told you this is rape?
Cows, like every other sexual animal in the world, have sex. They have sex to reproduce! So, when "Joe" from the farming factory comes along with a baster full of semen from a bull and basically shoves it up the cow, without her wanting to mate, it is considered rape. To make matters worse, these cows are constantly being impregnated. A cow's pregnancy lasts about nine months. And three months later, that cow is impregnated again. That means that a dairy cow is pregnant every year of its adulthood to produce milk for a human to consume.
The saddest part of this? The calf that the cow gave birth to does not even drink that milk. The milk that was produced to grow that 80-pound calf into over 1000 pounds That calf is taken away from its mother and normally put in a pen for a few months, being fed grains. Grains instead of the nutritional milk that its mother has naturally provided.
Now, let's get into the inhumane aspect of this discussion (as if all of this information wasn't bad enough).
Calves are taken away from their mothers, kept in a small pen, usually and given a horrible diet, full of GMOs, steroids and things that it does not need to eat. Then, the calves are separated by their sex.
The males are shipped to slaughterhouses to become that delicious veal you ordered at your favorite Italian restaurant. The females are kept to live the same lives their mothers live. The females are fed the same diet, forced to have calves, typically die around 3 or 4 years of age and when they are no longer of use to the dairy farm, they are packed into a small truck with other "useless" cows and sent to be slaughtered.
This is a never ending cycle of abuse, torture and rape, and I have only touched the surface. I assure you, reader, that I will be making more articles about the horrors of our farming industry. I will be making more specific articles as well. But, until then, please leave with this thought:
Every day, cows, pigs, goats, chickens, ducks, etc. are being slaughtered. You may think that it's "just an animal" or that this is just the way humans have lived for centuries, or maybe you think this is natural.. But, please, leave this article with the understanding that animals were given to the Earth to help the earth grow and to ensure our environment is healthy. They were not given to humans to be eaten or abused. Take a close look at yourself. You do not have claws, sharp teeth or a taste for raw flesh. Your eye is attracted to bright colors, you more than likely have a "sweet tooth" and you probably feel better on the days you eat more plant based food than you do on the days you eat rotting flesh.
You, my dear reader, have the ability to live compassionately. You have the ability to stop associating an animal's life with food. Five months ago, I lived on a meat heavy diet. I ate meat on a daily basis, but when I realized that animals have feelings and can feel pain, I changed my diet, and ultimately changed my lifestyle. I hope that you have read this full article and have begun your own research of animal agriculture, veganism and love.
Here are some amazing resources!
https://www.mspca.org/animal_protection/farm-anima...
http://www.animalequality.net/food
