They Eat *WHAT*? What Are They Feeding Animals on Factory Farms?

[nosmokes]

and now those of us fighting these factory farms are being called eco-terrorists by the governor of indianna. nofoolin. beause we oppose giant shii ponds and conditions that no living being should be forced to endure we're branded terrorists. go fuck yourself fovernor.
--###--


original

They Eat What? What Are They Feeding Animals on Factory Farms?

* Industrial Agriculture
The Reality of Feed at Animal Factories
Union of Concerned Scientists, Posted 9/11/06

Web Note: Organic Agriculture prohibits the type of industrial agriculture feeding practices described below--one reason why millions of health and humane-minded consumers are switching to organic foods.


When many Americans think of farm animals, they picture cattle munching grass on rolling pastures, chickens pecking on the ground outside of picturesque red barns, and pigs gobbling down food at the trough.

Over the last 50 years, the way food animals are raised and fed has changed dramatically surprised to find that most of the food animals in the United States are no longer raised on farms at all. Instead they come from crowded animal factories, also known as large confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs).

Just like other factories, animal factories are constantly searching for ways to shave their costs. To save money, they've redefined what constitutes animal feed, with little consideration of what is best for the animals or for human health. As a result, many of the ingredients used in feed these days are not the kind of food the animals are designed by nature to eat.

Just take a look at what's being fed to the animals you eat.

Same Species Meat
Diseased Animals
Feathers, Hair, Skin, Hooves, and Blood
Manure and Other Animal Waste
Plastics
Drugs and Chemicals
Unhealthy Amounts of Grains

Are these ingredients legal? Unfortunately, yes. Nevertheless, some raise human health concerns. Others just indicate the low standards for animal feeds. But all are symptoms of a system that has lost sight of the appropriate way to raise food animals.

Same Species Meat, Diseased Animals, and Feathers, Hair, Skin, and Blood

The advent of "mad cow" disease (also known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy or BSE) raised international concern about the safety of feeding rendered<1> cattle to cattle. Since the discovery of mad cow disease in the United States, the federal government has taken some action to restrict the parts of cattle that can be fed back to cattle.
~snip~
.
.
.
.
complete article including links to where you can find meat that has been been raised humanely, responsably and sustainably clickhere

[blonndee]

1. Thanks for the link. Factory farms are both cruel and disgusting. n/t

[pitohui]

69. so is starvation

since humans refuse to control their numbers, then we have billions to feed and the only way to do it is to factory farm

supposedly 40 % of the edible protein produced on the planet already goes down human gullets, if we want to do this less efficiently then we are condemning COUNTLESS species of plants and animals to extinction

i realize many people don't think so but a wild bird or a wild flower has an equal right to existence as a chicken

the kindness of the less efficient farming method is just a lie, a way for people to deny that to eat is to kill

if everyone has to eat chicken from a wonderful spacious home, how many other plant and animal species will be displaced from their few surviving habitats?

[buddhamama]

75. uh?

what you have stated is in no way the reality. funny you mention starvation when the world goes hungry now.

humans consume more protein than they need to survive. that is a fact. no other species does this, btw.

do you realize the amount of rain forest that has been destroyed in developing/poorer Nations to grow grain to feed the animals we eat?! this too, is also a fact. and, the majority of those who farm the land cannot afford meat. they eat what they grow and the majority of that, as i have said, goes to 'factories' to feed the animals.

more land has been lost to us just to grow the feed for the chickens and cows, whatever, than what would be lost if there were more individual, humane farms in existence. also, the preservation of land would happen by default. the less available meat the less people will it of eat. and if that were to happen, perhaps those who are poorest and go without would finally be able to fill their bellies with the food they grow instead of it going into the belly of an animal someone else will eat.

[dipsydoodle]

2. As far as I'm aware

BSE originally infected cattle through their food as result of transfer of a similar issue from sheep.

[TomInTib]

3. They left out petroleum products used to bind the pellets.

About 4 gallons per feedlot cow over its lifetime.

And over 50% of anti-biotics consumed in the US is consumed by the beef industry.

[SpiralHawk]

4. If you want to insure CLEAN FOOD for your family, then...

check out CSA - community supported agriculture. Now.

Otherwise you will eat what Big Government and Big Ag and Big Chem can make a Massive Profit on: Mutant Chemicalized So-called Food-product-replica Crapola.

And you and your children will BLOW CHUNKS.

http://www.chiron-communications.com/farms.html

"Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) offers a way for every human being to be directly involved in the care and healing of the earth, while also ensuring a supply of clean, healthy food for their families and their neighbors..."

snip

[Idylle Moon Dancer]

33. CSA is awesome.

I estimated that, with CSA, I could eat a healthy diet on $20 - $30 per week (that includes the cost of the CSA share) for six months of the year.

[SpiralHawk]

39. With republicons in control of our food, CSA may be the ONLY way

to insure your food is clean -- outside of growing your own...sad, but true.

The PROFIT motive has corrupted the food chain, and poisoned the land and water we will bequeath to our children.

MUTANT entitities on the near horizon...

[TX-RAT]

44. Interesting

I've been raising cattle for over 25 years on my place, what i don't sell to individuals i sell to the local processors. My cattle are raised just like most others in this area, they graze on native grass's and vegetation, with some supplemental feeding ( range cube's, composed of compressed alfalfa and coastal hay) during the dry periods. I would suggest to any that eat beef to go to your local processors ( if available) and purchase your meat. Most of the time those cattle are from local farmers and ranchers, not from industrial feed lots.

My .02 cents

[w4rma]

51. Maybe you should label your meat organic so that you can raise prices

a little bit and get an extra profit.

[Mind_your_head]

65. How would I go about finding a local processor?

I'm very interested in doing something like this, but I have NO CLUE how any of this works (city/suburban girl here *sigh*). My daughter met a girl at college whose family raises dairy cattle. She was invited to go visit for the weekend, but hasn't done so YET (I told her that "I" would love to get an invitation b/c I think it would be fascinating to see firsthand how a dairy farm works)! I was hoping I might get more info/a connection/direction from them?

TIA for any information/direction that you can give.

Peace,
M_Y_H

[gauguin57]

73. I don't eat meat anymore, but when I did, a local farmer's beef was BEST!

My dad had a friend who raised cows on a local farm, and my dad would buy our favorite parts of the cow when his friend would butcher one. When I was a meat-eater, I LOVED liver, and I'll tell ya', I've never had better liver than that that from cows that were locally (and lovingly) grown -- and grass-fed.

[wicket]

54. Thank-you!!!!!!

:yourock:

[LostInAnomie]

5. Don't forget dead animal shelter dogs and cats.

I'm not sure they do it anymore but I know for a period in the 90's when the price of feed was high they reconstituted dead shelter animals into feed.

Also they turn shit stained paper from chicken farms into feed.

Anything for a profit.

[peacebuzzard]

23. Not just shelters but vet clinic euthanized pets and pet crematories

It is called the "rendering process". It is a system in place where they pick up the dead animals from clinics/ and shelters/ road kills, etc....
http://www.ereleases.com/pr/20041122004.html

Humane activist Leo Grillo discovered this after his beloved horse "Peaches" died and was cremated, he became suspicious and followed the trail to this gruesome discovery of the Rendition companies and its system/processes.

http://utopia.utexas.edu/explore/equine/cases/cruel/horse_rescue.htm

[Not_Longer_Than_20_C]

29. Faulty mental image

If they turn shit stained paper from chicken farms into feed, where do the chickens get the paper? I doubt chickens use T.P. are their nests lined with paper like budgies? There's a market for that stuff?

[astonamous]

53. And horses.

These dead disowned pets and animals are usually sick when they are "donated" for slaughter. They may have been treated with medications that may still be in there system when killed.

Trudy
www.pryorsplanet.com

[SammyWinstonJack]

6. Glad I don't eat anything with a face. And I only drink organic fat free

milk, although I should probably switch to soy milk. I don't consider myself a vegan, I just don't like beef, chicken, pork and while I do like seafood, I am afraid of the mercury levels, so I stay away for it.

[Anakin Skywalker]

7. I Have Been Drinking Soy Milk

for many years now. There are many different brands to choose from. Some are better than others.

[SammyWinstonJack]

8. Which brand do you drink? I have been contemplating switching.

I don't drink that much milk, usually only for smoothies and cereal.

[Warpy]

12. Silk is very good

and I use powdered soymilk from the food co op for baking.

I've used it for years, also. I'm lactose intolerant.

[SammyWinstonJack]

13. I like Silk french vanilla coffee creamer. I'll give their soy milk a try

Thanks.

[leftchick]

22. I have that every morning

It is the best! :)

[SammyWinstonJack]

26. It's good! Yum! And stays fresh for a long time.

[fed-up]

24. Dean acquired White Wave and its Silk soy milk brand in 2002

http://www.organicconsumers.org/2006/article_1159.cfm
Is Organic Food the Real Deal?
By PAULA LAVIGNE
The Dallas Morning News , July 17, 2006
Straight to the Source

snip
The China connection About 40 percent of organic farms and handlers are in foreign countries, including 300 farms and processing plants in China.

Wal-Mart used some Chinese organic soybeans in its private-label soy milk. They've also been in Silk, the popular soy milk brand from WhiteWave. The United States has 2.2 million organic acres; China has 8.6 million. Almost 90 percent was certified in 2004, which raises a red flag with Mr. Riddle, who said it's questionable that China could have transitioned farmland that quickly.

China has a history of dousing fields with chemicals, researchers say. Fred Gale, a senior USDA economist who has researched Chinese agriculture, said it was "almost impossible to grow truly organic food in China." "The water everywhere is polluted, and the soil is contaminated from industry and mining, and the air is bad."




http://www.organicconsumers.org/2006/article_1580.cfm
Wal-Martization, Industrial Production, & Outsourcing from China Fuel Debate over Organic Standards
Big retailers want piece of organic pie Wal-Mart, others hope to cash in on growing market niche; critics fear standards will drop

By KAREN ROBINSON-JACOBS / The Dallas Morning News
Dallas Morning News (Texas), August 19, 2006
Straight to the Source
snip
Few major companies are more heavily invested in organics than Dean, which became the nation's largest supplier of organic milk following its 2004 purchase of Horizon Organic Holding Corp. Dean acquired White Wave and its Silk soy milk brand in 2002.

Horizon and Silk make up the White Wave Foods subsidiary, which owns two organic dairies. The larger operation, in Idaho, has about 4,400 cows. Once four more farms begin supplying White Wave, the company will get milk from at least seven organic dairy farms with more than 1,000 cows each. (A White Wave spokeswoman said less than half of its milk comes from large farms.)

Critics charge that such "industrial scale" farms fool consumers, who only see the bucolic images on the milk cartons of a handful of cows lolling in grass.

[SammyWinstonJack]

31. !

:wow:

[Feron]

38. I recommend

Silk's Very Vanilla. I think it is their best flavor and a lot more better tasting than regular milk. The Vanilla isn't bad ,but it is a little too beany tasting for me. It's good and drinkable, but not my preference.

[Anakin Skywalker]

17. 8th Continent is one brand I buy

when there's a sale. But I have tried others and have found none to be objectionable. All brands come in flavors like chocolate and strawberry these days.

[SammyWinstonJack]

27. I haven't heard of that brand. Do you purchase it in a health food

store or at your local grocery?

[Anakin Skywalker]

28. Just the local groceries.

[RebelOne]

40. You can find it at Target super stores.

At least that's where I have bought it.

[SoyCat]

36. Organic Valley soy milk *ethical company*

[CrispyQ]

62. If you have issues with soy milk, try rice milk.

We weaned ourselves from cow's milk by switching to rice milk first. Now we drink Silk.

BTW, don't ever buy chocolate Silk if you have a weakness for choco milk. You will not put it down until the container is empty! ;)

[K8-EEE]

58. The Almond Milk At Trader Joes Is Yummy For Smoothies!

Especially if you make them with frozen bananas & strawberries. My kids have that after school, they love it, I put soy protein powder in it and they're none the wiser....

[AZBlue]

76. Safeway now sells a great organic line.

It's called "O" or "Organics." Not a very imaginative name, but they have a great line of products - it's rather extensive and not too expensive. Seems like every time I go to the store, there's something new added to the line. I don't drink soy (don't like it) so I buy their organic milk - but I know they have soy milk too (and it's usually cheaper than their organic milk!).

[Anakin Skywalker]

9. Who Are the Geniuses

that thought feeding meat to herbivores is a brilliant idea? I love this pure profit-driven capitalism. It makes for some hilarious results.

[Warpy]

10. Beef out west isn't factory farmed--YET

because it's cheaper to graze them on allotments of public land then finish them on feed lots.

Nobody who has ever driven past a feed lot in warm weather will ever forget it. The ammonia stench from the waste in those pens is overpowering. The cattle are crammed in there, nothing to do but overeat the grain that is constantly being replenished.

Range fed beef without hormones or drugs is available in health food stores and some supermarkets. The texture certainly is different, no fat deposits in the muscle to make it tender and juicy with minimal cooking.

I eat meat maybe twice a year to remind myself why I don't eat meat. I avoid anything factory farmed: beef, pork, chicken, salmon. Too many corners are cut, too many costs are shaved, and there are too few inspectors to ensure the animals aren't being fed meal made from downer animals.

I would strongly suggest the meat eaters out there do likewise.

[Eric J in MN]

11. Go vegetarian. Find out how at...

www.vegsource.com

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

14. What do vegetables eat?

[Anakin Skywalker]

18. Other Vegetables. LOL.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

19. Really?

Because I thought there was an awful lot of manure and other animal waste involved.

[Anakin Skywalker]

20. Yes. But Nature meant for that to be the cycle.

Nature did not intend for cows to be eating parts of other cows or other animal flesh.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

21. Hmm.

Natural law, eh?

[nosmokes]

34. agedanimal manure is an natural and essential ingredient in good

healthy soil. it provides bacteria and nutruients and is a welcome addition to any compost pile. why do you think the prairies were so fertile? a few eons of dead and rotting organic matter and buffalo pies.

[Catchawave]

15. Also....

Go Organic! Both choices healthier for the environment, the animals and You!

More info at: http://www.organicconsumers.org/

[Lydia Leftcoast]

16. Since reading the article on factory farming of pigs

in the April (?) issue of Harper's, I've been getting pasture-raised pork from my local food co-op.

It tastes better, too.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

25. Pasture raised pork?

Isn't that an affront to the pigs that eat manure and other animal products, just the way nature intended?

[nosmokes]

32. nature intended for boar and javelina to eat manure? i don't think so.

in the wild they're foraging ruminants,eating all plant material from grasses to cactus to trees and shrubs. they are not natural carnivores.

[TX-RAT]

42. Thats not true

It's pretty common in West and South TX to see Javalina's eating on dead carcass's of deer, feral hog's, rabbit's, cow's and other Javalina's. I've personally seen video of feral hog's actually killing and eating a new born fawn. Feral hog's have been know to follow a calving cow and eat the after birth.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

57. I myself...

have witnessed a horse walk down the street, take a crap, and then a pig come along and eat the crap.

Hope nobody was eating when they read that. Factory farm food or otherwise.

[TX-RAT]

59. That sure wouldn't surprise me.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

61. Nor anybody who's been around pigs.

There's a reason pigs ain't kosher.

[AtomicKitten]

30. ugh

factory farming in America should a crime

[Jcrowley]

35. Got Antibiotic?

So most people think of a cow as something that's out grazing, and then is taken to the slaughterhouse.

... No, not true. Cows see very little grass nowadays in their lives. They get them on corn as fast as they can, which speeds up their lifespan, gets them really fat, and allows you to slaughter them within 14 months.
The problem with this system, or one of the problems with this system, is that cows are not evolved to digest corn. It creates all sorts of problems for them. The rumen is designed for grass. And corn is just too rich, too starchy. So as soon as you introduce corn, the animal is liable to get sick.

It creates a whole of changes to the animal. So you have to essentially teach them how to eat corn. You teach their bodies to adjust. And this is done in something called the backgrounding pen at the ranch, which is kind of the prep school for the feedlot. Here's where you teach them how to eat corn.

You start giving them antibiotics, because as soon as you give them corn, you've disturbed their digestion, and they're apt to get sick, so you then have to give them drugs. That's how you get in this whole cycle of drugs and meat. By feeding them what they're not equipped to eat well, we then go down this path of technological fixes, and the first is the antibiotics. Once they start eating the , they're more vulnerable. They're stressed, so they're more vulnerable to all the different diseases cows get. But specifically they get bloat, which is just a horrible thing to happen. They stop ruminating. You have the image of a cow on grass of the cow ruminating, which is chewing its cud and burping a lot. In fact, a lot of greenhouse gases come out of the stock as methane emerges from their mouth as they eructate -- it's a technical term. And they bring down saliva in this process, and it keeps their stomach very base rather than acid.

So you put in the corn, and this layer of slime forms over the rumen. You've got to picture the rumen. It's a 45-gallon fermentation tank. It's essentially fermenting the grass. Suddenly your slime forms and the gas can't escape, and the rumen just expands like a balloon. It's pressing against the lungs and the heart, and if nothing is done, the animal suffocates. So what is done is, if you catch it in time, you stick a hose down the esophagus and you release the gas and maybe give the animal some hay or grass, and it's a lot healthier. But it's one of the things that happens to cows on corn.

Not all cows get bloat. They're prone to bloat. It's a serious problem on feedlots. They also get acidosis, which is an acidifying of the rumen. ... And when the animals get acid stomach, it's a really bad case of heartburn, and they go off their feed. Eventually, if you give them too much corn too quickly, it ulcerates the rumen; bacteria escape from the rumen into the blood stream, and end up in the liver, creating liver abscesses.
What do we do about that? Another antibiotic. ... Most cows on feedlots eating this rich diet of corn are prone to having their livers damaged. So to prevent that, or limit the incidence of liver disease, we have to give them another antibiotic.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/meat/interviews/pollan.html

[ck4829]

37. Eliminating animals from eating same species meat is a MUST

This is what must be done at the least.

[Karenina]

41. ...

:puke

[cain_7777]

43. Eat organic, free range.

It is much more expensive to eat healthy these days, but if you want to survive, eat organic and free range. It is also much more humane for the animals and I prefer to support those kind of businesses. I am trying to cut down on meat, fish and poultry because of the energy consumption that it takes to raise such animals and get them to market. Local organic produce is the best solution.

[K8-EEE]

46. Yes! Expensive Meat On The Weekends, Vegetarian Weekdays

That's what we're doing...it's no more money than eating the factory crap every day and so much healthier.

[OnionPatch]

47. That's a great idea

I'd like to do that. Currently, we eat grass-fed beef and organic chicken but it is quite pricey. I'd love to eat vegetarian during the week. Can you recommend a good book or website that has vegetarian recipes? My husband is such a carnivore, it's hard to find vegetarian meals that he likes enough to eat regularly. He totally hates factory farming, though, so he's willing to try.

We raise our own eggs, organically and eat lots of them. Quiche is a favorite at our place. We had planned to raise our own chickens for meat but once they got names that idea was no longer appealing. :blush: So we stick to just eggs.

[K8-EEE]

50. The Veggie Forum Here At DU!

Actually at the moment it's got a lot of animal rights posts (it's the vegetarian/animal rights forum) but great recipes too if you search there. I posted my fave fall/winter recipe last year, it's lentil/veggie soup. Yummy with quesadillas and salad, nobody will miss the meat!

My biggest tip is that when you find a soup or sauce that you love, freeze it in muffin tins and pop them out to a zip lock bag. That way you can reheat a portion or two at a time, like your own "fast" food.

I have two kids one is vegetarian and one isn't; and my hub is a carnivore big time from Buffalo NY! So when I find things that EVERYONE likes I'm thrilled. We all love Mexican food (we are in L.A.) so if I have fresh salsa and guacamole on hand, nobody complains. Our other weekday staples are:

Veggie chili
Soup (lentil or minestrone mostly)
Pasta with "not meat" sauce (basically tomato sauce with the veggie protein meat)
Tacos
Enchiladas (I love to make them with sauteed spinach and cheese, the soy cheese works great for that!)
Black beans and rice with avocado & tomato salad (the S&W brand Caribbean black beans are yummy right out of the can!)
Faux BLTs (if you use really good tomatoes and sourdough bread the soy bacon bits work great!)

See ya at the veggie board! I am kind of shy about posting there being only a part-time half-assed vegetarian but I do think that the more we can get off the corporate food chain the better, so they inspire me!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=231

[OnionPatch]

64. Duh, I didn't think to look there.

Thanks. I'll head on over there and start making my next grocery list. I like your meal ideas. I haven't tried the veggie crumbles, but I will.

I wouldn't be ashamed to be a half-assed vegetarian. Think of how much less factory-farmed meat our culture would consume if we all just cut our meat consumption in half?

[eppur_se_muova]

71. I like Madhur Jaffrey's cookbooks ...

"World of the East Vegetarian Cooking" has a lot of simple recipes which are good for quick snacking or meals-for-one, as well as more complicated, dinner-for-six meals. It also has a nice chatty style, which I enjoy. (Get two copies, one to get VERY worn in the kitchen!) "Taste of India" is a "cookalogue", an introduction to India through its cooking. Both get five stars at amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b/103-6956201-2657437?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Madhur+Jaffrey

I haven't gotten "World Vegetarian" yet, but it's on my short list.

[OnionPatch]

74. Oh, yes, I know of her!

And I have one of her cookbooks. It's not one you mentioned, it's called "Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cooking". There's a recipe in there for something called "Lemony chicken with fresh coriander" that turned out to be one of the most scrumptious things I've ever put into my mouth! I'm sure her vegetarian cooking must be wonderful, too. I didn't know she had a vegetarian cookbook. Thanks, I'll check that out for sure.

[K8-EEE]

45. Thank You -- I've Been Having A Vegan Week Myself!

After reading a similar article. When my hub comes home from his trip I'm telling him that we are getting the expensive sustainably raised meat & chicken for him and none at all for me!

FACTORY FARMING IS DISGUSTING!

What I read is that they have ARMED GUARDS posted around the parameters of these awful indoor "factory farms" because if anybody saw how their food was being raised, they simply would not eat it. I mean animals stacked in cages and covered in shit from the animal above it...it's not humane and it's disgusting. It's cheaper but not cheap enough for me to eat it. Soy looks (and tastes) better every day!

[Lydia Leftcoast]

55. According to Harper's the air in the pig barns on factory farms is

so noxious that people where hazmat suits to go inside, and in fact, despite the antibiotics, the pigs are so in-bred that they're extremely susceptible to disease. In addition, in breeding a "lean" pig, agribusiness has inadvertently included a gene for low resistance to stress, so some pigs are so high-strung that they'll literally die of heart attacks if frightened at all. The high level of stress causes lactic acid to be released into their muscles, so the meat deteriorates fast. The pigs spend their lives in a stall where they can't even turn around, and since they're intelligent animals, the stress is compounded.

I like pork, but it's pasture-raised, antibiotic free (one of the packages at my co-op says, "The best guarantee of health is fresh air and exercise"), vegetarian-fed pork.

[Javaman]

48. Read "fast food nation", you will get all the gory details of the

soilent green animal farms we have around the nation.

[warrens]

49. Grassfed, natural and organic meat are all high-growth areas

Explosive growth might be a better description. Even Wal-Mart is trying to find suppliers, but no one is big enough for them (or is likely to give them a price break). It's inevitable that we will start paying a lot more for meat, but it will be far superior to what we are often offered today.

There is no reason, other than greed, to feed vegetarians meat, much less turn them into cannibals. Bad things happen to cannibals. Back in the middle of the last century, cannibals in Borneo and elsewhere developed a disease call kuru. It looks exactly like what we call mad cow disease, with identical symptoms except it took longer to develop than most cases of vCJD seem to take. Otherwise, identical.

[SOS]

52. For your four-legged family members (OT)

The ingredients in commercial pet food are even worse than the garbage fed to the factory animals.
This article is by a former USDA inspector and vet. The info in this article could add many happy years to your friend's life.

http://www.belfield.com/article3.html

[Lydia Leftcoast]

56. My grandparents raised three healthy dogs, all of whom lived to

be over twelve years old, on table scraps.

[lonestarnot]

63. Shit!

"In my time as a veterinary meat inspector, we denatured with carbolic acid (phenol, a potentially corrosive disinfectant) and/or creosote (used to preserve wood or as a disinfectant)." Railroad ties are soaked with creosote and have been ripped out of yards for poisoning ground water, and causing cancer.

[wordpix]

60. if they could legally starve these animals and still get meat from them,

they (factory farmers and the repukes who support them) would do it.

[KansDem]

66. Just drive I-54 through the Texas panhandle...

There's a huge factory farm there. Thousands and thousands of head of cattle standing around on dirt and mud. Just standing...waiting for their "feed" and the last ride to the slaughter house. And the stench...yuck. You can smell it for miles before and after you pass the place.

[SlavesandBulldozers]

67. that;s horrific.

[GETPLANING]

68. West Texas farms

I saw them for the first time last year driving through on my way to Arizona. You really can smell them for miles. I can't imagine how people can live out there. Imagine a space the size of an international airport covered with cattle or pigs, hundreds of thousands of them. Now imagine passing five of them in a row. Industrial agriculture on this scale creates massive pollution, not to mention the misery of so many animals. I love a good steak, but my appetite for it was greatly diminished after that trip.

[eppur_se_muova]

70. Books recs: Rifkin's "Beyond Beef", Rhodes' "Deadly Feasts"

Rifkin will give you a lot of reasons why progressives wouldn't want to buy meat from the major producers, whether you eat meat or not.

[yurbud]

72. Is cannibalism still legal? I thought that spread mad cow.