New York Times: Is Animal Abuse the True Cost of Cheap Meat?

A recent op-ed in The
New York Times compares society’s treatment of dogs and cats to its
treatment of chickens:

This month a man in Orlando, Fla.,
dangled a dog by the scruff of its neck over a second-floor balcony,
threatening to drop it 12 feet to the ground.

Onlookers intervened and tried to
rescue the dog. Someone posted a video of the dangling dog on Facebook, and the
clip went viral. Galvanized by public outrage, the police combed the area and
on Tuesday announced that a 23-year-old man named Ransom May II had been
arrested on a charge of cruelty to animals. The arrest made news nationwide.

Meanwhile, in the United States
this year, almost nine billion chickens will be dangled upside down on conveyor
belts and slaughtered; when the process doesn’t work properly, the birds
are scalded alive.

Abuse of dogs and cats is considered a very serious matter. It’s
terrible that the same cannot be said for abuse of farmed animals. From being
kicked around to living in inhumane, filthy conditions, the billions of animals
raised in the United States for food are forced to endure lives we cannot even begin
to imagine.

For example, pigs raised on factory farms
are castrated without the use of anesthesia. Imagine your veterinarian ripping
off your dog’s or cat’s testicles without the use of painkillers. Or just
picture your cat being shackled
upside down on a conveyor belt to have his or her throat cut by a blade
that sometimes works but sometimes doesn’t—and when it doesn’t, your cat ends
up scalded alive. As sick and sadistic as it sounds, it’s the everyday horror faced
by animals in factory farms and slaughterhouses across the country.

Thankfully, you don’t need to take part in this cruelty. By
switching to a compassionate vegan diet you will not only save countless animals
but also improve your health
and protect the environment.

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