Wow, can I just say the factory farming industry is absolutely beyond gross, but it portrays human greed to its fullest! It is absolutely amazing to me to see the depths at which one will go for the bottom line - & how do workers continue to eat that product or feed their family after having first hand experience with handling it. Now I know you can go into a psychological or economical debate about this but I think I'll steer clear of that topic for now.

In the past couple of days I have learned interesting & morbid information about this industry - Factory Farming & I had to ask myself "Why in the hell did I not know about this before I put that food in my body?"...it's not like I do not have a vast amount of information at my finger tips & the freedom to explore, but like most, I stayed ignorant to where my "meat" came from & how it got there. That big chicken breast did not just grow in the grocery store - but why did it never occur to me to dig deeper? And the answer to that question is...I'm lazy, I grew up on a "meat & potato" diet & never questioned my parents...and ok, as a kid I didn't care about nutrition (I'm still learning!) & I probably would have continued that way until a health concern appeared (like high cholesterol). Instead, I found myself reading "Skinny Bitch" while eating a chicken (I think - that was a while ago) dinner, not really knowing what I was getting into, and BAM! just like that - I cried at the dinner table & that's where my journey began.

But think about it...we research & compare best car prices/deals/models (Consumer Report) when it's time to buy a new car, or which diet would work the best, or whatever else you would research before you bought...why not food? Even if you continued to eat meat, wouldn't you want to know where it came from? Be an informed consumer? Well obviously one of the big excuses is "ignorance is bliss" - it's a lot to stomach. It's funny how I've been teased so much with my food choice & lifestyle of support vegan/vegetarianism, yet do I poke fun at those who choose to eat meat? NO But people are just so quick to judge (even when you have no idea what you're talking about) & it's different. Or, it's defended by the idea that this mass production is the only way to feed the population (meet demand)...hello? This industry creates an enormous amount of waste & there are still people in the states starving & let's not forget about the other countries! Why do we have starving people if there is enough food for all?

Enough of my rambling...here are a few things I've learned about this topic:

These establishments are referred to as Concentrated (or Confined) Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO's) & if defined by the EPA as "new & existing operations which stable or confine & feed or maintain for a total of 45 days or more in any 12-month period more than the number of animals specified" which they categorize. "There is no grass or other vegetation in the confinement area during the normal growing season". - Now that's a different picture than what those "happy cows live in California" commercials (or whatever is said).

Large CAFO's: 1,000 cattle (not include dairy), 700 dairy, 2,500 hogs over 55 lbs, or 125,000 chickens (only if a liquid manure system is not being used)

Liquid manure system: when the animal's urine/feces are mixed with water & held either under the facility or outside in huge open air lagoons...sound yummy? But where else would the waste go some may ask...it's ok to just dump it anywhere because my tax dollars will help fund the clean up - woohoo! And on top of that, this just leads to contamination of soil, crops, vegetation, etc. which only increases our chances of food borne-illnesses & other diseases.

Medium CAFO's: between 300 - 999 cattle, 200 - 699 dairy, 750 - 2,499 hogs over 55 lbs, & 37,500 - 124,999 chickens.

Seriously, think about it - do you really believe after looking at those numbers that all animals are killed with the least amount of suffering, cared for in clean & healthy environments? Be realistic: if that was the case, I would think there would be tons of farm animals everywhere...and let's not forget that this industry sees these living beings as a mere item for profit...nothing more. There could be 1 million plus chickens in one place (egg-laying)! I can't even picture that, but I do know that's a lot of chicken poop & very little room.

That's all for today :) until next time...