Neighbors of Factory Farms — Yearning to Breathe Free

Literally.

Even if you're not close enough to a factory farm to see it, you can start crying and gagging from the piss and shit stench in the air.  But that isn't even the worst of it.

Like they say about smog, it's the stuff you can't see that'll kill you.  It's already been reported to death — in case the public is paying attention — that factory farms use about 80% of the antibiotics sold in this country.  And we know that these routine doses of antibiotics — administered so the animals will grow faster and won't get sick from living in their own shit — are a major cause of antibiotic-resistant infections.

On top of that, would you believe:  these antibiotics, and the bacteria that are resistant to them, are literally blowin' in the wind.  (Sorry Bob.)  Coming soon to the air near YOU.  From the linked article:

“While it’s well known that the stench of manure and urine travels, there’s little understanding of what rides along with it as winds blow across open-air cattle feedlots. That’s why a group of scientists from Texas Tech University began testing the particulate matter found both upwind and downwind of 10 concentrated animal feeding operations around Lubbock, Texas. Unsurprisingly, the results of the study, published this week by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, are as gross as that feedlot smell: Not only is dust made up of cattle waste, but 'there is significant potential for widespread distribution of antibiotics, bacteria, and genetic material that encodes antibiotic resistance.'”

 The fun is just beginning.

Breathe deeply...

ABC News to Publicize Factory Farm Atrocities and Ag Gag Laws

After tonight’s ABC broadcasts, hopefully the term “ag gag” will become a household word and not just an obscure term found only at animal-rights websites and liberal blogs.

On World News Tonight and then on Nightline, ABC will be discussing two related issues:  undercover investigations of factory farms which have gradually led to (somewhat) improved conditions for farm animals, and recent laws in farm states that have outlawed these undercover investigations.

You can find links Here and Here.

These undercover investigations have exposed not only unspeakable cruelty to animals, but also sickening unsanitary conditions which result in dangerous ingredients in the farm products YOU’RE eating.

Since these factory farmers don’t want to change their ways, they’ve responded by instructing their prostitutes in state legislatures to pass “ag gag” laws banning these undercover investigations.

So far six states — Iowa, Utah, Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming and Kansas — have passed these ag gag laws.  Similar laws are pending in New Hampshire, Indiana and Nebraska.  And these laws are working.  Mercy for Animals has stopped its undercover operations in all six of those states.  Mission Accomplished.

Wayne Pacelle, CEO and president of the Humane Society of the United States, told ABC News:

“If you think that chilling speech and closing the curtain on our food production is winning, then yes, they've won.”

Anyway, let’s hope ABC’s broadcasts tonight will generate more public outrage over factory farms and ag gag laws.

McDonalds McRib: The Factory Farm Connection

Every once in awhile, the sick horrifying conditions at factory farms are swept out from under the rug and shown to the public.  Even if you don’t give a fuck about the tortures inflicted on these animals, how can you eat the byproducts of these factories?  Factory farm animals are fed excrement and the rotting flesh of other livestock, among other things.  If that’s what they’re eating, and you eat them, then that’s what YOU’RE eating.

Smithfield Foods is the factory farm that supplies the pork for the McDonalds McRib.  Last year the Humane Society did an undercover operation at Smithfield Foods.  Among other niceties, the pigs are crammed together so tightly that they suffer from “open pressure sores and other ulcers and wounds.”

No doubt there are hundreds of other factory farms that are just as putrefied as Smithfield Foods.  But Smithfield Foods pretends to be different, claiming that their animals are raised under “ideal” conditions.  And McDonalds has publicly praised Smithfield Foods for its humane treatment of their animals, and even presented Smithfield with a “supplier sustainability” award.

Other abuses discovered by the Humane Society include — from the linked article:

Animals were crammed into cages that were “coated in blood from the mouths of pigs chewing the metal bars....A sick pig was shot in the head with a captive bolt gun and thrown into a dumpster while still alive; prematurely born piglets routinely fell through the gate's slats into a manure pit… and employees tossed baby pigs into carts as if they were stuffed animals.”

Mmmm, it’s what’s for dinner.  Belly up to the counter.

I have nothing against McDonalds or any other fast food chain.  They’re wealthy because jillions of people like their products.  Nobody is being forced to eat there.

If you go there — just remember what you’re eating.

Iowa Legislature Tackles Factory Farming Issues

As you know, factory farms are a huge source of festering problems. They spread disease. They pollute the water. They practice animal cruelty on a scale so massive, it’s unthinkable.

Thank God for the people who conduct undercover investigations of factory farms. Without them, the public wouldn’t even know about the mass-scale abuse going on behind closed doors.

Fortunately, the Iowa legislature is about to take care of this problem. No no, they’re not doing anything about the factory farms. [sheesh] Even better — they’re planning to outlaw those pesky undercover investigations.

Problem solved.

Huge agribusiness corporations have been complaining about those meddling animal rights activists who keep filming their abusive practices; and they’ve instructed their prostitutes in the Iowa legislature to bend over and do the right thing.

Iowa Sen. Tom Rielly (D) said:

“They want to hurt an important part of our economy. These people don't want us to have eggs. They don't want people to eat meat.”

Gee, is that what “they” are complaining about? Or maybe they’re concerned about this kind of thing.

At least this is an issue that cuts across political lines. The above-quoted call girl is a Democrat. And Republican pundit Mary Matalin has denounced the legislation:

“I’m sorry to hear that House File 589, which would criminalize filming on farms, is still getting pushed along in Iowa. Lawmakers and consumers from across the political spectrum have found that while promoting agriculture is of prime importance, so is making sure that workers at farms and slaughterhouses adhere to anti-cruelty laws.”

Iowa Governor Terry Branstad is undecided on whether to sign the legislation if it reaches his desk.

Factory Farming = Food Poisoning

Even if nobody gives a flying fuck about the putrid sick living conditions of factory farm animals — how can they eat the poisoned “food” that comes out of those hellholes?

Animals are crammed into cages where they barely have room to move, they’re wallowing in each other’s shit and piss, and their “food” consists partly of shit and the flesh of diseased animals. They’re injected with huge amounts of antibiotics and growth hormones; plus they get more of these same drugs from the feces that’s in their “food.” MMMM, eggs over easy, anyone? How about a little Steak Tartare?

Food poisoning epidemics are getting more and more common. What the fuck did you expect? This latest rerun is the same old same old. FDA and USDA inspectors are asleep at the switch (and/or understaffed and/or being paid off) while another factory farm spews out contaminated filth and millions of people eat it. The names change but it’s the same tired plot. This time it’s Quality Egg, Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms.

Why do people keep buying that shit? Just don’t patronize those cocksuckers. Buy local.

Nothing is guaranteed of course, but you’re a lot less likely to get poisoned if you buy your food from local growers and farmers. Sure it costs a bit more, but you’re helping the local economy and helping yourself with a better diet.

Factory farms wouldn’t survive without millions of people buying the diseased sewage they call “food.”

Factory Farmers Have Rights Too

And so do puppy mills. And now, factory farms and puppy mills are banding together to protect their livelihoods against those nefarious treehugging animal rights commies.

Bob Stallman, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, told a meeting of 5,000 members:

“I love the smell of cramped bleeding tortured animals in the morning! A line must be drawn between our polite and respectful engagement with consumers and how we must aggressively respond to extremists who want to drag agriculture back to the day of 40 acres and a mule. The time has come for us to face our opponents with a new attitude. The days of their elitist power grabs are over.”

Because of lobbying by the Humane Society of the U.S., six states have passed laws banning cramped cages. Factory farmers and puppy mill operators are mad as hell.

A cattle rancher from Utah said: “"I definitely feel like the people that are talking about animal rights are very passionate about what they're doing. I'm concerned there's a lot of money behind them. They're well-educated people and know how to get their message across. I think there will be more of an effort to educate people that we do take care of our animals.”

They “take care of” their animals, riiight. Yes, they’re so nice and cozy in those tiny cages. And they’re covered with infected wounds and excrement to keep them warm.

Agribusiness is one of the most powerful and entrenched industries in the country; they’re right up there with the oil companies and the pharmaceutical industry. Don’t fall for their bullshit about being just little ol’ family farms battling against “well educated people with a lot of money behind them.”

If you haven’t eaten in the last few hours (make sure!), check out a few of these links.

Is There a Factory Farm Near You?

You probably know about factory farms: those “farms” where hundreds or even thousands of animals are jammed into cages where they don’t even have room to move. Without going into too many gory details — how the animals are literally wallowing in their own shit and are fed mostly chemicals and diseased meat — here are a few links worth checking out.

What you probably don’t know is how prevalent these factory farms are. Most people tend to think there aren't that many of them and/or that they're all located in some desolate God-forsaken region where nobody has any teeth and everybody has two first names.

This online map will show you differently. They're everywhere, and there are probably several of them near you. This site has some very informative links that are full of nauseating but necessary information. (Click where it says "Learn More").

The e-mail where I got this map also has a re-printed New York Times editorial (not available online unless you subscribe to the NYT). The editorial says in part:

“Once upon a time, only a decade or so, it wasn't hard to know where factory hog farms were because they were nearly all in North Carolina. But since those days, the practice of crowding together huge concentrations of animals in the interests of supposed efficiency has spread around the country. Wherever it appears, factory farming has two notable effects. It threatens the environment, because of huge concentrations of animal manure. And it threatens local political control. Residents who want a say over whether and where factory farms, whose stench can be overwhelming, can be built find their voices drowned out by the industry's cash and lobbying clout.”

The editorial concludes with: “It raises two of the fundamental questions facing American agriculture. Do we pursue the logic of industrialism to its limits in a biological landscape? And how badly will doing so harm the landscape, the people who live in it and the democracy with which they govern themselves?”

Factory Farms

There's a new twist to the pet food scandal. Sure it’s too bad that thousands of dogs and cats are sickened and killed just so a pet food manufacturer can save a few bucks. But get a grip — they're just animals.

But now — gasp! — PEOPLE might also be threatened. Suddenly it’s an important issue. It’s not just for those PETA fanatics and treehuggers any more.

In a large number of factory farms, this contaminated pet food may have been fed to the pigs. And if people start eating the meat from these contaminated pigs…Oh My God, this is SERIOUS.

Other than being contaminated, this pet food probably seemed like caviar compared to the shit (literally) that factory farm animals are usually fed. After a steady diet of feces, chemicals and contaminated meat and blood, a ration of cat food was probably luxurious.

In addition to their tasty diet, factory farm animals spend their entire lives in tiny filthy cages where they don’t even have room to move. Check out some of these sickening photos. Don’t be eating anything while you're looking at these.

Here are some other links you might want to check out.

What kind of mouthbreathing sister-humping Neanderthal could do this? How do these douchebags live with themselves?

It’s inhumane and inexcusable to treat any animal this way. But pigs, of all animals — pigs are smarter than dogs or cats. Can you imagine your own dog or cat being confined to a tiny cage and living on nothing but shit and rotting meat? (I hope not.)

I’m not a vegetarian or anything, so I can't preach or claim any sort of moral high ground. When we buy meat at the supermarket we’re patronizing and enabling these pusbags, whether we like it or not. It’s surprising how many people are appalled by hunting, and yet they seem to think those neat little packages of pork, beef and chicken just appeared on the supermarket shelf by magic.

Factory farming is obviously a human health issue. Factory farms are the cause of unimaginable pollution. And indirectly, what these animals were fed, YOU will be eating. Is there a way to avoid supporting these buttwipes?

Factory farmers have way too much political clout to be regulated. No legislator will touch them. And with the fox-guarding-the-henhouse nature of most regulatory agencies (especially in the past six years), passing laws probably wouldn’t help much anyway.

Consumers can stop patronizing factory farmers, without too much effect on their diets or pocketbooks.

This USDA site offers some good common sense advice on shopping for organic meat. (Here are some other links.) It costs more, but you could make up for that by making meat a smaller portion of your diet. You'll be healthier and your conscience will be clear. You won't be supporting these sickfucks any more.