10 Alarming Facts About Factory Farms That Will Break Your Heart

CollectiveEvolution

After hearing these facts about the conditions that animals are forced to endure on factory farms you might be displeased to learn that 99% of all of the meat that is sold in the U.S. comes from factory farms (1), something to keep in mind.

*Warning: Some of the images used are graphic* 

I know that these can be very hard to look at, it was hard enough to do the research for the article. However, if this is what it takes for people to wake up and realize exactly what they are contributing to, then I am all for it, as it needs to be done. I know a number of people who have gone completely Vegan after watching the graphic film “Earthlings,” which exposes the inner workings of factory farms. People are simply unaware of what has been going on behind closed doors, the intent of this article is to open some eyes and open the doors to this tragedy that has been taking place for far too long.

1. The majority of chickens raised on factory farms have their beaks cut off.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture 36.8 BILLION pounds of chicken were raised and slaughtered for consumption in 2013 alone (2.) That is a lot of chickens! Since these animals are kept to live in such close quarters a lot of farmers remove the beaks from the chickens by clipping, or burning them off to avoid the chickens from pecking each other to death. Many people claim that this practice causes no harm or pain to the animals, however a number of chickens die from this process.(2a)

2. Male chicks that are born serve virtually no purpose to the egg industry so they are sorted from the females and ground up on the same day they are born. (3)

Like me you may have wondered, why don’t they just raise these chickens for meat? Egg laying chickens are actually different from chickens that are used for meat. Chickens used for meat are known as broiler chickens and they are bred specifically to be a factory standard size and are usually slaughtered at around 2 months of age. This factory standard size makes it easier for the chickens to be put into the machine that is used to slaughter them, although this machine does miss a few from time to time, and these birds are sent to the next step of mechanical separation while still alive.(2b)

3. The term that comes across, as ethical “free range” isn’t at all, and in some cases is worse for the overall well being of the chickens than being kept in cages.

When you see the term “Free Range” you may get a picture in your head of happy chickens roaming free through green pastures –this is exactly what egg and chicken suppliers want you to think so that you can feel good about the purchase that you are making, however this is very far from the truth. There is no government certification required to boast the label as free range for egg laying hens or boiler chickens. (4) This means that when eggs or chicken meat is labeled as free range this only means that the chickens were not kept in cages. They were however, kept inside big warehouses cramped together so tightly that they can barely spread their wings. (5)

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