It's really time to Wake Up about animal welfare.
Many people appear to be under the illusion that in New Zealand, factory farmed animals are all treated ethically and to the same standards.
Sadly, this is not the case at all. The extent to which farming is integrated into our culture and our identity has deceived us in an unforgivable way. In New Zealand, our economy relies heavily on the export of animal products. OF COURSE it has to be marketed and publicised in such a way that it looks acceptable.
I recently posted a note on facebook advocating free-range meat. I included a video by PETA on the treatment of factory farmed animals from a hidden camera. You can view it here: http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=2273569508770398194&hl=en&fs=true Of course, the whole thing got a mixed response. Because the clip was American, a few people questioned its relevance for the New Zealand meat and dairy industries.
Unfortunately, even we do not have to look much further than our own back yard. Factory farmed animals are treated like machines, every day, for the duration of their lives. The SPCA is constantly finding farmers who abuse and mistreat their animals; just have a look at their website, or equally as informative, the SAFE website.
And I'm sure there are a few other things you haven't considered, or perhaps weren't aware of. Much of the content of these posts leans toward a vegan lifestyle. I have arranged it this way for a few reasons. Firstly, meat eaters and vegetarians alike can still eat vegan food, and still need to pay attention to much of the same nutritional information that vegans do. And secondly, the dairy industry isn't exactly blameless either.
Consider the fact that very shortly after birth, calves are taken away from their mothers. Male calves are often killed, as are sick ones. The milk that the cow makes to nurture her baby is then taken, processed into cheese, yoghurt, whatever, and then sold to us. Humans are the only species who drink the milk of another species. It's not FOR us though, it's for the calf. People drink people milk, cows drink cow milk.
Something you are probably equally unaware of is a process called mulesing. This is a surgical procedure which is done without anaesthetic to around half of the two million Merino sheep farmed in New Zealand in order to combat flystrike. The sheep are hung upside down with their feet tied together, and their tails are removed at the base using hand shears, leaving a bleeding, gaping wound. Enter "mulesing" into google and you can see for yourself exactly how horrific and disturbing this procedure is. The wool indusrty claim that they are working on a phase-out of mulesing, but I have yet to see any concrete evidence of this.
These are only two things about the farming industry that you were probably unaware of. I think it's important to ask yourself, if people were being treated like this, would you still be purchasing the products and supporting the industry which allows it?
Thankfully, for those of you who just can't give up animal products, there is an alternative. Buying free-range meat and dairy products, and getting clued up on other animal by-products like wool and leather will help you make more informed decisions about what kind of industry you are funding when you buy them. The best thing anyone can do for these abused and mistreated animals is to stop supporting those who harm them, and start supporting those who have respect for the animals and treat them humanely. Only buying meat, eggs and dairy products clearly labelled "free-range" is the perfect place to start. It might be a bit more expensive, but compared with the cost of ignoring it, it's very much worth the extra couple of dollars.
But remember, there are never any real guarantees. The only way to know for sure that you aren't eating a mistreated animal or it's by-products is either to stop eating them all together, or to farm and kill them yourself. I do understand that for some this just isn't possible. And for you, please consider doing your own independent research into the industry, for yourself and for the animals. They don't deserve to suffer for our convenience.
Thanks for reading, I hope this causes you to think more critically about what you are consuming.
Love,
M Tehrase
xx
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