The Environment

When sitting down to have a meal, you’re focused on the food and what it is about to taste like not what went into it. There is so much that goes into the piece of meat on your plate. The environment is one of those things to consider...

In order to raise these animals there must be a significant amount of land as well as food…makes sense, right!The space required to raise these animals is growing as the demand gets higher and higher.The typical size of a shed that houses chickens is 50 feet wide by 500 feet long!! Usually there will be a few sheds of that size lined up beside each other. On top of that some of these sheds are lit up throughout the night and hold heating lamps for the baby chicks, due to the absence of warmth from their mother. Think of how large these animals get and the amount of food they’d need to grow to that size. The amount of space for the food to grow, is incredible. 90% of the corn grown on the planet is for live stock. Yet cows stomachs are not designed to digest corn. Parts of the rain forest are being torn down simply to raise cattle. This ofcourse affects the habitat of the wildlife. Nearly one third of the planet is dedicated to live stock. And to think this space if being taken up and destroyed only to feed us. We are harming this planet without even realizing it. Most of us try and do our part on a daily basis but there are so many ways we are negatively affecting this earth without being conscious of it.

Got Milk?

“Drink it up. It will give you strong bones!” This is what we were told when we were young. We grew up believing that. Do we really know where it comes from? We know the farmer milks the cow by hand. That is the image in our heads. The milk industry is maximizing the milk production as inexpensively as possible. Dairy cows can only produce milk after a pregnancy, just like us! The cows are artificially inseminated every year. After the 9 months of pregnancy , the cow gives birth and the calf is taken, almost instantly, possibly for the veal industry. The cows are then hooked up to a machine and mechanically milked, no farmers. The metal clasps are clamped to their udders and proceed to pump the milk. During this, the cow is tied down in the stall. The udders often bleed and emit pus during this process. Antibiotics are then given to the cows when this occurs, potentially ending up in the milk. Cows produce on average seven to ten times more milk than they would naturally produce. The udders can become so heavy that they drag on the ground while the cow simply tries to move around. These dairy cows are only able to give milk for up to 4 years. After spending those 4 years pregnant and oozing milk they are shipped off to the slaughter house. As consumers don’t we have a right to know this? There are many other options if supporting this industry isn’t for you. Think about the milk you drink and how it gets to your refrigerator. There are a variety of milks that don’t come from animals. Soy milk is an option or my personal favorite, rice milk! Give them a try!

Hide & Seek

First blog!! I’m writing this blog to share things that I have learned over the past couple of years. I have been a vegetarian now for just over 3 years. I couldn’t feel better about it. Learning the information I did years ago changed me greatly and changed the way I look at food. It was an easy decision for me. I knew that I no longer wanted to support the meat industry. I was quiet devastated when I found out what is really going on behind closed doors. I found out what I had been supporting for years and it frustrated me. Knowing what you are supporting is key. There is so much we don’t know.

A farm. The image in your head is most likely the big red barn, the smiling farmer, the picket fence, grazing cattle, green grass and a few horses. A happy place. This is the image we were brought up thinking. This is the image we were taught. This is the image the corporations want us to think of. It’s only until we look further into it when we start to realize it isn’t a happy place. They aren’t farms anymore they’re factories. Most cattle do not graze the fields as we would think they do. Chickens don’t run free with their wings expanded. These animals are brought up in closed quarters with no sense of personal space while having to live in their own body matter. Chickens are trampled to death in the overcrowded windowless pens. Their beaks are usually cut off so they are unable to peck at each other and the cages. Some of these animals never see the light of day until they are being shipped off to the slaughter house. Some animals die on the way to the “house” due to illness. Filing into a line and watching your family being killed one by one knowing that you are next! This is not a life. The death is not always final. Some animals are not completely dead when they are then hung up, cut open, until they finally bleed to death. Why are we being stricken of this information? Do we not have the right to know where our food is coming from? The corporations don’t want us to know with the fear we won’t support anymore. I chose to stop supporting this industry because I do not agree with any of the measures that are taken. There are plenty of documentaries and novels to look into. I strongly recommend it, if you are unsure about this industry and are looking for answers. This information is hidden but you can seek it out.