What’s Wrong with Animal Agriculture?
The Gregory J. Reiter Memorial Fund supports multiple organizations and campaigns that work to promote veganism, based on concern for the animals themselves as well as concern for human health and our global environment.
This weekend, I had two Letters to the Editor published by media outlets in my current home state of Pennsylvania, highlighting a few of the many problems with animal agriculture:
February 4: LNP | Lancaster Online: Where are the cute calves now?
“Where are the Pennsylvania Farm Show calves now? In January, LNP | LancasterOnline covered the Pennsylvania Farm Show Calving Corner births of Winston and Clover to dairy cows Betty and Pepper. With so much reader interest, I believe that a follow-up report on how those cows are faring now would be a great service to the community.
The calves’ births were presented as cute attractions, but wasn’t it stressful for Betty and Pepper to be transported to the Farm Show while heavily pregnant and then give birth before crowds of spectators? Were Winston and Clover quickly taken from their moms — per standard industry practice to keep the milk for humans — and did Betty and Pepper cry for their babies?
Will Betty and Pepper be sent to slaughter after three or four years of intense milk production? Is Clover being raised to follow her mom’s fate? Has Winston been sent to a veal farm to be confined to prevent muscle growth and then be killed for soft veal meat in a few months?
As a longtime supporter and volunteer with Lancaster Farm Sanctuary and other sanctuaries, and having witnessed mother cows raising their calves to adulthood, I believe that many LNP | LancasterOnline readers may share my interest in answers to these questions.”
More at Woodstock Farm Sanctuary’s Fair Coalition page.
Photo: Maisie, a former dairy cow, with her calf Justin at Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary in 2018.
February 5: Philadelphia Inquirer: Humane Discussion / The not-so-incredible, edible egg
“The Inquirer article “Pennsylvania has 4.6 million fewer egg-laying hens due to avian flu” cried out for discussion of why this outbreak should prompt a shift away from egg production and consumption. Modern egg production harms chickens, even in “normal” times. Male chicks are killed after hatching. Female chicks’ beaks are typically removed. Bred for unnaturally high egg production, they are slaughtered once their laying capacity declines. Today’s standard chicken farming practices — with thousands of birds concentrated in small spaces — provide ideal conditions for avian flu viruses to mutate and spread. Human egg consumption is associated with cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes, while healthier substitutes are readily available. By transitioning away from egg production and consumption, we can spare animals from suffering, help stop the cycle of avian flu outbreaks, and improve our own health.”
More at PETA: 21 Things the Egg Industry Doesn’t Want You to See; Woodstock Farm Sanctuary: Consider the Egg; and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine: Eggs.