Despite this, the meat industry subjects them to unspeakable cruelty, such as mutilations, neglect, abuse and, always, violent deaths. They are forced to endure excruciating procedures: dehorning, branding, and castration, often without painkillers.
In more natural settings, cows would spend their time grazing in fields and socialising, but on farms these gentle animals are often kept in crowded, filthy conditions.
The natural lifespan of a cow reared for 'beef' averages at 18-22 years. In slaughterhouses, cows experience fear and pain before they die prematurely. Animal Justice Project has filmed the horrific abuse of cows in the lairage and kill floor of a small UK slaughterhouse.
However, many cows reared for 'beef' are confined to sheds during winter, or are increasingly reared entirely indoors (on fully slatted floors, which limits normal behaviour, physical comfort and increases the risk of chronic and acute injury). During the winter months, these cows may also be subjected to a lack of space and poor lighting, which may cause lung problems, particularly in young bulls.
Young bulls, regardless of whether they are labelled ‘grass-fed’ or ‘organic’, are commonly mutilated with inadequate or no pain relief during or following procedures. Castration and disbudding/dehorning are frequently carried out, and often by inexperienced or untrained workers. Cows are raised to be killed for 'meat'; they are viewed only as commodities.
The 'beef' industry is fragmented, which means cows are subjected to the stress of transportation and repeated social disruption several times during their lives. They may be abused by farm workers who use electric goads to help move the animals. As filmed on Berryfields Farm in Northamptonshire, a significant number of lame cows are kept on farms for protracted periods, in the hope that they will one day be fit for transportation to slaughter. Though, lame animals were still filmed being loaded up and sent the the slaughterhouse.
It doesn’t matter whether cows are housed inside or out, this industry is built on exploitation and killing. They are all transported and killed in the same way.
“Cutting methane is the biggest opportunity to slow warming between now and 2040... We need to face this emergency.” - Durwood Zaelke, a lead reviewer for the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Climate change is no longer a future threat, or exclusively impacting people in distant places, and our definition of ‘food’ is playing an ever-greater role in the climate crisis.
The beef industry pollutes the environment while consuming huge quantities of water, land, and other resources. It is also a major emitter of methane. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that cows emit during digestion, and animals raised for food account for about one-third of agriculture’s methane emissions. In the IPCC’s sixth and most recent report, the panel advocates rapid reductions in methane emissions to stave off the worst effects of climate change.
While historically, conversations about global warming focused on carbon dioxide, methane’s climate impact is now around 25 times greater than that of CO2. However, in 2019, methane gas concentrations in the atmosphere were the highest they'd been in the previous 800,000 years.
Agriculture is responsible for one-third of total methane emissions, and raising animals on farms is the largest source of agriculture emissions. Animal agriculture is also a leading driver of deforestation and habitat loss across the globe.
We all have a part to play in ending our abusive relationship we have with animals who are farmed; ending their exploitation and in turn, reducing greenhouse gas emissions. From stopping animal abuse to protecting the planet, the positive impact of plant-based eating cannot be overstated, and there’s never been a better time to be vegan and get active for animals.
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