Before you go out and purchase “humane” meat, “cage free” or “free range” eggs, or “organic” animal products, take a few minutes to research what these deceptive labels actually mean. As it turns out, they don’t mean much at all in terms of animal welfare. In this interview, Farm Sanctuary‘s director of legal campaigns, Delci Winders, speaks about the misleading labeling techniques used by animal agriculture industries to deceive the public and increase sales.
This video speaks on mislabeling and cruelty to animals, but what about eating animals that have good lives. For example, I grew up around farm country and every year we would go to our local fair and buy a pig from the 4H club. These girls in 4H are taught how to keep their couple pig’s cage clean, how much and how often to feed it, and how to “run” the pig (it’s surprising how fast pigs can run). They bring them to the fair and after purchasing one of the pigs, it goes to the local butcher and we store the meat in our freezer to eat all year. Pigs are also great to eat because one can use every piece of the pig and nothing goes to waste (our local butchers promise).
If the pig has a good life and after its death it is fully “used” without going to waste, then isn’t it acceptable to eat the animal. I understand sticking up for animal rights is necessary and I’m against eating store bought meat, but what about eating the pig in my story above. If we say no to eating meat altogether, then what is next; letting the pigs go back out into the wild where they surely won’t survive?
What is your feelings about eating the pig in the story below? Help me to understand why going completely Vegan is the right choice. Thanks Michelle and I love your website!
My gosh, that must be so horrible for the girls who care for the pigs! They care for them like they would their family dog (and pigs are actually more intelligent than dogs, can be easily trained, and yep, love to run and play!), and then have to sell this individual they have undoubtedly grown to care for and love to be slaughtered. I think that is particularly sad because it teaches children to desensitize themselves to the suffering of others and that hurting other beings is okay… it contradicts the idea that we should “treat others the way we would like to be treated.”
It doesn’t make sense to me to take the lives of living breathing animals with a desire to live when we don’t need to. Especially when we know that eating a diet free from animals and animal products is much healthier for us, prevents and reverses some of the most deadly diseases our society suffers from (heart disease, type II diabetes, some cancers, etc), and that eating lower on the food chain much more sustainable.
Anyway, my feeling about eating the pig in your story is that it is still contributing to unnecessary suffering (keeping them in cages when they have a desire to be free, probably separating them from their mothers and breaking that incredibly powerful bond, and ultimately killing them), but that eating most store bought meat is contributing to significantly more suffering. So the former is without a doubt preferable…but I still see a better solution. And that’s not taking the lives of others at all
Anyway, those are my thoughts. Thanks for the questions Keith! These are exactly the kinds of thoughts and discussions we need to start having more of, because whether we realize it or not, our actions and our choices have huge implications and effects on the lives of others! Hugs~
You should make a video (if you already haven’t) about the labeling on vegetables too! Just because you’re vegan does NOT put you off the hook to watch what you eat!!!
Everyone needs to do their part to keep their bodies healthier and protect the environment.
To Keith: I think you need to take a step back and read your own comment. You take an animal, in this instance a pig and you act like you’re a friend being sure to take great care of it and then in the end turn your back on this animal and consume it.. ?? I’m sure you (and others) develop a strong bond with these animals. It takes a cold heart or no heart at all to do what you do. If we give them the chance, a pig as well as a cow or turkey, etc. are no different than a cat or dog. If I were to do what you say you do, I could never live with myself. How do you sleep at night?
Keith–As a pretty new vegetarian (and one still wearing leather shoes), I won’t say it’s “wrong” to eat a pig that had a good and happy life “until”. But I do know that I can be healthy and happy without eating meat, and I’d rather not cause a pig to be killed for my meal–even though bacon is really tasty.
As to what happens to the pigs–well, it’s not like the world is going to give up eating meat tomorrow. If our culture did succeed in gradually giving up meat, we’d have plenty of time to gradually reduce farm stocks (not hard to do, since most of those animals don’t get to live out a year anyway).
(Oh–and while domestic sheep and cows might not do well in the wild, pigs might surprise you. We have quite a wild pig problem in the San Francisco peninsula. They go feral quite quickly and enthusiastically…)
Hello, good point about labeling, but what about good people trying to label honestly? What is to differentiate us from others??
We have a small flock of hens that we keep as pets and pest control. They are grass fed (truly) and free range (as in watch where you step around the yard!) We sell their eggs to local grocery stores and private individuals. All our hens live out their happy lives on the farm well after they stop laying, hence our company name “Good Karma Egg Company.”
So, my question is how can those of us who ethically label their products differentiate from the big companies?
Thanks and keep up the good work!
Keith:
Would you change the wording of your comment if those girls raised puppies and sent the grown (but well-cared-for) dogs to a butcher? Why is a pig different from a companion animal? And how is it not horrifying for a girl to learn to love and care for a living creature, only to send it to its death (and a customer’s dinner plate)?
It also bothers me to read comments like yours because it’s as if you’re looking for an excuse to continue to eat meat. The ethics behind asking creatures to die so that you may live are shady at best. We humans can thrive without the death of fellow earthlings, so why don’t we? It seems like the least harmful most ethically sound decision to make. Regardless of how well the pig was treated up until its slaughter, why not let it live its life in peace and without being slaughtered?
Hey Erin,
I think your point is tremendously important. There are certainly good people like yourself out there who are labeling honestly, but I think you are in the minority and the problem right now is that consumers aren’t able to differentiate between the honest labeling and the dishonest labeling unless they visit the animals themselves to see how they are treated.
As long as people are profiting off of the animal products, there is incentive to cut corners to decrease costs but also to market the products as “humane” to increase sales. In this business, dishonesty is a competitive advantage, and dishonest labeling has become the norm. I choose to err on the side of caution when the welfare of animals is at stake.
You might try contacting Farm Sanctuary to find out if there are going to be any improvements in the labeling system in the future. Good luck!
http://www.farmsanctuary.org/issues/campaigns/truth_behind_labeling.html
To everyone responding to my original comment:
That’s just want I wanted to hear. That same question has been posed to me by my friends and family and I could never answer it. I never really thought about the young girls who have to raise the pigs. These comments really are helping me understand why going vegetarian or vegan is important. I admit, I do eat meat right now, but I do love to hear the argument of why I should stop. I will be having children in the upcoming years and I am trying to determine how I should raise them. Thanks for all of your comments! [and sorry Stacey for seeming to be "cold hearted"
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