ORGANIC AMERICA
Cows
Although a cow's natural lifespan is 20 years, they are only allowed 5 years of life in CAFOs. The vast majority spend theur entire life on a concrete floor and frequently hooked up to milking machines. When killed for meat, many cows are still aware and concious with no way to numb pain when slaughtered.
CAFOs are Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations. They are the industrialization of nature and have been notorious for practicing inhumane techniques in raising their animals. Conditions within CAFOs are unhygenic and cruel. Cows are fed poultry feathers and the by products of slaughtered animals, cement dust, and steriods to exponentiate their natural growth. Chickens are overfed to simulate "healthiness" to the point that their own legs break under their own weight. Pigs have their tails cut off at an early age to save space and spend their entire lives crammed into pens as small as a bedroon with 20 or more pigs.
Inhumane conditions aren't the only reason why CAFO's must end. Due to the mass amount of animals concentrated into one enclosed area, waste run-off has been polluting underground water sources and making water undrinkable to surrounding sources. The surrounding ecosystems have taken a large blow from the over-nutrification of their environment, killing off smaller spieces and disrupting the food-chain. Human's are also affected, as reports of child deformities have been reported and linked the proximity of CAFOs to neighborhoods nad public areas.
Organic America: What are CAFOs?
Pigs
Breeding sows live their entire lives in a cycle of pregnancy, birth, and nursing. Thier pen's are just slightly larger than their bodies, leaving no room to turn around or lie down comfortablely. The intense boredom pigs experience has lead to neurotic behavior live chewing the bars of their cage leading to mouth sores and constant bleeding.
Chickens
26-30% of chickens used for meat have difficulty walking due to their abnormal sizes caused from hormones. Chickens have difficulty breathing from the mass amount of waste they live in, which contains high amounts of ammonia.
Hens
95% of egg-laying hens are confined to battery cages, up to 10 at a time. Their floor-space for a lifetime is roughly the size of a piece of computer paper. After 1-2 years, hens are considered "spent" and killed by C02 gassing.
Humans
Everytime we eat hamburgers, or fried chicken, or bacon that is not sourced from an organic farm, we are supporting the companies that practice these harmful techniques. We eat foods full of arsenic and unnatural hormones, and our children are subject to water that may have been polluted with animal waste of parts.
