From: g9rwaigh@cdf.toronto.edu (Rosemary Waigh)
Subject: Re: Better to be slaughtered than never to have lived? Re: Meat eaters (LONG)
Followup-To: talk.politics.animals
Keywords: meat vegans vegetarian food veal factory farms
Organization: University of Toronto Computing Disciplines Facility
Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1992 15:32:59 GMT

In article <1992Dec21.172515.29679@csi.uottawa.ca> cbbrowne@csi.uottawa.ca (Christopher Browne) writes:
>
>People trying to argue points that are essentially philosophical (i.e.
>the morality/immorality of eating meat) do not want to look for the
>BALANCE of what is GENERALLY done.  

Is it true that animals are generally slaughtered to produce meat?  This is
my primary objection, the information about adverse conditions on factory
farms was provided only to refute an earlier poster's claims about the idyllic
lives food animals lead.

>Like you, I've never seen such extreme conditions.  I've got relatives
>that farm, and the cattle roams the ranges, and there are outdoor hog
>pens just as you describe.  

The number of small family farms in Canada is declining at a rapid rate.
"In 1988, Statistics Canada reported that 150 Canadian farm families were
giving up farming every day--one family every 10 minutes.  The number of
family farms has fallen by half since 1951 and the number of farmers from 21
to four percent.  The result is that now 20 percent to 25 percent of farms in
Canada hold 80 percent of *all* the farmland.  Factory farming is directly
responsible for eliminating not only thousands of family farms, but also
thousands of jobs in agriculture:  one factory farmer alone can maintain 300
veal calves, up to 12,000 pigs, or 70,000 chickens.  Feeding and waste
removal are automatic, as is collection of eggs."  ("The Meat Industry's
Cover-Up:  Canada's Most Censored Story?", Canadians for the Ethical Treatment
of Food Animals.  Contact Tina Harrison, National Coordinator, Box 35597,
Station E, Vancouver, BC, V6M 4G9).

>The extreme forms of mis-treatment
>probably do exist somewhere, but since they're unhealthy for the
>animals, it's unwise to run a farm in such ways.  Farmers don't want
>to have sick animals on the farm, because sickness spreads, and
>results in lower productivity.  Cruelty to animals isn't merely of
>questionable immorality - it's also counterproductive.

Would you also say that no employers mistreat their workers, because it would
be counterproductive?  The loss in productivity is balanced by the money saved
by spending less on housing and food.

>Veal is one of the animal rights movement's
>classic examples of cruelty to animals.  I'm not sure that there are
>any farms around that still use the procedures that are described in
>the animal rights propaganda.

The traditional methods of confinement and malnourishment in raising veal
calves are still legal and in use.  Canadian Vegans for Animal Rights is
currently campaigning for legislation to make these practices illegal.
-- 
Rosemary Waigh             Undergraduate, Computer Science / Linguistics
g9rwaigh@cdf.utoronto.ca   University of Toronto
	"Looking at the Earth from afar you realize it is too small
	for conflict and just big enough for co-operation."  Yuri Gagarin
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