Tyson Foods’ decision to shut down slaughter operations at its Emporia plant left a lot of people and organizations unhappy.
But People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals? Not as much.
PETA, one of the most well-known, provocative and radical animal rights organizations, has targeted the Tyson corporation for years because of alleged abuse of animals at its chicken slaughter plants. The animal rights group even maintains a Tyson-centric Web site, TorturedbyTyson.com, that details the results of PETA’s undercover investigations into Tyson slaughterhouses.
PETA’s position on Tyson’s layoffs in Emporia is that mass job loss isn’t a good thing, but the demise of the plant’s Emporia slaughter facility isn’t a bad thing.
“I don’t think that Emporia is facing a big loss by losing a company like Tyson,” said Holly Beal, a PETA spokesperson in Kansas City, Mo. “And I really hope, for the community, that a far more reputable company comes in and offers those same amount of jobs.
“It’s sad whenever a community loses that many jobs ... My heart has to go out to everybody there and (I) know how that must feel, the panic of it when you lose jobs.”
PETA advocates a vegetarian lifestyle, but its feelings about the Tyson corporation are also the result of undercover investigations PETA conducted into Tyson chicken slaughterhouses in 2004-05 and again in 2007. Graphic video from both investigations can be seen on the “Tortured by Tyson” Web site.
In December 2004 and February 2005, an undercover PETA agent worked in Tyson’s chicken slaughter plant in Heflin, Ala. The investigator videotaped birds that had been mutilated by throat-cutting machines that didn’t work properly and showed workers apparently ripping the heads off birds that the throat-cutting machine had missed. The investigator also said he saw birds being scalded alive in the feather-removal tank and videotaped a plant manager telling him it was acceptable if up to 40 birds per shift were scalded alive.
The 2007 investigation at Tyson plants at Cumming, Ga., and Union City, Tenn., found more alleged animal cruelty and misconduct, including workers throwing birds at metal shackles and urinating in the live-hang area. One worker admitted to the PETA investigator that he broke a chicken’s back.
Tyson issued a press release response to PETA’s 2004 and 2005 investigations expressing concern about the video and saying Tyson was conducting its own internal review. But the release said the company took issue with PETA’s claim that live birds were being decapitated by hand.
“We believe the carefully edited video is showing birds that have already been cut by an automatic knife and are either dead or have been rendered unconscious,” the release said.
Last week, as a result of PETA’s 2007 investigation and an investigation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Tyson fired employees at its Cumming and Union City slaughterhouses. Tyson spokesman Gary Mickelson told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in a statement that Tyson is conducting an ongoing internal investigation and that some worker actions shown in the PETA video warranted corrective action. But Mickelson said some activities in the video were misrepresented because the birds were already unconscious.
Lindsey Rajt, a national PETA spokesperson at the group’s headquarters in Norfolk, Va., said the organization wouldn’t ever express regret over the shutdown of a slaughterhouse. She said more than 27 billion animals are slaughtered each year “to feed America’s meat addiction.”
“The meat industry spends hundreds of millions of dollars lying to the public about their products,” Rajt said. “But no amount of false propaganda can sanitize meat. The facts are absolutely clear: Eating meat is bad for human health, it’s catastrophic for the environment and it’s a living nightmare for animals.”
PETA has about 1.8 million members across the United States, but its aggressive means of promoting its animal rights causes often cross many people’s personal lines. Five years ago, the organization angered many with a “Holocaust on Your Plate” campaign and exhibit. The exhibit included large panels that displayed scenes from Nazi death camps side by side with photos from factory farms and slaughterhouses. The Anti-Defamation League issued a condemnation of the exhibit.
Beal said drawing attention to what goes on in slaughterhouses sometimes required provocative means.
“What goes on with animals is horrific,” she said. “There’s times when I wish I didn’t know what goes on behind the scenes in a slaughterhouse. ... And people don’t want to know, so you have to put it in a fun, sexy, playful, provocative or radical type of way to get them to pay attention to it.”
PETA, Beal said, tries to meet with companies to persuade them to improve their treatment of animals, and some, such as Burger King, have been receptive to suggestions for using a more humane slaughter method.
“We don’t really campaign against a company until we’ve exhausted all of our possibilities to sit down at a table with them and (reason with) them,” she said. “And we don’t ask them to end (slaughter) things completely, because that’s often unrealistic. We ask them to make changes.”
But Rajt said even though PETA works with companies to improve slaughter methods, the job of slaughter worker doesn’t have to be accepted as a legitimate profession.
“The bottom line is that chickens, cows, pigs and fish feel pain and fear just like dogs and cats do,” she said. “And yet they’re abused in ways that would be illegal if dogs and cats were the victims.”
bobhornet (anonymous) says...
PETA can kiss off; I don't see them creating jobs to keep food on the table...meat included.
February 20, 2008 at 1:50 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
morethenenough (anonymous) says...
.......I agree....NO productive jobs provided..unless they consider TIME they stand around ..waving signs and shouting, taking an idiotic stance, acomplishing NOTHING........LETS stand and put our engergies for the amount of slaughter caused BY Abortions.......HUMAN lives being taken...
February 20, 2008 at 3:12 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
admireed (anonymous) says...
#$%@*&^%
February 20, 2008 at 3:31 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
stevenlk (anonymous) says...
peta is a bunk cult. they are fake and result to destruction and violence saying that it isnt that breaking down places stealing and literally blowing up places that exploit animals. they try to say, "violence and non violence are not moral princeples they are tactics." Another case is them spending $ 9,370 on a freezer, one costing that much would be 10ft x 15ft, which only one that large it to store meat, or to store corpses... of dogs which THEY euthanized. in one year they rescued 2103 dogs, 1325 of them dogs were killed, and which is leaving 778 dogs actually saved. They just killed almost 2/3's of the dogs they rescued. :-/ they are not a real animals rights group they are fake, distortionist, terror and abuse who is the largets animals rights group with 750,000 members around the world. how crazy can three quarters of the world really be?
February 20, 2008 at 3:35 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
madpoet (anonymous) says...
PETA is a terroist organization plain and simple. Beware giving to the Humane Society of the US since they are quietly aligned with PETA now. If God wanted us to be vegetarians we would be designed differently. Yes, we could eat less meat. Yes, we should kill animals as humanely as possible but they go way overboard.
February 20, 2008 at 3:59 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Bjnemp (anonymous) says...
I, too, love animals and want to ensure their humane treatment. I applaud PETA for monitoring the treatment of cattle before slaughter. Good treatment prevents bruising which ultimately results in a more tender steak, medium rare, pink center. I do love those cows.
February 20, 2008 at 4:41 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
heloves (anonymous) says...
Abuse them no. But animals were created for our use and one of those uses was food.
February 20, 2008 at 4:47 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
emporian (anonymous) says...
Actually PETA is a larger supporter of the #1 domestic terrorist group in the USA, the Animal Liberation Front.
PETA also kills animals. They say they are taking the dogs for adoption then inject them and throw then in dumpsters. They got caught redhanded back East doing it.
http://www.petakillsanimals.com/
February 20, 2008 at 4:49 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Pollyanna (anonymous) says...
While I am very sad for many families in Emporia facing financial uncertainty, I would be lying if I didn't say that I certainly will not miss the line of "dead cows walking" on their way to their demise. Madpoet mentioned if God wanted us to be be vegetarians we would be designed differently. I wonder how millions of Americans are living healthy lives in the absence of animal protein? Granted here in meat and potato country, this may seem preposterous, but humans are capable of living healthy lives through eating other forms of protein. God did design us to be able to live without animal protein.
http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/poll.htm
February 20, 2008 at 4:51 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
peanuts40 (anonymous) says...
I love all the comments...esp #$%@&^%
Really couldn't believe that these peta people came to
Emporia to do this right now, after the loss of all the jobs.
What a nerve!! They wouldn't have come before, because
they might have been run out of town by the Tyson workers. It is safe now, with the plant laying off so many.
It is just crazy. I am sorry the Gazette gave them the
front page.
February 20, 2008 at 5:30 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Hillbilly (anonymous) says...
peanuts40, where in this article does it say that peta has been to tyson since the reduction of employees. NO WHERE. maybe you should of read the article first.
I am not crazy over peta either, But since tyson had complete control of what was slaughtered there, ( no meat inspectors on site) I for one am glad that tyson had to look back to see if peta was watching them, no one else was. Since we all know now how tyson worked and how much the all-mighty dollar meant to them, I can see them driving country roads looking for dead cattle or what ever else they could cut up and sell for profit, just think about it for a second before you go to your favorite fast food restaurant tonight.
February 20, 2008 at 5:52 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
hottopics (anonymous) says...
They are put here on earth for our purpose in survival as well as jobs. I do however support the regulations of the humane treatment of any animals including how they are slaughtered.
February 20, 2008 at 6:17 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
momus (anonymous) says...
Why all the hate? I fully support People for Especially Tasty Animals.
There are people that ARE abusive to animals (Mike Vick and others), and I fully understand the need for people to step in and ensure that animals are not treated in an especially cruel manner. However, cattle would not exist in their current form if not for humans. You never hear of "wild cattle herds". And, certain protiens and amino acids essential for development of omnivors are only present in meat.
Organizations of any type that deal in absolutes are doomed to radical behavior. If you have a certain belief system, that's fine. If you want to educate others in a respectful manner about the logic behind your belief system, that's fine too. Just don't try and force people to live by your moral code, and insinuate that people are lesser because they don't subscribe to your form of ethics.
February 20, 2008 at 7:32 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
StovePipe (anonymous) says...
It's a little misleading to use that picture from 6 years ago. FYI, Matt (the guy in the picture) started eating meat again a couple years ago...
February 20, 2008 at 8:22 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
VeganChick (anonymous) says...
There is no reason for such hostility. We should embrace any efforts to lessen animal suffering. I've seen the footage taken by PETA's undercover investigator and it is horrifying. Of course, I don't think anyone needs to visit a chicken slaughterhouse to know that it is a bloody, gruesome place of death and misery. People don't need to eat chicken--there are healthier, humane alternatives that taste great. There's even mock chicken. Give a vegetarian diet a try--it is the best thing for animals, people, and the environment.
February 20, 2008 at 10:16 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ryanwo567 (anonymous) says...
you do know what peta stands for if you don't here it is
(People Eating Tasty Animals)
February 21, 2008 at 3:15 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
iamconcerned (anonymous) says...
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
February 20, 2008 at 6:27 p.m. ( permalink )
Hillbilly (anonymous) says...
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
February 20, 2008 at 7:19 p.m. ( permalink )
Dennis (anonymous) says...
Do any of you have a shred of human decency? Animals are living and dying in immeasurable misery, and you make tired, stale old jokes and acyonyms?
Grow up. Look around you. Acknowledge that there is world outside your own selfish existences.
Suffering hurts us all. And to attack those who are trying to make the world a better place for humans and animals is shameful. Instead of venting your guilt on PETA, take a look inward. From the looks of these posts, many of you surely can use a bit of self-reflection.
I am a factory worker by the way, least you think I'm a bleeding heart.
February 21, 2008 at 9:13 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
starfire (anonymous) says...
I agree with PETA and support them. There is no way I would eat the meat from animals that are tortured to their death. I'm glad the Tyson slaughter house is gone.
That being said . . .
I've lived in Emporia for 3 years now and I am totally embarrassed to tell other people where I live. I have never ever lived in a place with so much negativity and so many uneducated people running around. The lack of culture and closed minds of people in this small community absolutely drive me crazy. As soon as possible, I plan on moving away from this horrible town. I'm not driven to move because there is no Target store - I want to move because these are not the type of people I personally want to be around.
E-d-u-c-a-t-i-o-n people . . . get one. It will help . . .
February 21, 2008 at 9:17 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
newme314 (anonymous) says...
I had worked at the Tyson in Garden City and while i was on a tour of this facility I saw nothing in the way of misstreatment of the cattle. Every living thing on this and I mean in the way of animals were put here for one thing,,,food. I will not change the way I feel about this! Dont get me wrong I love my veggies too. But the protein you get from meat serves as a building block for thing such as red blood cells and also promotes wound healing. Think of that !!!!!!!!!!!!!
February 21, 2008 at 9:49 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Moo (anonymous) says...
Wow, I've never seen such rage and anger on a newspaper post. It always amazes me how just the word Peta can send so many people over the edge.
Peta aside, I am sad that your community lost so many jobs. I can't imagine what that must be like. And I do hope another company will come into your town and bring in more jobs for those who have lost theirs.
However, I must say I hope they are jobs that don't involve suffering and misery -- to both humans AND animals. Regardless of how people feel about Tyson or Peta, the fact is that people who work in these types of environments (kill floors, processing lines, etc.) it does affect them. And it affects their familes as well. No human being can continuously kill another mammal, who wants to live just as bad as the rest of us, day in and day out and it not take a toll on their soul. I know because I've talked to a few Tyson workers from the kill floor. They talk about how you have to basically go numb inside to kill another living being all day, how they look the other way regarding the suffering they witness, and how they have to joke about attrocities that go on inside the kill floor, all so they can get through another shift. Heartbreaking indeed.
You can huff and puff all you want and say cliches like "God put them here for our use/abuse", "we're meant to eat meat", "Peta is a terrorist organization" and on and on and on. But the fact remains that the kill floor at the Emporia Tyson plant had to be hell on earth. Again, not just for the animals being killed, but for the workers who have had to endure their own suffering as well.
So all I can say is I truly hope the people in your community who have had to endure the most nightmarish working conditions imaginable at Tyson can start to heal both physically and emotionally, and may all of them find more fulfilling work -- work that doesn't deteriorate your body, minds and souls.
Good luck to all the ex-Tyson workers! Brighter days are ahead even though it might not feel that way now.
February 21, 2008 at 9:55 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
starfire (anonymous) says...
I think you guys don't like what I said because it's just a little bit too truthful. Replies like yours renegade and slipandslide only help to further prove my point. Highly ironic isn't it?
For the record, you don't have to have money to have class, culture, or be an educated, well mannered person!
February 21, 2008 at 10:29 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Pollyanna (anonymous) says...
Moo: you must be new to these posts. This anger and rage is angel talk compared to other spewings!!.....
I for one appreciate your insight on those working the kill floor and the difficulties involved in a job like that. I've also talked to friends who worked there and said it does indeed take a toll. Thanks for the perspective.
February 21, 2008 at 10:30 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
madpoet (anonymous) says...
I stand by my earlier statement that PETA is a terrorist organization. They sneak around and threaten and stage outrageous protests to get attention. They throw paint on people wearing fur coats etc while wearing leather shoes. What we need is more inspectors hired to check up on the food industry not someone with an axe to grind slipping around looking for something to splash their name on the headlines. PETA has gotten such a bad reputation with their antics they give a negative connotation to whatever they bring up, even if it's a good cause at it's core.
I personally have not spoken to someone who worked on the kill floor. I can imagine some would be bothered by it while others would just see it as the way to get food on the table for themselves and others. I hope they tried to do it as painlessly as possible. Whenever I've had to kill an animal I've tried to make it quick and painless as possible even if it was just a mouse. THAT is what makes us human, not animals. The ability to feel empathy to others, including animals.
Yes we can survive without meat protein but it's hard to get all the amino acids needed just with vegetable protein. Peanuts are good but a lot of people are allergic to them. Tofu would old really quick with me at least. Our teeth are made for ripping and chewing meat as well as vegetable matter. Humans are omnivores like bears and raccoons.
February 21, 2008 at 10:30 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Moo (anonymous) says...
Regarding Madpoet's comments on Peta being a terrorist organization, I think that term tends to get used quite loosely nowadays. We need to really think of what the word "terrorist" means. True terrorists have no problem killing any human being - man, woman or child - for their cause. Peta, or any animal organization for that matter, have never killed a soul, nor would they. It goes against everything they believe in. Now they may annoy the heck out of the public by staging silly shows in public, tossing washable red paint on someone wearing a fur coat, etc. But not once have they truly ever hurt someone. Maybe embarrassed people (and themselves!), made the public squirm watching horrific undercover animal abuse, but again, they have never physically harmed another human being. I would never compare someone who dresses up in a celery outfit talking to kids about becoming a vegetarian to someone who flys planes into our buildings and really kills people. So to call them a "terrorist" organization is stretching it a bit far, don't you think?
As for saying our teeth are made for ripping and tearing meat, hmmm... then why do we have to cook it? I once had a friend tell me that if humans were "truly" carnivores, then when we passed a dead, rotting skunk carcass on the side of the highway, we would immediately start salivating, pull over, and "rip and tear" into it the way you described. But guess what? We don't. Only true carnivores like tigers, lions, etc. can "rip and tear" into a bloody carcass. But hey, who is to say there isn't a human out there that can do this? LOL! :)
February 21, 2008 at 10:50 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
olddog (anonymous) says...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE: PETA Killed Over 97 Percent of the Animals in its Care in 2006
2,981. That’s how many dogs, cats, puppies, kittens, and other "companion animals"
died needlessly at PETA's hands in 2006. According to the group's own records,
PETA employees killed more than 97 percent of the flesh-and-blood creatures in
their care that year.
http://www.petakillsanimals.com/
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Very interesting article on PETA ... check it out!!!!!
February 21, 2008 at 10:54 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
olddog (anonymous) says...
While PETA collects millions in donations by pretending to advocate for the welfare of animals, the group has killed 17,400 pets since 1998. Some animals are killed at PETA headquarters and stored in a giant walk-in freezer.
Others are killed in roving death vans and tossed into dumpsters. In fact, less than three percent of the animals handed over to People for the "Ethical" Treatment of Animals actually survive.
February 21, 2008 at 10:56 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
olddog (anonymous) says...
starfire --- maybe you should read through the PETA link and look through some of the photo links on them and see just how PETA cares for their animals! Check it out starfire ....... dont be scared!
February 21, 2008 at 11:12 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
madpoet (anonymous) says...
I said humans are omnivores not carnivores or scavengers. I didn't mean we are made to bring down a deer and chew hunks out of the carcass. Many meat eaters eat small prey. Bears will eat mice, for example. Chimps will eat small monkeys. People eat raw meat all the time: steak tar tar (sp.) and sushi are raw. We cook it to kill the bacteria and parasites as well as soften it. You can eat raw potatoes but they sure taste better cooked. The point is we do better with meat of some sort in our diet. Yes, people can be vegetarians if they so please but don't try to force that CHOICE on others by showing them graphic photos and saying how cruelly animals are treated. That is not always the case. It is probably the exception instead of the rule.
Celery outfit? In Derby, KS they dressed as chickens and showed little grade school kids pictures that made the adults shudder. They had the children in tears. Some had to go home they were so upset. PETA uses threats against companies and tries to frighten or shock people into seeing things their way. Not as extreme as suicide bombers,no. But still the same in that they see no other point of view and will go to extreme measures to force it on others.
February 21, 2008 at 11:18 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
olddog (anonymous) says...
starfire --- I'll post it for you again. Sad to hear you would support such a group!
PETA Kills Animals
http://www.petakillsanimals.com/
PETA's Defenseless Victims
http://www.petakillsanimals.com/petaV...
February 21, 2008 at 11:28 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
olddog (anonymous) says...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PETA's Lame Response
http://www.petakillsanimals.com/petar...
7 Things You Didn't Know About PETA
http://www.petakillsanimals.com/artic...
February 21, 2008 at 11:34 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
olddog (anonymous) says...
Take a Bite out of PETA
Sign the petition to have PETA's tax-exemption status removed.
http://www.petakillsanimals.com/artic...
PETA's Dirty Secret
http://www.petakillsanimals.com/petas...
February 21, 2008 at 11:45 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
meateater (anonymous) says...
starfire if your going to cry about everything maybe you could get a job as a chicken choker at tyson.so you can keep an eye on them.
February 21, 2008 at 12:09 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
citizenx (anonymous) says...
I love PETA. I think they are a fine organization.
They are the ones that make those little flat bread things, right?
February 21, 2008 at 3:25 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
kara (anonymous) says...
i have to say that i'm more than mildly amused by those so critical of PETA - my suggestion would be to read the entire article.
and to compare the group to a terrorist organization? seriously?
that said, humans aren't "designed" or "meant" to eat meat...
http://michaelbluejay.com/veg/natural...
February 22, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
open_eyes (anonymous) says...
A vegetarian web site claiming humans aren't "designed" or "meant" to eat meat........ what would you expect on a vegetarian website?
Well, here's some other points of view...
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/...
http://www.purifymind.com/HumansOmniv...
Personally, I don't care. If you want to not eat meat, then don't eat it. If you want to eat meat, then eat it. I don't tell other people what they should or shouldn't eat. Just don't get between me and my ice cream....
February 22, 2008 at 7:04 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
CAFEmporia (anonymous) says...
open_eyes: finally, a correct perspective. mind if I join you?
February 22, 2008 at 7:48 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
open_eyes (anonymous) says...
Not at all, CAFE, welcome! Like I said, just don't come between me and my ice cream! LOL
February 22, 2008 at 9:45 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
alfalfa (anonymous) says...
I don't think animals are tortured to death in slaughterhouses, that is propaganda. Don't bother giving me a link to some PETA website, obviously they are of a different opinion. I would like to point out that wild animals do not die in their sleep as a rule(nor do people,death as a rule is not short or pleasant for man or beast). If they are not hunted, they generally are eaten by some other animal, die of disease, starve to death, get hit by cars,etc. Just want to make it clear that left alone in the wild, animals do not just peacefully fall asleep and drift off to whereever. Family farmers and ranchers spend alot of time, effort and money raising livestock for food. Not to make light of slaughter,but it is a quick process. PETA wants everyone who eats meat to feel guilty, that is just bull. Domestic livestock are cared for from day one, and very few suffer ever. Animals like cattle take things humans can't digest, like grass, cornstalks, hay and yes some grain and turn it into tasty beef. It is a good process, and I look forward to eating meat until I die, be that tonight or 50 years from now.
If you are concerned about where your meat comes from, go straight to the farm and send it to a locker plant, then you will know for sure, and you will bypass several middlemen.
If you don't want to eat meat don't, but don't try to scare those of us who do with lies about torture and pain. Anyone who raises stock knows that if your livestock isn't healthy and well fed, it won't do well,and if it doesn't do well it won't make money. PETA needs to get a grip on the realities of life and death for all living things....we are all going to die, and it ain't gonna be fun.
February 22, 2008 at 10:38 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
kara (anonymous) says...
open eyes:
i read your links. point taken.
one thing i can assure you of this - for every point of view there will be scientific evidence to back it up.
that said, there are plenty of other reasons that a vegetarian diet is not only is good for people, but good for the planet as well.
last time i checked, peta wasn't trying to take away your ice cream, nor are they trying to ban your ice cream. last time i checked, tyson didn't make meat ice cream. ;)
presenting a different point of view in america is, well, american to its core. just because peta promotes vegetarianism does not mean they are forcing you to stop eating meat. i don't see the connection that so many are trying to make here.
factory farms are not pretty. slaughterhouses are not pretty places, either. animals are tortured - you don't need a peta website to tell you that.
peta aside, in 'fast food nation,' eric schlosser describes how dangerous these places are, also, for the workers. the family farm is dying. they are actually being paid not to farm on them. animals are also injected with a myriad of antibiotics and growth hormone that isn't fit for human consumption. i don't know that we were "intended" to eat all that other stuff... and what about this most recent meat recall?
i find it funny that 90% of the time, when i say that i don't eat meat when asked or when it comes up - that i'm met with "what? you think you're better than me? you too good to eat meat?" never once have i attacked someone for eating meat (my husband does!) - yet, the same level of respect is rarely returned my way.
as far as peta killing animals... perhaps if people spayed and neutered pets, didn't dump them, didn't torture and burn them... many of the saved animals have been burned and tortured. i see a marked difference between humanely euthanizing an animal and torturing it to death for pleasure or shoes. i'd suggest looking into this deeper, it isn't a black and white scenario, as stated here. i'd also look into the group that started petakills.com. interesting.
just sayin'.
February 23, 2008 at 11:23 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
open_eyes (anonymous) says...
I grew up on a farm. We never tortured animals. They actually lived much better lives care and nutrition wise than animals in the wild did. I also worked on the kill floor of the meat packing plant. I did not see any animals tortured. Death was sure and swift.
And I didn't need a peta website to tell me that.
February 23, 2008 at 1:31 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Renegade (anonymous) says...
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February 21, 2008 at 9:35 a.m. ( permalink )
slipandslide (anonymous) says...
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
February 21, 2008 at 9:52 a.m. ( permalink )
Renegade (anonymous) says...
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February 21, 2008 at 11 a.m. ( permalink )
Renegade (anonymous) says...
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
February 21, 2008 at 11:09 a.m. ( permalink )
kara (anonymous) says...
open eyes - well, i guess that settles it then?
February 23, 2008 at 9:24 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
open_eyes (anonymous) says...
I don't know about "settling" anything. I'm sure God himself coming down from heaven in a fiery chariot and proclaiming it is ok for humans to eat meat wouldn't change the minds of hard-core PETA fanatics. As I said before, I don't care one whit. Eat meat or don't eat it, I'm not the least bit offended by my vegetarian friends, as long as they don't rant on me for eating meat. To each their own.
As for farms "torturing" animals, I can't count the number of times I was up late in the night or in miserable weather helping a calf be born. Or the $$$ spent on medicine and veterinarians. What I remember most about snowy winter days was the numbing cold I endured daily to make sure everything was fed, healthy, and safe, not being harassed by coyotes or dogs, or not mired down in the mud in a creek during thaw. Wild animals got NONE of those treatments.
And as for slaughterhouses torturing animals, I'll let you in on a BIG secret that virtually NOBODY knows about: Corporations are all about making $$$$. There. The secret is out. What that means is, the animals need to be killed as efficiently and quickly as possibly. When I was at "The Beef", the chain speed in those days meant roughly one every 15 seconds. That did not mean the chain was constantly shut down or slowed up while some sadistic sicko got his jollies torturing an animal while everyone stood around and cheered him on. That meant the animal was killed as quickly and efficiently as possible, with no time for the "torturing" PETA so often refers to. What do you think the sign outside Tyson saying "Everyone LOSES WHEN Livestock BRUISES" means, anyway?
February 23, 2008 at 9:59 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
alfalfa (anonymous) says...
I couldn't agree more open eyes. All those who think we in the livestock business are into "animal torture" should be following all the guys calving around for a day or two. There sure are alot of men and women in our part of the world right now busting their butts to save animals lives during this particularly crappy calving season. If people don't want to eat meat that is fine by me, but just say you don't believe in eating meat, don't resort to telling lies to try to keep other people from eating it. The torture charge is simply untrue, I don't know how else to respond to it.
February 23, 2008 at 10:16 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
open_eyes (anonymous) says...
Right on, alfalfa. I remember occasionally a cow would pick a horrendously muddy, wet, freezing spot to have a calf, and we would load them both up, bring them back to the barn, rub down the calf with gunny sacks to dry it off, and put heat lamps around to keep it warm, give the cow a vitamin shot and hay, grain and water. I have to agree, however, sometimes this WAS torture - but not for the cow or calf :) LOL
February 23, 2008 at 10:29 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
kara (anonymous) says...
open eyes: what i'm trying to say is that your single experience is not every experience. a distinction also needs to be drawn between family farms and factory farms. the family farm is dying out - because of the same corporations that you mention. the majority of meat that people eat in this country comes from factory farms. your experience and alfalfa's does not equate the whole of the industry, with all due respect. it just doesn't.
how we define torture is a whole 'nother level. mass forced breeding of animals, pumping them up with growth steroid and antibiotics is not natural. factory farms do not bother with heat lamps, gunny sacks, and massages. the goal is to pump out as much meat as possible for human consumption in the shortest amount of time. and if some of that meat is contaminated, oh, well!
what about searing chicken and turkey beaks off for transport? they feel pain, they "scream." cattle prods? they work because they induce pain. trying an animal in a small crate and withholding nutrition and water for a fine cut of white veal? this is not "natural." and FOR ME, it isn't worth it. i'm not trying to tell you what to do and what not to do. but it really is frustrating to see that just because you and a few others have had different experiences, "you" et. al. are quick to say that everything else is "a lie." that doesn't hold up to the facts that are out there. just because these animals can't read or write, doesn't mean that we are any better than they are... again, this is my perspective.
i also know that not supporting the factory farm meat industry helps in some small way, for the health of the planet. climate change, starvation, use of natural resources - it is all connected.
we all choose what "scares" us. we all access for ourselves what is a "lie."
at this point, i will agree to disagree. cool with me. thank you for engaging me in a respectful dialogue. really rare these days, i'm sad to say.
be well.
February 24, 2008 at 1:38 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
kara (anonymous) says...
drat. forgot to add this:
"Last month, the United Nations published a report on livestock and the environment with a stunning conclusion: "The livestock sector emerges as one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global." It turns out that raising animals for food is a primary cause of land degradation, air pollution, water shortage, water pollution, loss of biodiversity, and not least of all, global warming."
February 24, 2008 at 1:39 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
open_eyes (anonymous) says...
kara, I will agree with you on some points. I have never agreed with caging calves their entire life for production of veal. And for that reason I do not eat veal.
I've never heard about searing chicken and turkey beaks off for transport - I'm not saying it doesn't happen, I'm just not aware of it. Growing up, we would occasionally help a local chicken farm load the chickens up into the cages to be sent to the slaughterhouse - they never did anything like you describe, but again, that was my experience, I don't know of other(s).
But, for the record, although I don't condone cruelty to animals, I DO consider myself and fellow humans above animals. I will swerve to miss an animal on the road, but if there is a child and a deer and my only choice is to hit one or the other, I will choose to avoid the human and hit the deer every time.
As for your last point, I'll point out what is actually the MOST significant contributor to land degradation, air pollution, water shortages, etc........... HUMANS. It makes me sad as a "country" person at heart every time I see more and more land developed and paved - and I'm not talking about for livestock production. I'd alot rather see that land used for animal production than turned into yet another shopping mall and housing development so a couple with 0 or 1 child can build another 6-bedroom 5,000 sq ft house. But that's just me. That's the person that loves the unspoiled outdoors in me.
Even though we will disagree on many points, and agree on some others, thank you as well for a respectful dialogue.
February 24, 2008 at 6:46 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
open_eyes (anonymous) says...
I've been watching an interesting series the last couple weeks on the Discovery Health channel called "The Truth About Food". They tackle and try to scientifically prove/disprove many food myths, such as does dairy help your body absorb less fat, (it does), does drinking 8 glasses of water a day improve your skin (it doesn't), etc...
Anyway, in a recent episode they tackled vegetarianism vs. meat eating. Specifically, for athletes.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/humanbody/tru...
In the main test, they took 11 female martial artist vegetarians, and half (6) of them agreed to eat meat for several months. Their diets were strictly regulated, the same protein/calories/carbohydrates/etc... The veg group got extra protein from veg sources to balance the meat eaters, etc.... The article says that the results were inconclusive, although it does say the meat eaters could run 9% longer. Also, the man that oversaw the study agreed to become a vegetarian during the study, and at the end could do 5 less pushups than before. Although it doesn't mention it in this link, I watched the actual show - one of the women showed a large improvement (something like 18%) in strength and stamina (they measured things like kicking/punching power, etc...) and the show stated that while ALL the meat-eating women showed at least a slight improvement, it was not statistically significant enought to be conclusive.
My take on this? Same thing I've always thought about why the same diet works for some people and not others, etc.... everyone's body/metabolism/genetics etc. is different, and what may work for 1 doesn't always work for others. Interesting the article didn't mention the one girl who showed the huge improvement. But, to be accurate, I agree with the article stating they need a much larger group/population section to be meaningful.
Just food (meat, non-meat, I don't care) for thought (pun intented) :)
February 24, 2008 at 9:22 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
open_eyes (anonymous) says...
My mistake on further research/recollection, it was only 1 month. I also read a small excerpt from one of the women that went to eating meat - the first few days she had some problems due to the change in diet, but that soon passed (no pun intended). At the end she personally felt that she was no stronger/faster than before, but the tests proved otherwise - enough to very much surprise her. Of course the Vegan society immediately attacked the report and disputed it. I do agree with another of their points, however - the study probably needs to be over a longer period of time, to give people time to adjust to the change in diet.
And the man that oversaw it and tried the vegan diet was a former champion hurdler, he claimed he definitely was weaker (and the tests proved it) - but again, it needs to be over a longer period of time with a larger cross-section of the population. Interesting, however.
February 24, 2008 at 9:37 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )